Aguero The Difference As Gunners Crash Again
Feb 3rd, 2019 by 'holic
Unai Emery surprisingly opted to start with a 4-4-2. Laurent Koscielny was passed fit to return alongside Shkodran Mustafi, with Stephan Lichsteiner and Nacho Monreal as full-backs in front of Bernd Leno. With Granit Xhaka ruled out we played Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi with Sead Kolasinac and Alex Iwobi in midfield. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette were paired up front. New signing Denis Suarez was on the bench alongside Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil.
Our worst fears were confirmed inside a minute. Iwobi lost possession far to easily on the edge of our box, Laporte whipped in a cross, and Aguero made it his and directed a diving header beyond Leno. We had an assistant referee’s flag to thank for not going two down in the ninth minute when Laporte went early at a free-kick and headed home from point blank range.
Incredibly we were level a couple of minutes later with a proper old school Gunners goal from a corner. Monreal’s flick-on at the near post fell to Koscielny who headed high into the net. City, wounded, poured forward and Otamendi was denied when Leno comfortably pouched his snapshot. A pattern was taking shape with The Arsenal restricted to a counter-attacking game on the odd occasion that City surrendered possession.
As ever Martin Atkinson was taking a lenient view on some challenges. Lacazette needed treatment after Fernandinho caught him with a blow to the back of the head. Laporte’s attempt to deadleg Torreira was at least penalised with a free-kick.
When we did fashion a break Kolasinac sliced an attempted cross into the side-netting. Lacazette and Aubameyang, working tirelessly as box to box players, were so close to shocking the home side but the alert Ederson sprinted from his box to clear the danger.
Powered on by Guendouzi we produced a couple of shots, Kolasinac drawing a save from Ederson and Torreira’s fierce drive was blocked. The little Uruguayan obviously found himself in Mr Atkinson’s book for his first foul five minutes before half-time. Lacazette teed up Aubameyang again and his shot was deflected away for a corner.
Just as we thought we had restored order City regained the advantage. Not surprisingly Sterling left Lichsteiner for dead and crossed for Aguero to tap in his second at the far post. That was cruel on the visitors, coming at the end of a half they had been more than competitive in. I told a mate on Twitter that the team that scored next would win it. Sadly I would be proven correct.
Not unexpectedly City came out of the blocks determined to add to their tally, but we stayed solid. De Bruyne did get a fierce low drive on target but Leno grabbed it at the second attempt. When put through again he drew another save from Leno.
The goalkeeper wasn’t as lucky on the hour mark when Sterling again crossed for Aguero who appeared to convert the opportunity inadvertantly with his arm. I would have wanted it at the other end. It didn’t help that Leno and Koscielny, both of whom might have prevented the ball crossing the line, collided in Keystone Cops style and took each other out of the equation.
Time for substitutions. On came Aaron Ramsey and debut boy Denis Suarez for Iwobi and Kolasinac. That didn’t prevent wave upon wave of blue surging forward. Leno produced an excellent save at full stretch to deny Aguero a fourth. Eleven minutes from time we sent on Konstantinos Mavropanos for Mustafi. Aguero came off to a standing ovation to be replaced by Jesus.
David Silva was next to sting the palms of a fully extended Leno. Jesus, with Sterling in the clear on his right, opted to shoot tamely at Leno. Koscielny mercifully blocked a Sterling strike when we were caught stretched with bodies committed to an attack. City sent on Mahrez for De Bruyne for the final three minutes plus stoppages.
As the game fizzled out we could draw some positives. At the age of 19 Guendouzi went to take on one of Europe’s finest teams and was possibly the best midfielder on view. The workrate of Lacazette and Aubameyang in a first-half in which we were surprisingly competitive after suffering such a shaky start. Disappointing, without picking on individuals, was the way we failed to maintain our first-half battling qualities after the break. We move on.
94 Responses to “Aguero The Difference As Gunners Crash Again”
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And again…..
We move on……..and yet again.
