Last Gasp Gunners Stay Top At A Price
Jan 1st, 2014 by 'holic
Once again Arsenal secured the three points, and did so in a fashion designed to test the heartbeat fully. Having come back from behind at West Ham, and negotiated a single goal triumph at Newcastle, today we saw one of those games that happen every now and again where a last gasp goal was required to beat stubborn, if limited, opponents.
Manchester City’s lunchtime win in Swansea meant we would need to take all three points to remain at the top of the Premier League entering the second-half of the season. From the off it was clear that Cardiff were set up to hold what they started with. Arsenal had one of those starts where the build-up is more deliberate and ponderous than when at their deadliest. Wayward efforts surrounded the most controversial moment of the half when Jack Wilshere appeared to have been upended by Mendel in the area, but Jon Moss did not whistle for the penalty.
The best of the chances in the opening period fell to Theo Walcott but his moment was not to come until much, much later. The second-half would provide us with a thrilling finale, but started in much the same vein as the first. It wasn’t as though we didn’t have a creative hub. Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla were busy in the attacking third but it must be said that Lukas Podolski, still perhaps a little short of match-fitness, didn’t interact with them to the degree that we have become accustomed with the underrated Olivier Giroud.
Behind them it became evident as the game wore on that the luxury of both Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta playing from deep was perhaps not required against a Cardiff side doing what they needed to not lose. The tactical substitution, when it arrived, probably decided the outcome. Nicklas Bendtner for Podolski was a straight swap and gave us a more physical presence up top. The replacement of Flamini by Tomas Rosicky gave us a more balanced attack and an injection of much-needed urgency.
Long before the closing stages Per Mertesacker could have secured the win but two golden opportunities that fell to his head were squandered as the nerves and tension built. Then, in the final minute Bacary Sagna’s header was parried by Marshall to Bendtner who thumped it home. In the immediate aftermath, however, Marshall landed on the goalscorer’s ankle and our worst striking fears were proven to be well founded with the visit of our neighbours just seventy-two hours away. That is a subject to mull over in the next couple of days.
Their resistance broken, Cardiff found their defence breached for a second time in the five added minutes. Jack Wilshere’s delicious pass sent Walcott clear to clip the ball above Marshall to give the scoreline a realistic look. With Chelsea also winning the top three remain unchanged, and separated by just two points, but we are at the top of the pile. At the start of the season we would have settled for that on January 1st, wouldn’t we?
274 Responses to “Last Gasp Gunners Stay Top At A Price”
Excellent post. Didn’t see the game. Don’t need to now.
2nd?
Top 4
Never in any doubt.not even a little bit.
Most unfortunate that young Bendtner tweaked his ankle at the very time Arsene felt that he was “back to the level” required to play for the team. Theo, Gnabry and Poldi up front against Spuds?
Europa place?
Enjoyed Jack’s performance – that’s the player we know he can become on a regular basis. What I particularly like is his ability to work in small spaces, which is so important with breaking down a packed defence. It also creates the opportunity to draw penalties.
Good write-up Guv. The identity of our striker on Saturday must be a cause for some concern.
I propose a Spain/Barça-esque strikerless line-up including the Özilster.
COYG Win the next match.
Great Post Holic. This team takes my breath away ….
Again- well played to the arsenal.
TR7 was magnificent. St. nick to the rescue!
Seriously now: This talk of welbeck is baffling.
Hes utter shyte and i question anyone saying something to the contrary.
Lurky – peace my man as i respect your views and your always itilating posts. But welbeck is shit. Period.
Id rather my uncle Morty play for the gunners than that divi g choke artist.
Podi Theo Gnabry up front in the next game. Exciting line-up even if not one we would start with a fit Giroud. Özil will have three good runners to feed.
Girude not to
Nice write up ‘Holic. Didn’t see the match…will catch up on MOTD later.
Probably the best thing about this team at the moment is the never give up attitude that ekes out wins or draws when we are not on top form – this is the stuff of champions and often gave Manure that extra edge. Keep this up and our trophy drought will be well and truly over.
Looking forward to that 72 hours hence Maestro. Nice report, never in doubt, thought Theo was excellent today.
Good stuff Shadders. Just watching it again now in proper quality on Sky Sports 2.
Don’t know where this stuff about Marshall causing Bendtner’s injury is coming from – he barely touched him.
Cheers ‘holic.
I saw a much changed side, missing argueably it’s three best performers (of this season) put in a never give up shift in attroucious conditions. It was a hard fought victory, no doubt, but one I thought we fully deserved and a very important one for the mental state of the squad.
For those who still haven’t quite worked out the value of Giroud, or what Ozil brings to the team then I suggest you watch this game a few times when it becomes available on the Arsenalplayer on dotcom.
Good stuff, ‘holic.
I’ve already posted my thoughts in the last set of drinks.
DK, Marshal somehow managed to land on Bendy’s ankle as Bendy was wheeling away to celebrate.
Lurky, Welbeck is not the ‘world class’ striker we need but he’s young and still has time to develop further so he’d be a good addition to our team.
SAG, I think we will get a striker this january, but who or what type of striker he would be? I haven’t a clue.
BTM @5, I spotted that in Arsene’s presser too, I think he will give Nick a 2nd chance.
Bendtner the new cult hero?
As for our forward woes;
I can still see poldi playing up front against the totts. He got no service at all today and how we were set up behind him did him no favours. Put Ozil behind him (or TR7 even) and see what happens then.
Agreed H2H,
LWCs are not going to park the bus, so he and Theo will get much more space to work with and to run behind. With Özil providing passes (hopefully), both of them could have a field day.
Homer, agree on TR7. My favorite Arsenal player. As I previously said, he is a perfect example that stats really don’t matter when you form the opinion on a player.
On Welbeck, we’ll have to agree disagree. I can understand your view, simply because that is the view of the majority, and that is what makes Welbeck so underrated. And majority is not always right.
I for one, think that he is quite good football player who has all the ingredients to be a beater. I accept that I might be wrong of course.
I remember very clearly the season I first noticed him. He played for Sunderland on loan, had a good season with them at a very young age. There was a game Sunderland played vs Chelsea that year and he absolutely dominated Chelsea defenders with his pace, power and physical strength. He was unbeatable that day.
Anyway, the reasons I would think that he will fit at Arsenal are obvious. As he is English at 23 he is younger that Walcott, can play as a lone striker, can play on the left wing, has physical presence, decent speed for his height, he will not be cheap but certainly not quite expensive, starting from the bench would not be a problem as he is familiar with it, already accustomed to the PL, etc.
Those are my reasons, I am sure you have yours for him being shit.
Cheers
Happy New Year to all holics! Guv, special shout out to you for being the proprietor of this excellent place.
It is my birthday and that win was a very special gift. I thought my fellow birthday boy Jack, had a good game and he was my man of the match.
I’d like to offer a toast for the incomparable GT and Holic Dad.
Hey ABB! Happy New Year lovely lady. I wish all holics a Prosperous 2014 and hope we will be celebrating a trophy or more at the end of the season.
Happy New Year everyone!
It was a relief just to be able to squeeze in some time to see the match in between travels etc. A performance full of maturity, character and self-belief that compensate for a drop in quality especially under some atrocious conditions.
This match proved again not only Theo’s overall contribution is better playing on the flank he is more composed with scoring chances playing as a winger vis-a-vis playing down the middle where he tends to hurry a bit more. In the first half he was playing essentially as a second striker with obvious target for through balls and Poldi as a more of a drop-in forward. In our set up both Poldi and Theo work best on the wings. Theo’s second half performance was quite impressive, good crosses, taking defenders on, working well with Sagna. By now Theo should realize that to score a hatful of goals he doesn’t need to play through the middle, just play consistently to the best of his abilities (while improving the one-on-one technical sides) down the flank and in the Arsenal set-up with his pace he will have enough chances to score a goal a match.
Poldi is very good at link-up play but not in holding up. Unless we totally change our system and build attacks on wing-play and cutbacks Poldi’s abilities are not best served down the middle. In our current system coming in from the left not only he creates a lot of great chances for a target man he scores more goals — and better goals — on the second ball.
If not a target man like Giroud or Bendy, our second best option for a striker would be someone who can directly run at defenders with ball on his feet as well as run behind them in counter-attacks. We really don’t have any designated strikers with those abilities but both Ox and Gnabry are very good at running at defenders down the middle, both fast, and both can score goals. And in absence of Giroud and Bendy I won’t mind seeing Gnabry down the middle (I think he played a few times in that role for the reserves as well) with Poldi and Theo flanking him. In that formation we will need someone (like Jack or TR7) to bring the ball up quickly through the middle as Ox/Gnabry won’t be able to offer the long-kick outlet a la Giroud.
Dkg,
His back lands on Bednters ankle just as his foot hits the deck – Looked a nasty little angle so not surprised its sprained,
H2H @ 20: Mostly agree. Even a subdued Poldi could have had a goal today if Theo had made the right decision when he tried that ambitious chip. However I think in that formation — TR7/Ozil behind Poldi — the trick would be to get the ball at advanced position quickly and we will need someone to bring it through the midfield in a direct manner (a la Paddy or Ya Ya). We won’t be able to rely as much on the wing play for the counter attacks as Poldi prefers to have the ball more at his feet than offer an outlet through off-the-ball runs (the most underrated aspect of Giroud’s play).
Many Happy Returns Imp’ 1.
Many happy ones Impec1, and thanks for the kind thoughts.
Thanks to all for your thoughts for the old chap. I’m grateful.
BTW, a special mention to Monreal. Was very impressive both in attack and defense despite the illness and all. Technically a better play than Gibbs especially while attacking, and more clever in using space while attacking, but lacks Gibbo’s tremendous athleticism. Fortunate to have two very good full backs. I liked Clichy for his great attitude and engine, but IMHO both of them are upgrades over good old Gael.
