Role Reversal On The Night The Music Died
Apr 14th, 2010 by 'holic
Growing up in the sixties might not be seen as the ideal time to be immersed in the red gene. Tottenham opened the decade with a double, and newspapers, the information highway of the day, waxed lyrically about their style of football. That continued through much of the remainder of the century, although Arsenal took steps to redress the balance of power, having held sway for over twenty years either side of the second world war.
Funnily enough, although they put the odd cup on the shelf, Tottenham didn’t build on that brief success in the way that they would have expected in 1961. Instead Arsenal added steel to their defence, landed a double of their own, and built a reputation as a functional, difficult to beat side under a variety of managers. Boring, boring Arsenal? It was nonsense, but it sold papers.
Tottenham fans retained an air of superiority about the way they approached the game. It was Arsenal, however, who added league titles to their roll of honour. The arrival of Arsene Wenger at Highbury not only heralded an era of three more titles and three FA Cups, but also a shift in the balance of style, as well as power.
So forgive me, Arsenal fans, if I offer grudging praise to the team celebrating their first league victory of this century in the North London derby. If Carlsberg did irony this would be one of their finest productions. A ninety four minute battle between attack and defence, and for the bulk of it, we have to be honest, the defending side held the whip hand.
They snatched an unlikely lead when the debutant Rose (cue thorn in side headlines tomorrow) scored a goal with a strike the like of which he will never replicate. That, a Christy Brown’s right foot effort blocked by Vermaelen, and a break by Modric foiled by Almunia represented the sum of the first-half threat from a home side set up in two banks of four in the defensive third.
The most telling incident of the first-half came when Thomas Vermaelen limped from the pitch, and possibly out of his impressive first season in a red shirt. “That’s the title gone, right there”, I said to the management. Forgive me this moment of negativity, but Mikael Silvestre will never be an Arsenal centre-half as long as polo mints have holes in them. With Fabregas and Song already out, to lose our third most influential player this season is a loss too far, to be honest.
That ramshackle defence, glued together on the night by the outstanding Sol Campbell, surrendered the now customary stupid goal two minutes into the second-half. A blame game will ensue in the blogs tomorrow. Was it Sagna’s fault for playing Bale onside? Was it Silvestre and Clichy’s fault for heading north when Bale and the ball were heading south? Let it go, just this once, please?
For a few minutes you could see Arsenal going through the motions, looking for divine inspiration that didn’t seem to be coming. The arrival of Walcot, and the return of van Persie changed all that. For the first time possession was converted into threat.
Around Bendtner’s ninth goal in eleven games we witnessed Gomes pull off a string of wonder saves to deny van Persie (twice) and Campbell. Had the equaliser arrived then both sides could have shared the misery of a result nobody wanted. The draw wasn’t enough for either side, and it didn’t happen anyway as Tottenham’s massed ranks held out.
No sour grapes here. The three points were far more vital for both sides than the performance tonight. If we had shown as much enthusiasm and determination in attack for ninety minutes as they did in defence then we would be celebrating tonight. We’re not. It’s their turn. Just this once mind.
Time to turn off the radio. I don’t want to hear no fat bitch singing tonight, thank you very much.
130 Responses to “Role Reversal On The Night The Music Died”
Wll played, boss ‘Holic, well played.
great post ‘holic
I was skeptical when Sol Campbell was brought back into the fold….I must say now that although he wasn’t the multi-million pound signing many yearned for he’s brought more than enough passion and experience to his limited appearances.
Not very happy tonight, but as you so clearly recounted being an Arsenal fan all these years is looking at the big picture, as you say Spurs at one time looked to have the makings of a dynasty…where did it all go wrong?
Keep the faith….I’ll have whatever Van Persie’s been drinking
Get the bass out of the cupboard and fire up the amp.
I’ll have a brandy please.
We just have to get a new keeper. That first goal was awful to concede. If he hadn’t fallen over as if someone shot him he would have gotten to it.
The squad next year should be –
A bought keeper – preferably Neuer or Lloris, Schezny (however you write it) and Mannone.
Clichy, Sagna, Vermaelen, Campbell, Djorou and another centre half – maybe Hangeland and Gibbs.
Song, Diaby, Cesc, Nasri, Eboue, Rosicky, Ramsey, Wilshere, Merida, Walcott and a replacement for Song.
Robin, Chamakh, Nic, Vela and another one – maybe JET or someone else from the market.