Hope Kronke’s Rams get properly rammed tonight.
Abysmal second half, but when a manager is down to the bare bones defensively, his most creative player is totally unreliable, so doesn’t play and his next best attacking midfielder is leaving you can’t expect too much.
Three of that back four today have played miserably under the previous manager, even though a couple of them can be decent individually, and we had a bloke at right back who is gone in the legs.
Midfield was ok in the middle but on the flanks we’re terrible.
Two strikers must be wondering what the fuck is going on.
Goalkeeper? Not very good but kept it to three.
Sorry to repeat myself but you were very fast with the post mortem boss.
I’d actually given us a pretty decent shout for today as its two teams who like to play football and attack in the right way.
And for the first half that is exactly what we got, an exciting free flowing game with defensive mistakes (us) good football (both) and a genuine feeling we could still get something out of the game.
That sucker punch of a goal just before half time changed something because in the second half we got a team that did not know how to attack (us) defend (us) or have any cohesive idea of what the hell they should be doing (us) it was pitiful and painful to watch.
This is a team with a lot to prove and at the moment all they are proving is that all the old problems are still there, the tippy tappy football we are trying to play especially from the back is just not working and we need to adapt to a more controlled style of play.
I thought Matteo again showed great composure for the majority of the game and he was one of the very few highlights of the game, I’m still utterly bemused by Iwobi getting a starting berth all the time as he is always making costly mistakes, Alexander and PEA were almost completely useless…..again.
Ramsey and Suarez came on and could do nothing, the whole team demeanour was one of resigned acceptance, I want to see my Arsenal team fight tooth and nail for every inch and this team just do not do that.
What has happened to this supposed resilience that saw us outscoring every team in the league in the second half, it has completely vanished along with the fake confidence we had during that hollow unbeaten run.
Emery needs time I accept that, but he seems to be as tactically clueless as Wenger, as unsure about what works as Wenger and as lost for ideas as Wenger.
I apologise if my comments offend anybody as that is never my intention but this was an absolute travesty the way we played or rather did not play in the second half.
I don’t think he’s tactically clueless, he has the same players who were rubbish under Wenger being rubbish for him, plus a lack of defensive options.
I would have picked Jenkinson, if fit, but Jenks has barely kicked a ball for about two years, so you can understand why he didn’t. What else was available to him?
I’ve not seen any of the game yet but listened to the radio commentary whilst driving on the M4. I must say, from what I was listening to we could have been one down and facing a penalty within 3 minutes. There did not seem much doubt that we might have got lucky with that one? Thankfully, luck was on our side for that one.
There was more interesting discussion around their third. Apparently, at a recent meeting of football heads in Europe, incidents like these and VAR were high on the list of discussion. The conclusion was that even if there is no deliberate attempt to handle the ball and no unnatural movement, the spirit of the game should ensure that no goal should be scored of the arm or hand.
38% possession and only two shots on target suggests that it’s a game we deserved to get little out of. I will wait for the MOTD highlights later.
Sort out the total mess off the pitch. Then Emery might have half a chance of sorting out the issues on it.
Quick and fair Guvnor, we were
never in it 2nd half.
Anyway, on we go to Huddersfield
next week, City play chelski so
we can get some points back I
hope.
It is odd that you can feel a sense of relief when your side lose 3-1 and are completely outclassed. Like Ksn in the previous drinks it was almost exactly what I expected except I thought we would concede more goals . Our heads stayed up and as Holic said Guendouzi did extremely well but I will name names and Lichsteiner was appalling and is nowhere good enough to put on the famous red shirt. He makes Jimmy Magill look like Dani Alves ( one for older fans!)Citeh ultimately dominated the game but every goal came down our right flank . We have no Bellerin so why did we not try to sign a right back in the window? Utter madness.
It’s remarkable that we have any chance of top four with this group . It’s a very slim chance
No shots after the 34th minute? This despite having almost £120m worth in attack. And we leave two of Europe’s most creative players sat warming the bench. All this whilst chasing the game?