Doctor Faustus, I agree, I’ve been saying this for a long time, I think that Ox’s best position is as a striker, not just based on his style to run at defenders with the ball in his feet and his counter-attacking abilities, but also because of his body strength, great shooting technique and football intelligence he possesses.
I’m surprised Poldi was given the CF role after such a long lay-off. I thought this one was ready made for TGSTEL to lead the line with Poldi and Theo on the wings.
After all my criticisms of Jack he has a good one, with me unable to watch the game. Maybe that’s the answer, I should watch less! Anyway I hope it’s the start of a turnaround for the lad cos he’s a super player when in form.
No mention of Santi in the reports though, was he as poor as he’s been lately? Perhaps we should flick him in January and go for Mata who looked ropeable when subbed by Maureen.
Plus we have to get a striker, but who? Apparently Suarez has a 120mil buy-out clause, so a 120,000,001 bid anyone? I think not. Of those who wouldn’t cost absurd money Costa looks the best bet, even if he will still be over the right odds, imo. Otherwise we could do worse than Berbatov, or take a punt on the youngster Morata.
But why not give Theo another shot at the job in the meantime?
Öskar
Oksar you are a total mercenary. Sell Cazorla in January? I won’t even give that any more time.
Oskar @ 31: Santi was very very good today. Still a bit off compared to last season’s excellent performance and the long distance shots are not really getting in (worth noting that his tally for us last season was best of his entire career!) but I think we will see him being fully back over the next few games. He makes a vital contribution in our defense-to-attack transition especially down the left with his extraordinary close control and getting through tight spaces.
Lurky @ 30: Yes, Arsene says he sees Ox as a potential no.10 but I agree with you all his natural abilities and intelligence can make him a very good striker. If Poldi is our best left footed striker of the ball, IMHO Ox is our best right footed one (maybe Santi/Arteta at par).
Today we should have attempted a few more shots from outside the box. Especially Arteta had found himself with a few openings. In poor conditions a goalie should be tested more.
and BTW Cazorla was ok today. He did undress a defender from the left and lay off a chance that Theo put wide. Top stuff.
Succinct summary, ‘Holic. Hit the nail on the head in short order. And, yes, would have settled at the start of the season to be a point clear at this point.
Happy birthday, Impec1.
One thing about a Poldi-Theo-Gnabry front three is that they could all switch around at will, which might make marking them a nightmare.
From AW’s post-game remarks, Ozil is an unlikely starter against the Spuds. Frankly, I’d prefer not to risk him in a cup tie if there is any question that he is not 100%.
Cheers Holic!
Sell Cazorla? Worst fucking idea I’ve ever heard. If its meant for real debate I’d brush my teeth with liquid shit.
Oskar, to sell Cazorla in January? Our last years best player who after couple of months being injured, finally starts playing in his last year form. Hope you are kidding.
And no, he was not poor, in contrary.
Oskar @ 31: I find some of your comments about few of our players quite bizarre to be honest as many of your other comments are so reasonable. Santi is magnificent. Magnificent players go through dips, and his summer schedule and injury didn’t help him. But you won’t find quite a player like him that easily. He is a gem, our gem, and to throw away our gems for a mercenary who didn’t choose us over a nasty classless club just for some extra money doesn’t speak well of a great club. Santi was our best performer last season, and he is coming back to form, but meanwhile some patience and perspective please…
Now that somebody else has responded @31 let me say this …. This isn ‘t FIFA 14. There is a balance needed BOTH on and off the pitch. From every video or interview I see on Arsenal Player, Cazorla seems a top bloke and contributes to the spirit and harmony that is bringing the results. Why the fuck would any gooner on earth want to sell any player right now? It’s obvious to anybody with one working eye that these guys are pulling in the same direction. It shows on the pitch.
Is the Ox tall enough to be a striker; he is only 5’9”?
Got to love Poldi’s New Year photo:
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/01/article-2532141-1A5DDE6500000578-170_634x772.jpg
I agree with every post after 31 including my own …. quick reminder if you didn’t see my earlier post so you know who you are posting with … Arsegonian is formerly Duttlenheim
no thumbs up from Poldi on New Years?
Berbatov, seems like the most logical move this January.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bc7W_9yIUAAMgDT.jpg:large
I am hoping for someone younger, faster and less lazy but I’ll take Berba. He is decent enough as a backup.
Such a moody cunt, Berbatov. Not to mention he reeks of Spuds and Mancs. I’ll pass
If we are going to go for somebody I can’t stand might as well make it RVP. KIDDING 🙂
I take your RvP and raise you an Adebayor.
You must have been watching the same game as I was, Holic.
Bendtner looked decent today – is AW’s “weeks” simply not wanting to commit to ” three weeks “, or more like “weeks” rather than days.
A not too serious sprain could possibly be ready in two weeks, but three would indeed be more likely.
With our luck the entire joint has probably pulverised and caused his whole foot to fall off.
We do need a strong pacey finisher who can burst through a packed back line such as Cardiff’s today.
Sell Cazorla in January ?
Nah, must have misread it ………
I can’t believe Cardiff are to appoint Ole Gooner Solskjaer as manager.
They could have gone for Phil Brown and would then have had the perfect partnership of Vincent Tan and Fake Tan. 😉
Many happy returns, Impec.
I know we are well stocked with midfielders but Mata looks absolutely fed up with his lot at Chav$ki.
Would hate the Mancs to tempt him oop Narth and revitalise him.
I’m not going to try and guess where / how he would fit into our team, but he is a rare talent and AW did already try to sign him.
Sorry, Happy Birthday Impec 1. 🙂
If AW goes for Mata that spells the end of Tomas. Not that I don’t like Mata, but do we really need to spend money there. I’d rather spend big money on Lukaku. Mourinho won’t sell to us anyway.
The Mancs would be better off tempting Mourinho hahahahaha!!!!!
Trev, Mata would be a great addition, if he can hang in there at the bus-stop in Fulham for one more year we will have real space for him our team.
Arsegonian,
Totally agree. I love Tomas, but others are agreeing that he can’t start two games in a row.
At the moment we are not the same team without Tomas – but in the longer run both he and Arteta are a chunk over thirty in midfield positions. History will tell you that the time to strengthen is when you are on top.
I an NOT saying get rid of either, but Mata has to be interesting.
Sell Santi?
HA hahahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAhahahHEHEHEHOOHOOHOO,
heh heh heh…aha, aha
Ah me. Hooo…
The nice thing about Tomas is he doesn’t expect to start. Can Mata and Ozil coexist? Clearly Arsene loves Ozil as he wouldn’t up the ante on Mata two years ago. Last thing I want is some ex Chav sulking on the bench.
H2H knows – the movement off the ball from ozil into space and the ability of giroud to hold the ball up and lay off was clearly missed tonight and shows why those two are so valuable.
Jack had an ok game but santi would have been a better choice for the playmaker role. To be fair to jack, there was minimal movement for him to feed as our forward play was very static.
Theo worked hard in both attack and defense tonight, which is great to see and all credit to Nic b for simply being hungry to win the game.
We miss a true striker who wants to get to the near post the way RVP used too. We have so many chances begging for a near post hungry striker.
A decent 3 points but not a polished display.
Fine summary Holic.
Again this team demonstrates its belief and tenacity. No heads dropped and they kept plugging away and finally got what they deserved. Another big win. Good to top the first table of the new year.
The keeper did his job superbly.
Monreal had an excellent game and put in lots of great crosses. The rest of the defence were their reliable best and Sagna’s attacking work was top drawer. BFG was desperately unlucky with his two headers.
Feo had one of his best games for us….persistent, willing and seems to have added a few tricks to his game.
MA8 the metronome kept recycling the ball to keep the pressure on. Flamini seemed redundant as Cardiff showed little attacking ambition but as noted above, TR7 couldn’t be expected to start another game so soon – when he came on it was like replacing a flat battery with a new one – the team found yet another gear.
Nice to see LJW back to form – deserved a goal. Santi buzzed big time too and was unlucky to have all his shots blocked or deflected. Sell him?…..what a ridiculous thought.
Poldi needs match time – looked well short of sharpness. Has to lead the line vs LWCs.
Sad for Nic. Great work, great goal, unfortunate injury – just the moment when he could have sealed redemption.
So who knows the hot striker who is available now?
Well done Gunners. Carry on.
@55 Trev … Thr nice thing with Tomas is he doesn’t expect to start. Clearly Arsene like Ozil over Mata as he wouldn’t up the ante on Mata before while going full stop for Ozil. Last thing I want is a sulking ex chav on the bench. I really believe the future of our midefield is a left footed Jack next to right footed Rambo behind Ozil. Obviously neither are ready for that defensive responsibility now. But universality is the buzzword now and both can grow into amazing all rounders. Mouthwatering to think about our attack then ….
congrats to the boyz!
how about getting Wilfried Bony? he put in some shift against ManC today…
Peter I admired Bony’s play today too and thought he would be a good holdup man for us. Probably not so much a contrast to Giroud as another of the same general mold, only a bit quicker.
I think Bony was on a longer drought than the one Giroud ended against the Toon before he scored today.
One reason AW went full bore for Özilla, Arsegonian, is BECAUSE he missed out on Mata by being immoveable on price. He obviously learnt his lesson.
I’m delighted to hear he was brilliant today, just surprised no-one mentioned it in any of the reports. Apparently he was equally brilliant in the other match I missed, against WHU. It must be my timing cos most games I’ve seen him in he’s been ineffective, a shadow of last year in fact. If Maureen was interested in a straight swap, who would you rather have? I always wanted Mata and would prefer him by some distance. I couldn’t advocate buying yet another midfielder, we already have an abundance, so we’d have to sell before going after Mata. But with several underperforming it’s something we should consider.
