Every Emotion Under The Sun, And We’re Out
Mar 8th, 2011 by 'holic
Where on earth does one start. If you don’t understand why football grabs so many after that, then you are dead inside. Let’s start, as we should, with the positives, and the acknowledgement that Graham Souness is probably right. This Barcelona team is probably the best of all time. It is difficult taking a step back from the multitude of emotions everybody must have gone through tonight. I’m trying to, but probably too close to the final whistle. Nearly everybody has seen the game, I would imagine, so how to make sense of so many controversial events this evening?
First off I think we went into it with a desire to compete in our final third and the middle third of the pitch. After ten minutes it looked like we decided that would involve too much running and basically surrendered the middle third as well. In itself that ploy has worked for us before, in fact when we last lifted a trophy. It was working well for us tonight as well. We didn’t need to score as long as Barca didn’t, and when they did the manner of the goal was disappointing to say the least.
Should I say “I told you so” when saying pre-match that the selection of Cesc was a gamble not worth taking if it comes back to bite us in the important Premiership games to follow? No, but I will. He was a shadow of the player that we know. He was clearly not ready for a game of this intensity. That we got away with that gamble for so long owed everything to some absolute lionhearts out there. Diaby started slowly but grew into the contest. Nasri put in a shift and a half trying to protect Clichy from the odious Alves. Djourou and Koscielny were just special, but the pick of the bunch was Wilshere.
A word too for someone much maligned by Arsenal fans, me included. Pressed into action when Szczesny picked up a freak finger injury, Almunia could have been forgiven for reacting like a startled rabbit in the headlights. He didn’t. As last season we saw the best of him against Barca, and there is now a real possibility he will end his topsy-turvy season as our number one, albeit on the basis that he is our only fit senior ‘keeper
Now for the issue that will have the non-Arsenal fans howling at the moon, but you cannot ignore it. Those who follow this blog, and my tweets will know that I am heartily sick of referees making decisions that affect the outcome of matches. The red card for van Persie tonight, I accept, is arguably not in that category for neutrals. However, the score at the time was 1-1, and the fact that Barca had dominated every aspect to that point is neither here nor there. In two previous home meetings with them we had weathered the storm in the first-half, and taken over in the later stages, and this was surely Arsene’s hope again tonight.
That ploy was effectively sabotaged when van Persie was red carded, and UEFA will point to the technical correctness of the decision by the clown in white, whilst ignoring the obvious absurdity of Robin being penalised for attempting a shot after being whistled for offside in front of a baying 95.000 crowd just one second earlier. It was a diabolical decision. I hasten to add I believe it was made by an incompetent and not a bent official. He had opportunities to issue two cards to the foolish van Persie in the first-half, and also maybe missed a penalty for Barca when Diaby appeared to upend Messi.
However you view that incident, if our plan was to try to exert greater pressure in the closing stages it was now critically holed. Xavi finished a mesmeric and wonderful move, then Pedro darted inside the ball to ensure he tumbled over Koscielny’s leg and a Messi penalty decided it. No complaints. I would have been chuffed if one of our players had done the same. Even then we were a serious swipe of Bendtner’s right boot away from an astonishing triumph when he was set free by Wilshere, but let the chance escape him.
It would have been remarkable had it happened, and neutrals would have argued how wrong it would have been. The best side certainly won, and I hope they go on to win the whole thing. Playing offensively they are a joy to watch, and their work-rate is incredible. It is just a shame that the administration of the club is so flawed, and despicable.
For Arsenal now the attention switches to Saturday, and Old Trafford. There are players who gave their all out there tonight who I am sure will be rested. There are others who should not have been out there in the first place. A critical selection awaits Arsene this weekend. He is fortunate that his old adversary faces similar questions.
Cheers ‘holics. I’m off to get blitzed.
194 Responses to “Every Emotion Under The Sun, And We’re Out”
Sigh. Nice write up ‘holic.
Gutted. Absolutely gutted.
Feel for Little Jack. Big up for the Spanish waiter too.
Boo hoo! But the quadruple’s still on, right?
Nom shame is losing 4-3 to the best team in the world with a little help from a Catalonian ref.
Premiership focus now.
I’ll pass on the drink and have a glass of champagne when we lift premiership trophy!
Would it have been better if Arshavin and Bendtner played at the start of the match? Hindsights are nothing buts. But it was really worth pondering about because the back 4 did most of the hard work tonight, getting no respite from a mismatched and jaded looking midfield.
We were done over … if we had scored 3 they would have got 5. They are just too good for us with or without 11 players. 2 questions – why Rosicky + why was Cesc shaking hands with the enemy on the night ? He’s our captain and should feel contempt for them until the final Whistle – his heart is with them rather than us …. sad, but the two worst games I’ve ever seen him play have both been against Barca ! … I don’t wanna believe it, but fear we will be out of all comps in three weeks time :0( ….. same owd same owd
Jack Wilshere gonna be a fucking legend at Arsenal.
That’s the spirit, Sajit.
Mak1, take the medication before the nurse gives you a slap.
Goodbye Barca for another year..you love us really. A very hard match to watch and makes you appreciate what real fans of lower league clubs go through in the cups..A massive perfomance by most out there but your dealing with the finished article in every way. Was around the comments elsewhere and the amount of vitriol against Arsenal players astounded me. No time to mope. AW and AF will have a good moan about refs over a chablis on Sat..
‘Holic,
you didn’t mention the Abidal incident? The one which led to RvP getting his first yellow… That was a straight red in my book and strangely none of theofficials saw that even though there were 6 of them.. I find that unacceptable..
Immense Jack.
He will come off this strong. I believe he will.
CG,
Yep I’m up for a glass or 3 🙂
Steve,
Ell is of course Catalan for eel 😉
Up Thr Arse,
heartbreak
proud of the squad though our defenders were immense today
Ah well what can yo do? beating by the better side… but still plenty to play for starting Saturday! This still could be a massive season.
Keep the faith!
We tried to hold them for the first half , maybe 60 mins if we had done that and it weren’t far away, we were in with a great shout , but they scored after 47 min so we scored within 10 min then the bleeding ref sends of VAN P if the last chance had fell to him good first touch goal how good would Barca have looked then ??? the plan nearly worked on a good note, how good is JACK Geordie Armstrong would be proud of him
Big Earnie,
Cescs a winner who wants to win big trophies and play with the best players Ask yourself this will he do that at Arsenal at this
present time or at Barca as a Catalan ?? Untill our club show the slightest bit of ambition top players will come and go like Brady did in the 80s etc we need to re find our mojo,
I think you’ve let the ref off lightly ‘holic. We never really got close all evening, but that didn’t stop the ref making sure.
We chuckled when Chelsea got a stinking referee performance against Barca a few years back. Now it’s our turn.
I guess those decisions come from the same direction as those that accept bribes from Russia & Qatar. No?
This fool is a well know cheat! his strange calls caused a riot in Switzerland! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massimo_Busacca
Holic, I disagree re Nasri.
True, he was the only one trying on the offensive side, but when you set out to defend, then defend, he was awful tracking back Alves.
No time to recover, if we do lose at OT then that’d be a big problem for the players’ morale.
I don’t know what to think about Cesc, was it the injury? Was it a mental issue? He seemed he just didn’t want to be out there. No matter the kit color, he just seemed like a kid who had been asked who he likes more, his dad or his mom.
Did we deserve to win tonight? Nope.
Does that somehow change that, while we were ahead in the tie, the referee made a bizarre and stupid decision that had a tremendous effect on the outcome? Nope.
It was one of the worst decisions I ever have and ever will see and the only explanation is that the referee was grasping for whatever excuse he could find to send him off.
I still love the boys. I’m not devastated that we lost the tie, because we always knew that was a rather likely outcome. I’m just annoyed, because if we were going to lose to a great team, we deserved to lose 11 v. 11, not 10 v. 12.
Lovely post holic.
The ref was a Cunt full stop a proper homer without doubt But we didn’t have one shot on target in 95 mins you can gloss that up as much us you like we were completley and utterly torn a new one snd if it wasn’t for sterling performances at the back that could have been a cricket score, The most depressing factor was yet again our best midfielder being an 18 year old who gave a fuck, Im sorry but if players like Rosicky Diaby and the Ray Wilkins of 2011 are the best we’ve got we wont be winning anything soon 🙁
I know this is bad timing but I’ve been saying this ever since I first saw him, no matter how much he scored. NB52 is just so poor it’s amazing. His first touch is a joke.
Chamakh would’ve scored that.
Snir,
Long john Silver would have controlled that 😉
One foot in the door and then got cut from under and slammed shut by the ridiculous refereeing. And I thought the cunts at the English FA were bad…
I think Cesc Fabregas should do us a favour and sod off to his boyhood club. He was just a passenger on the pitch and to rub salt into the injury, even gifted them a goal. I wonder why he bothered to turn up.
A natural successor: Step up, Jack Wilshere, future Arsenal Captain.
The lads played their hearts out, but Barcelona was just too good.
I do hope that we go on to win the league at least.
Gunner for life!
THATS SO NICE OF YOU BOBENJV TWAT !!!
Has anybody seen this? Apparently it’s from an interview to TVE
Cesc: “After 15 minutes, I already felt something and I knew MY game was over. In the end, I couldn’t hold anymore.