We can speak about the defence all we like, but first and foremost this is shit management.
All we’ve been hearing from Unai since day 1 is “we must improve, we must improve..” Then why are we not improving sir? Or do you want to blame the board for that too?
Conceding the second just before half time took the sting out of us. I liked how we fought back after the helter skelter first 5 minutes from us. I was expecting us to start on the front foot in the second half but City simply upped their game and dominated us. I agree with suggestions that we should have perhaps started with Ramsey and Suarez but I can also understand Emery erring on the side of caution in the wake of the Liverpool away game and it’s after effects.
After a good run with injuries in the last season and the initial part of this season, we have piled up just too many recently. Maitland Niles getting injured in training is just terrible luck on Emery’s part and I would much rather prefer Jenkinson playing instead of Lichtsteiner. Xhaka getting injured out of the blue and Mkhitatyan not coming back to full fitness also hampered the choices available to Emery. We have absolutely no attacking threat on our right flank in the absence of Bellerin. We would look far more potent if we had Iwobi + Kola on the left and Mkhi + Bellerin on the right flank. Emery has never had all four available at the same time. Not only did Emery inherit a top heavy squad, but he has also had to endure injury after injury in the already thin defense. On top of that he did not get any support from the club in the January transfer window to bolster the defense (a right back on loan seems an obvious requirement!). After the over abundance at PSG, this must be the opposite extreme for Emery.
City & Liverpool away are the two most difficult games in the league and thankfully we are done with them. We still have to face Spurs away but that game is quite winnable. If we are not hampered by any more significant injuries, this team should be able to go on a good run now. With six away games without a win, Emery has his work cut out in away games.
Thanks for another fine report, sir. As I said in the previous drinks, it was a one sided match and we were largely outplayed except for a brief period in the first half. Cannot lose heart as we just did not have the resources to take on City. Next year’s game against City will show if we have progressed after a transfer window.
Too early to judge Suarez who looked technically good but will take time to settle down to the physicality of the league.
Guendouzi is a really great signing and the youngster plays like a seasoned pro and he had a very good game today. He shows composure in difficult positions and knows exactly what to do every time he has the ball. These are the qualities that Iwobi lacks as he runs around like a headless chicken.
Some of the problems like Ozil’s situation are Emery created and it is a concern that he can’t sort out the matter and get Ozil to give his best especially in the big games. I have no idea how he will solve this problem.
Abysmal team selection Lichsteiner was a liability and should have never started as much as Jenkinsom is not the answer I don’t believe he would do any worse than the Swiss international.
I have missed the first half so couldn’t really comment on it much, the half I watched was really depressing with no desire to go forward and at least to have a proper go at them. As soon as the third went in we dropped our heads and only then Emery made the changes.
I’m sorry I have to agree with some that he does appear clueless with his tactics and team selection. He leaves Ramsey on the bench our best midfielder for some time now. Back three as well?
We took ages in decision making when making a pass, you can’t do that against City they will be onto you in no time.
Let’s face the truth as much as he has inherited those players from Wenger I thought these guys weren’t that bad and could on a good day beat the best teams and I still believe for that to be the case. I’m not expecting him to spend zillions and replace the half of this squad in the summer because he will NEVER get this sort money from Stan Kroenke!
There has only been few times this season where he fired them up last time against Chelski! We had a very good lucky run but that has nothing to do with us being very dominant in every one of those games.
I agree with lessdepressedgooner and I’m not so sure what can be done in the summer but trust me we won’t going crazy on those transfers.
Pep ended his first season with City at 4th in the league. With a team that had Kompany, YaYa and Aguero.
Klopp I believe ended at 8th.
With Mustafi and Lichtsteiner on the right side, and this being a must-win home game for City after the mid-week results, was hard to expect anything else.
At home: 2-0 against Chelsea, 4-2 against LWCs, 1-1 against Liverpool, 0-2 against City.