We should though offload – Almunia, Silvestre, Gallas, Denilson and Eduardo.
I know this isn’t the time for end of the season comments but unfortuantely I can’t see Chelsea dropping 7 points out of 12. 6 tops.
I can not see any other team winning the league next year than us with these changes that are needed and will be done (Chamakh already coming in).
Oh well. I hope Wenger changes his perspective. A paradigm shift needs to take place. Let the post-mortem begin.
A very fair assessment young holic. Not really much to add to the above. Silly mistakes? Nothing new sadly. Did not create enough and making Gomes make his first save in the 80th minute was not good enough. In the end we just missed too many and did not deal with it. We did not really fire until Van Persie made his appearance. His 25 minute cameo gave us some spark and showed us just what might have been if he had not made that trip with holland.
Onwards and upwards. Lets go on and win the rest and finish as high as we can.
Keep the faith.
If i remember correctly, Gudjohnson missed a sitter, Pav had a great chance, we simply defended better then you’s simples, all u done was pass the ball in front of us with no thrust, when we broke we looked more dangerous, that was until RVP come on who i must admit is a fabulous footballer.
christ that was pathetic… title challenge (well sort of) out with a f*ckin whimper… just goes to show how bad the clowns we have in the team at the minute are, if one player, who’s barely kicked a ball in six months can transform a team, only if every single bit of play we have goes through him… but what really galls me is you cant really blame the players, or the injuries or any other excuse, its down to the manager whos in the squad, the quality of the players, both first team and backup, and put simply we have too many players in our first team who either arent ready for it yet, i.e. diaby, denilson, walcott, bendtner (i dont care what anyone says, these for for all the effort and work the put in, and the important contributions they make should be squad members not first teamers… or they are past it like sol (absolutely immense tonight and im glad he came back but he should be at a club like ours at 35), silvestre (christ dont get me started), rosicky (i know hes only 30, but he’s never been the same player after he got injured at dortmund)… or arent good enough… ALMUNIA… there really isnt anything i could say that every arsenal fan isnt already aware of…
ill have a double vodka and redbull… im feelin destructive…
We didn’t win, nor did we deserve to, and that’s that. Fair play to them. They’ll come here and other such places to rub it in. So it goes.
But as is always the case, their optimism will prove false. Merely a blip in our hegemony, certainly not the end.
Spurfect your grammar is atrocious. Not that I should be surprised. Is it really that hard to enunciate proper English?
@Jack
Doesn’t matter now.
My only hope is that Wenger opens his eyes. It was a great experiment, but it failed. I hoped he would succeed, there was something very noble about Wenger was hoping to achieve.
I fear that the game is no longer what it was ten years ago, or even five years ago. Money transformed Chelsea from being a contender into almost a juggernauth. The same is happening with Man City. Wenger needs to change his approach, or he may be left to wonder what happened to the Arsenal brand that he built.
This is undoubtly the worst day for arsenal in my lifetime (25 years)!!!
we lost the game,
we lost TV5,
we lost to spurs,
we lost to spurs in the league fo the first time 11 years, we lost to spurs on totifucks day,
and we lost our league hopes!!!
Fuck me.. ii think ill shed some tears!!
Ctroberts89, i aint on here to have practice in English lessons fella, Stop being so pompus and bring me real banter….MUG
Proper post, ‘Holic, though the truth of it is too unfortunately. I feel gutted, but mostly because we didn’t look up for it today- which is hard to fathom. Don’t feel like singling out folks for critique, but we looked lackadaisical. All praises to Campbell- I too was a bit concerned about him in the lineup and he showed up a lion. Must add a bittersweet ovation for Robin- he was immense today. His shot and freekick were in a class of their own. Of course it cements the feeling inside that this was a woulda-coulda-shoulda kinda season. What a ride it’s been, and still some to play.
Jamesons, barman, if you will. Double.
Sorry boys but whilst you play lovely pretty passing football you’ll never win anything until you add some real steel to your team. The gap is closing and Spurs are still on the up. If we hadn’t lost to Wolves (twice), Stoke, drawn with Hull, let 2 goals in in the last 10 minutes against Everton the story could be a lot worse.
(Apologies for the edit Stevenage. Although I used the word I have changed for many years, I have grown up, and it isn’t welcome here now.)