Yep fuck off the best player Arsenal have got by a country mile, Go cesc Arsenal won’t miss you will just take the 50 mill and replace you with Denillson and a traffic cone,
Give me strength, Ask yourself why has the gap between the first 11 and second string become so great that we have to play half fit players to stand any chance?
http://translate.google.co.il/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=iw&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=es&tl=en&u=http://www.rtve.es/deportes/20110308/cesc-he-notado-pinchazo-he-sabido-partido-habia-terminado-para/415080.shtml
Arsenal’s Spanish footballer, Cesc Fabregas, said after the end of the match between his team and Barcelona in the return of the second round of the Champions League after 15 minutes has noticed “a shot” thereby knew that the party had “done” for him.
“At first I was very good, but 15 minutes I noticed a puncture and I guess wanting to play the game allowed me to follow, but finally I had to change,” said Spanish.
The Catalan midfielder has been recognized as “a shame” because they were pretty good. “We got really scared with the goal, we covered well, but these things happen in football and has not been.
“The decisions sometimes and sometimes not favor you. You can not kick a guy shoot the ball because it is very rare. Barça played well, we hardly had opportunities and the important thing is that I’m proud of the team. We have been opportunity to get 3-2 and get the qualification. ”
The Spanish international has avoided making any statement about a future move to Barcelona and has been confined to wish luck to the ‘Barça’. “Running out of competition for us and now I hope you get as far as possible.”
Long john Silver would have controlled that
Chippy, you are a bad man.
I’ll break one rule tonight, but I am the boss here,
bobdenjy, fuck off there’s a good lad.
Nite holics,I’d luv 2 know arsene’s next move,not talking bout this season either,in arsene I trust.
Holic,
Sorry couldn’t resist 😉 In fact one of the scoundrels I was with earlier compared his first touch to Rafeal Mead !! Much worse I’d think you’d agree !!
We have a lot of pride to take from this game. Arsene devised a game plan and we stuck to it, pretty successfully until Cesc’s ill-placed attempt at artistry.
We defended like lions, Clichy was a bit suspect at the start but got better and with Messi requiring double cover he is always going to be a bit further away from the wing man.
Everone stepped up into the defensive message, I agree we did not
Other positives include Wilshire (again), Koscielny, Van Persie (until he was sent off) and Almunia. I think the fact Almunia did not expect to play means he was probably the most relaxed player on the coach and that probably helped him.
On the Van Persie sending off, it was a ridiculous strict application of the rules after he was grabbed by the throat which in itself should have been a sending off – in which case our chances would have significantly have improved and Van Persie probably would not have committed the first foul. And if the ref was going to apply the rules strictly, should Messi not have had a yellow (at least) for a deliberate hand ball?
We did our best, Barca are a better team, but we had a (good) game plan and had the referee been consistent we would have had a much better chance.
PS. Van Persie would have tucked Bendtner’s chance away for sure
Losing to a better team is something we have to accept but how often do we dominate games against inferior opposition in the League and have to accept it when they nick a goal and in fact we are ridiculed for it. So when we do just that to the best team in the world, just starting to get a foothold and the ref pulls off the closest thing to a fix decision I have ever seen in my life it’s incredibly difficult to accept that we might have got the famous result we have been craving for years and had all hope stolen because of unbelievable incompetence (at least I hope it’s just incompetence because tonight has seriously made me question the official’s integrity).
Barca were incredible but I refuse to to applaud players to roll around on the floor like they’ve been shot. A team that good only embarrassed itself by feigning injury and trying to get our players sent off. I would previously have chosen to watch Barca play but now I can’t shake the feeling that it’s just a group of Ronaldos, incredibly skilful but ultimately a bunch of cheats.
Was RVP even offsides for the sending off????
it doesn’t hurt really that we lost, think about it real Madrid lost 5 nil there with eleven players on the field, I really don’t like barca, not because they beat us, because they dive about to much and roll around and try to get our players booked, I’m just so happy we have our new arsenal hero, someone we no will never leave, he gives 100 percent every game, he makes everything wenger is doing at arsenal worth it. 🙂
Holic it always happens to us at the Nou. Even with a second string we were a threat last season. But as has been said about teams who play against us in the prem. Sometimes to beat Arsenal you have to be ‘clever’ and play within the rules of the game!
Nuff said Holics time to depart before I say something i’ll reget!
Well done Barca!
jack wilshere was the new hero I was talking about forgot to put he’s name in
Mark,
on 09 Mar 2011 at 12:03 am36Mark
We have a lot of pride to take from this game. Arsene devised a game plan and we stuck to it, pretty successfully until Cesc’s ill-placed attempt at artistry.
Sorry cannot agree we got battered and unless Wenger decided to do an Ali against forman his plan involved flooding the midfield and giving the Barca wide players space knowing they’d come inside but after 30 mins they cottoned on and instead of running behind the centrehalfs they doubled up on the fullbacks giving themselves acres of space and time.
Holic
Just as in the CL final, a send off costs us dear.
But having said that,after all that happened,losing the Goalkeeper,Cesc’s mistake,VP’s red card,Barca’s 2 quick 2nd half goals,and us chasing our tails for rest of the half,
After all that, with only a few minutes to play,we had a wonderful golden opportunity,the one chance we had worked so hard for,an absolute sublime killer pass from Jack,on a FUCKING GREAT DINNER PLATE,right in front of goal and it was absolutely butchered.
I along with i am sure, plenty of other Arse followers,despair of certain unnamed players ever reaching the level required to take us to the Promised Land.
Cheers,
Clive
I am not really sure how I feel to be honest. I am grateful I guess that we have not been on the end of a real hiding.
I agree with a lot of your report holic. But this whole scenario has brought on our own downfall. The capitulation in an easy group left us this tie. We can blame no one for that but ourselves. We came here tonight with a lead but never really looked likely to keep it. Very little went for us in the whole game. The Chesney injury not only meant we lost our keeper but also meant we lost a potentially vital tactical change for later on in the game. Then comes the Cesc showboating on the edge of our box. Why??? We go in at half time no nil and I do believe that we are in a totally different game.
The sending off had a dramatic affect. Shocking decision. Killed the game as far as we were concerned. What was an amazingly tough task initially had now become virtually impossible.
A deflected 2nd and a pen put an end to it. I agree with Chippy and big Nicks ego when you consider his shocking touch with only a few minutes left. One question you do have to ask is what kind of message is sent to Nicky B and Chamakh when a half fit Van Persie walks into the side? Not sure that is great for confidence.
I am not a great stats man but they make awful reading. No shots whatsoever? That quite frankly borders on embarrassing. Even more so when you consider that we actually scored????
Positives? There were a few. Jack was awesome. He was tremendous all over the pitch. He reminds me of Gerrard although I actually think he is better at this age. What impressed me most about him was the maturity he showed after being booked. No rash tackles, nothing silly, just a top performance. Kos and Djourou were splendid under such a ferocious bombardment. Almunia was also outstanding and did not put a foot wrong.
Many many negatives. No idea why Cesc and Robin were out there. Both were anonymous. We can moan all we want about the RVP but a tad more common sense and he does not pick up the first yellow. Rosicky and Diaby were like kids playing a mans game. Sami did not get anything going.
So what can we learn? The one thing that impresses me massively with Barca is how hard they work. They have world class quality all over the pitch, but still they work as hard as any side I have seen. Can we learn something form that????? I know my opinion.
The sad thing for me is that I look at the tie overall, see we have gone out 4 – 3 and if I am honest I am quite relieved. It could have been a whole lot worse. We have many weaknesses but we are not a bad side. Tonight we played possibly the best ever.
Perhaps it is time for those that occupy the Arsenal hierarchy to sit back and take note. Otherwise, as Chippy suggests above we will remain in the same situation of quality players coming and then going.
Mancs at the weekend. Happy days.
really don’t know what to think of the game. i saw it in a pub in warsaw, and then it was obvious we were just robbed by the referee… i’m not so sure right now… but i think we were playing 10 against 11 all game – cesc shouldn’t have played at all… and the second yellow for robin was just scandalous, but i don’t think we’ll read about it in the papers though…
and the biggest worry now – can they pull themselves up before saturday? i really hope so.
cheers ‘holic, and thanks for the blog – i never wrote a comment until now, but read it for a quite a long time 🙂
Oh shit holic every time I post here there’s a row!
Mark @ 36 is not me 😀
I was beginning to think it was single out the players for a bit of stick night 😀
Good Order restored than you Holic. 🙂
Have to agree with most of your blog, although still feel that RVP should have known better, he’d seen Sagna get booked for wasting a whole second of time so, being on a yellow himself, shouldn’t have chanced his arm with a half wit.
I don’t accept he didn’t hear the whistle, score was 1-1 at the time and he shot to waste time in my book.
When Van Persie was grabbed by the throat their player should have been sent off and Van Persie would not have lost his cool. Different game altogether
Well ,well, well all said and done we are about to come with nothing again this season. 2 weeks ago we were chasing 4 trophies, 9 days later it’s just 2 and by the look of things it will soon be zero come end of May.Friends our boys are not hungry enough to win us anything. Our manager is a very good business man who wouldn’t be bothered to win anything as long as his financial books are o.k.We were chasing shadows at the Nou Camp. Almost 90% of the time we were pinned in our own half. Barcelona could have scored 6 or more goals if they took all their chances.We need a world class striker to play with Van Persie.We need another good strong defensive midfielder and at least one more dependable central defender.Now that our young goalie gets injured so easily we need to buy a mature goalie as well.Small teams like Birmingham beat us in cup finals. Big teams like Barcelona thrash us,so where do we stand? Complaining about the referees all the time will not help us.It is now a torture to watch us play in any of these important matches.Now both in the F.A. and premiership Man.U stands in our way. With our fragile boys I do not see us overcoming them.FOOD FOR THOUGHT!!!!!!
my first impression of the RvP sending off: F***, why did you have to shoot??? but after seeing the replay, i’m not so sure it was just tp waste some time. he shot, and THEN looked at the linesman if it was all right. and i think he was genuinely suprised by the sending off… call me naive, but that was my impression…
Holic spot on analysis. The sending off was a bull shit decision but I can’t recall Arsenal being outplayed so comprehensively before. I thought the defence did a sterling job as they got minimal protection from our midfield. Both RVP & Cesc were well below par, and perhaps this is predictable when they come back from injury and lack sharpness. Jack played his heart out and Almunia made some great stops and was faultless for the goals.