Away: 2-2 against United, 2-3 against Chelsea, 1-5 against Liverpool and 1-3 against City.
That’s a top four form. Really the best we can hope for given our squad. Unbalanced to begin with and defensively depleted by injuries.
Agree with ksn @10 re Ozil.
This is a problem which Emery has willingly created – and it’s to the detriment of the whole club.
If he can’t sort it out then maybe he should sod off himself? In our current situation it would be far easier to replace him than it would to replace Ozil.
Emery gets a free hit as far as I’m concerned this season. Dr. F makes a very good point about the time that good managers took to make their mark. A very good article in today’s Sunday Times revealed that Emery’s sides in Spain were never tight defensively ( don’t know about PSG but it’s hardly relevant ). He isn’t a noted defensive organiser as his teams tend to play in the way we did at Chelsea and Tottenham at home.
He needs the opportunity to build his own team but unless he has the funds he won’t be able to do it. Pep and Klopp have sent a fortune in building their teams. We have few saleable assets . I’m sure we could flog Guendouzi for £30 m plus but need to retain players of his quality.
We need much better defenders and a much better defensive midfielder ( or whatever he isn Xhaka). Guendouzi showed what a much better player he was today.
Arsenal is in a mess and while we need patience we could do with sustained signs of progress
Competitive first half with a very unbalanced line up, but criminal to lose the ball in your own half before the game has barely started,and at this level you get punished.
Then after fighting our way back into it via Kos,very very disappointing to concede right on the half time whistle.
Might have put a few question marks in City heads if we had gone in all square.
But 2nd half seemed like a diff team came out,and once the 3rd goal went in we surrendered with barely a whimper.
Not what the ever faithful travelling band of away day Gooners would have appreciated after the long journey up to Manchester.
Quite funny that some in the bar are now openly critical of Emery about not playing Ozil,when the same player been battered relentlessly for being so inconsistent when he does play,particularly in the big games against the top clubs.
Unai picked a side he thought could do the job today,but he cannot legislate for player stupidity when they are on the pitch.
He is doing the best he can with what he has available.
He has never criticized his players in public,nor has he whinged about the Club not supporting him by spending shed loads on new players.
After 2 opening season defeats in August,when everything seemed set for a very difficult season,i for one am very surprised we are even anywhere near a sniff at the top 4 at the beginning of Feb.
All the so called pundits have written us off as no hope of qualifying for the CL next season,and i think by the sound of it most in the bar have as well.
I still think we are in with a shout,and as i have said before,if we are within touching difference after the big 2 games at the start of March,then the run in could be very interesting.
Guendouzi is always better than Xhaka so no surprise there. Arsenal did better than I expected losing by only the 2 goals. Lichtsteiner not a useful signing at all. For me there is no use in criticizing the manager at this stage either. Onwards and upwards.
Rambo and Mesut on the bench
ego maniac, the boss
never mind though, i am thoroughly enjoining this season and i am gooner
since 53
so i know what i am talking about
Cheers H.
Guendouzi was a real highlight. I’m with the Doc @12. Given the gloomy forecasts of most Gooners before the game i doubt that many people saw us equalising after their early goal (set piece straight from training that I have seen no one credit Emery for) or being so competitive for the entire first half. Their goal before half time was a blow but we had been fully in the game and I was fairly pleased with our performance. City were good in the second half and we struggled- but it’s not hard to see why and change is a process, as noted by the Doc.
I didn’t expect a result today so I’m not overly upset. I saw both some good things we can build on and some bad things that clearly need to be got rid of. The manager is, for me, definitely in the former category.
Also, the players all worked hard and were up for the challenge. There was no Alex Song jogging back slowly as we got ripped a new one. We just lost to a better team. Hardly a great scenario but not a catastrophic one either. Moving on.
Ozil was left out for perfectly understandable reasons earlier this season, and it’s clear he has no future at the club.
Our most important task this summer is to unload him.