What a sad sad result, title has truly swirled around the toilet and has been flushed by a bunch of scumbag water-headed retards with a twitchy manager in tow….Sorry to spew all this anger gentleman especially to Holic, I just gotta get it out of me, and for that I’m sorry, so so sorry y’all….Well I’m proud of them anyway, with all the injuries we’ve had and to come this close says alot too me, and it should to every gooner out there no matter where you may be sitting tonight, for me it’s the USA and I’m damn proud of the boys!!! Well here is to next season and to all 4 major silverware, ALL 4 Boys, ALL 4!! Up the Arsenal!!!!
Spurfect…
do you only practice English when you win the league….? Or when you finish top 4….?
To all intents and purposes, the red velvet curtain came down on Arsenal’s season at dark heart lane tonight. The record books will, in all likelihood, show that Arsenal finished third. The Boo and Bleat Brigade will see this as ample reason to cease temporarily squeezing their acne and picking their boils while they billow for Arsene Wenger’s head on a platter, metallurgy unimportant, just any kind of platter. “Let’s have Hawwy, Fat Sam, – anyone ovver than that Wenger!”
I’ve no doubt that the season will be summarized, by many, in this vein. The more thoughtful will realize that the season has been rich in accomplishments of real consequence, despite set-backs that would have sunk the Titanic long before she was clear of Southampton harbour. We can reflect on these after 4 more games.
It would be tiresome to trundle through all of the injuries. There were almost too many to keep track of. The biggest irony was the loss of two definite first team starters (Nasri and Djourou) before the first whistle of the season even blew. And frankly, things only got worse from there, culminating in the League’s most dangerous striker jetting off to placenta-land early in November.
Despite that, the team kept playing. The team kept entertaining. And for the most part, the team kept winning, and were definitely in contention until last week (ECL) and today (the League).
So was it all about injuries? No way. There were times were our team just didn’t seem to want to get hurt or to really grind. There were two lessons from Barcelona:-
– We’re the most skillful team in England but not skillful enough
– We don’t fight hard enough to win the ball back
And so to tonight.
I’d no sooner said to Her Nellieness “I wish Almunia would catch SOME of these crosses” than the ball was in the net. Briliant or lucky? Depends on your point of view and whether you were wearing red or white. My Pal AL redeemed himself with a couple of subsequent saves. More significant, Gnomess didn’t need to make a first half save. Only other memorable first half moment – TV closing down for tonight.
There’s little point in criticizing Silvester for their second goal. He’s hardly played. C’est la vie. I hope he’s happier in Paris next season. We just didn’t have sufficient creativity to break down a solid (but uninspiring) Spuds defence.
But then we saw the difference that true World Class can make. Had we had either one of the two world-class strikers that finished last season, throughout this, we wouldn’t be scrambling now. Robin could have scored three. He didn’t on this occasion, but he DID, single-handedly start the team playing.
We’ve missed that ‘Holics. We’ve missed that since that Italian dump truck ran over his ankle in November. The single most significant event in the 2009-10 season. I shall watch and applaud loudly as he performs with style in South Africa in the summer.
Never say die, we’ll have the last laugh……it’s just taking a wee while to bubble through.
Good one, ‘holic. Cheers!
The squad players who you much malign in your post jack are the ones who have kept us in the title race up till now – bentdners crucial goals against wolves, stoke, hull; almunia’s penalty save against west ham, theos goal against burnley, forgotten these already have we?
You can’t continually highlight the bad whilst failing to recognise the important contributions our whole squad has made, it is a team game after all! What would you have said if van persie had come back into a team that was already out of the title race and jostling for 4th with the spuds.
This team has continually shown strong mental strength (wenger tm) and a never say die attitude countless times this season and should be applauded for that. Weve kept ourselves in with a shout far longer than anyone expected, against all odds and whatever happens between now and the end of the season this team should have no shame.
We’re certainly not there yet but we’re definitely getting closer.
OHHH TO BE A GOONER
@ StevenageLWC
If you hadn’t lost more games than teams above you then you’d be higher up the league. Is that really the nucleus of your argument? ….truly brilliant observation.
Did they close all the schools in Hertfordshire since I left?
No problem lads. We’ll nick 3 points off Chelsea this weekend and the rest is up to you. There are a couple of important games we need you to win, so hope you stay in the race.
Tim Merrick – since you left or were expelled?