Barca are a hell of a team and I think they would slaughter any of the other 3 English teams left in the CL as well.
Finally I hope the comment about Cesc’s injury recurring is wrong.
f*** off innosky, really. you really think you would be better for the job then AW? yeah, right. and probably have played some Championship Manager lately? and it was probably Chelsea? because it would take another Abramovitch to buy all the players we “need”. this is a different club. and we are proud of this.
@Innosky, maybe you should cheer for Man City-you seem to share their opinion that you need to buy a new player for every position every transfer window. We do have a tough road ahead to win trophies-but that’s how it’s supposed to be! Football wouldn’t be interesting if we knew in March who was going to be champion in May. Instead of whining about what we don’t have-and yes, our second string has been woeful much of the season-it’s time to throw all our support behind who IS wearing the white and red. Emotional loss today, but no reason to go into “the sky is falling!” mode just yet. Still in great position for two trophies. And yes, the ref was shite.
Never comment ‘Holic, but love the blog. Keep the good work up.
Some of the comments here are just surprising to me.
Have you not seen Barca play? Of course we’re gonna struggle, every team in the world would struggle. We were playing the best team in the world.
And they’re not just the best team in the world, they’re better than the rest of the world by 3 levels. At least.
That’s just the way it is when they have the best player in the world, the best striker and the best playmaker in the world.
God, I fucking hate them so much. Problem is, I don’t see anyone eliminating them.
Snir, we were one better touch from Bendy from knocking them out. Yes, they are the best, but if they fail to kill opponents in the Champions League, in the same way we sometimes fail to beat Premier League sides, then they are beatable. Let’s just pray it isn’t by another English team.
Gorn. G’night ‘holics.
first off, the first leg was a legendary game. i don’t think we should forget that.
second. when arsenal decide to ride a game out and play for the last 30 minutes, i don’t necessarily agree.
but i don’t think it’s a good idea to deride the tactic. had it worked, we would be in dreamland. when mourinho did it, it was tactical genius. the best manager in the world.
had RVP not been sent off. we could have replaced him with chamakh, who would have worked his as off. and rosicky/cesc could have been replaced by arshavin.
for me, that changes the complexion of the game.
the only decision the ref sent our way was not giving messi a penalty. but he also decided not to book alves for leaving a dangerous leg on nasri.
how anyone can give the team shit is beyond me. it was simply a football game they were desperate to win. i challenge anyone who’s played football to say they’ve never been in a similar situation.
we were winning at 1-1. we would have been winning at 2-1. they only scored 3 and we were a man down. sorry, i just can’t join in the negative parade. and while the comments at goonerholic are mild, the general vitriol directed at our players, like someone else said, has been disgusting. it’s been like that all season long.
bondenjy. fuck off. you’ve got no spine. do us a favour and stop being a gunner, you fuckers put shame on all of us.
Holic, I agree they’re beatable but to criticize the team for not having a good game when they’re playing against that is kind of funny to me.
Cesc tweaked his hammy after 15 minutes, just when we need him for the run in and Sczezsny’s out too. When will things get better? Fuck Lady Luck.
If ever I saw a bent ref I saw it tonight. Fucking wanker. We were never given a proper go at this, he never gave us a chance. I am too drunk to read the other drinks, just need to get this off my chest. Robin himself said it so well: “He was a joke all night, I don’t even know why he was there”.
Maybe I’ll feel differently about it all when I have sobered up tomorrow, but I seriously doubt it. In any case, I won’t want to dwell on it. I fucking hate Barcelona, they are a bloody good team footballing-wise but a completely fucking classless bunch of wankers the lot of them save for Pep Guardiola.
It’s true our captain had a very bad first half and we didn’t play particularly well as a unit.
But I have a hard time believing that any team even the”great?” Barcelona would have overcome 4 yellows a red and a penalty.
There was some spotty footie our part. But we got pounded up the poop chute with rock salt and a chipotle cream sherry reduction.
Thank you Chef (ref) Busaca.
I think that’s Romanie for up yerz.
We were slaughtered………………. beaten and totally screwed by the better team….. yet still only a Bendy toe poke away from going through!!!!
But what the fuck was the ref doing???????????
I had a bear, a witch , two fireman, police officers, a rasta, a hobbit, George Bush, Arnie Schzarwatsit, Nelson Mandela, Gadaffi and various super heroes and cartoon charachters all watching the game in the bar (as mentioned on the previous drinks it’s carnival time here) and they all agreed that the ref was a total cunt bucket.
How ironic that a Swiss could be so not neutral.
20 pints of lager please guv…….
Grab one while you can lads otherwise I’ll polish off the lot.
Burp.
It was hard watching Arsenal being so outplayed. Very hard to watch.
True 433.
But it was even harder to watch how the ref allowed the oscar for biggest bunch of twats go to Barca. Some of the “gamesmanship” was simply appaling…… and this from one of the best teams I’ve ever seen, totally unnecesacary and pretty sad.
Grab a pint.
One potential positive is maybe after that performance by Cesq they might p*ss off and leave him/us alone and stop the constant tapping up and “DNA” b*llocks!
Kudos to Manuel and Wor Jacky.
Beaten by the better team over two legs.
Let’s take our dissapointment out on the scum on Saturday.
Just seen barcas first goal. Apart from cescs crazy back pass. why didn’t he tackle injects outside the box on the way through?Perhaps it s time fr cesc to go?bring back Ramsey.
Cheers ‘holic. Somehow didn’t get any word back from BtM. We weren’t very good but the ref was our of this world and not just with the ridiculous red card decision
Out not our
Iniesta. Not injects
@ 58 – Snir:
“Cesc tweaked his hammy after 15 minutes, just when we need him for the run in ”
Where did you get that from? I really hope you’re not making it up because its bad enough when we get silly rumours from the papers, and its the last thing we need to worry about right now. I hope this is some sort of sick joke.
It definitely doesn’t hurt as much as it should be rite?
While it was a tremendous effort from all of our boys, we will never be able to beat this generation of Barca with what we have. In fact, can there be anyone to beat them over 2 legs?
Technically, we are at least a notch behind them. With a full team of players who are exceptionally comfortable with the ball, we probably need 11 Cesc (not tonight’s!) Wilshere, RVP… You get my drift.
Incredibly high workrate from the home team to hussle and press when they are not in possession. Their constant movements and tireless run-ins, they are truly a pleasure to watch.
We also lose out in terms of a scheming footballing brain. Each of the Barca players are schooled in the same way – play for fouls and theaterical play-actings which our boys are just too honest and naive to contest with. Effects of every challenge on them exaggerated and ends with a horde of others pressuring the referee for cards. Guardiola may have said he wished to play the strongest team we can offer, certainly not same can be said of their players.
What chance do we have when we have a clown as official to drive in the final nail?
Could we have beaten them? Perhaps. IMHO, the turning point of the game was not the red-card but an incident much earlier.
RVP could have fall right off like a man shot when he was held (not choked) by the neck, play-acting for Abidal to be sent-off. But that is not our style. Not the kind of behaviour of our team of sportsmen.
Though I am sure RVP would have driven the score to 3-2 should he be presented with the chance our clumsy B52 was, only when our guys learn to play for fouls do we stand a real chance beat this complete team of magnificently-skillful, but ethical-deficient set of players.
We got taken behind the woodshed at the Camp Nou two years running. In one sense, this year’s spanking was worse than last year’s. At least we got a shot on/off target last year. Utter and total domination. And no amount of hitching at the referee will cover that fact. As for gamesmanship, we were guilty of some of it too.
Anyhow, a pint of the black stuff and here’s hoping for sunnier days.
Calm down everyone. We have to concentrate on West Brom most of all. After that there is a 2 week break during which we can regroup. Don’t throw in the towel just yet!
Busquets scored our goal this year. So, in a sense, it was 4-0 this time. And Bendtner got a goal last year. Is there any striker left in the UCL R16 with a worse first touch than NB? That first touch is absolutely apocalyptic!!! And it’s even worse in slow motion.
A triple JD if you please barmen.
Am gutted that the ridiculous sending off ended the game, I reckon almunia had xavi’s shot covered but fair play to sagna for trying to get something on it… I hope this will galvanize the team to boss man united on Saturday. Hopefully Song, theo aren’t too far off fitness and cesc and van persie will be 100% soon, am glad that Ramsey’s back as we desperately need him to fill the hole that denilson and diaby can’t seem to. In any case, man utd will be without nani & Ferdinand. I doubt that any other EPL side could finish 4-3 on agg. against Barca and as long as we field a full strength team on April 30th I reckon the league is ours. Anyone know whether vidic is banned after that red card against chels?
No way in hell we would have beaten Barca. All you hopefuls out there are dreaming. Anyone out there notice that Barca did not even go into overdrive?? WE are just not good enough. No team worth its salt would have come away from a game like this without having taken a single shot at goal! Lets face it. You would not have had such a pathetic display from Real Madrid or Man U or Liverpool or Chelski or even Spurs!