Has everyone currently desperate for him to be playing forgotten how bad he was, 90% of the time? Forgotten about his convenient illnesses and injuries? He was doing this picking and choosing of games he wanted to play in under the previous manager. He’s not someone to be relied on and I suppose this desire to see him play is based on the usual – a player not in the team will always be better than someone who is, if things are not going great. He can have all the quality in the world but if he won;t apply himself and show that quality, he may as well be Robbie Savage for all the use he is to us.
On the subject of tactics and team selection, I didn’t hear too many complaints about the manager when we were in that 22 game unbeaten run, but we did hear a lot of praise for his willingness to be flexible tacitcally, his astute substitutions etc.
The manager is not the problem, the squad he inerited and the decisions made by the previous manager and CEO are a large part of it, combined with the club being in transition off the pitch as well as on.
Thanks GSD & TTG.
Emery is of course making tactical and team selection mistakes, but without mistakes there is no learning and no growth. I like the fact that he doesn’t complain, make any excuses, don’t talk negatively about either players or anyone else, just keeps on working. I do notice certain things coming together in the games, but not yet consistently enough.
If AMN was available today he would have started in place of Lichtsteiner. Of all the injuries Bellerin’s really fucked us because he has been key to our attacks down the right and I think already has 6 or so assists.
The only “big” away match we have left is against the LWCs. As Clive said, if after that and ManU at home we are still in the top 4 race we can push on.
This summer transfers will give us a clear indication of what is in store for us. If we fail to make considerable improvements then I think we are in for a very long haul coming back to the light.
“The manager is not the problem, the squad he inerited and the decisions made by the previous manager and CEO are a large part of it, combined with the club being in transition off the pitch as well as on.”
AND?
oh…………………………………
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN74YTD05ZM
I like what Arthur says. By the same token though, you could apply a similar logic to what Ole Gunnar has inherited… they seem to have gained motivation.
We all know where we are and why we are there. We are the poorest rich club in the world.
Technically, today was an improvement. In recent years, that could have easily turned into a 5 – 1.
Onwards we go indeed. To still be within a shout is somewhat remarkable.
A lot of good sense, as usual, above. The injuries to defenders have seriously impaired progress, and especially for a manager whose game is based on building out from the back. We limp on as much as move on.
Rams lose super bowl LIII to Patriots by 3-13.
Kind of sums it up:
https://sports.theonion.com/small-town-billionaire-fails-to-make-it-in-big-city-1832312177
Ned,
There was plenty of nonsense
above too 🙂
So Emery has a free run and he can do what he wants? I agree no one really expected us to win but my point is have we lost the game even before it starts? Wasnt Emery supposed to be better defensively than Wenger/ Why start Mustafi and Lichsteiner/ Why not Monreal as CB and have Kolasinac play left back itself? Kolasinac is poor defensively but this wing-back role left him nowhere to be seen when he had to support the defense. What are we doing with the shape of the team is beyond my understanding. We are absolutely clueless on what our game plan is, if yesterday we were supposed to be playing on the counter-attack, where were the runners? Iwobi is just poor, he is not aware of anything around him and for all the lamenting we had around Theo, Theo used to score for us far often than not. Iwobi is absolutely hopeless.
Why do we persist with Mustafi? he cant defend, he cant pass, he can frail his arms and once in a while come up with a half decent tackle and thats it. Play anyone but not him for he is our biggest liability.
Guendouzi and Torreira along with lacazette are the only ones trying and they are being run into the ground, god forbid anything happening to them, we are screwed. In all this gloom, we do not play Ozil and Ramsey who atleast will create something in a game, try explaining that!!!!!!!!!
Not a lot of people asked for Ozil to be included. Did we miss someone of his quality – yes, but he no longer has a future with Emery. Ramsey I feel yes, should have started, and if needed subbed later on. Also Licht should not be starting; maybe a back 4 with Mavropanos in the line up, don’t think we could have done worse, even if so this was an uphill battle every way you put it.