Dr F … I presume you are referring to my refusal to be sycophantic about Özilla? Let me make it crystal … I think he is the #1 player in the club, with the silky skills and positional play of a DB10. But I worry there may be some truth in the concerns expressed by Ancelotti, Zidane, Perez and others about his attitude. He’s like a chameleon, adapting his play to the rest of the team when I would like to see him upping it in the difficult games. Maybe I’m asking too much of him in his first season. I just expect more from someone who cost us more than the entire Invincibles XI put together.
Öskar
That should have been – I’m delighted to hear CAZORLA was brilliant today…
Öskar
I love the way internet rumours and tabloid gossip become unequivacle facts over time.
Wenger refused to up his price, so we didnt sign Mata. Where’s the evidence for that then? The thing is, my understanding is that the chavs simply offered a shit load more to the club and player, bit like how ManU gazzumped us over Ronaldo.
Given how tight the purse strings have been due to small piddly little Mata’s like erm, paying for a big fuck off world class stadium, its no surprise Wenger couldnt simply match the exhorbitant sums that others unencombered by small insignificant things like having to account for every penny, or even, god forbid baslance the books (The chavs posted yet another multi million pound loss).
Sorry, but I hate this notion that Wenger has somehow changed or “learnt his lesson”. Its bollocks. There is more money available to him now.
Sorry if that seemed a bit harsh, but there’s been aload of guff been chatted on twitter of how AW has “changed” etc etc…
Norris,
That’s how I understood it too.
Norris, knows!
I love this current squad.It always felt to me like we were going to get the result today.We kept grinding them down.What summed it up for me was little Jack shouting for a corner after he smashed the ball off the post.No head in hands or hesitation, just a blinkered hunger to get the job done.
I hope I’m beyond demanding we win all the time.Sometimes fate conspires to knacker the best laid plans etc…
What I would ask is the players always put in a full shift and more importantly, turn the middlesex mob right over.
Top of the league.And now you’re gonna believe us.
Norris knows!!! If I remember correctly, there isn’t even evidence that we bid on Mata at all. It was all rumors. Arsene hasn’t changed. He’s been smarter than any of us all along.
After a tough couple of days I have finally managed to get round to seeing the Sky extended highlights and catching up on the drinks. Good summary Holic and some top comments. Not much really to add. I think most of us saw the same game. The first half lacked urgency. The second saw a battling if a less convincing performance. But they continued to battle and we sit top with a well earned 3 points. After 20 games we are top and still looking impressive. Like everyone, I would happily have taken that if it was offered to me in August. In fact, I would have probably laughed at you.
So, 2014 is here. How do we kick on? The silly season is now upon us. That said I really do hope we can do something. For me we are not clinical enough. As good as the first half of the season has been if we could improve on one thing it would be this. That is to make the opposition keeper work more. For all our possession and silky passing for me we still need a bit more of an end product.
I keep reading about the number 10 position. He is a number 10, he will be a number 10 etc. But what does this actually mean? For me there has never been a better number 10 than the maestro, Mr Bergkamp. The difference for me is that Sir Dennis was always a striker, just someone who enjoyed his best days playing off another forward. Today the number 10 role seems to be more of an attacking midfield role. As much as I love the likes of Özil and co I can’t help but wonder how we would be if we had a striker playing off OG with Özil still buzzing in and around that space between midfield and the strikers??
Whatever happens, for me we need to strengthen. Now I would never wish injury on any player but let’s all be very honest here, who honestly thought back in pre season that come January that we would be all doom and gloom because Nicky B had been injured?? Exactly. We need a striker. Now I would love a top quality, quick goal machine but I’m more than realistic enough to know that they are few and far between. I sincerely hope that those behind the scenes have been Trojanesque in their attempts to identify a suitable addition to the squad. I guess within the next 30 days we will find out? Personally, if there is nothing else available I would take Berbatov as a short term option. I would also take Mata in a heartbeat if he was available. One other Chav surplus to requirements at the bus stop I would certainly consider would be Essien. I would have loved him at Arsenal at his peak. I still think that on that holding role he could do more than a job for us. But if someone really loves me and wants to reward me handsomely then I will wake up in the coming weeks to read that Lewandoski is on his way???? Okay, it is only a dream.
Happy new year holics.
Keep the faith.
Lurky.
Fair play. My thoughts on not so wellbeck to come.
In short: hes bendnter. With fewer goals abit more pace no first touch and a class A manc diver drama queen.
Id rather AW hired 5 new grounds keepers than pay that boy to eear an arsenal shirt.
What about Mario Balotelli? He is clearly unsettled, Milan sucks and could use the money. No matter what you think of him, that lunatic is world class and a battering ram. I’d be willing to gamble that Arsene can get him under control. If we are down to scraping the bottom of the barrel for Berbatov, I know some guy in New York City with some free time. 😉 I’d rather have 6 weeks of him than Berbatov. Cheaper too.
This is what I tweeted after the game:
That NB goal was because AW moved TW to the middle and played with two strikers. Had he not there woulda been nobody to receive SC pass and square to Nacho who crossed.
Bouldie could be seen shouting those instructions(play in the middle as two up front) about two minutes earlier.
Now someone put it into a video – fantastic.
vimeo.com/m/83192531
Champions in May.
Just a thought – City still have to play Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Newcastle, United, and Spurs away…
steve T, there have been a number of examples in recent games where our wingbacks have finally got to the point of putting in a nice cross, but have to stop, look up to see who is available and where they are located. This slows play down and allows the opposition to get back in formation.
we need a true striker who the wingbacks always know will be at the near or far post on a break.
currently, we have OG/Poldi and a host of midfielders all drop back behind the last defensive line on a break for the cutback. This does not work when everybody drops back for the cutback. one or two players should be at the near and far post applying maximum pressure on the keeper and the drawing the backs to mark them, allowing the midfielders space for the cutback.
last night was the same, numerous top quality balls zipped across the face with not an arsenal player in sight of the near post or far post, no one in the keepers face, but plenty of arsenal faces ready for a cut back.
Like it or not, RVP/Rooney/Suarez, Negredo, these predatory types of strikers would have eaten these crosses for breakfast and gone back for more.
what value is gibbs/nacho or bac running up the wings if no one is in the danger zone to capitalise.
the reason Nic B looked dangerous when he came on last night, was simply he was pushing forward, in behind their defense and creating pressure and space for others in behind.
I know arsene loves our team to walk and pass the ball into the net, but when we pass the ball as slow as we did last night in the first half, we look very pedestrian and our moves are easy to read.
A true predatory striker needed indeed and not an old has been part timer, as quoted by some.
we have the money and we have the need.
Snir: Looked to me like theo was already playing as striker in the first half…the team looked much better when he spent a bit more time out wide after the subs…
NBN @ 40: Romario – 5 ft 7 inches, Sergio Aguero – 5 ft 8 inches, David Villa – 5 ft 9 inches. 🙂
This may sound a bit like hyperbole, but I genuinely think that among all of Arsenal’s British players Ox has the brightest future in terms of becoming a world great. Jack and Rambo are very promising as well and I believe both would blossom to be very good players but I think Ox at a very early age has shown a rare combination of strength, technique, flair and intelligence that sets him apart. The directness of his game and the intelligence would suit him very well if he evolves on the path of becoming a striker.
Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes.
Snir @75: Loved that video. However, what I found amazing was the fact that Koscielny was the only player who didn’t touch the ball in the build-up to the goal. 10 out of the 11 Arsenal players were involved in the goal. That typifies why I love this club.
Joga Bonita!!!
Evening, all! A fine summary of the match from the maestro. And others at the bar.
Just a few additional thoughts about the match. There has been a lot of praise about Jack’s performance today, and indeed in the second half he lived up to his reputation. But in the first half I thought he was very average, similar to what we’ve seen the past few matches with poor decisions and wayward passing. I hope by his second half performance he has shaken off the cobwebs and is back on track to being the next Ramsey!
Now as much as I love Arteta and the Flamster, in a match like today I think starting both really throws us off our attack. Cardiff came into the match playing for a draw, and didn’t offer much moving forward. And with Arteta and Flamini providing the transition from defense to the attack, it allowed Cardiff to get 9 players behind the ball before we had moved into the final third. Because of the way the two of them play the ball, we are simply not moving the ball forward quickly enough to attack like we were earlier in the season. I think the evidence was in the change of our play once Rozza came on. I would really like to see a pacey, technically gifted defensive/holding midfielder at Arsenal, similar to Yaya Toure. Pogba anyone?
As frustrating as Nicky B can be, I thought he was excellent today, showing a great touch, lots of energy, and of course a nice finish. Hope the injury isn’t too serious and he is back on the pitch soon.
As for a new striker this month? Don’t see it happening. Just not sure if there is anyone out there who is available and will fit in with the current squad. And I would like Arsene to save his pennies and go for someone like Reus this summer. I wonder if Akpom might get some opportunities in the next couple of weeks. I thought he was excellent in the pre-season, showing a nice touch, strength, pace, and composure in front of the goal.
In any case, still top of the table!!
Oh, and a belated happy birthday to Impec1 and Jack!!
Doctor F, totally agree. In this case, size doesn’t matter!
I still rue not being able to pick up Villa last January (and apparently so does he). I think either Ox or Ramsey could play striker if needed. Heck, Ramsey has played every other position this season! And if he does play striker this season, I want to see him run back late in a match before an Arsenal corner, trade jerseys with Chez, grab his mitts, and stand in goal. And let Chez go for a header off the corner!
Dr F@79: Fair point but all of them more second strikers than out and out leaders of the line. And Messi is only 5’7″, too.