Something I have been saying for the last 3 seasons. Wenger’s philosophy is flawed. He has no clue what it takes to win trophies. He stumbled into a great club with a great team he inherited from his predecessor. Since then what the friggin hell has Wenger done? The team has become progressively weaker – in all departments. This man is NOT the great manager that he is made out to be. He is utterly inept – he has no sense of strategy, he lacks the singular ability to assess his opponent and field a team that will meet the challenges that each opposing team presents. All he can do is play 1 style of football, 1 recipe for all possible dishes!
Wenger MUST be replaced next season. This will be the 6th season that our trophy cabinet will be bear. No way in hell will we take the Championship. Not with Wenger at the helm. Not with the crop of players that we have. Wenger does not have the winning mentality that is required to take great cubs to great heights. He is a loser. He does not have the desire nor the passion that is required in football. And that is reflected so clearly in our players – especially in the big, crucial games. Where was the passion? Where was the desire? Except for Jack, and maybe Nasri, I certainly did not see it in any member of our team. Please. please lets GET RID OF THIS MORON who leaves us humiliated every season!
Well, it’s late and I don’t really feel like commenting on everything you wrote cause it’s mostly nonsense but Real Madrid lost 5-0 if you didn’t know, so don’t go trashing our team when we’re playing against the best team and players of the world.
watched game form living room in sydney
we were in reality out played, but showed pride. thats all we can ask for.
yes bentners touch was poor, but how many times has he rescued us in the past.
barc are a great team and there is no discrgace in losing to them .
on to sunday, i have a feeling……….
@75
Im no Wenger wanker, but I think most of what you wrote is OTT. Arsene had a definite game plan. And you dont expect your captain to assist the first goal for the oppsition, do you?
Secondly, the Szczesny and Fab injuries are exactly what we needed.. FA cup out of the horizon now, I’m afraid.
@ Arsenalsy,
Yeah your right RVP might have fallen over and gotten a free one maybe. But if Massivemore Buttsucker wasn’t going to book Alves
for the 2 up from behind scissor who was he going to book?
Besides our guys.
I have some freshly belched Schlitz malt liquor froth-spittle in a delightful shade of bile green that would grow hair on Perluigi Colima’s head I would dearly love to scream right into that Swiss Misses Face.
Anyway it’s clearly not Robin’s style to dive. Bless his heart.
So,why am I so Angry???
@75 you spelled bare wrong…
sydneyred, It’s good to have some down under perspective. Aren’t you one day ahead of the rest of us, and if so couldn’t you just have told us the result beforehand so we didn’t have to watch that warlock of a ref doing his little dance?
@ Sajit
The whole plan ( of Wenger) to defend against a team like Barca was horrible…We are no good in defending..
NO 81- 11 HOURS DIFFERENCE GOES BACK TO 9 HOURS END OF MARCH
WILL LET ALL KNOW CUP RESULT ON SATURDAY.
AS A MAN OF HOLIC’S VINTAGE I CAN REMBER THE DARK DAYS OF THE EARLY 60’S /70’S, (LIVED IN UASSIE SINCE 86)WHAT WE SEE NOW IS LIGHT YEARS AWAY AND WITH PEOPLE LIKE
WILSHIRE,LANSBURY,FRIMPONG ON THE RADAR GOOD YEARS AHEAD
Enough time has passed to digest that one…
I can’t recall us ever having so little of the ball in the last 30 years against anyone. We’re a very good side and that doesn’t change with one match. How can you have anything less than pride for the effort of our back 4 and goalie(s) for the first 45 especially? We defended well and with determination but finding an outlet seemed near impossible…Barcelona are simply that good (if very theatrical).
Who knows if 11 a side would have allowed us to snatch it…I’m angry that we never had the advantage of fitness allow us another strong last 30 minutes, even as it was we were a Bendtner touch away from stealing it.
Those (mostly elsewhere) saying Cesc should go now should really find a new club to support, he’s given everything to our club for years and played tonight because he didn’t want to miss it at any cost. In hindsight I’d have preferred he and RvP started on the bench but I’m not the boss.
Let’s win the league….and go into the same competition next season as Champions.
Love my club….tough to see them go out but no pride lost.
Tim, I agree with everything you said. Cesc needs and deserves our support now more than ever, being injured physically and I’m sure emotionally too by his error and the defeat generally. Our midfield just could not contend, but Almunia, Djourou and Koscielny were massive and if they can keep going like that we should be alright. We’re due some good luck on the injuries and refereeing fronts, so let’s give it a ride and see what happens next.
@75…. you simply don’t have a clue mate.
look bottom line defensively and goalkeeping not much blame we worked hard and defended well considering who we played.
First ofall we lack leadership on the field Fabergas does not show enough guts and physical leadership, the lads need a big brother out there and we dont have one, by the way i do love Fabergas.
Secondley we need to look at the work rate that barca put in, they bput us to shame wether we had 11 players or 12 our boys need to learn from this. Our fab Nasri what a delight going forward,but sucks defending same with arshavin and rosicky the only one that gives it fuck is song and he wasnt there. I feel that some tony adams leadership is required and we can be that almighty gunners that we almost are. Will follow the Arsenal to my grave, but come on for fuck sake enough with the same old same old lets give a fuck and go get Man U.
It’s 7:00 and I’m lying in bed in my hotel room in Barcelona listening to my brother snoring.
Thanks to an old Catalan friend, I had an extremely good view of the game last night. I thought the defence were exceptional in the first half and it was a real blow conceding a goal in additional time.
Having said that, Arsene’s tactic was to play a very high defensive line and for this to work for 90 minutes, we needed an extremely fit and mobile midfield. I think only Jack and Nasri had the legs to get around the pitch.
It is easy to locate blame in the ref and NB52 but in the cool light of day, there is a bigger question I think we need to ask. For Arsenal to become a great team, we need a squad of players who are not prone to soft tissue injuries and are able to consistently put in 7/10 (at least) performances week in, week out. There are too many players (Rosicky, Denilson, Eboue, Arshavin, Diaby, Bendtner and Chamakh (possibly)) who cannot be relied on to put in consistent performances.
Because of the underperforming squad players, we have to risk RvP and Cesc, which could ruin our season.
It was not a plan to defend. We were made to, in the first half. And I thought we did it well barring the mistake by cesc.
At 1-1, the decision changed the game in my opinion.
Most of their shots came when it was 10 vs 11. So I wouldn’t say we didn’t have any fight at all.
Oh and Jack Wilshere was massive.
Barca are the best team in keeping the ball but that doesn’t make them superior.
Anyway, I hope we pick oursleves up.
Onwards and Upwards.
@75,
Ref aside, Barca were the best attacking side and probably did deserve to win. However, we might not yet be as adept at the passing game as they are (bear in mind that they’ve had over 2 decades in a VERY non-physical & soft-contact league in order to perfect their technique without much physical damage to any of their players) but that game was there for Arsene and the boys to WIN last night.
Where we probably lost the game was not because of their mesmerising passing and inter-play (great as it was) it was down to how we defended our flanks. Barca ALWAYS make it very difficult to defend as they widen and overload their attacking third of the pitch with their wingers/midfielders and full-backs joining Xavi, Iniesta, Messi and Villa. What frustrates me is not just the red-card to RVP (that spoilt and definitely affected the outcome of the tie) but the fact that we just needed genuine pace on both of our flanks, and not just on the one, to keep their full backs and their wide midfielders/wingers honest in defence (you saw what Nasri was able to do when he got the ball). Without Walcott, Eboue or Gibbs should have played with Nasri on the flanks and Rosicky should have been dropped. Even an unfit Cesc, and Jack, would then have had more attacking impact and more options with their distribution and been able to put Barca on the back foot. With all that said, what impresses most about Barca is their coordinated closing-down of the passing channels and their work ethic to get the ball. BUT, NO TEAM on the planet, no matter how fit or great they are, can do that for 90 minutes. Had we had our full complement of 11 players, with more pace on our flanks, then they would have tired as they did in the 2nd half at the Grove and we could certainly have had our memorable triumph last night. Anyhow, c’est la vie, and i’m not at all discouraged by the performance because if everything’s equal again next year with our full squad, we can definitely beat “the best team ever”! A double brandy for the road please ‘holic!
Hmmm really do not know what to say, firstly we should have never been facing barca, we should have easily topped our group and played a depleted roma side, whose coach seems to keep their best player on the bench (totti) in such a crucial game.
Fabregas i really love you as a player but i am sorry we need another captn, by the time this season end’s no matter what the results arsenal will have to know they need to stop blaming the refs and always know decisions are gonna go against them. We need somebody more vocal on the pitch, ready to fight, tells the players to calm down and conc after we have just scored a goal, give a thumbs up to a player whose just put in a brilliant tackle.
he was totally lost today i am sorry, i really do not carry abt his hammy within 15 mins because he went on to play upto 80 mins in the game. He dint even get knocked, we seriously need players like these but of steel not of glass.
I for one am very disappointed today, i usually am not like this and always see a light at the end of every loss, i have supported arsenal for about 13 years now, been there seen the invincible s to not wining for the next 6 years, but every season i would still get behind the team and still will.. We are very close to achieving greatness and quite frankly these set of players need and deserve a trophy, this is the best season to do it, because utd will get their team fixed next season, i am sure of that, its all in arsenal hands now the EPL trophy 10 games remain, we win all 10 we win..
Our fans and players really need this..
Lets accentuate the positives and
Eliminate the negatives of tonight
The ref was shite and did us no favours
seems to be a recurring theme in recent matches
But we have Cesc back and Robin and (hopefully)
Wojciech only has a dislocated finger so
shouldnt be out for too long.