Rams defeated in one of the most tedious major sporting events of all time . ( Refer Dublin on Saturday for excitement) Maybe Stan needs to sell off his other sporting interests and focus on them ? Some hopes !
Only six Norfolk Gooners made the trip to Citi. The roads were clear and the snow covered moors had us reaching for our camera phones. Four of us managed to infiltrate a home fans pub prior to kick-off. None of us expected a win but there were hopes we might get a point that was until we saw the line-up.
Citi play with wide attackers on both flanks who for the most part had plenty of unattended space to work in. Pep targeted Lichtsteiner who had a mare and should have been subbed . I would have moved Mustafi to RB and brought in Mavropanos in the centre along side Kos at half time.
As others have said once we got over Iwobi’s howler in the first minute and got away with a cast iron penalty we competed well in the first half, got the equaliser and looked well in the game.
Citi’s goal just before the interval was a blow but we thought we would come out in the second half and give it a go. Sadly we never got going after half time and Citi upped their game and we were treated to attack after attack , Leno making a series of fine saves . It was inevitable that they would score again and we were once more disappointed that we didn’t make more of a fight of it.
Hector we miss you terribly, especially me.
At least you got the infiltration part down. Great report, Delia. 🙂
Interesting analysis by Carragher on Sky, pointing out how Lichsteiner had problems yesterday because, basically, Iwobi was nowhere and he was trying to tell him what he should be doing.
Some genius pointed this out yesterday in the drinks but can’t remember who it was 😉
The refs/linesman too want Pool to win. Liverpool’s opening goal a yard offside. We never seem to get those.
Mane with a tactical foul no card?
Linesman is going crazy in this game!
If Origi scores from another offside we have a massive controversy thank God that didn’t happen!
Hopefully VAR will sort some of these situations next year
‘holic
asking to be barred didn’t work
.
i KNOW yer a good soul
and didn’t and don’t deserve my arseholery
but
time marches on from me saying
there was rumblings of old style anti english venom
here
from people who i would not expect it from
.
it’s got to the stage of the realisation
for the even less expected
that England has changed
not one single jot
.
me (hoping but not expecting change)
i see England’s negotiations with Europe
as a series of animated big arrows
musically advancing to the coast
arriving at the European parliament
“I say , what’s all this nonsense about”
.
*27 upstairs windows open*
.
*27 bare arses advise*
but
as all round funapolitan cynic would say
yeah but no but yeah but
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok0I1mZg1wk
Pellegrini getting a bit feisty with inconvenient tidbits that don’t serve the Klopp narrative.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/47121929
That Malaga Champions League clash with Dortmund was one season after Santi and Nacho left the club to come to Arsenal. No wonder Malaga were playing in the CL the following season.
i’d send you
the blood stained shamrock foam hat
my dear uncle Pat wore in 1416
but i can’t cover the postage by myself
“just pop yer details up here pet
totes post balls
you an ex squaddie cynic ?
.
i have yarned to many . The war is over .
.
.
be nice ?
without us
ye’ll have no meat in yer sarnies
no meat on yer pizzas
no infinitely more intelligent people to point at
?
and
this ‘holic is my last night
before brexit
so run a tight ship
and
change cynics sweaty bandana
when approaching him is possible
.
.
.
.
apologies if i offended anyone
grow up , cunt
hang on
HANG THE FUCK ON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz6WlCd4u0w
in the words of my favourite goonerholic
shut up
ya stupid mick
speaking of micks
dorset M
how’s yerself
hope yer well
most recent brew
was
cos
of
serendipity
.
6packs of SUPERMALT
£1.80
(long story)
bought a HANDful
.
out o the bottles
boiled a bit
sugar a bit
yeast a bit
BIG bottles
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2dhD9zR6hk
back in the WEE bottles
crown capped
9%
.
.
fuckin gorgeous
forehead meeting goodness
like an oul porter
slightly sweet
but
it’s better than that guinness
what say you cynic
.