Completely unrelated, having watched Snir’s video link, I was reminded how inaccurate our shooting was today. The goal came from one of our rare strikes on target. Marshall had to make a save from which TGSTEL got a rebound. Not a lot of rebounds to be had when the ball is sailing out for a goal kick.
I also don’t think AW has changed his transfer philosophy. He only buys those he thinks will improve the squad or can be developed into players who will do do. He doesn’t believe a big price tag necessarily means big talent, and he won’t spend just for the sake of spending. Nor will he pay silly money for anyone. He also sticks to his budget. As noted earlier in the drinks, that budget is probably bigger now than it has ever been.
Dr F, one short second striker I definitely wouldn’t mind signing is 5’8″ David Silva (not that there is any indication he would be available.) Would cost at least £30 million but would be worth every penny.
ECG, this is how to do it. Keeper scores 95th minute equalizer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qFgWKOe2oI
Miyaichi is tall and fast and can shoot…all he needs is to eat a lot more KFC and he’s good to go as makeshift striker!
NBN, nice!
But more importantly, what would Chez’s reaction be? Some crazy Polish, night club dance move? A primal scream to the gods of football? Or a sprint around the pitch like Henry after his Leeds goal?
Okay, last thought for the evening (maybe).
Although I don’t think we will buy a striker in January, I would like Wenger to make a 60mil+1 bid for Suarez (just to see Brenda’s head explode), make an offer of regular playing time on a CL team to Lukaku (same reason except Maureen’s head), and make outrageous bids on all the Manure forwards except for RVP, just because I think it would be funny.
£30 mil for Villa, NBN?? He only cost £4.2 mil when Atletico Madrid signed him from Barca, and at 32 his price isn’t going to be increasing much. I had him in mind when suggesting others but didn’t think there was much point seeing as he’s still in the CL with AM. As is Costa of course, but he would be for long term value.
Ideally we should sign someone who isn’t CL Cup-tied, or we’d be really stuffed in that event every time OG is out.
Öskar
You’re right, NÖrris, it’s not a case of AW ‘learning a lesson’, that idea is insulting to him. But there’s evidence to suggest he was, for a long time, slow to recognise how permanently the transfer bar had been raised by the olig/arabs, and what it would nowtake to compete. I think he really wanted Mata and was miffed to miss out on him. Whether that had anything to do with his pursuit of Özilla way beyond any level we dreamed he would go to is something I look forward to reading about when he publishes his memoirs. The chapter on Higuain, Özil and the summer 2013 transfer window should be illuminating.
Öskar
Re: the striker thing, if Utd continue the way they’re going I think there’s a real chance we may be able to pick up Rooney this summer.
If they finish outside the top four, which looks quite plausible as of the time of writing, they will have to sell WR: he will have a year left on his deal (which he shows zero sign of renewing) and their leverage will be even worse than ours was the summer after last.
Chelsea will presumably make an offer (£25-30m probably the market value), but I’d gamble that Utd simply cannot afford to sell to the Chavs and we might emerge as the lesser of two evils; it’ll be easier to sell to us and save face.
Obviously, Rooney is a bellend. But he’s also a potential 30 goal a season centre forward who can also play on the wing, which is presumably exactly what we’re after.
All pure speculation right now, but I would certainly like to see us make a bid for him if Utd finish fifth or lower.
Sorry, should read “the summer before last”.
Re Bendtner’s injury – just to put the record straight, according to the manager, the player himself told AW that he landed on Marshall, not the other way around. Can’t stand all this scapegoating.
Strikers – why is no-one talking about Benik Afobe and Chuba Akpom? They may be young and inexperienced at this level but they know the Arsenal way and they’ll give a whole lot more than an over-the-hill Bulgarian. As a stop-gap, they’re worth the risk. We only have Totts in the FA Cup and then a 9 day gap before Villa, when hopefully Giroud will be back. The Bulgarian rumour is just fashionable at the moment – it’ll be that Rumanien in Spain tomorrow – the Sun will write anything – they are click-whores.
I second ECG@89.
Just a little addition to my@94, I’m not suggesting the two academy players as a long-term solution (unless of course one of them surprises us) – still think we need to get someone in but whoever it is has to be top-class, a good work ethic and not CL cup-tied (not many of them around). Berbatov fails on two out of three.
ECG@81 I would really like to see a pacey, technically gifted defensive/holding midfielder at Arsenal, similar to Yaya Toure. Pogba anyone?
I second this too.
It’s the New Year, everyone is feeling optimistic, and we’re all dreaming (not just SteveT) of that headline-busting January signing, even though we all know it’s not likely to happen. But we need more than a striker. We need another CB back-up, a defensive midfielder with strength, pace and chutzpah and (maybe) a right-back.
If we strengthen in one of those departments, I’ll be a happy bunny – still nervous, but happy.
On the goalkeeping front, it’s interesting that Fabianski is still holding the bench position from Viviano.
Good to see that Martinez is getting playing time up in Sheffield, even though he’s playing behind what looks like a dodgy defence. Let’s not forget that Woj was on loan at Brentford before making the No.1 shirt his.
@90 Oskar
NBN mentioned David Silva, not David Villa.
Ahh Sleep deprivation, my old friend…
At least I managed to torrent the Thierry Henry documentary, worthwhile staying up in the end 🙂
It seems like I’ve managed to score, tired as I am 😛
Thanks for the assist Lurky my old strike partner 😉
You’re welcome Wind. Good partnership never gets old. 🙂
dk – just to make whole injury thing to Bendy clear, keeper really did land on his ankle http://i.imgur.com/UvhPK72.jpg its not like anyone is saying it was done on purpose, just really unfortunate thing to happen.
Winning yesterday and being on the top of the league was already highly satisfying but we received an additional bonus of karma finally visiting Old Toilet as well. Loris’ lunge on Young was as clear cut a penalty as you get but nothing given by a certain H.Webb. Not only did Young’s propensity for diving finally catch up with him but Moyes rage afterwards was a realisation that if Sir Fungusface was still in charge, it would have been given without hesitation and Loris red carded. He is just not up to it!
On an aside, Loris seems to charge out of his area to tackle on rushing forwards quite regularly and seems to have got the benefit of the doubt on several occasions. He may be brave but I think he is a red card waiting to happen.
Ah well in Wind and also doubling up with the glory position. Btw, lots of wind & water down in Devon at the moment.
Eändy@103 – thanks for that – not noticeable on the videos at all. Looks very painful.
jack in the second was the jack we all hope he turns out to be, took it upon himself to change the game and that pass to theo was ala ozil. he is so good that he infuriates at times wasting his time on trying to get into a muddle, the naughtiness needs to go, a mature jack is a world beater.
Sell Cazorla??????????????????????? good bye good night, talk to me when you are somber and then i will say take a hike, he is class, we are so lucky to have him and ozil play at the same time for us.
We do need a striker and if not anyone i am ok with berba to but can we have lavezzi instead, he is a class act and so is mata, mata is someone who should have been 2 years back, well he is more than welcomeeven now
@94 dkg – I too had been wondering about Benik and Chuba. Neither seems to feature in training pics and they both seem to be flying way below the radar. Benik’s injury really set him back, he looked to be on the verge of first team games just before it happened. Chuba looked good on the Asian tour but I suspect from there to Prem League may be too big a leap. Also, I don’t recall either even making it to the bench this season?
@66 – Norris : Spot on. Buy that man a drink.
Hehs @ Trev.
Nice vid that Snir, love The Flamsters reaction on the bench.
Somehow I don’t think Berbatov would be right for us…seems quite a sour person, and not sure the fit would fit…
Also, Chicharito is not very good at position awareness…so let’s not get him please
I guess its time to give up hope on Sanogo eh? If Arsene said it was a gamble to begin with obviously he himself is resigned to it…
I will always love Cazorla because, well, he is cute and for that super super banging goal against Suarez FC at home this season…and also for the fact that he is one of the few who attempt banging strikes from distance…I suspect Poldi also likes to do that, and we need this type of movement more often…can’t always be around the box tipppy tappy
First signing of January is the England captain.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25471948
Does anyone know how long Bendtner has left on his contract ?
6 months. Free to sign for someone else now.
Thanks Bath. I wonder if Le Prof is considering offering him a new contract ?
Chris,
I’d be extreamly surprised, read, totaly and utterly flaberghastingly gobsmacked if he was even considering such a thing.
And that’s putting it mildly. 😉
Baff, free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club. Not completely free as such. Sounded like Wenger was hinting yesterday that he’d like to offer him a new contract, but I don’t think so; little bit too much water under the bridge for that, I think.
Thanks for clarifying my response Esso. That’s what I meant but didn’t spell out.
I agree about the water and bridge too.
I agree that it’s unlikely, although if AW wants him to see the season out is it not within the bounds of probability ?
here is a sentence I love to read, in an article I find hilarious on many levels: “Moyes insisted the defeat, which leaves United 11 points behind league leaders Arsenal…”
http://m.espn.go.com/soccer/story?storyId=1668434§ion=soccernetfrontpage-us
To “see the season out” would indeed not be a shock as he is still under contract.
I cant say I’m a fan of the silly season, I know it’s all part and parcel of the game today, but man what a load of bollox. The worst thing about it, for me, is that it turns usually rational thinking persons into gullible gurties, frenzied media watchers foaming at the mouth as they’re willingly spoonfed total nonsense, like tasteless greul from a Charles Dickens novel and not unlike the proverbial Oliver, all come back with bowl in hand enquiring; “please sir, can I have some more?”.
Papers have to be sold and websites need to be clicked, I get that, but is there any greater oxymoron in the English language then CaughtOffside understands……… ?