Tim Merrick, if u look at my first post u will see i called the game exactly how i saw it, to keep going on about winning leagues or when we last finished fourth is trying to make yourself feel better after a disappointing performance, only human nature i suppose.
Snir…
I think the players you have put down to offload are right!
Though i know Rosicky hasn’t played much this season but in these last few matches i haven’t been impressed by him at all. Maybe because the players alongside him aren’t giving him options, i dunno. But i wouldn’t be suprised if AW offloaded Rosicky too – the guy’s injured too much.
I just hope AW brings in players who are ready to fit straight into the team rather than ‘building’ them up. We have plenty of youth players…but we need GOOD DEPTH!…which today showed we haven’t got!
“The gap is closing and Spurs are still on the up. If we hadn’t lost to Wolves (twice), Stoke, drawn with Hull, let 2 goals in in the last 10 minutes against Everton the story could be a lot worse.”
This made me laugh. I’m not sure you want to be playing this game with us, because we need only say “Giorgio Chiellini” and we’ve already won, and that’s just the appetizer.
Closer Vanderman? I respectfully disagree. The boys have done well, and there is certainly no disgrace in finishing third. But like I’ve said before, injuries are a recurring decimal with this team. Wenger must know this, and on more than one occasion mentioned that the team was thin in key areas. He chose to bite the bullet and place his faith in his players.
It did not work. And we will be doomed to another trophyless season if he Wenger does not change his approach.
By the way – Thank you Steve T and Holic.
You keep me up after these horrible days.
And one thing for that guy StevenageLWC, we do have some steel – he’s called Alex Song. Problem is we don’t have a steel replacement for him and that has to be taken care of in the summer.
Spurs played 120 mins on Sunday on the worst pitch in England whilst you lot had a week off eating French bread. You didnt turn up till RVP came on (he is some player – world class). If Arsene cant motivate your team for that then you have got serious issues. Not even that it was Spurs but you didnt look like a team playing for a potential title shot. Bale was immense tonight.
Maybe next year for you lot = havent i heard that for the past 5 years?!
Word of warning boys. From here on in the Y word is enough reason for me to blacklist you. I’ve no problem with the LWC’s coming on here to banter, but I’ve grown out of using that word. Show some class and do the same please. Ta.
LWCarmy….u just stick to ur league cup yea. We’re bulding a team for better and bigger trophies…not the shit u won.
@Jkc
Rosicky wasn’t that good these past games but so has the whole team and so has Nasri and most significantly Diaby.
But you do have to remember the excellent performances they put in.
Anyway, Rosicky signed a new contract this season and I think that either way AW will keep him since he’s Cesc’s best friend, and believe me that has a lot of weight!
And forgot to add one more to the offload list – Andrey Arshavin.
I love the guy, he’s absolutely brilliant on the pitch, but I’d prefer players who would run their socks off even if they’ll be strikers even if they aren’t and guys who would show they’re happy to play in an Arsenal shirt!
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OH! And the most important signing next year!!!
A new medical staff!!! Fire everyone – From Colin Lewin to the last one of ’em. It’s just too much.
bitter but eloquent….nice ;-0
COYS!
This is a major result for Tottenham. It really doesn’t matter that we beat Arsenal, it could’ve been anyone. We needed those points. Finishing 4th for anyone outside the established 4 means so much more than an FA Cup, and in that respect I suspect Sir Harold knew which game was the big one. Well played Arsenal.
Love the Titanic analogy, BtM. We may have sunk tonight but we were holed below the waterline at Birmingham.
Much to look forward to though.
jkc shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,
Anyway if you would rather win no trophies than than the Carling Cup then you have issues……..
“whilst you lot had a week off eating French bread.”
There’s the kind of class we were looking for. ‘Arry’s taught you well, I see.
if only cygan was still playing, then we could have a french back 4 at arsenal too rival the famous defence that wenger inherited when he arrived
IN ARSENE WE TRUST. LONG LIVE FRENCH NOBLEMEN
Nice Mr army. Thank you.
It’s banter Dadric. Fire it back, but not vile abuse, like the pondlife at the swamp tonight.
Ta.
I enjoyed the result tonight but nothing was certain until the final whistle. Two proud teams representing two great clubs putitng on the style for the viewing public – we won tonight (at long last) but let’s see it as a victory for north London football.
35Snir Geuli
OH! And the most important signing next year!!!
A new medical staff!!! Fire everyone – From Colin Lewin to the last one of ‘em. It’s just too much.