Hats off to Manuel last night – he had a blinder!
Lets go a smash the f**k out of the Mancs on Saturday
with those players in the side and then cruise to
our 11th FA cup triumph and
the league trophy – i’ll take that!
Lets face it. You would not have had such a pathetic display from Real Madrid or Man U or Liverpool or Chelski or even Spurs!
Malaysian supporters had impressed me with their knowledge, until now. You really are a special case, aren’t you? Now lie back and let the nice nurse inject that calming fluid into your vein.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP Just moving the bus i sugest we never use the f***ing thing again lol Then there were two CMon Arsenal double time.
@leftcoastgooner,
Yes, fortunately RVP will never play-act. Thats not our traits (hence Eboue is so out of place).
Watching the UEFA’s ad for the 5-officials (“We see more!”) is truly laughable! Surely, Massimo must be making them feel like drinking their own puke! The entire system is flawed and exposes the game into controversies.
I’m all for the suggestion that the officials must be put on the post-match conference, subjected to the questions from the media. Surely they must be accountable and answerable for their actions/decisions, just like the managers and players. That will make them more conscious and cautious against wrongful decisions, forcing them to cross-check with the 4th officials on the standby (to be assisted by instant replays, if it is not already practised).
Letting the emotions and alcohol settle, we need to show our appreciation for all the players who took onto the field. Effective or not, we cannot deny (objectively) that each and everyone of them ran their hearts and lungs dry. Even Cesc covered over 9km for his way-below-par performance.
We need to re-group and get behind our bunch quickly. There are still plenty to play for than to sulk over one poor game. We need everyone to galvanise for the Old Trafford trip! It will surely have a huge impact on the remaining 10 games season run-in!
Keep the faith!
No need to be too disheartened! Once we’ve overcome and triumphed over the Anti-Arsenal corruption in the Premiership this season, we’ll tackle the Champions League corruption next season as the “English Champions”!
@ Aman,
Many of us have supported Arsenal for far longer (37 years in my case) and have seen more good and bad times than you probably have so don’t be too disappointed. The club’s not far off and having played Barca now shows everyone first-hand what is achievable and what still needs to be done. Remember, the Barca product took two decades to mature to what you see today but ours will take far less time!
Extremely petty decision, the second yellow/red for RVP, but we had got away with a few as well and so had Barca.
Centre backs outstanding, as was Almunia who was brave and committed in spite of the kicks to his face and head. Wilshere was my man of the match. To be truthful I thought all of our players worked hard, never gave up and did what they could, with only ten men for a lot of the game, against an outstanding Barca side.
I am always impressed by Barcelona, not just the outstanding technical ability but the shear speed of thought and movement and way every single player works his socks off and although the result will hurt there is a lot our players can take from this game and use it to improve their own performances. We can only get better.
Lot of criticism of Bendtner’s touch which we know isn’t always good but am I the only one who remembers how poor the first touch of Drogba often was when he first joined Chelsea? There is till time for Bendtner to get it right.
Holic
I have a lot of mates who unfortunately support the mob down the road,fortunately they are the few Intelligent,Mature ones that the Spuds have got.!!
But without exception, every one of them has texted/phoned to commiserate with me,and are as baffled as we all are at RVP’s red card.
They have even promised not to wind me up if they knock off AC Milan tonight.
I told them i too believe in the Fairies at the bottom of the Garden.!!
Gutted like most fans. I hope our season does not now collapse like in previous years.
The good thing abt losing to Barca is that we atleast lost to a great side and we can now concentrate on the Premiership. The downside is that we dont know how bad we really are. Would we have been able to beat Roma for instance. There are flaws in the team. But most of it could get corrected if we win some thing.
100% behind this team. Just not convinced that Wenger has the right personnel.
With respect to the other sides like ManU, Citeh, Chelsea, Liverpool, etc, getting stronger next season, i really don’t see that being a problem – especially with the financial fair-play restrictions coming in to effect soon.
The Barca and Arsenal way of play (as was the Ajax way) is devoid of high profile spending if the players that are available do not fit into the way you play. Producing your own players with the in-grained physical & mental aptitude and understanding of your style is the only way to do it but those exceptional talents within that system (such as Messi or Iniesta) are very few and far between. Fortunately, we already have those in our squad, and still very young too. All Arsenal need to do now is hone their passing to be more broad, tactical and rapid (with far more one-touch rather than the slower two-touch) and learn to press the ball as a unit higher up the pitch to win it back in their opponents half. That is what makes Barca (and Spain to somewhat of a lesser extent) so good and different in an attacking sense from any other team but does leave them vulnerable to the counter-attack when it fails. However, they usually have the ball most of the time so we never really see that that often; unless they’re playing in the first 10 mins and in the second half against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium!
Thanks DC really needed that pep talk.. :D. . .
The most disappointing thing for me is nottge result, nor is it the red card. The thing that’s harder to swallow is that we went down without playing our way. It felt like watching an Arsenal – Burnley, the Burnley here being us of course.
Little possession and not a single shot on target is pretty humiliating IMO; WE ARE THE ARSENAL FFS!
Anyway, fair play to the defence, they did very well all things considered, and let’s focus now on winning the Premiership.
Bollocks!!!
Not disappointed in a single one of the lads, they gave it a proper go. Sure Barca are an amazing side and likely would’ve won anyway but we are denied knowing that for certain now. Arsene is right when he says football and Arsenal lovers both had to be disappointed by the decision; the tie was so beautifully poised. It is football after all, I think we know ourselves the best team doesn’t always prevail…
Coulda, woulda, shoulda. I really hope we don’t have those sentiments in the league at the end of the season. It is there for the taking, you can do it boys! Lay a marker at OT this weekend, make Slur Alex’s nose that little bit redder, would be a pleasure to see.
A nice port for a night-cap I believe. It’s time for me to finally sleep on this result. Later ‘holics.
Holic,
One of our Ollies is missing! Should we be worried? Should Barcelona City Council be worried? Should the entire Catalan nation be worried?
It’s pretty much all been written. I’ll try and pen some words tonight post Blue Bus tour and pre tapas an Rioja. A narrow window I’m afraid.
BtM. Did you get any of my txts? I started to worry nit getting news, thinking YOU were the missing one. Looking forward to your report
Well at least you are both ok. I suspected alcohol poisoning for at least one of you last night 😉
So much that could be said. The sending off ruined an absolutely fascinating game, and now we’ll never know. The defence played brilliantly, Almunia played so bravely, really put his body on the line.
If Fab was injured after 15 mins, why didnt he ask to come off instead of strolling around doing clever little back heels?
Why did RVP lose his cool?
I dont believe the ref was bent, we got away with a few, including a penalty, however I do believe he is a complete wanker.
Hungover, not angry just sad that such a great occasion got ruined.
Holic ’til the end.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
Now we can go into a hostile environment this weekend where referees are only too keen to bow to the crowd.
After this shower of shit, we now have the experience of playing a man down in such a situation, given that it’ll be 11 vs 12 at Old Trafford.
I am also very proud of our defense. We held them off as long as we could. Even at 3-1, a better Bendtner touch would precede ‘holic collecting some cash.
Bring on United. They are nowhere near as good as Barcelona; We’ll be relishing all the possession they will cede to us.
I dont know i still feel dejected or robbed or whatever i almost broke the tv remote when bendtner missed that chance, awfull i tell u this feeling is.
It’s been a larf trudging through all of this media crap about how poor we were compared to Barca last night!
People quickly forget that we beat this team three weeks ago!!!!!
…convincingly too!!
So Cesc’s Hammy’s gone again? What a surprise!
Now we have to re-group to face another hostile away outing to another daylight skull duggery treacherous stadium!
Did I say that?
Doh, anyway the Mancs are going to take out their frustrations upon us, whilst we will attempt to play in the typical new model Arsenal way! I know we almost dispatched these Mancs without Cesc in last season’s corresponding fixture with a similarly available squad.
So when the times right I’ll discuss the Manc game and what we need to do!
What charging the boss and Sami?
UEFA have always got to test the mettle of this club
We’ll accept the charge and pay the fine (not like we can’t afford it) and we crack on. We’ve got two more trophies to play for.
I’ll allow someone else here do the cussing on this point!
Fucking UEFA!! 🙁
This might have already been said on here, but at the risk of repetition, when we played them with a fully fit team with 11v 11 for 90 minutes, we beat them even when they played great. Something to hold onto. I am going to take a little mental break for a couple of weeks for my own good.
This team is still very young, hopefully this is all a part of their football education.
Lets win the league now. Cheers everyone.
I hate to think it but I believe we will be out of all comps come April. I also thought Cesc was horrible tonight and will also be going to Barca come June, hope they dont sniff around Nasri and Lil’ jack too hard as well.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/9419995.stm
So Wenger and Nasri have been charged, I thought Wenger spoke to UEFA people and they were shocked at the sending off.
Something fishy going on here, it’s all corrupted from tip to toes.
After sleeping on it, I’m positive AW’s game plan was to wear them out in the first half and get into the game in the 2nd half and it was all to play for at 1-0 and then 1-1.
Twice it worked at the Emirates coming back to 2-2 and 2-1 but this time it didn’t cause the ref just didn’t want it to happen.
Looking back with the reflections of a night of good sleep, anger at UEFA and the ref is about all that remains. I still think we could have won the tie if not for the red. And then to read this morning that UEFA are changing Wenger and Nasri. Unbelievable.
What a game by Almunia. He went a long ways to relieving the nerves of having him between the sticks for the run in (should that be the case).
Still angry about that ref last night and I dont think that time is going to change that. It was an incompetent decision that ruined any chance we had of going through.