.
please
NOT the bad answer
(he do lika da paddi)
(he do)
he sholy do
and all God’s creatures
and
.
.
.
“Lets face it folks ”
“Who among slash amongst whatever’s us hasn’t thought about cynic”
.
“I know I have . I know so KNOWy . Ye know
.
.
where were ye
crossmaglen?
derry?
belfast?
.
did you stop and search my children on the way to school ?
did they come home and say
“This big brit stopped us but he didn’t search us he just showed us clippings of someone called Geordie”
and cried
.
of course
this is entirely speculative
im sure you followed orders
and aggravated aggressively around all concerned
but slipped a Charlie George slidey pic
in their inside pocket
and strode off
shooting only the ugly ones
?
.
.
.
.
.
‘holic
i fear i may have bi-productly
not only created a made up word
but deconstressed in the process
#amazing
#hashtag
having said that
yeah
.
.
.
.
cows , perchance
yooz goona guyz
yooz wize guyz
i stop at 6
i start at 8
I am fuckin tired insomniaced out
I hate EVERYBODY
especially
EVERYONE
.
if I don’t talk overnight shite
who will ?
WHO WILL ?
.
little ankled cynic ?
.
.
pffftttt
go ahead
YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE !
it’s dirty socks
and
fray bentos dribbles
keep that tart mobile
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KNsBCf34fQ
.
.
.
.
I used to get paid to write shite like this
.
.
.
.
.
pooooooooooooves
68
HAIRCUTS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FywSzjRq0e4
i used to have a few guitars
well
two
twos a few
70s Telecaster
50s Gretsch
very long story
not pleasant
ha ha
an ac30 too
man alive
beautiful
warm lovely
cept all i could and can play is Luther Perkins riffs
had a lend of a fender twin
for a while
FUCKIN HELL HEAVY
I think Stephen King wrote a short story about a Gretsch and a Telecaster.
anyhoo
near 6 sign off
.
here’s to all the moronic monocled overcoats
who think the world is still impressed
by traversing the globe
beating people over the head
stealing their wealth
their language and
their dignity
.
.
.
.
.
slán go fóill
TTG
I was following the under 23 fixture last night against the Hammers.
Dino and Miki got some valuable game time in a much needed
3 nil win,with goals from Eddie Nketiah, Joe Willock and Dino.
Not that it improves our position much as we are well off the pace in the league after a few poor results.
Sadly not a win, Clive. Abandoned at half-time due to fog/mist.
Oh bugger H.
I wondered why there was no update after half time.
I just thought there no goals in the now non existant 2nd half.
Silly old bugger.
That’s me not you.
???
Productive night, apparently.
Deconstressing is good.
My spillchucker underlines deconstressing in red for some reason.
One for Ned
Mavropanos has been left out of our Europa League squad given the nerf to omit a non home-grown player. Bizarre choice. Could we not leave out Elneny for instance? We are very short of CBS. This may augur badly for the Greek lad .
Sorry I meant Need not nerf ! I nerf to improve my spellcheck thingy but that would not provide any TTG classics !
Clive
Bad luck on U23s. They included Mkhi and Mavro ( magicians both) and while the game was visible apparently played very well !
CBA@51,
I’m okay, thanks, but have had to cut down on the sauce, unfortunately.
That brew of yours sounds interesting, with significant potential for explosion. Do you approach the bottles wearing suitable protective clothing?
Talking of 9%, a local brewery in Downton made an excellent “Roman Imperial Stout for the Christmas festivities, which was sadly too drinkable.
Don’t like to think too much about those wee bottles though.
Another good day for Jose, the filthy cunt.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47131088
The Mail has released the news that we only have a £45m pot to spend in the summer unless we qualify for the CL or sell some players. Normally I would only use the Mail to provide the lining for a budgie’s cage but Mokbel is one of the journalists with a genuine grapevine at Arsenal. Ornstein is actually used by Arsenal to break news but Mokbel and Matt Scott do actually know insiders who understand what is happening.