Agree!
but persie will bring another level to our game for the rest of our season, our target is 2 place, and most important keep shitty away from 4th by beating them, i would prefere spuds on 4th!
interesting comments from AW. He claimed the team were not mature enough. I will be interested to see how he deals with it close season.
Where’s paulie? I wanted to read his well thought out shite before i turned in.
Typical goons. All making pathetic excuses rather than acknowleging spurs were the better team. You’re bitter and twisted and that’s why you’re hated the world over. You never lose because you were beaten fair and square, it’s always some sort of conspiracy. You lot need to grow up and face facts. Another season with nothing to show for all your strutting around. When your manager, players and fans show some dignity then you might eventually receive some of the respect you so arrogantly demand.
Fair enough, I suppose I may have been a bit oversensitive. Just get a bit bored with that particular “criticism.”
Let’s see how the next four games go before we start going on about blowing up the squad. There are some players that should go, and probably more that need to come in, but let’s worry about Wigan for now. It may not be a trophy, but I’d still rather finish second than third.
We are challengers not champions we need to learn from this and not persist with the way we are going. I am not disappointed – we done the best we could this season, with some bad injuries and bad luck, but hey! A goalkeeper and a change of approach is all we need. The attitude of the management and most of the players is not aggresive enough. Sol showed us what we need. AW is too stuborn!
Learn how to read Stoney, there’s a good plum.
Ok, we didn’t turn up till the 80th minute, but I did get a grin out of the snap of the spud fans that were biting their fingers off with 5 mins to go!
Suppose when you’ve seen it happen all too often before it’s predictable I suppose.
After the 2-2 home draw with everton it was plainly obvious that a few Jan window purchases were required, they wern’t, so where we are now is entirely predictable IMO.
Respect to Le Prof for sticking with his instincts, 2nd or 3rd will be a big improvement on the pre season expectations of the media and some sections of ‘our fans’ [rolls eyes]
Glass half full, back on the mojitos practising ready for next year!
Jeez stoney, – have you been reading another forum or something?
Reminds me of the season where leeds and viduka killed our title hopes,but we bounced back beautifully. RvP in those 20 minutes reminded me of the arsenal I have missed in the last 4 months or so,swift sleek and beautiful. All is not lost,12 years is a long time and it was about time we gave those petty gits a win and I hope they stop getting on the back of Sol,who I felt was immense today.With the signing of Chamakh, a good goalie, a centre back(in case gallas leaves) we will be back next season.It has been a good season.
I was gonna go to bed earlier this time around ………
Could I really no chance too much on me head
We lost tonight and should take this on the chin, silly mistakes let to these silly goals what eslse can you say
Sad is I feel but tomorrow I shall be hungry again…
Kanonierzy to moj klub ktory kocham i zawsze bede!
Gooners in my team that i will love forever and ever!
Bless you Arthur,
Better days lie ahead for you, I hope.
I’ve read numerous forums. My comments don’t just apply to tonight. Your defeats are always littered with paltry excuses. Perhaps you’re the ones who should read up a bit more. There’s a good bunch of sour grapes.
Very Balanced. They deserved it. I hope to see some real paradigm shift in defense next season. we should work on our weaknesses. we can only improve as long as we are honest about what we see in the mirror.
Some of you guys wanna get real! We need change – not a lot – we are close! FFS
Holic better days lie for us I hope…. 🙂
DelBoyEssex
Stick to making fame ……
In Poland we barbecue Spuds for the last nibble ….we throw them in the red glowing coal but sometimes you get burnt I certainy got that tonight….
A Gonner I always will be……….
Night night………..
ArthurThe Gooner .. .. .. wot you mean?
So we lost tonight, our title bid is almost certainly over, and some “supporters” are already compiling lists of all of those who should never be allowed to set foot inside The Grove again.
Can we maybe allow ourselves just a little thinking time here. We have in our squad, some players who are undoubtedly intended to be squad players. Due to our normal, dire injury situation, those players have been turning out in various combinations, week after week.
Tonight we missed Gallas, Vermaelen, Fabregas, Song, Arshavin and, for 65% of the game, van Persie. The entire spine of a fantastic team.
Against what remained of our squad, Sp*rs were three world class saves away from a 4 – 2 defeat.