A quick broowse today will find us linked with Chicarito, based purely on the fact that we, according to all media outlets, are in desperate need of a striker and Little Pea(nus) is a striker. Forget the fact that he has shown no desire to leave, or is under contract at a main rival (insert joke here) who have not made any inclination that he would be available for transfer and you then see that this is a 1 plus 1 equals green situation.
Elsewhere we are linked with Loic Remy solely on the “evidence” that he has alledgedly stated that he may, or may not return to Loftus Rd after his loan deal expires, well, stop the press!!!! I’m not really sure how he not going back to QPR in the summer is supposed to help us sort out our striker crisis (their words, not mine) for this current season, but again, it fills inches and gets tongues a wagging.
The last one, I’ve seen today, is the mooted Berbatov move. Now, on the surface, this one seems the most believable. He’s (alledgedly) not really happy there, is in the final throws of his deal, is a proven PL scorer, not cuptied fof the CL and would be available at a pretty reasonable price, supposedly around the 2 mill mark. So it’s nailed on, a done deal…. Right?
Well no, wrong.
Forget the fact that he is ex manure and a LWC, a winning goal in an important match or two and the crowd would soon be won over, fickle bunch that we are. 😉
However, from our point of view, would he fit in our close knit squad? He’s always been known as a loner and an egotistical charachter. How would that gel with the current good chemistry we have? What about his age, would AW want to take a gamble on a 30 pluser? He did it with Sylvestre and we all know how well that went.
Plus has anyone even stopped to consider what the player in question might want? He was quoted as unhappy under Jol, well he’s gone. The current guy, Meulensteen, is a manager/trainer that he has a history with as they worked together at the Old Toilet, his form certainly seems to have improved under him, maybe he’ll stay put. He’d be guarenteed top dog at the cottage, at us, a bit player/impact sub at best. Isn’t that why he departed Manure in the first place?
As we’ve been constantly told, he is in the last six months of his contract, so Fulham may be willing to cash in, but again, what does the player himself think? Over a few short months he will be a free agent, therefor be able to leave on a Bosman and negoiate himself a nice little signing on fee in addition to his wages. What will he get at us? I can’t imagine he’ll struggle to find a new home, if not in the PL then Im sure there will be enough suitors abroad for his signature.
Done deal? Not by a long shot.
H2H knows@122.
I’m with H2H. I like NB52 but we’d be barking mad to offer him a new deal given history and the cash he’d want. Wish him well and reckon he may yet become a player, but we need to part ways in June.
Lots of smoke around a loan deal for Morata. That would look pretty smart to me.
H2H….spot on re the whole transfer malarkey…really well put.
N7 re NB52 if you back view the past few years , it has been a shambles from continual bad behaviour, mis-judged self importance , injury / accident prone and not really a top level striker. Let him go at the end of the contract and we can all move on….like most of the current team have now done. Assuming he recovers from his injury sooner rather than later, he can still be a back up for OG12. I would like to think he would also try to perform when selected in order to interest his future suitors.
Me too, as regards h2h knows.
Also, in the event that we don’t sign a striker, stand by for the rush of “Winter 2014 transfer window a shambles” headlines/postings.
The great thing about such headlines is that they are so flexible, they can be dusted off (not that they’ll have collected much) in the event that we do sign someone who fails to score in his first 15-minute substitute appearance, or if we sign someone who gets injured within, say, six weeks of joining. Best of all they can be employed in the event that we sit atop the premier league table for the fourth consecutive month.
Speaking of shambles, remember a year or two ago when Gibbs was injured around Jan 28? We ran out and bought someone really late in the window. What was his name again? Some kind of snack food wan’t it? Oh yes, I remember, Nacho Monreal.
Arsène knows (better than I do).
COYG
H2H
Wise words. Not sure I believe any of the guff but would accept Berbatov as he brings class and experience things we will need over the next five months from any addition. Chelsea will never sell to us.
I know that on youtube even Denilson looks great, but, take a look at this young fella from Sporting. William Carvalho is his name and this is a video only from the derby game vs Porto.
I really like what I saw. Not a striker we are desperate for, but a holding midfielder we might need in a year or two. Very calm and talented player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CI_li34iio
Berbatovs a lazy ex Scum x 2 wankpot,wouldn’t want him anywhere near the club plus he will guzzle wages for 6 months then be no use no one come the summer ! Moratta now that’s a different kettle of fish that boys class if we could get him with a buy option it will be Xmas day all over again 😉
Chippy knows.
After looking at the fixture list last night I have one conclusion:
It’s Chelsea’s title to lose.
They are our main rivals for the league and not City.
City have Newcastle, Spurs, Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, and United all away from home.
Chelsea only have City and Liverpool away.
Lurky @ 128,
Very young Gilberto in style – Win it and lay it off no fuss no bother just in the right place at the right time to make others look good ! As you so rightly say tho, id look good on you tube.
Bath @ 130
Phew its not just me then 🙂
Why would we want to offer a contract to bendtner??? what has he done worthy to merit a contract??? 2 goals??? come on, let him walk of free end of the season, atleast we can extract something back something from the player we have paid free lunch for from a long time. We should have flogged him but desperate measures meant we have to hold on to him, oh lord
Looks to me like it’s Morata we will get this winter. I’d be happy with that.
@131Snir,
That doesn’t mean absolutely nothing.
It is true that Chelsea have the best fixtures at home vs the top eight. But they have very nasty matches away from home vs the teams that will fight for survival.
They’ve lost points against Stoke away from home, so they can lost against anyone away from home.
No one really knows who’s title is to lose this year. However one thing I am sure of is that it will be a fight till the very end.
Chelsea’s title to lose ?
I believe WE are top of the league.
Not like you to be less than positive, Snir. 😉
I have heard a little Morata whisper too – nothing too cast iron though.
Surprise, surprise.
I haven’t heard much about Morata except that RM don’t want to sell, so he must be okay. My question is does he bring that much more to the team than the players that we already have?
Trev – I wrote on fb in July that we’re gonna win the league. So I am very positive 🙂
When I say it’s theirs to lose it’s because their run in is much more favorable and leaves us with a smaller margin of error.
While we are very strong away from home vs the lesser teams I don’t think we’ll win every single away game, which means we’ll need the others to drop points.
Chelsea have Hull, City, WBA, Fulham, Villa, Palace, Swansea, Liverpool, and Cardiff away from home.
That is a lot easier than our renaming away fixtures which include Everton, Spurs, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
We should be fine if we don’t slip up too much but a look at the fixture list tells me that our main rival for the league is Chelsea and not City.
Lurky – it means a lot. City’s odds to get a win away to Everton are less than Chelsea’s to beat Everton at the bridge.
We shouldn’t settle for anything but the best so if it ain’t Alastair Hurrah I’m not interested!
ECG @138 He’s a striker….. we already have a few. He’s a fit striker…… we have none of those (given that Poldi is looking very not match fit.
Bath, you want fit strikers?!?! You gooners are so demanding! 🙂
We are. We have been spoilt rotten, ECG.
hey, morata whisperers, is this straight purchase or loan you’re hearing in the wind?
lars, i guess you’d should “hurrah” if we got morata, then…in protest or joy?
Have we bought anyone yet??????
Can we put a bid in for Howard Webb? He seems to have upset a few people in manc land.
Released from the terror of Ferguscum, Steve T.
Does anyone think for one moment that Webb would have denied that penalty if Slur Alex was still around ?
Any truth to the rumor that Ade and RVP will be the only entrants in a public bathroom floor licking contest at halftime, with the loser to be drawn and quartered? If so I propose that we rig the contest now so that it ends in a draw, at which point both are declared the loser with punishment to be shared.
Steve T. Maybe Howard Webb’s first duty can be to referee this contest? 😉
Trev@148: I’ve been thinking the same. No way that is not a penalty if Sir Rednose had still been managing them.
scruz: like I said, it’s Alastair Hurrah or no one (and no, that’s not Noone who plays for Cardiff…).
On a more serious note I know absolutley nothing about Morata so I don’t have an opinion on him.
Guess Berbatov it is.
https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=560081204081277&id=499594030129995&set=a.499596196796445.1073741828.499594030129995&source=46&refid=17
This is from Sanogo’s official FB saying welcome to Berbatov.
Otd: Silva, not Villa would cost north of £30 million. (Tks, Lurky, for stepping in on my behalf earlier.)
My apologies, NBN, Silva it was. You were talking about short strikers and, well, Silva isn’t a striker, he’s MF, which is why my tired eye assumed ‘Villa’.
And a very classy MF. In fact in some earlier drinks round I rated the three similar Spanish guys in this order … 1) Silva, 2) Mata and 3) Cazorla. I see no reason to change that hierarchy now. But Silva isn’t available as far as I know. And Mata is, according to Maureen today, although he claims he doesn’t want him to go.
It’s not that I don’t like Cazorla, although I have reservations. But we have an abundance of midfielders so it’s logical that we should sell if contemplating buying another one and I prefer most of them ahead of him – especially Theo, Rambo, Ox, TR7, Jack, Gnu, Zel, Mikel, Flam … I mean, how many do we need?
Again, my apologies. I should have known you wouldn’t have made such a mistake.
Öskar
Glad Bendy finally turned it around after all of the theatrics over the past couple of years. Maybe he is finally maturing and realizes that he isn’t among the top strikers in the world….maybe he is just playing for the next contract. Nevertheless, when we have played him upfront instead of the wing (3-4 years ago) he has done pretty good for us sans the gimme he missed at Barca in the CL. Hope he makes a full recovery and can come back and contribute positively to our run. Like to see a physical presence upfront that can hold the ball up and head it in when Giroud is out.
Ah, silly season has started….I will do my best to NOT go to NewsNow as the result will be me sitting here for hours reading stories that have been made-up to get traffic.
One match at a time. Thump the Spuds!!
bngedo doesn’t know.
