Cardiff Away, That Will Be Nil-Nil Then
Jan 25th, 2009 by 'holic
The ‘holic pound again proved to be a lemon, but if I got the scoreline wrong I was spot on with the result. Our FA Cup visits to Ninian Park have a habit of ending goal-less, and so it proved again. I have to say though, that the expression ‘a game of two halves’ was made for this particular fixture.
At half-time the game could have been beyond us. Let’s be honest now. Did you not expect that Cardiff would pressure us and allow us no time to dwell on the ball all over the park from the off? That was surely the only way they could hope to disrupt the passing game that is our preferred ‘modus operandi’, so why did it seem that our midfield quartet were caught like rabbits in the headlights for the opening period?
The home side busily controlled the centre and had chances in the opening half from Burke, McCormack (twice), Ledley and Parry. Thankfully a combination of nervy finishing and dogged defending kept them at bay. We could not have complained had they gone in at the break ahead.
In fairness Nasri and van Persie forced saves from Enckelman so it was not all one-sided. Oh, and would you believe that Eboue was booked for diving? I’m not altogether sure he didn’t get clipped, but he was certainly looking to engineer the situation. Just when you thought he was learning his lesson…
If the opening half belonged to the hosts there could be no doubt that Arsenal took control in the second. That control became stronger as the contest progressed and the introduction of Diaby for Ramsey transformed the direction of the game. This was the Diaby we have been waiting for, and if he can reproduce this kind of form consistently he could save us an expensive foray into the summer transfer market. We shall see.
Adebayor’s introduction for the surprisingly disappointed Eboue strengthened our hand further. The big man was guilty of the most blatant of a string of missed opportunities as Cardiff ran out of steam and clung on for dear life.
At the end you would have to say a draw was probably a fair result. We should be able to complete the job at the Grove, although that should not be taken for granted. We also now have the incentive of a home draw, possibly a rematch with Burnley, in the last sixteen. With the big four avoiding each other the competition is bubbling up nicely.
If you are looking for positives then the form of Diaby was to the fore. Young Gibbs too will be pleased with his afternoon’s work as deputy for the suspended Clichy. He found himself up against a lively winger in the former Rangers man, Burke, and answered most of the questions that were asked of him.
So we head into the final week of the transfer window and in all honesty my thoughts are more on the upcoming clash with Everton. Aston Villa are not the only challengers threatening to break into a Champions League place at the season’s end, and Wednesday’s game is a massive one for us. Everton snatched a second draw in a week at Anfield with a very disciplined defensive performance immediately after our game at Cardiff. They could be a tough nut to crack.
47 Responses to “Cardiff Away, That Will Be Nil-Nil Then”
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we were crap, again.
make mine a pint of your finest yorkshire ale please.
Sh*t happens in the Cup, especially away from home, now lets just go and beat Everton on Weds!
if bendtner is still with us in february i will cry
Spot on Wayne. Ramsey looked overwhelmed by the situation, Eboue was just utter crap – the fact that I was actually trying to figure out if it was worse than than his Wigan game is proof enough, Ade missed a sitter that RVP would have bagged with his eyes closed and our CB would have let in four against any quality strike force.
On the plus side, I thought Gibbs looked the part after a nervy beginning, RVP continues to ooze class and Song ran and tackled hard – although I still don’t think he’s anything more than a squad player.
Shot of Don Julio with a Don Julio chaser. I am trying to wipe the memory of that game from my memory.
In light of the difficult season we’re having, I think the team played relatively well. It was a good performance, there was a tremendous improvement in the 2nd half, our passing was neat we just weren’t really clinical in the final third.
‘holic, thanks for an excellent blog. Best wishes to you and the management.
Here’s hoping for a 90th minute Ramsey winner in the replay.
M Hasan,
to say that we played relatively well in drawing 0-0 at a championship side pretty much sums up where we are doesn’t it.
i don’t even enjoy watching this side anymore. it desperately needs an injection of quality and spark.
arshavin would do nicely, but knowing us it probably wont happen and we will be left with this squad for the rest of the season.
the mere thought of that send a shudder of fear down my spine.
by no means do i want wenger out, i just want him to spend some money and bring extra quality to the squad.
fin,
how about a 90th minute goal from ramsey that wraps up a 3 goal win.
a last minute winner would be rather shite!
ps al the pub landlord, ive changed my mind, i need something stronger… a pint of scotch please.