If that is the case we need to jettison players who are not good enough and who might raise some sort of fee and/or reduce the wage bill.
Ramsey, Welbeck, Cech , Lichsteiner and Monreal are out of contract but we may retain Nacho ( I would)
We should consider offers for the following . It’s a big list and might mean too much disruption but I think Emery needs to be ruthless.
I would sacrifice:
Martinez
Mustafi
Xhaka
Elneny
Mkhitaryan
Chambers
and Ozil.
That might raise close to £100 m and cut £75 m off the salary bill but it would rip the guts out of the squad. It also focuses minds on whether paying £18m on Suárez is the best use of limited resources.I would like to see lots of internal promotion
Maybe –
Medley
Mavropanos
ESR
Willock
Saka
Nketiah
Amaechi
We might also loan out a few of the other bright ones- Daley- Campbell, Osei- Tutu , Gilmour , John- Jules
I’d then like to see us focus on no more than five or six signings of quality players, primarily defenders and midfielders and a goalie like Heaton or Pope at Burnley .
Would the fans accept an approach this radical which would still leave us some way short of title contenders but without a huge salary burden?
TTG@81: To meet the Europa League squad-composition rules, one of the following would have had to be dropped to make room for Mavropanos:
Sokratis, Laurent Koscielny, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Nacho Monreal, Shkodran Mustafi or Sead Kolasinac.
Emery was between a rock and a hard place.
To keep the home-grown senior squad numbers up both Bellerin and Holding have had to be included though neither will play because of injury,
Poor Mavropanos. Must be tough knowing that Emery rates him below Mustafi.
This is the full Europa squad:
Goalkeepers
Cech, Leno, Iliev, Okwonko
Defenders
Koscielny, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Monreal, Mustafi, Jenkinson, Kolasinac, Ballard, Bola, Medley, Olowu, Omole, Osei-Tutu, Pleguezuelo, Thompson
Midfielders
Elneny, Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Oil, Torreira, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Suarez, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Burton, Gilmour, Sheaf, Tormey, Zelalem, Clarke, Coyle
Forwards
Lacazette, Aubameyang, Welbeck, Nketiah, Smith Rowe, Willock, Amaechi, John-Jules, Saka
TTG,
I’d be generally ok with that approach
in the summer although I might
change one or two names and
would add Jenks to the outgoing.
Even if we sell several and add in the
suggested 45m I don’t think it will
buy 5 or 6 quality players in the
current market. Focus on a CB, a
LB, a right sided midfield player
first. If Suarez does well then keep
him. if not then don’t. It’s the
benefit of loaning in January.
Basically I don’t mind who we sell
as long as we use the money to
improve the squad.
If we are having a clearance sale then let us ensure it is a clean house than just an eyewash. We can clear all these names-
1. Cech
2. Ozil( really sad)
3. Welbeck
4. Mustafi( pleaseee)
5. martinez( has no future with us)
6. Elneny
7. Mhki( sad)
8. Ramsey( but of course)
9. Nketiah( has no future with us )
10. Kolasinac( cant play as a full back)
11. Monreal( old, no other reason)
12. Kos ( he is done, very sadly)
13. jenkinson( please a fan cant be a top-notch defender)
I am not going to the fringe players for i am not sure who can come through itself, Reiss Nelson for all the hype reminds me of Zelalem, hopefully he wont turn out to be that.
What we need is defense, 2 solid center-backs,1 left back and then a winger, anybody else will be a bonus.
This season there were no expectations but if Emery thinks he can just get away with a shapeless team, then he is wrong.
Surely Mavropanos would have been more useful to the squad than the fourth choice goalkeeper.
@bt8. Okwonko is a ‘B list’ player- we can’t swap him for Mavro. There is an article on Arseblog news that explains it fairly well. And Ned’s explanation of the players we could have left out to get him in is, as ever, spot on.
Win an Art of Football tee >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>