I wont deny that Barcelona were the better team. We could barely get a sniff of the ball and usually lost it anytime we did get it, but we were defending heroically, something every1 and their auntie and her dog said we couldnt do, and Barcelona had almost no clear cut chances until the red card.
Basically they were guilty of what so many opposition fans, press and pundits love to accuse us of: having the ball, all the possession but not converting it to goals.
With the red card it all changed. With no out ball, no threat of a counter attack Barcelona just steamed forward again and again with no worries. They could press us so high up on the pitch and that done us in.
Djourou and Koscielny were towers of strength last night, uttery fantastic. Diaby and Wilshere played well having to cover Cesc who was clearly not fit and off the pace. Nasri was everywhere. Such an awesome, awesome player he is. And Almunia…..had his best game I can remember him having. I dont rate him but he was top class last night.
The injustice of last night was highlighted by the image of Arshaving and Iniesta being head to head. This is the Arshavin who when hit massive tackles etc just gets up and gets on the game. That he went head to head with anyone tells its own story IMO.
So flamin angry at the ref because if not for the red card I think we would have went through.
FA are loosing it!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-12682897
Still hard to believe the outcome of the game. I woke up this morning and really had no one to talk to about it, since most American’s by me do not follow football.
At 1-1 I think we were poised to win that game. We held them off for 45 + in the 1st half & I believe we had about 30 or 35 to go when RvP got sent off.
Again, it could have gone either way but we will never know to be sure. We still had two subs left at that point & could have defended a bit more & then get 2 fresh players on.
What really pisses me off is that Abidal can “choke” RvP and it is a no call. Really? Really?
Platini should be ashamed at the job the ref did this match. Again, if they beat us 11 v. 11 so be it, but the players would have decided the game, not the ref.
ARSENAL ‘TIL I DIE!!
*fucked off*
scuse my fragrant language
as usual ‘holic you have it sewn up in the write up stakes
well done that man
:]
oh – and no thanks – i’ll not have anything from the bar
i’m a small sherry at christmas kinda soul
Thinking about it, there is no way in hell Barca would stroll to an EPL championship. Not because of United, Chelsea, City and Arsenal, but because the intensity is much higher.
True, they pressed high up the pitch relentlessly yesterday but they could afford that once we were with ten men.
People who follow Barca, notice that they barely rotate even though they play every 3 days, meaning they’re not as tired as AFC players are, and it’s not that they’re fitter cause it’s clearly not the case as we could see by the fact they broke down twice at 70 minutes at the Emirates.
They simply won’t have fit players in the EPL and would have to rotate every game.
When is the last time AW fielded the same 11 for 3 straight matches. I don’t quite remember it.
We thought we were going to have a real game but it turned out to be all about the feelings of some failed referee. Now this cretin feels so aggrieved he wants to pursue us until he suspends our players for more games. Who does he think he is?
@Snir Geuli
True, true, true. Arsenal is not as physical as other EPL teams & if Barca by chance faces a team like Chelsea I think this will cause them problems.
Also the teams in La Liga are not great & that is a fact. Usually it is the sames teams at the top Barca, Real Madrid, Valencia, Villareal. None of the other teams really have a shot at the title.
In the EPL yes we have the “Top Four” usually, however the teams are stronger in English football. I.E. Wolves v. ManU or even Blackpool going up 2 at HT with ManU.
I don’t think you would see Malaga or Getafe going 2 – nil at HT with RM or Barca.
I believe there are less than 30 Spanish players in the EPL. That should say something about the level you need to be at to play in England.
Holic
How on earth can you back Barca to win? i fucking hate them. waving imaginary cards, faking injuries and diving. did you see villa roll around?
i will hate them forever and support which ever team they get. except you know which.
Time to look forward. Have put my Arsenal scarf back on the peg and taken down my metaphorical red and black one for tonight.
I can’t see Milan getting a result tonight alas, they were abysmal in the first leg.
Stone Roses, I’m with you on the looking forward bit. At least I don’t want to look back too much on my drunken and slightly embarrassing ramblings of last night 😀 No matter how disappointed we are we can’t change what happened. There is still more than two months left of the season, there just is no time to sulk and moan right now.
And I certainly also agree about hoping for an upset at WHL tonight. But I think that Milan will be torn to shreds, they simply aren’t a very good team.
Lars, I dont know what I posted last night following an 8 pack. Probably be better off not looking!
More evidence
http://goonersdream.tumblr.com/post/3737582643/diaf
Arthur Van-Man had his neck felt by Abidal too!
It’s was all tossy!
Very unfortunate sending-off against RVP, complete crap, never should have been given. The game certainly changed after that.
You know, after the own goal to tie it 1-1, Kos took the ball out of the net and really gave it a punt….luckily it went straight-up in the air. I was thinking, wtf, you idiot, you are already on a yellow. If that ball went into the stands Kos would have been sent off right there and then. Don’t know if anyone saw this or even cares at this point.
Yeah, Arthur amazing that the ref is so fast on Nasri’s case immediately after Valdes has slapped the man’s face. The other egregious case we have seen is of Abidal grabbing RvP by the neck. Barsa played fantastic but why do they have to act like that, and why does the referee encourage it?
Good news and bad. The good news is that for the next month we have no mid-week games (bar a draw on Saturday). No tiredness, injury recovery time, no excuses. We have WBA, Blackburn and Blackpool. Absolutely essential 9 points.
Manure have Bolton, West Ham, Fulham, so no room for manoeuvre there. Not such good news.
SR, with the way West Ham have been playing, you never know. One week they’re brilliant; the next week they’re rubbish. Regardless, it’s up to us to keep the pressure on.
One of the most sensible suggestions I’ve seen in the aftermath (I forget who said it) is to have referees do a press conference after the match and explain their decisions. They could still make up some nonsense, but it’s a lot more than they give now.
J, the trouble with the press conference idea is that it makes so much sense, FIFA would never go for it.
Back home.
Spot on Snir at 118 (and 124) and Gary at 120.
I am going to have to have a go at every cunt that trotts the ‘shots’ stat tomorrow. These stats are totally meaningless unless you’re trying very badly to ignore that the red card had a massive influence on them.
Why the stats don’t matter (found this in the comments on a rubbish article somewhere): http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8645184.stm
Inter was played off the pitch (from a statistical point of view) and won. They were hailed for their defensive qualities. Up in till the red card, we were in a similar position.
Dear Schalke 04. Please win the Champions League.
Well done to the Spuds
through to the last 8.
At least one half of North London is keeping the flag flying.
I expect the DVD to be on sale by friday.!!
Missed the game as I was staying in a monastery. Maybe just as well.
With scores level, I would take Arsenal to beat a tiring 10-man Barcelona without 1st choice keeper, injuries and limited subs over 45 minutes (and maybe extra time) any day.
Just saying…
Ok, so when will everyone stop moaning about referee decisions, shots on goal and the like and realize our boys, mere mortal hooligans, should have felt HONORED to share the pitch with the Catalonian DEMI-GODS.
Seriously, over 90+ minutes our hacks committed 19 fouls to the Saint’s paltry 8. Just 8 – I mean they ARE technically superior after all.
Our thugs committed five cautioned offenses. FIVE. Seriously, my only wonder is why UEFA haven’t banned us from any further competitions – seeing as how we only know how to play rugby.
I mean even the ever humble Xavi said we never tried to play football. Who can doubt Xavi?
I say the referee was a bastion of sensible arbitration and game management. May he and Mike Dean, and Dowdy, and Clatty all sip from the jewel encrusted chalice that holds drinks worthy of such impartial and right-standing ambassadors of the game we all love.
Ollie, I would be just fine with Shakhtar Donetsk as well.
Heh. Not a bad imitation of Platini, Lonestar
Heh, I try J. I try. 😉
Me too, to be fair, Joshua. I think they have even less change though (which means very very very little 🙁 )
And heh Lonestar.
Right, goodnight, tomorrow is going to be a bit of a nightmare with return to work. Just because of work itself, to be honest.
less change?
Maybe, but less chance, definitely.
Well I thought you were going to knick it last night, I was called into a meeting and came out 20 minutes later and your 3 zip down and Van the man is a gonner!
Tonight spurs made it through to the last 8, and Gallas has been a revelation. What I expected was a loud mouthed cry baby who epitomise what Spurs fans hate about Gooner players.
So there must be a Mr Yang and a probably a Mrs Yin. Or there is Karma in equilibrium. But Willem Gallas saved our bacon tonight and we are in the last 8 of the champions league. In away this makes all the pain that horrible specimAn Campbell put us through.
Now there is talk among Spurs fans about trying to pick up Bentder or even knick Wilshire or Clichy.
Happy days a the lane. So HOLIC marry drink that pint down that spirit chaser. We will be playing you soon at the Lane and it is going to be a corked.
Toddle Pip
He’s right on cue with his post!
You better win it Cusup because the way you guys are playing in the league, that’s your only chance of qualifying for it next year.
Hey Cus,
Query what will you jokers do for an encore? I know, you guys will set up high-speed internet and voice-over-IP technology so Twitchy will be able to coach from his jail cell.
That said, congrats on a solid win.
Gallas is a top shelf player with fantastic leadership… oh, wait.
The real shame cus is our game has been rearranged too early for us to land our third title at the Lane, and all in colour…
Good analysis of the Arsenal game. We were outplayed, but I thought the ref was letting Barca get away with far too many theatricals in the first half (similar to the same game last season) in order to put key players under pressure with yellow cards. Dani Alves in particular will be Oscar-nominated next year.