What is your problem Snuff.? He was’nt the worse player out there why pick on him ?
FFS! The negativity knows no bounds!
Shit support, maybe we are getting the team and performance we deserve?
The hugely expensively assembled chavs couldnt beat a shite team at home, yet when Arsenal fail to beat a decent Championship side away, then we are crap?
We struggled to beat the likes of Port vale and others when we were supposedly imperious.
But no, carry on with the pathetic whinging, the booing of our own and perhaps that sort of behaviour will see the likes of cesc eff off and Wilshire, Ramsey, Vela think twice about trying anything in a match just in case the ‘fans’ turn on them.
chill out spike,
today was a crap performance, much alike the last 3 months (8 game unbeaten run or not).
the team is flat and needs enhancing.
ill never stop supporting the team, but that doesn’t mean im enjoying watching them at the moment.
we are rubbish.
I agree we need signings this month; Arsh or another creative player and a defensive midfielder, but we aint rubbish, we have had some shite performances this season, but i think we’ve started to get some form of late and are winning games, in the league, if we get a result against Everton on Wed, then that’ll be another positive.
I am so sick of the constant bitching and whinging that accompanies every game, regardless of what happens.
everton is a massive test for us. they are playing really well as a team, despite not having many attacking options.
the way we are playing it will be very hard for us to break their solid defence down.
win there and that will be a fantastic result for us.
I think we’ve been creating enough chances to win games, Everton are at home so they will be expected to attack and hopefully we can keep things tight and get a couple of goals on the break; nasri and RvP!
i dunno, i think they will be very reserved given their lack of options. set pieces and how we defend them will be crucial. liverpool, who are a far better defensive unit than us have struggled against everton, so its going to be tough.
To be honest, I think we are in better shape than Lpool at the minute. Theyve really gone off the boil since Rafa’s rant! Not saying it’ll be a walk in the park, but I reckon we are playing well enough to get a result.
lets hope so. it is a crucial game.
“…dogged defending kept them at bay “? A more acurate description would read: “Thankfully , through a combination of nervy finishing and utter ineptitude by the opposition, the score remained 0-0 at the half” BTW, judging by the other posts on this site I can see that the blinders are still on but in time it will slowly sink in that this is Arsenal’s level. Afterall, the standings do not lie.
We seemed nervous like we do most games these days, but it’s to be expected considering the injuries and the inconsistent amount of playing time all the players have had together.
This however was not present in Gibb’s he simply got on with it and done his job, quite astutely, maybe with the knowledge that his future will not be judged on this game alone, little does he know he’ll have the full force of the blogging community on his back should he misplace a pass or shock of shocks let someone get a cross in.
An exaggeration you may say, I won’t, simply for the fact that people tend to consistently talk shit not just when they comment on blogs but at games now without a moments rest or heed for the people within earshot.
The worst dive of the game belonged to Bothroyd trying too hard to prove himself after such a wasted career against a team he should have felt highly priveleged to be at, people won’t hear of that, in fact it seems most people follow the opinions of the muppets at Shitanta all too closely these days.
Re-gurgitating the wisdom and wise words of Chris Waddle or Craig Burley almost like they’ve been fed some sort of subliminal mantra that they must repeat to the masses where and whenever they can.
I love the way we play right now, I love the fact that I can hark back to years previous where football still had some uncertainty about it, where the crowd does have an effect, that young, inexperienced players can feel the pressure of 30,000 fans baying for blood, however well they are compensated financially or whatever wall they choose to piss the money they’ve earnt up.
It was a good game, a pretty decent performance away in ahistile atmosphere with all the injuries we have and the amount of games we’re going to be playing in the coming weeks.
Van Persie was as quick and incisive as ever, Song was good – again you’ll never hear it repeated, we dealt aerially well and once we settled they created little, held to shots from distance or far out free-kicks, a bobbly pitch didn’t help and we’ll have no excuses when the mighty Cardiff come back to the Emirates.
Not too many negatives, save say that we’ve got an extra game we really don’t need right now, but nowhere near the end of the world, onto Goodison, a win please and then home to Bel-Air.
Solomon – The standings ? Oh boy please do tell..
what do we have to do to get rid of eboue – dives,lazy,clueless and laughes when he gets caught offside.please get rid of him it was like playing with 10 men while he was on.diaby you were great today, we need to see more of you in that form.
the sheep shagging dim wits booing ramsey ( legend in the making) will be sorry.