The Sp*ds are there to be mashed.
COYG and ‘night All.
…and Pangloss can’t spell. Should have been bmgedo.
That link is now down Snir. Are you happy it was genuine???
Here’s how the link looked. No idea if the Sanogo account is genuine, and could have been an error even if so.
https://twitter.com/ffarsenal/status/418893899692662784
Frankly I can’t really see him as the type of forward we need. We already have Park.
steve t, apparently it was also on berbatov’s fb page for a while. what that means, i don’t know…
17:15 kickoff this Saturday can mean only one thing. Plenty of time for drinking before the game.
Bath knows!
8 ball, 17:15 kickoff? That’s 9:15 over here on the west coast of the new world. You are correct sir, plenty of time for drinking!
ECG. Beer for breakfast? Make sure to eat your Wheaties. 🙂
Would be around 2:15 am over here.
Plenty time to drink some Irish coffee I think 🙂
irish coffee, bt8b. with lots of irish. solids are for sissies.
btw, ecg, welcome to the west coasters club. we’ve got pik, norcal, arsegonian, and a couple of others. do stop by during the game on saturday, there’s usually a good crowd cheering on the lads!
cör knows.
Sanogo’s FB is genuine. It is linked on his twitter account which is verified with the blue tick.
Bt8b, if I start with a hefeweizen will that cover both bases?
Thanks, scruz! I usually watch the matches at the local pub (the owner is a gooner). So it may take me awhile to coordinate watching the match, beer, and visiting the bar via my iphone, but I will do my best to stop by on Saturday!
Snir, somewhere I read that somehow the Sun report about Berb was uploaded to his FB account accidentally, which is where Sanogo saw it.
ECG – Fulham are saying that the FB account is not run by Berbatov, which it is.
It is certainly an odd one.
I have never seen a player post transfer news about himself.
The closest I’ve ever seen is Vela retweeting a Sky Sports News article about Chicharito considering his options at United.
Does seem odd. Closest thing I can think of is Odemwingie making the drive to Loftus Road. Which still make me laugh.
I’m looking at the fixture list and thinking of the run in and I must say I’m even more confident we’ll win it.
While we do have a torrid time between 8 Feb. and 12 April we do have rather simple (or more simple if you’d like) away fixtures against the lesser sides.
We’ve got:
Villa
S’oton
Liverpool
Stoke
Spurs
Chelsea
Everton
Hull
Norwich
We should beat Villa, Stoke, Hull, and Norwich, and get at least a point at St. Mary’s.
That would give us 13 points which would give us 58.
At home we’ve got:
Fulham
Palace
Man U
Sunderland
Swansea
City
West Ham
Newcastle
WBA
We should beat Fulham, Palace, Sunderland, Swansea, West Ham, Newcastle, and WBA.
That would give us 21 points to add to our 58 which would give us 79.
That means we need around 9 points from Man U, City at home and Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea, and Everton away.
Obviously this is conjecture and it’s not exact science and we might slip up in every game of the remaining 18 fixtures.
But while that is true, I evaluate our team and our defense is extremely solid. Too solid to conceded stupid goals to cost us points against the lesser team, whether it’s away or at home.
We’ve conceded the least in the Prem, including 6 at City, 3 to Taylor, 1 against Fulham and Swansea each when the game was done and dusted.
Add that to the fact that we’ve NEVER lost a PL game with the Sagna, BFG, Kos, Gibbs back 4 completing 90 minutes and haven’t lost since Jan 2012 with BFG and Kos completing 90 minutes and you’ll see why I’m that confident about our chances against the lesser teams.
With the lesser teams it is more about individual mistakes rather than a deeper issue, like Woj spilling Nolan’s shot. And while in the past we used to lead the league in goals conceded on goals by individual errors, we have cut that out significantly.
Champions in May.
Otd: we’re good. No apology needed. A drink on the bar for you. Several if Lars and his wallet are in attendance.
Snir, with you on the run in. Our last five games are WHU, Hull, Newcastle, West Brom and Norwich. We should be able to get 15 points from those. Strong finish. I suspect we’ll be no more than a point or two ahead of the pack going into those final five games and much the same at the end of them.
I read that too ECG, but apparently Sanogo deleted his post welcoming Berbatov. This means one out of two things: 1) The deal’s actually on or 2) Sanogo realised the error in Berbatov’s accidental posting and so deleted his post to save face.
so we finished the first 19 games at 13-3-3. according to 7amkickoff.com, we’ve played half our games against the top 6, and have as many remaining at home as oil city (1, against them).
assuming we get through those with as many points as we made in the first half, we will match chelsea and lose four relative to oil city. given city’s away form, and the fact they played one more home match in the first half than we did, i’d expect them to drop at least as many points as they did in the first half.
let’s say those cancel out, and we double our points total…we still win the league by a point or two. that’s why our winning as many of the remaining games against the bottom 14 teams is so important. our two losses against bottom 14 teams were not games where we played *badly*, and our defense has improved markedly as the season has gone on, especially against the lower tier clubs; I don’t expect us to drop points, or many…and I think this is where we will win the league.
It is -16 degree celsius (without the windchill) out here in Boston, went out for a walk in the nearly deserted city streets. Snow has been steadily accumulating but the blizzard tonight would make things really interesting later in the day.
Fellow gooners in North-East of US, stay safe and warm.
SG @ 171: I love your confidence! 🙂
I am equally positive, but that positivity is merely a combination of general outlook and an intuitive sense about the solidity and attitude of this team. In terms of just qualitative comparison of sides, especially squad depth, Man City really should be winning the league by a canter, but we have shown great resilience and intelligence — Arsene seems reinvigorated in terms of tactical nous and subtleties, and there is now a quiet confidence in his demeanor which is reflective of the team’s calmness and in turn feeds the team’s self-belief — and as you said if we arrive at the last month or so with our position intact at the top of thereabout I trust this side to be able to sustain a run.
The trick really is to manage the three campaigns intelligently and pragmatically. And I am predicting a key leadership role in the attacking third from TR7 in terms of controlling important matches.
After reviewing various comments and taking careful consideration of easy of use, aesthetics, and popular trends, I’ve decided the capitalization of ecg (i.e. ECG) is annoying, and have formally changed my name to the above. Those at the bar can simply refer to me as, “ecg”
The management thanks you for your patience.
Doctor F, first and foremost I hope you remain warm and safe, along with everyone else on the East Coast.
I think you have nailed it on our recent success. Others may have buckets of high profile players purchased on credit cards, but Arsenal have a team of players and Arsene Wenger.
For me the leadership of the senior players has been huge in turning around the attitude of the team, with the BFG, the Flamster, and Sagna showing the passion and drive to win. And did you notice TR7 yelling at his teammates after he came on the pitch on Wednesday?
I don’t know whether we will win the league, or any other trophy, but I love the unselfish attitude and the team focus of our boys, and am proud as I’ve ever been to be a gooner.
Faustus – I know it’s a consensus City’s squad depth should make them favorites for the title, but I don’t think it as strong as people make out.
They have horrible problems at CB with Kompany and Nastasic being injury prone and Demichelis being absolutely useless. Lescott looks like he’s going on loan.
Their LBs are a defensive liability. Clichy and Kolarov both are exposed time and again.
The only players I have time for in their defense are Zabaleta and Kompany.
Also, I don’t think Garcia is good enough, and I’m not as convinced by Fernandinho as others.
While they do have fantastic depth in attack, their defense can’t stop shipping goals (as opposed to Chelsea who are tightening up).
I think that the fact that they played 6 games out of 7 against the top 8 at the Etihad is making City look a lot more formidable than they really are. The reason they’re being talked about as this strong is because it is a belief that they’re getting away form straightened and that they should improve their away form as the season goes on.
Problem is no one is looking at their away fixtures.
They have:
Newcastle
Spurs
Norwich
United
Hull
Arsenal
Liverpool
Palace
Everton
I wouldn’t back them to get even 20 points.
Maximum I see them getting is win against Palace, Hull, and Norwich.
I wouldn’t be surprised with them losing points at 6 (!!!!) away games out of 18 remaining games, and perhaps losing points vs. Chelsea at home.
That’s 7 games from 18 remaining.
That’s why I think Chelsea are our main rivals.
Snir, your argument is a logical one, and although I may not agree with you completely on the weakness of Man City, I agree they are likely to struggle with some of their remaining away matches.
However, I refuse to agree with your conclusion that the Blue Russians are our main rivals. Because that would mean acknowledging there is something positive about that group of overpaid c*nts. And as long as Maureen aka The Whiny One is a the helm, there will never be anything positive about that “team”.
I vote for Liver Poo. 🙂
Jeez, I wish I could be as sure how we’ll in our next game, never mind the rest of the season!
At this point I’m quietly confident we’ll make top 4, but I’ve seen too many false dawns to talk about winning the thing. For a start we have no idea who will buy whom in January. It’s not beyond the russkis or oily ones to buy a whole new team ffs.
One week at a time will do me.
Öskar
Oskar – At the same time you’ve seen title winning sides.
False dawns only have a bearing if it’s the same players.
The last time we were in the title race our starting 11 included: Woj, Sagna, Kos, and JW. We also had TW and Rosicky. Ramsey made his debut in March at OT in the FA Cup.
It’s a completely different team.
A team who has finished strong in the last two years as opposed to previous groupings.
If anything, this team should give you confidence that this time there WON’T be a false dawn since they’ve been this good in the run in in 11-12 and 12-13.
One game at a time is great, but I can’t help but be impressed by our new-found solidity and go into every game extremely confident that we’ll at least (!) be solid at the back. Solid enough to give us a platform to win if we manage to score.