Just before the RVP red card there were definite signs that Barcelona were tiring and we were starting to hit them on the break. I think that the result was anything but a foregone conclusion until that point in the game.
Ahem, Seismic, please stop blaming the poor referee. See #144, supra.
LWCs in the quarter finals of the Champions League – a once-every-50 years event I’d wager.
Now what does that remind me of???
Twenty four hours on, I just can shake the feeling that this team is star-crossed. Being as close as a late Bendter chance from knocking Barca out of the CL with 10 men seems like fate spiting in our faces.
Plus, we seem to be down to one fit keeper, three injured, one on loan and one barely established in the reserves. (And props to Almunia yesterday.)
A glass of hemlock would be in order were I not one of nature’s optimists.
Very smug Cussy!
…and you waited for your result to come through first!
The Scum is through… meh. Not to be a poor sport, but Milan have been many years since greatness.
Lonestar, cheers mate. I may not appreciate Texas but I appreciate you, brother. Please have a drink on me.
Cheers, Holics- to better days ahead.
Still numb.
Even a friendly Spud said to me on Sunday that we don’t have much luck, and that we do seem to suffer with referees.
First, we were beaten by a brilliant team who all work incredibly hard, on and off the ball.
But, after the initial surprise and dismay at how we sat back and lined up across the pitch, I was impressed with how well we actually defended. Then, of course, we just have to lose our keeper.
Almunia, though, was outstanding.
We all know the events that followed well enough.
The match, and the season so far, just leave me feeling a bit bewildered. We have had great highs and deep lows – sure, that’s football.
We keep clawing our way back into contention only to be hit with either a lacklustre display, a fresh crop of injuries, or another unbelievable official.
It just feels as though, if we get ourselves in a position to win anything and don’t self destruct, the officials will do for us anyway.
Still, we must revitalise for the next match which is Saturday, away at Old Trafford . . . . . oh bugger, see what I mean.
i have been away and off this blog for a while. greetings gooners. it pains me to say it but when ever i come on this blog ai talk about reality checks for us. we delude ourselves – common fault among fans where even fans of relegation clubs think they are the best team in league/world. however our bleating about how only we play football makes us the object of ridicule when we blow up.
i have said time and time again , objectively, we don’t have the players to support the claims made by arsene and many felloe gooners. this was shown in cold stark relaity on tuesday. only cesc (when fit an dmotivated – when was the last time we had both ?) jack and nasri really have the quality needed at this level. rosickly, bendtner, chamakh, clichy, sagna ? don’t make me laugh. wasters and pretenders. theo and AA have the potential but act like they have done it all and are world stars when they have won nothing and can’t even command a regular starting place.
the hypocrisy of arsene was shown up also, he derides City for parking the bus at the Ems but city looked more likely to score than we did. nothing wrong with parking the bus when needs must – probably at nou camp – but lets not pretend we are the guardians of the beautiful game. maybe this attitude gets through to the team who think that poncing about pretending they are gods is enough.
the independent (i think) today said someone commented that arsene doesn’t run a club but a cult where no one that doesn’t conform is allowed. how very very true. we live in a dream world when people we don;’t consider our equals – brum not to mention chavs united and spurs ffs – piss all over us. i am grateful for all arsene has done but it surely is time to move on.
Who is this Cusop fellow, why does he support the disagreeable lot down the road, and why does he spend his precious time haranguing us after our losses? There are only three possible reasons, so please make your multiple choice selection:
1) jealousy 2) jealousy 3) jealousy
hello to post 162
I like arsenal a lot and will give you some point to think over on your own, but don`t feel ridiculed man!
You have got your yardstick to measure what it takes to do well in the high level, so you very well chose 5 players in arsenal that do.
How many barcelona players would you pick?
Then do the same for your 3 most despicable english teams, then if you want to go deeper in the criteria, you can also calculate and compare the overall cost and average age of each team to the current arsenal one. You`ll find out many interesting things… i`m like the independent though, i will not tell you! 🙂
Just suffering a re watch of the game Woj throws ball out cos injured what do barca do? Kick it out for a throw in at same place the ball went out any other team would have given it to the keeper who threw it out. CNUTS I might even support Spuds against them…. HELP!!! Lots o JD may help
25 min alves sythes down nasri no booking??? Swiss are neutral my ARSE
FIFA. HQ in switzerland? were do blatter and his cronies work??? Where’s the referee from???? NoW dare I say anymore or will I brought up on aUEFA charge??
Spot on Trev. Just when you think we are not going to self-destruct, the ref screws it up for us. We must be the unluckiest team on the planet.
But, we can’t moan now. FA cup could yet provide us the tonic, we desperately need.
Come on Arsenal!
Re me suffering the game again 71st min pen why not commit itself almunia go left or right please
still gotvto suffer Bentners miss!! More JD please good barkeep
Yourself not itself !!!!
The week just got more crappier spurs through omfg
Phew suffering over bring on Man IOU
COURRR!!!!!!!! Gooner til I die
@164
i had 3 arsenal players that cut it at the highest level – the 5 were people who didn’t. Most teams even the very good ones will have no more than 6 max 8. everyone does not have to be a star. look at barca – poor keeper, poor left back, no replacement centrebacks and subs not all that. they have though very good, a few really great players.
United have 6 or 7 very very good players as did chelsea at their peak and even city do now. so we are short of a few very good but the issue is not really that – united and barca have 6-8 other players who are not that good – on these blogs many would say they would not get into our team – but they know what they have to do and work their arses off to complement the rest. compare the work rate of pedro, say and bendtner ? or rafael and sagna ? we think fletcher, o’shea etc are not up to much but how often do you see them look uninterested or let their team down or talk about quadruples when there are 4 or 5 matches left in 2 of the cups.
it is that attitude that is costing us/ And PLEASE lets stop banging on about how young others aren’t and how much they cost. there are no prizes for “possibly the best inexpensive young team” . after U18 there are no age limited competitions in club football. i did an analysis earlier this season of the united team that beat us up there and our team and they were on average one year older. 1 years ! whuppppedy dooo ! everybody has good young players coming through not just us – we tolerate mediocrity because it is young. NB 52 is a classic example.
so what have i learned – our team is a little bit younger on average but for years now we are the next big thing so no real consolation. also that Arsene refuses to give these players a chance by backing them up with some experience. so the good players will leave. i said before that cesc and possibly nasri will go if we don’t win the league (don’t think cesc cares about the cup). jack, being brought up here will stay for a while but players get mighty restless very young these days. winners – and he is one – will see that there is not a winners mentality. not when twats like NB and rosicky are indulged by arsene who then hides behingda bad referee decision to suggest we would have won. how many more own goals were we expecting exactly ?
IDKA
Some valid points, and not saying you are totally wrong…
Just one thing – City, Chelsea, Spurs – if you are using them as a yardstick, then look at where they are in comparison to us in the league. And we are potentially equal to Utd.
By that logic we must be doing SOMETHING right??
Just saying…
http://avoidingthedrop.com/2009/09/21/massimo-busacca-banned-for-fingering-young-boys-at-wankdorf/
How can UFEA pick a ref who has been so disrespectful to fans? Showing a finger is way off the mark, blue square league may be not CL last 16!
Cus,
Well done, Gallas may have saved you last night but enjoy the ride while it lasts.
Lonestar@144: that was a brilliant post!
IDKA:
“the independent (i think) today said someone commented that arsene doesn’t run a club but a cult where no one that doesn’t conform is allowed. how very very true.”
Do you feel that non-conformists are particularly welcome at Man United? Is Jose Mourinho known for welcoming debate from his players regarding his selections? And Pep Guardiola really, really liked it when Zlatan Ibrahimovic complained about not being selected last season, didn’t he?
I fully agree that there are things that need to improve if we want to be the best, but that “cult” argument is just lazy bollocks. There isn’t a manager anywhere at this level that is any different from Wenger in that respect.
lars
i take your point that top managers don’t take dissent but i think the word cult is synonymous (and used here in this context) with blind devotion to an ideal. there ios nothing much idealistic about ferguson and mourinho – they fashion teams to win. arsene seems to fashion this team to a) be young b) being inexpensive and c) taking the high ground as champions of the beautiful game. they are three admirable qualities in isolation but are not likely to enable you to win without the cussedness that ferguson and mourinho bring to their teams. surely no one can say that we have that desire or passion or edge ?
i personally wouldn’t want to watch barca every week – there was very good piece in guardian this week about how football needs someone to beat them playing a different way. they are fantastic at what they do but only with their quality of players – a once in a generation, or more – coming together can they pull this off. and even with their quality they didn’t finish us off as they should have. doesn’t anyone see the similarities here. and we have nothing like their quality of player so why the high handed view that we can play like that ?
and catalan gunner; this sort of proves my point. we don’t think united are that good and we thought we could beat barcelona and we are only close to them because they slipped up in their two toughest matches. this is they say the poorest league in quite a while and we trumpet how great we are yet we are not ahead. of course we are doing something right but we are one of top 5 clubs in country and short of leeds type collapse (or lpool under recently) we will be up there. my point is we are nowhere near as good as we think we are and will go nowhere until we change our attitude especially a) insisting only we play football and b) taking comfort in being so young and not costing much. in fact we produced a park the bus that mourinho might have done but not as good and we have committed more fouls than most in the league. so who are we fooling except ourselves ?
IDKA
As I said… just pointing out. Personally, I have never thought we were the best team in the world, so I guess it depends on perspective.
I agree that there needs to be a winning mentality – I have called them chokers before.