NaturalMystic;
Solomon is the wise one and should be heeded at all times…didnt you know? Apparantly the season’s ended NOW
Fully agree with Spike – the negative bollocks people spout is what is really depressing (needless to say the ‘holic and ACLF are beacons in the blogging world).
It was a poor game on the whole, but EVERYONE has poor games – think ManU v Derby, Chelsea v Southend, Villa v Doncaster, Liverpool (minus Gerrard) v just about everybody.
Having just returned from Cardiff I am disappointed to read that people thought our support was shit. The fans sung their heart out all game. This, in one of the biggest toilets that I have had the misfortune to visit in some years. The Cardiff fans were venomous scum, and I can see why they are hated. It is a long time since I have witnessed such hostility after a match, especially when there were women and children leaving.
The team performance was shocking. Very few positives for me but I actually thought Bendtner played okay today. He worked hard and battled well. Song was busy but is clearly not good enough yet to be considered anything other than a squad player. RVP and Nasri worked hard to try and create something but a poor pitch hampered that. Ramsey sadly, was like a rabbit caught in the headlights. He is an immense talent but still with lots to learn. Eboue was awful, AGAIN. The one real plus point for me was Gibbs. Once he found his feet he hardly put a foot wrong. He was also prepared to go forward and looked dangerous.
I have tried to be positive on here for the last few months but my patience is wearing a bit thin now. We need new blood. Players to lift the team and the crowd. Players who can inject the spark back into the side.
On the way back I was thinking about the Invincible team of only a few years ago and how with one exception they have all moved on. I then looked at out current squad and tried to come up with who would get into that side? I came up with Sagna and Cesc. That is all. That for me just about sums up where we are right now.
3 points against Everton a must. Up the Gunners…….
BTW Clichy better look out , not to mention Traore. Gibbs looks like a player. What is it with us and left backs
Steve T; It was me but i meant the so-called support on blogs and on occasion at the Grove. I’d never slate the away support (seeing as i go most away games!!!) as theyve been fantastic this season.
Spike. Thanks for the clarification.
I think a lot of the negativity at times comes from frustration. Fans spend a lot of money to support or beloved club. Peter Hill-Wood has said that there is 65 million available to spend. It has recently been reported that we are the 7th richest sports club in the world. The 3rd richest football club behind only the Mancs and Real Madrid. So why are we unable to strengthen? The club has just pocketed at least 12 million from the sale of former players. So why would we not go the extra 2 million for Alonso in the summer? Why could we not afford to offer players like Gilberto and Pires a contract to keep them at the club? Why were we not trying to buy the likes of Torres when he was on the market?
If the board are trying to clear the costs of The Grove in a far shorter time then so be it. But have the decency to come out and tell the fans.
We all want the same thing. A successful Arsenal playing great football. It just becomes incredibly frustrating when quite obvious weak points are not addressed, especially when we are meant to be so well off.
Stop Press!
Cardiff refuse request from Arsenal to take Eboue + 5 million pounds. They will agree to take the 5 million as long as Eboue isn’t part of the deal.
What’s the problem? It’s a cup tie and we’re still in the competition. Cheer up you miserable cunts.
I feel I should say this because no one else will: Song generally had a very good game.
Although I agree with alot said here I do not agree with the negativie crap’ola being said against EVERYONE’S Arsenal!! Yes we didn’t play up to snuff’ yesterday, yes some of the players could’ve put in a better effort, but thats sports for you…. There is one thing I do agree on and that is we need some “new blood” to help with this weakened squad. I’m not champing for Arshivan, but we do need AW too pull one of his rabbits out of his hat, and ASAP!! So this match is done and dust, we WILL get’em at the Grove, now it’s time to take on Everton on Wed. and do the dirt on them; UP THE ARSE!
I will just have a coffee, thank you ‘holic.
We’re still in the draw and will roll them over in the replay. A draw at Ninian Park is not the end of the world.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard-sport/article-23627976-details/Time%20for%20jaded%20Arsene%20to%20move%20on%20to%20pastures%20new/article.do
Another typically lazy peice of work from Matthew Norman above.
Very good Blog and thank you kindly for your insights. Yes, I also thought that apart from Mr. Gibbs, Abou Diaby shone when he entered the contest. I am like so many who have no idea what Wenger is attempting to do with Eboue. He (Wenger) is harming his credibility when he plays this sod in the team. Eboue, I am afraid, is totally without any saving graces whatsoever. Eboue is not even a player that would seriously be considered by even a Championship side let alone a Premiership team.