And it doesn’t really matter who will buy who in January because no matter who the other clubs buy there is no chance in a million years that Chelsea win all their games against the other teams in the top 8, and there is no way in a million years that City will win all six away games against the top 8 (bar Chelsea).
The difference it can make is make them more consistent against the lesser sides, but that’s something we already are. We don’t drop points there so all’s good 🙂
I totally agree with Snir’s appraisal of the City squad.
And I would also add that, for all their much vaunted depth, their bench at Swansea the other day comprised the following: Pantilimon (flapper), Nastasic (difficult second season), Clichy (Clichy), Garcia (not all that), Rodwell (ha ha), Lescott (ha ha ha), Boyata (who?) and Milner (decent player).
For all the cash spent, it’s not exactly a crew of world beaters.
They may yet win the league at a canter, but I totally agree with Snir that the defence is mediocre and Fernandinho is unconvincing as a midfield anchor. Even while they were turning us over I thought there were encouraging signs that they cannot really defend. Despite the 6 goals they stuck past us they’ve still shipped 23 goals to our 18 and Snir is spot on that the fixtures so far hand played to their home form. They still have a lot to do, and a manager with no experience of a Premier League title race.
Chelsea, on the other hand, seem to be moving up the gears and are starting to keep clean sheets. They have also reportedly just had a £50m bid for Higuain rejected. They’re the ones to watch, for me.
Not writing off City, of course. Just pointing out that the press have all but handed them the trophy and I think that judgement is premature.
As far as our chances, the run from end March to early April makes me very, very nervous. LWCs away. Chelsea away. City home. Everton away. Realistically, we are going to drop points across those four games, so we need a bit of a cushion heading into them.
Should be a great run in. All I ask is that we give it our all and fight to the very end.
COYG
N7 – Bear in mind that when talking about the fixtures we have left I didn’t even include the games you mentioned (Spurs, Chelsea, City, Everton).
If all goes well with the lesser teams we only need 9 points to get to 88 from 18 points available from those four fixtures you mentioned and Liverpool away and United at home.
Certainly doable.
All we need to make sure of is that we don’t slip up against the lesser teams, and I think we’re capable of that.
All this talk of Alastar Hurrah, surely Bevin should be our principal focus at this time. Expensive for sure, but damn, do we want this title or not ?
Nail Head Hit
“Should be a great run in. All I ask is that we give it our all and fight to the very end”
For those asking about Moratta, Hes Strong, Quick, Well built at over 6ft, has a great eye for goal and will in time be Super Super Super Quality.
Im not massive on reserve and youth scoring records as they are often misleading but hes got some pretty remarkable stats for Spain Last year won the under 21 Euros finishing top scorer and has scored 12 in 11 games at that level – Two years previous for the under 19s again they won it with him being top scorer.
He needs to work on his link up play but so do most players at that age and hes far ahead of most on that. All in all hes good 🙂
Saying all that cannot believe Madrid would let him go as hes seen as the golden boy of that generation then again they let Ozil go 🙂
Chippy – I suppose if Arsene is even interested in Morata (who knows with him), it would be loan with the option to buy at the end of the season.
Which of course RM will not want to do, I suppose they might be open to loan him out for him to gain more experience and flourish, but would be very surprised if they agreed to buy out clause.
But then again, we might not be even interested and all this talk about Morata is just wishful thinking.
I really hope we do not sign Berba-doh, not that he does not posses some football qualities we might use, but I dont want to see him anywhere near our dressing room.
It sounds like Arsene feels the same way about Berbatov as Chippy does.
Now let’s seal the deal on Costa.
Morning all,
Two things of importance this morning:
1) Juan Mata is clearly up for grabs at Chav$ki if we really want him. The questions are, a) do we really want him, and b) would the Chavs sell to us.
I have absolutely not the faintest scooby-doo as to the answers.
2) I am sure it will be a huge relief to Holics around the globe that I have decided to leave my moniker completely unchanged.
I did consider doing an ” ECG ” and converting entirely to lower case, but as the iPad defaults the initial “T” to upper case, I cannot be arsed to fiddle around in order to effect the conversion.
I cannot keep up with all the name changes as it is – the Arsegones, sounds like a fault on a pair of trousers; the diminution of ECG to a mere “ecg” – and while I can remember my own name, I will leave well alone.
Finally, have we signed anyone yet, and do they still have the same name as yesterday – just so I can recognise them when they run out onto the pitch ? 😉
Finally finally,
Where is cba, or CBA, or bac, or bca, or abc, or …… sod it
Happy New Year anyway, mate. 😉
chrisgooner,
Forget Bevin. He never existed. It was all a ruse to get Tottenham to waste another £25 million before they realised. 😉
Eandy, Chippy,
Whilst recognising his talents, I feel the same way about Rooney as you do about Berbatov.
The pie muncher is injured again apparently – groin strain – which is not an unusual occurrence for him of late.
Let’s have a new broom please, not some over-sized refurbished bog brush, who wouldn’t want to be here anyway.
Morning bath, beth, both ? 😉
I reckon we should sign Berbatov tonight and then spend the entire NLD warming him up in front of the Spuds fans, without ever actually bringing him on.
Then give him a free transfer on Monday. He’ll still have done more for us than Soldado has for them.
🙂
Beer for breakfast?
Well it is he most important meal of the day.
Lobs a hopeful ball upfield…
Heads the ball down despite being wrestled by an opponent, and the referee plays the advantage…
Ozil-style perfect chipped ball onto the head of…
Bang?
In honour of tabs.
Well in Pangloss. Couldn’t miss, mind – that through ball put it on a plate!
Well in H2H for the glory position.
I’m with Trev, I’ve been around these parts for quite a while now (It all used to be fields you know) and I too sometimes have difficulty remembering who’s changed into who.
At least when Dr Who regenerates he keeps his name. 😉
I see it’s cold in the NE US – I’m on my way from Brisbane to Melbourne, moving the family for a new job. We stopped in Narrabri in New South Wales tonight, it was still 43 degrees Celsius at 8pm! 47 degrees earlier in the day on the road. I’ve never known it hotter. Hope the motel in Parkes tomorrow night has all the cable channels so I can see the game.
Snir, it is great to have you back commenting regularly.
If we can sign Alastair Hurrah the League is ours!
GAWMI69. Best of luck on your move, new job, and seeing the game tomorrow night, not to mention surviving the that.
Thanks bt8bbgfg.
I haven’t changed my name but it is GAWMi69 not GAWMI69!
Thanks N7, it was indeed a beautiful cross. My first ever headed goal, I believe.
Well in, Pangloss, for the double ton.
I’m also with Trev on names — resolutely old-school initial capitalization for proper names and all upper case for initials. nbn just doesn’t have the heft of NBN, not to mention that the spell checker wants to change it to nun.
Pictures from the club site of Ozil training this morning, which suggests he may start tomorrow.
Interested to see if Zelalem gets game time. I suspect Arsene will be wanting to give him some minutes in the next month before we hit the business end of the season.
Gilberto Silva also apparently training with the squad.
8ball – Didn’t “the that” use to call themselves “the the”?
Maybe they were a The The/Take That hybride.
*shudders*
The Daily Star linking us with Diego Costa.
You can cross him off the list then.
there there, Pangloss – don’t worry about that 😉
Dirty rotten spellchecker. that = my misspelled version of heat
My spillchucker’s not working 🙁
Trev, Spillchucker sounds like something Lloris could use. 🙂
Wsasn’t spillchucker one of the surgeons in M*A*S*H?
It’s like that Creedence Clearwater Revival song said:
“I Put a Spellcheck On you”
Spillchucker plays in the German second division.
He is on the same wanted list as Alistar Hurrah.
I’m guarding carefully against spilling my steaks from now on 😉
aaaaaaaaargh!
Someone should do a youtube compilation video for Alistair Hurrah and see if we can get the Chavs or Spuds bidding 50 million for him.
I still believe the title is between us and city,city at the moment seem to intimidate opponents or else how can swansea be so poor at their own ground???? Arsenal are doing the right things by winning games against mid, lower teams which at times previously we used to either lose or draw.
Feb and march will be tough but if we manage to get maximum points in jan and ensure we dont lose too badly in feb and march, april and may will be a clear run in and we should give ourselves a bull run to the title, well or else lets keep winning, we cannot be overtaken that way.
I stick to a simple formula:
(1) Focus on the next game.
(2) Win it.
(3) Review the lessons from that game.
(4) Move on.
(5) Return to (1).
I like the Bath formula.
224 Bath knows :-;
Vinay – the whole point is that out of 9 away games City have 6 in which the opposition won’t be intimidated by them in their own ground.
225 H2H. ….better than that shower down the road 😉
If one was to quibble, you could say that it’s actually Manchester United’s to lose, because the simple fact of the matter is that they and they alone are the current PL title holders.
So there. 😛
Pfft with all this Alistair bollox. I am still The Second Greatest Striker That Eva Lived.
Sign me up and the league is ours.
H2H – they lost it in the close season 😉
After looking at all fixtures lists for all three of us I’ve decided I want a City victory in their game against Chelsea and not a draw.
Celebrations as Alastair Hurrah signs !
“Hooray !” – Henry, on Hurrah signing.
1 Arsenal 20 21 45
2 Man City 20 34 44
3 Chelsea 20 19 43
4 Liverpool 20 23 39
5 Everton 20 13 38
6 Tottenham 20 -1 37
7 Man Utd 20 9 34
Half way plus one.
six of the top 7 you would have expected to be there. Arsenal doing better then most would of thought (not you Snir, I remember you backed us pre season).
Home games have been played, away games have been played, every team still has to play every team bar one.