At the beginning of the season we were forecast by just about every pundit and journalist to be the team who would lose their top 4 spot to Citeh. Moreover, we would be lucky, they said, to finish in the top 6 – some predicted 10th place for us – and that was assuming we played our “proper” team.
Arsene didn’t buy to plug the gaps we all knew needed plugging. Is he a complete fool? Could it be, that in the economic situation we faced, that he just didn’t have the kind of money needed to buy the necessary quality?
To be where we are, on April 14th, is, I feel, an amazing achievement, given the catalogue of injuries we have carried all season.
Can we maybe resist the urge to start slaughtering our squad players and get behind them – they are, like it or not, all we have to carry us through to ensure our 3rd (2nd ?) place.
I’ll be there, for the Citeh game, come what may, as most of us will be. Not blind faith in any bunch of “Arsene knows” kids. Just trying to support our team. And proud to do it.
it was a good game although spurs showed more attacking threat it must be said, you packed the midfield had more possesion with no product, i would like to mention that although we havent beaten you in the league for some time, you realy have to admit that theres been a lot of games we played you off the park and ended up drawing, i recal last season at the lane, and the last game at highbury comes to mind amongst others, so it was about time we beat you as it was more of a psychological issue than anything else as teams like bolton and west hame beat you occasionaly and we beat them most of the time so it looks like we will make this a regular habbit now, (youve missed van persie class) credit where its due although i think we have a better squad than you, who would disagree? take care guys and good luck x
Trev. I am with you. Knee jerk reactions have no place in football. Before we decide on who to put first in front of the firing squad i think it is time for a reality check.
Deep breath. Big balls and let’s go and do wigan.
Keep the faith.
😉 Floating, just Floating, Ive been crowing on for 2 years this would happen and now it has. But like we cannot blame the pitch or the referee for disallowing a goal on sunday.. remember both sides were short in numbers.
Rose will score again and he has a future.
You were a tad faster and better organized to retain the ball, was it a class thing or was the boys a shade knackered on our side we shall see!! Always next year
Robin Van Persie! Robin Van Persie! Robin Van Persie!
To all the spurs fans who have come here tonight.
1) I don’t think too many here would argue that your win was undeserved.
2) It took you ten years to do it.
3) We are still 10 points above you.
4) We may not have won anything this season, but we came close.
5) You didn’t win anything this season either.
There are two world class professionals in the gunners side, Fabregas and Van Persie, all we need is another nine.
Cusop, I’m surprised you’ve only been crowing this would happen for the last two years. Who did you support for the previous nine?
First and Foremost, thanks again ‘holic for the seasons worth of fantastic posts and insights. An absolute must and pleasure to read. from day 1 to season end.
The 2010 title campaign is over and worst of all at the hands of the Spuds, a sad day for Gooners the world over. It has certainly been more fun than last season and to those who would use this as an opportunity to lampoon all things Arsene Wenger, I would urge them to reconsider. While the past few years haven’t seen our mantle make room for any new silverware, it’s hard to deny that the team has improved both on the pitch and in the overall financial management of the club. Arsene deserves much of this credit and how some supporters aren’t behind him still baffles me even after sorry performances like today.
If there are silver linings to take home, the play of Robin Van Persie surely stood out this evening. It gives me a lot of confidence about our next campaign with a healthy RVP. I dare ask how Chelski and ManUre would have survived without Drogba or Rooney for 5 months.
New Signings/Departures – As for Alumnia, I think it’s been well known for a long time that he certainly cannot be our #1 next season. I think in any fair comparison of “unforced goals” allowed by goalies this year in the EPL, Alumnia would probably lead in both total and % terms. If Tommy V had a twin brother we could spend 10M this summer it’d certainly wouldn’t be disappointed. Everyone knows Chamakh will be joining as well. After tonights game though, I’d love another season out of Sol as well.
Here’s to not having the entire squad spend 1/2 their time in the treatment room next season and us doing the triple! Here’s too Cesc in an Arsenal kit next season.
Grey Goose and soda barman.
Cheers again ‘Holic
Here’s to a great finish in our last four games, an injury free summer for our players (crossed fingers), one or two great new faces in, and many more years of Arsene Wenger at the helm. I wouldn’t mind seeing Sol Campbell around for many more years either, first as a player next season and then as a coach. We need more of his fist-punching spirit.