I have this occasional vision of Wenger looking skyward and commenting, while twitching spasmodically with his eye balls whirling around in their sockets, “send her down Hughie.”
Yet, it is well known that Wenger has these occasional whims regarding football players. We understand that he comes up with a lot of talented players and his selections are absolute proof of this. However, there are a number of players over the years for which he seems to have a blindness for and these players are well known to the fans. He persists with these players to the detriment of the team. Eventually they go but it takes so long! Wengers ability to adapt his perception is so delayed as to make him appear as a flawed Manager. Nevertheless, this seeming defect of his character is quite sad and is likely the reason why he will never reach the hieghts of a manager like Sir Alex Ferguson. Sir Alex will not have patience for anyone who is not performing at his best even David Becham etc.
Still the abilities of Wenger on many aspects of managerial ability are unmatched. These qualities lead everyone to overlook Wengers failure to adapt his perception of some of his poorer players.
Evening all. Isn’t that a bloody stupid thing to say on the internet. It could be morning where you are, or an entirely different and yet undiscovered concept of time if you are reading this in a thousand years from now!
Thanks for your input. I accept that the general concensus was that we weren’t at our best. I wouldn’t dream of insulting your intelligence by arguing any different.
However I will not rip into the side for drawing a difficult tie in hostile territory. We appear to be in the middle of a spell where we are doing just what is required, and no more. We dominate games for an hour, but give encouragement to opponents for the other third of the contest. It happens. Try and get behind the boys and encourage them out of it.
If you naysayers are right there will be plenty of time to rip into the boys for losing games before the season is out. Let’s have an amnesty until we see how things shape up, eh?
Holic.
I agree entirely, but just want the board to tell the truth for a change. If there is no money to spend then say so. We can accept it and move on. However, the arguement that the players are not available does not hold water any more. As I said earlier, I think there is a lot of frustration in the air, most of which is because we are all kept in the dark.
What is all this shit about fans being ‘kept in the dark’? Was there ever some golden age when the board shared all their hopes and dreams with us?
The club prefer not to conduct their transfer business in public. This policy is clearly aimed at avoiding bidding wars with rival teams. No reason for fans to take it personally.
On this occasion the club have in fact been unusually straight with us. We’re trying to buy Arshavin. It may or may not happen. Simple.
We used to read a paper in the morning and get news bulletins on TV and radio every so often during the day. Now we have so much greater access to news sources, our demand for news has increased exponentially. There isn’t enough news to satisfy our appetities, so people just make it up. All sorts of wild speculation is passed off as genuine information. Then we feel cheated when our hopes are raised and the players don’t materialise.
But we need to be clear on one thing. Arsenal are not to blame for this. They’re trying to keep the media frenzy at bay. They’re not telling you anything because there’s nothing to tell. When there is, they’ll let you know.
Good point well made GoonerGerry.
I agree with GG.
GoonerGerry. By being kept in the dark I am referring to the conflicting information that has been released over the years. Do we have the money to spend on players or don’t we?
I am more than happy that we do not conduct our business in public when certain other clubs seem to think it is essential. I also believe virtually nothing that appears in the papers until it appears from an official Arsenal source. But we were told that the reason for the stadium move was so that we can compete in the transfer market and to generate extra revenue.
I don’t know about you but I feel that there are certain positions that need strengthening. The frustrating thing for me is that I think we are only 3/4 players away from being a really top side. We had a turnover of over 200million last season. As I have said previously, we are quoted as the third wealthiest club on the planet. So what is the real reason we do not spend any of it? One moment we hear that Arsene is off to the Euro;s with his cheque book. Peter Hill Wood is quoted as saying that we have 65 million to spend. Then the reports are Arsene saying that he can not spend money he does not have. My question is quite simply, where does all the money go? Why are we not prepared to delve more into the markets. I would love to hear a genuine explanation from the board. If we are trying to pay the ground off early, or preparing for the financial crisis that has already hit most of us then fine. Just tell us.
Apparently we have now agreed a fee now for Arshavin. Not too sure if that is a good or bad thing. He is a player that looked very good in the Euro’s. Time will tell where he will play for us and how he settles into the Premier League. Assuming the deal goes through of course. Then perhaps we could turn our attention to filling the positions that really need it.