I don’t believe there as such a thing as an easy run in. A home game is not always easier then an away one. A team fighting for it’s survival is just as dangerous as one fighting for honours and in this league the margins are small. Before Wednesday, Arsenal had the worst home record from all in the top 5, yet the best away record. I can’t see why people are writing off Everton and L’pool, even Man U are still in it (just), the Tinys will implode though. 🙂
Just because team x beat team y away, doesn’t mean they’ll beat them at home and vice versa. Als;, because a team didn’t perform in away games in the first half of the season is no guarentee that this trend will continue.
I see a lot of logical conclusions above, however, applying logic to football is illogical. (In your face Dr Spock).
There are way too many variables to any given game, ranging from form, sickness, injury, fatigue, officiating, weather conditions, state of pitch, even down to pure dumb luck that can effect any outcome, that’s what sets football apart from so many sports, especialy the american ones. I don’t mean that in a disparaging way, but if you were to compare say American football or Basketball, a college team would rarely, if ever, triumph over a professional franchise, yet in the beautiful game it happens all the time.
que cera, cera my friends, it’s going to be a long bumpy rollercoaster of a ride until the end, but for the first time, in a long time we are actually still in with a chance of glory. Let’s just support the lads, hold on tight and see where this takes us.
Up The Arse.
Oh yeah, and sign Hurrah and Spillchucker
Predicted Le Grove article, 31 January 2014:
“No Arsenal fan wants to write a post like this, but Spurs have truly given Arsenal a lesson in how to take a disappointing Winter and turn it into something a bit special.
They knew at the start of the January window that their team was pish. That their best player had left them and not been replaced. That their manager was a Gooner.
Spurs strategy? A smart one. Bring in £80m worth of talent. Spurs have taken two seasons worth of Champions League money and injected it into two players who might gel and make an impact on the league table this year. Alastair Hurrah will add energy to their midfield. Bevin might become the striker they’ve lacked for years.
Arsenal on the other hand, have £70m in the bank as well as all the additional revenue from TV… and we’ve not spent a penny in 31 days. Quite incredible. Arsene Wenger is the man in charge and in the whole of Europe he’s not managed to find a single player for sale he could improve his squad with. That’s despite the fire sale going on in Spain along with the glory of Champions League (the competition Spurs don’t have).
Arsene Wenger has shown himself up this January. He boasted only last week that players ask about Champions League first. Well Arsene, if that’s the case, why hasn’t anyone agreed to join? What’s the block? Why were we so painfully slow to move when Hurrah and Bevin became available?
So very disappointing. We’re watching end of days with Arsene and its painfully boring and painfully slow.”
http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/30/tottenham-give-arsenal-a-lesson-in-transfers-theyve-lost-gareth-bale-but-built-a-squad-3942406/
We have seen “easy” run ins before against teams fighting off relegation.
They are a nightmare of slogging, injury inducing confrontations.
When the time comes, games are decided by who is injured, suspended, knackered, already relegated etc. etc.
The only plan is bath’s as laid out @224.
All other calculations are pointless.
Oh, seems you said that above, H2H.
H2H makes a very good point.
The Cardiff game at the weekend is a classic example – club in disarray, on the edge of the relegation zone, at our place after a packed Xmas schedule. And we very nearly dropped points.
No easy games in the Premier League. Apart from Utd at Old Trafford.
N7@234 – Thanks for that metro link. Just so funny.
Not a good sign that I am wound up tighter than a coiled spring for this one. I feel a very sweary six pint preview coming on.
Re: N7 Gooner @234. On a purely personal note I think Bevin coiuld have the stuff to make it in this league. 😉
As for your other points I can’t say I disagree with any of them.
I’m 100% with H2H on 233.
Hence my short term focus.
Welcome aboard Trev @ 235.
Alistair Hurrah would really help though. 🙂
Coiled spring here too Guvna. Feel this one is going to be a real scrap.
Swinging between very up and very down about it every five minutes, bath.
The drugs aren’t working…
We’re going to win this one. I can feel it in my bones.
Bath @224 and H2H @233. Wisdom itself. Focus plus ‘holic’s six pint recipe can only bring good things. 🙂
No worries ‘Holic.
Our boys have nothing to fear from a team of Egyptian waiters…
Win the next match.
BMBD
BMBD Lonestar 😉
THMBDT……..tomorrow and for ever
I agree we should definately get the Bev in
It is friday night afterall.
Link to the excellent Tim Stillmans take on the NLD
and who we hate most.
I have to agree that we must beat the spuds but hate Chelsea passionately.
LoneStar
They are world class Egyptian waiters though.
H2H – I agree that teams fighting for survival are hard but this team doesn’t seem fazed, as evidenced by our 4-1 win vs Wigan which relegated them.
While as you say there are many variables to football games I think you can agree with me that the odds Arsenal will beat City are higher at the Emirates than at the Etihad.
While there is a possibility that they will start winning away from home I’ll be beyond astonished if they win all six of those matchups.
link http://arseblog.com/2014/01/derby-days/
Preview sorted,Just beat the Cunts – Enough said 🙂
Chippy knows. It may end up being just that 😉
Sky Sports News @SkySportsNews 2m
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers charged by FA for post-match comments at Manchester City on December 26. #SSN
So he fucking should be as well.
Washed up…..indeed I detest Chav$ki and all that they stand for. Indeed
the return of the special one is a marriage made in hell – they so much are made for each other. As for the LWC, it is the derby match that counts above all others. They may have provided countless years and years of amusement to us but we must still never ever countenance losing to them, even more so than Chav$ki. It’s North London bragging rights innit. 😉
Trev, sorry for all the confusion about the name change. After consultation with my bookie, I’m now accepting any combination of upper case and lower case letters, and will respond to any of the following: ecg, Ecg, eCg, ecG, ECg, EcG, eCG, or ECG. 🙂
And by tomorrow evening, Tim Sherwood’s honeymoon will be over…
COyG!!
Ah, you see ecg, you finished up with EGG on your face ………… hang on,…
no you didn’t 🙁
I really don’t remotely get people hating Chelsea more than the LWCs.
Go on, Holic, give us some LWC bile 😉
Out for a while – will check the preview later 😉
It used to be hate but now it’s moved on to condescending sympathy which is much more difficult to stomach than pure hate for those unfortunate neerdowell’s from the middlesex swamps.
I dislike Man Utd nearly as much as the LWCs.
After careful consideration, I think it may have to do with virtually all of their players, managers and supporters being irredeemable wankhammers.
Also: I get what the LWCs are for. They’re like a gift from god to his chosen people. A gift that keeps on giving, year after glorious year.
Snir, the odds will fluxuate according to circumstances in the build up to the game, but yes, you’d probably get better odds on us winning at home, still doesn’t necessarily make us favourites to do so and in no way does it offer any kind of guarentee.
_______
Growing up there was only one match considerd a London derby and when the fixtures came out it was always the first one I looked for Us v the LWC’s, they will always be the enemy, yet not for a long time have they really been or rivals, more a laughable advisory, like that team that always had to go up against the Harlem Globetrotters.
Man U took over the mantel of our biggest Nemisis later on, Chelsea have only exsisted a few years but are indeed a truly dispicable club and we have now the emergence of the Vulgarians from the Shittyhat to deal with. The Tinys, bless ’em have had a revival of sorts lately and have become more then mere cannon fodder, but they’re still just a small club with delusions of granduer with their Mind the Gapiness and Power Shiftitude, beating them is still super sweet though.
FIOS FOYS
Slightly offtopic,
as I seen that Bellerins loan at Watford was prolonged till the end of the season and seen pretty positive reports of him there, I searched for some of videos of him on youtube playing for Watford…aaaand..isnt he supposed to be right back?
Since on pretty much all videos I saw he plays on the left side O.o *confused*
well if Feo has issued a warning to the Tots then hubris/fate says they will beat us…like when Ozil said somewhere before the trip to the Theatre of Screams that they had no fear and were going to win…unless I am misquoting…
sometimes would be nice if they talked to the meedja AFTER thumping in the goals and winning the match 🙂
the problem with Maureen is he always seems to get what he wants from Arsenal and that is very irritating to say the least…do I hate any club? not really as long as Arsenal win the PL and the CL…oh, and I’m kinda tired of the Suarez FC love in…time to move him out…
As far as the “hate” for the club goes it is LWCs for me very closely followed by Chelski.
The thing with Sp*rs is about pure rivalry as they are our closest (and most stupidly vocal) neighbors, while with Chelski it is real disgust with the club as a whole and what it stands for.
Thats why I cannot stand the overall love in with that cunch of bunts here in Czech Republic because of Petr Cech in goal – who is, by the way, pretty much only player I can tolerate from that team and only because he used to be Spartas GK and is intelligent guy in overall – you would not believe how many followers they have here.
In contrast, TR is regarded by the general public as “always sick or injured, past it and never won anything” kind of guy.
Cuntski are massive cunts and I really, really hate them (by the way I got LWC mates who claim to hate them now more than us, which I can believe), but Lily White Cunts are just the traditional enemy and long may that continue.
We invaded their territory over 100 years ago and truly since then they have been forever in out shadow. And they fucking know it, Bill Nicholson, Dave Mackay and 61 into the bargain. And they fucking hate it.
Magic!
Esso knows
COYG FOYS
esso knows @268.
fucking cunts, the lilywhite lot of them.
whaddya think of tottenham!!??
H2H@233: There is science to back up your assertion. In 2006, researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the U.S. published an analysis of the results of more than 300,000 football, baseball, basketball, hockey and American football games, from which they concluded that the likelihood of an upset was greatest in football.
http://cnls.lanl.gov/~ebn/pubs/sports/html/
Eandy@267: I read once that we were in for a very young Petr Cech but couldn’t get the work permit sorted. That ring any bells?
Indeed, Esso@268 does know.
Esso knows….as normal.
LWCs preview, just a five pinter 😉 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>