Credit to Spurs they were the better team tonight. What worries me about the result tonight is our failure to end their bid to top-4. If Citeh get it we will, almost certainly, be seeing a 5-horse race for the 4 CL spots in the near to mid-term future. That would effectively deny Spurs the financial and competition appeal to attract quality players. If they do get the fourth, though, it could be an entirely different picture.
On to Arsenal’s squad, I feel that we are only only two to three players short to becoming a winning side. First XI quality goalie and midfield will make our starting XI comparable to any side in Europe, which is clearly not the case at the moment. While a third or fourth choice centre back will succinct. Not even United or Chelsea have four centre backs (overall speaking) as strong as Vermaelan, Gallas, Campbell and JD.
This is the first time I am facing defeat to Sp*rs in the league since I started following Arsenal games.. I always dreaded the moment but somehow it doesnt feel that bad now.
It looks like a big burden is off, and now we can relax on derby days.
The 5-1, Wenger threw away that match, so I dont really count it as a defeat!
——————
4 games left – perfect time to try out Eastmond and Merida. See what they have got in them. Time to plan ahead.Time is running out
Before I thought this day could get any worse, my very lengthy comment I tried to post here failed because of an “internal service error ?” f*** it anyways. I’ll take a Bulmers…
Wenger needs to buy depth. Sylvester, Campbell, Denilson, are just not good enough. Diaby played poor.No consistency. Sylvester and Campbell are washed up rejects, and we swoop in cause they are a steal and experienced. they suck, Have no speed make poor decisions.
WORST OF ALL IS ALMUNIA SUCKS!!!! Why is he so shitty in net and in decision making??? Definitely not a TOP 10 goalie in the premiership.
If Wenger was smart and used his head instead of being a moron in the transfer window, he would never look the way he does. He is the MOST GROUCHY AND PISSED OFF LOOKING coach in all of europe. NEVER a smile on his face until the last minute goal we normally get.
If he did his job and bought players, he wouldn’t need to look grouchy and pissed off cause he team is poor and not performing well. You dont have the team to perform at that level. aside from our 5 stars (Fabregas, Vermaaelam, Van Persie, Song, Arshavin @ times) we are a mediocre, mid table team.
Need some changes now. Stop supporting under performing over rated players. Arsenal have been but to the bottom pits in stature with no trophies. Need some DEPTH NOW!!
Thank God we have level-headed people in charge around here!!
One thing that’s been lost in all of this is the refereeing. Maybe I’m crazy, but I actually thought that Clattenburg did a pretty solid job. Credit to him, that seems to be a rarity in big games this season.
As for the panic-mongers, chill out. Sure, some changes are necessary this summer, but let’s get thought the last four before going crazy about it. Besides, seeing RvP again tonight was a reminder that of what we actually already have, and were denied for so much of this season. Hopefully we’ll supplement, but talk of running Wenger out and blowing up the squad is unreasonable.
Sp*rs have every right to enjoy themselves today. 10 years is a long time to wait,
Then we have every right to point to the league table….
and the thing is WE are disappointed not to be higher! Meanwhile they are getting excited about being beneath us……
Onwards and upwards….. 2nd place above Manure is there for the taking.
Still Hurts lol and ive got the banging head to go with it now!!,
Can some of our players say the same thing after last night ?
Im afraid we have lost every big game that matters this season so i do hope we are spared Wengers normal post match comments along the lines of we showed desire, mental strength , etc etc As a club we are carrying to many passengers that are richly rewarded for failure and until that is addressed we will have more of the same, We have some great talent under the surface and with a little bit of tinkering and a few good signings this side could break out into what we all think it can become but Wenger has got to realise as it stands this side and certain first team individuals are nowhere near the required standard to win big prizes,
Up The Arse,
‘Holic – another great post. Thanks for everything this season for seeing me through the nervy times when we were in a title chase and now for writing such an excellent blog in times of despair.
I’m gutted today. It just feels like a season of so much optimism has been scuppered by so many injuries and therefore it leaves me with so many what ifs. I know there is more to it than just injuries, but RVP’s cameo last night made things so much worse as it just highlighted what we missed.
Still, with Chelsea and Man U unlikely to gain another point this season, we only have to take 7 from 12 and the title is ours, so I do have that to cheer me up!!!
Dadric, good point. I have made no secret of my disgust at the standard of refereeing season.
The mark of a good refereeing performance is that you don’t notice the fella, and until you said that I hadn’t noticed Clattenberg last night, so credit where it is due.