Holic,
Fair fa’ your honest sauncie face! Just returned from a rapid transatlantic to Fife to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns birthday. (No, not the Robert Burns that used to play for Southend, different one). So, some excellent haggis, stupendous quantities of Glenlivet and a headache to match. Missed the game in real time and so had to watch the tape.
I can’t disagree with a word of your summary. A very hostile environment and a Championship team who made it to the final last year with NOTHING to prove this year. A clean sheet and a draw in these circumstances is a (very) OK outcome. My only builds would be to acknowledge the excellence of Gibbs, as many have, and to commend Fabianski. I’m confident of a win in the relay and the burden of the extra game will be off-set by the extra income and opportunity to give some more of the youngsters a run once we’re three nil up.
For those baying for new blood, did you see how poor YaYa and Hleb were for Barca on Saturday? Give me Alex Song and Nasri any day and BE CAREFUL what you wish for.
Steve T
Sorry! I’ve just scrolled up and read your earlier post. I think the club send out mixed messages about the transfer budget as part of the strategy of keeping our cards close to the chest.
But yes, you’ve certainly got a point about being the 3rd richest club, but seemingly not having any cash. The lovely new stadium was meant to allow us to compete on an equal footing (with United, if not with Chelsea or City). It would be nice to know when exactly we’re expecting to reap the benefits of our massive income.
GoonerGerry. I agree with you. I think the way we generally conduct ourselves when buying or selling a player is generally exemplary. I am proud that we seem to be one of the few clubs left that conducts itself with honesty and integrity.
If we were flying high and 10 points clear at the top then these issues would not arise. Bet we are not. The real truth is that we have a battle on our hands just to finish in the top four. That is why I find the situation with the finances and all the mixed messages being sent out by the board increasingly frustrating.
The Cardiff replay is now live on Setanta. Due to the short period of time for ticket sales and the current financial climate it will be interesting to see how many turn up at The Grove. I hope that the board are not naive enough to take the supporters for granted, either now or in the future.
Very much the performance I expected in Cardiff. Given that we didn`t play our strongest available team, and that Cardiff would have given Chelsea or Liverpool a hard time, I was happy enough. Not happy (if true) to hear that we have turned down an offer for Eboue from Athletico. How we could possibly have turned down good money for him simply beggars belief.
Hi Steve T and GoonerGerry
It seems to me that nobody needs to know the size of our transfer budget except AW and the board. We are in a stronger position if this piece of information is more or less secret. Fans are naturally interested but there is no way of telling us without telling everybody.
The messages about our financial situation are not mixed, so much as inaccurately reported or imperfectly understood, IMO.
For example, when Keith Edelman (it wasn’t PHW) said early last season that we had banked around £70 million, he was responding to a question about whether we had made any profit that year. He was then asked whether the money could be used for transfers and he said some of it could, if required. Sports journalists and bloggers being what they are, this was reported as “Arsenal have £70 million transfer budget.” We now know that they can’t spend all the money on transfers, but it’s unfair to blame them for other people’s misapprehensions.
Or, with reference to PHW’s recent comments, he was talking about the effect on Arsenal, or any business, of the prevailing economic circumstances and saying that the prudent course of action is to build up your cash reserves. He did NOT say that there was no money to spend, just that it would be better to spend less given the current conditions.
What with most of the sales of the flats not having been completed yet, it may well be that the increase in revenue from moving is less than had been expected * at this stage * and Arsene MAY be reluctantly holding back on his spending. However, remember what the man is like. AW will not pay excessive fees because he is resisting the inflationary currents on principle – see his comments today about the market being distorted by injections of cash from outside. He also will not pay more than he thinks a player is worth. And he genuinely believes in his current squad, and he believes in building a team (how many times has he said, the solution is not always to buy a player?). So I don’t think we can assume that the reason he doesn’t spend more is because he can’t.
FunGunner.
I never assume anything. An assumption makes and arse out of you and and me I was always told. I hear what you say but official figures quoted show us the 3rd wealthiest club in the world. If you think our squad does not need adding to then we will just have to agree to differ. My opinion is that we are short in certain areas and the figures show we have the cash to do something about it. Comments from AW and the board have indicated that we have the cash to finance such moves. But to date we have not spent a penny. That may well change. I am more than aware of that so I am still hoping. Time will tell I guess.