Just think that it depends on what you expect. I would love for us to be the best team in the world, but we aren’t and never have been. Therefore I am not deluded or now delusioned.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that we’re not the best club in the world… 😉
I’m sure there’s a point in IDKA’s posts, but I’m struggling to find it in the morass. I think we’re pretty much as good as people here think we are, nobody here thinks we’re the most amazing team ever, we’re a team who is there or thereabouts but are just missing the target at the moment. We just lost (by one goal) to the best club side in the world, and maybe one of the best sides to play the game ever, that’s not really that bad. And there’s still a league to play for (who knows, maybe an FA Cup too).
Plus Mourinho fashions a team to win, then leaves for another team!
catalan
now you are talking !! actually i don’t mind not being the best team in the world – who wouldn’t want to be – but its a fleeting honour at best. only united and barca in recent years a could really claim that but even barca didnt win last year and united lasted maybe 18-20 months.
what bothers me is that we don’t even give ourselves a chance to be by trying fancydan football and indulging fancydans. its like arsene has been seduced by barca but has missed that it is not the system but the players that make it. and he used to be different. the invincibles could play great football but knew how to win ugly. hence my concern that he has lost it.
Fucking hell, just look at this link:
http://twitpic.com/47w69k
There are three stone cold red cards for Barca right there, and the ref is standing right next to it all. You can even see him look at it in one of the pictures, for fucks sake. Where was your fucking red card then, you utter muppet?
IDKA: “a) be young b) being inexpensive and c) taking the high ground as champions of the beautiful game.”
I’m not sure he’s had much choice in later years but to buy players on the cheap (which in itself often means “young”). But I agree on your third point, maybe we should tone that down a bit. I for one have to admit that I was surprised at how happy I was too see us try to play a proper defensive game v Barca, we need to that more often while ahead.
“but are not likely to enable you to win without the cussedness that ferguson and mourinho bring to their teams. surely no one can say that we have that desire or passion or edge ?”
We definitely need to be more ruthless and just kill games off more often than we do. What puzzles me is that we do it at times (Chelsea at home, Everton at home, West Ham away, Brum away are all examples of games where we more or less never really let the other team near our goal once we’d gone ahead) but fail miserably at others. Lack of experience? Maybe. Or it may be something else, but this is something that Arsene Wenger needs to solve.
However, I don’t think it is a passion thing. Just look at the reaction after the Carling Cup final. Jack in tears, Sagna just staring into the void etc etc – and this after a final in a tournament that is only slightly more important than the Emirates Cup. These players want to win just as much as we do, that I am sure of.
lars
great link …
i wouldn’t confuse tears or staring into the void (doesn’t sagna always look like that ?) or indeed wanting to win with will to win. everyone wants to win, not many will go the extra yard/mile to do it. as roy keane said in korea, fail to prepare, prepare to fail. the dye was set when cesc said he wanted to be there to lift the cup…
i will excuse jack from this – his tears were probably at having to play with rosicky sagna et al. hopefully he is the start of a new world.
IDKA
I get a lot of what you are saying, but not your dislike of Sagna. All opinions of course….
Obviously you feel that Arsene needs to go, otherwise we will lose Cesc, RVP, Nasri, Jack etc. The problem is, IMO, that if he goes then you can be almost certain that 3 of those 4 WILL go. Their ultimate loyalties (as much as I am sure they love Arsenal) are to the man that believed in them and developed them.
Time and again players like Nasri come to Arsenal BECAUSE of Arsene. If we are facing cold reality, that is our main trump card; we are NOT the most prestigious (Utd, Barca, Real), and we don’t pay the highest wages (Chelski and Citeh).
So… get rid of Arsene…. and then what?
I DO agree that we have no right to the moral high ground of beautiful football.
Lastly – good to have Barca and the Invincibles as benchmarks, but it needs to be remembered that one is commonly called the best team EVER, and the other was a once in a CENTURY team. So not a massive shame if we don’t quite measure up.
Too early for a pint?
Your on second place and your still in the FA cup, why moan lads enjoy it. WE enjoy being in the champions league and we are annoyed about 5th. So look at like this when you play united you can say your playing a champions league side. And by the middle of April when you play us you can say we are still playing a champions league side.. Giggle giggle
Oh Christ.. it takes a spud to make sense! Be off with you before I agree with you again!
I hope to God you’re wrong about April though! 🙂
And when we play you next season Cusop we can say we’re playing a Europa League side!
IDKA makes a load of valid points.
Can’t quite get his downer on Sagna though – consider the alternative 😉
Oh come on after so so long we find a gifted spud (that is someone with half a brain), now now we shouldn’t be picking on the poor lad now come on..
Anyways lars the perfect link for me to write such a long post, please read it and bear with me i wont dissapoint :D.
I have also seen a pic where Arshavin went head to head with iniesta, i wonder how all this was missed by the tv cameras, anyways if anything our players do not look is down , sorry or dejected after the loss, they feel like someone mentioned robbed, and are angry, trust me some of our arsenal players are very angry, i am actually shocked at nasri being charged by the FA (he was also irate abt the ref at the Sunderland game) but not v persie who infact called the ref a joke on television..
So we have a few angry lads there, nasri, arshavin, wilshire, v persie ( Fabregas, oh well he should be angry with his own performance, and the tatics his boy hood club implemented to win), our entire back line from (Sagna, DJ, kosc, clichy) who put in such a good defensive performance only to be robbed… This thing anger might be a really good thing to inject some fuel and venom and come out like lions roaring in our next game. I feel utd are gonna feel that coming to them, they got no nani, and need to also prepare for Marseille so players will be rotated, so much that fergie considers arsenal a threat now..
I remember the time of the invincibles arsenal were shot out of the CL by chelsea, and although remaining unbeaten in the league the pts gap btw chelsea and arsenal were not much, and our next opponent was liverpool, (a side which had players like Harry Kewell and in form owen, a side which played regular CL). There was a lot riding in that match, first half scoreline Liverpool 2 Arsenal 1, second half something happened in that dressing room, thats when Henry got possessed, final result Liverpool 2 Arsenal 4 (Hatrick by henry in which he made one of those amazing runs from def into attack and scared the entire shit out of liverpool)..
Do we have players like that?? Sure we do, arsenal getting in the faces of barcelona players itself told us that, a team supposed to be a greater , better version of ourselves. thats what we want, this season something has changed (i do not know if it s because of the ref’s against us or whatever) we are bottom of the fair play table by being the dirtiest team in the EPL, now that i am yet to see, where are those players that got on the back of Van Nistelroy when he missed the penalty, where are those players when i heard in an interview by an ex- arsenal player (i think it was petit) who said at arsenal we do not start the fights we end the fights..
This is what we need a fired up captn, where is the old fabregas who spat in the face of ballack for diving, who allegedly spat in the face of hull’s assistant manager, who took over the regins of viera the moment he left and had a storming season along side the likes of helb and flamini only for it to be destroyed by the challenge on Eduardo. We need that Fabergas who when played against Juventus against viera, actually came on to the pitch and showed him this how it is done wearing the no 4 shirt.. We need the v persie who led the fightback after being 2 goals and a man down against bolton to win 3-2. Do we have that yes we do..
We have better players than those 2 mentioned above we got Arshavin, nasri and song, we got ramsey, jack, theo to play a freddie, we got a GK already which people are comparing to peter schmeichel, weather you like it or not we have a super backline, Kosc is a another wonder signing by Wenger..
yes we have some dead wood in there the suspects being Rosicky, Diaby, Denilson and Bendtner. Rosicky will and in all probability leave, AW will tell him in the same nice way in which he told Eduardo, Denilson is pretty decent he can stay, Diaby is wengers pet he will stay, Bendtner is a tough one to call, for all his talk he might stay or wld leave. So bring on the replacements well thats for the summer to discuss in..
Cheer up lads and lets hope the fire burns in these guys and we come out like lions and truly show the world “How tough we really are”.
Great post Goonerholic.
I too wrote my own review on the match. It’s here-
http://theproudgooner.blogspot.com/2011/03/barcelona-3-arsenal-1-match-review.html
Care to give it a look?
I talk about
-Injury updates
-Quick Recap
-Player Ratings
-The red card
-Match analysis
-And other stuff!
Give it a go!
http://theproudgooner.blogspot.com/2011/03/barcelona-3-arsenal-1-match-review.html
I think a lot of people talk with their hearts and not with their heads a lot of the time.
The point about Van Persie being sent off, is not that he may have scored, but more so to do with playing against Barca with 10 men. They were passing the shit out of it with 11 v 11 as it was and the extra man would have helped the defensive work barring Fab4’s moment of madness! (Also see Mancini’s post match comments v Man City@ Eastlands) or even (The classic cult Barca v Arsenal 06) for more on playing with 10 men. Know your history gunners!
Anyway…
In addition to that WS leaving the pitch meant we had to use up one of our substitutions in a department we had not planned (I’m quite sure of it).
So at 52 minutes it was game on, OG or not and at 56 minutes we are pegged back to a disadvantage.
Anyway what do I know, just speaking the facts guys! 😉
…for the record I still believe in this team…
…oh and Utd lost to a team they should have beaten…Wolves!…we did!
Okay that’s it I need to see my therapist now!
Nice one Charlie, but don’t be too down on your selves, I’m sure you won’t be 5th. 20th is coming and I can’t wait. HOLIC is was yesterday St Van Persil Day, the day when arsenal could not progress any further than spurs.
United at the weekend folks, I reckon if Arsene stops that silly dress / clary thing and sports a suit and tie you might win. I think your player find the dressy/clary thing quite distracting 😉
Goodly Pippins I will get my coat and leave you to your wailing and self fladulations
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