Thanks Essex. That feeling is just the worst, isn’t it. Do what I am today. Front ’em up. Laugh at ’em. Don’t let the bastards see the blood.
WE ARE THE ARSENAL!
No complaints about the result from me, Spurs boys wanted it far more than they did at Pompey (Which was a bit weird)
Some of our lads looked sadly like what they are, Squad members at best.
Rosicky is, I’m sorry to be negative here, Pathetic, He signed a new contract with Arsene talking about how his experience and world class attributes would be of benefit to Arsenal, All he does is give the ball away and make bad decisions, But sadly he is not alone.
Mikael I will not criticise because as I said in my last post, he is past it and woe is ours that Arsene still trusted he could do a job in any game, That however is not Mikaels fault.
Much like you ‘Holic, when Vermaelen went off I thought it was over, And you would never have guessed our players were rested, From the moment Spurs scored (A freak goal is still a goal) we looked as if the belief we could win was gone and as for the second goal, Well I did not want a good nights sleep anyway.
On to the positives, Oh there is only one positive, ROBIN VAN PERSIE, now the squad that played last night should have looked at him and felt sorely ashamed, out for five bloody months and singlehandedly changes the whole game for us and barring some miracle saves should have seen us winning the game let alone drawing it.
There is hope next season if only Arsene can actually see what is wrong.
@snr
Too right my friend, clearly since Gary Lewin left us the medical team is no longer up to the job for which they are obviously badly needed.
Calm heads and lets all hope for this miracle season to hand Chelsea some surprising results too!
Come on you Rip Roaring Free Scoring Never Boring GUNNERS!!!!
We lost. We had a lot of the ball, but couldn’t do enough with it. It sucks, but there you go.
Campbell was absolutely magnificent.
@chippy: we have lost many of the big games this season, but not all of them. Both games v Liverpool were massive games in terms of where we would have headed had we lost either of them and we won both. I’d also say that in the context of which the games were played I’d say that Stoke away and Villa at home wer also rather big games. I wholeheartedly agree that we need to perform better in those big games while still not dropping in quality in the less glamorous ones but we shouldn’t forget the things we have actually done well.
And as for Clattenburg last night, I think he got one decision wrong and that was to not show a red card when Rosicky was brought down. We had two players running towards the goal with no defenders left – how is that not an obvious goal-scoring opportunity? I honestly don’t think we would have won or maybe not even have drawn if it had been a red card, but nonetheless I think it was a mistake. Other than that, though, he was very good.
All in all, the home team won deservedly because they took their chances better than we did.
Just forget this game and start preparing for Wigan. Win The Next Match still applies.
Hardly ever contribute – but just have to this time.
I must have been watching a different game than everyone else – I thought we outplayed them for most of it, fought hard and still had the character to keep fighting till the last minute. We have to give them credit for being extremely well organised and fighting equally as hard as us.
It was not the attitude that cost us yesterday – it was (as has been the case apart from the first five games of the season) the final ball (Theo, Eboue, Sagna) and our unwillingness to set people up to have a strike outside the box. Remember early goals from Cesc, Vamaelen, Nasri, Ramsay. Plus the usual cock up at the back.
Next year we will be really strong with massive strength in depth. Some of the whipping boys have come on leaps and bounds this year:
Song and Diarby have improved out of all recognition, although Diarby is not yet consistent enough.
Ramsay is going to be the real deal – world class IMO.
The perfomances Denilson put in in the last game against Barcelona and since have really surprised me. Against Barca I though he was the one player who could live with them technicallly – he kept and distributed the ball brilliantly.
Rosicky and Eduardo just need a full pre-season.
Theo, Fabianski, Vela and Marida have most to do but they will keep developing.
Coming along nicvely are Jack, Shezney, JET, Lansbury, Bartley and others.
Fine tuning is what this team needs to move it on to the highest level – Premier League and Champions League! That my friends, along with a stadium to die for, a healthy bank balance and a squad of such tender years that we should be anticipating a brilliant decade to come is some achievement!
‘holic, great post as ever. I also said to my management ‘season’s over’. He misheard the ‘our’ and I swiftly changed it to ‘his’. Didn’t want to be too negative! We can still get 2nd. I thought Sol, Nasri great. But I wanted Nasri to take on Cesc role as he did against Porto. Didn’t really happen. Diaby has few defensive instincts and that is very big shortcoming, he needs to get closer and stay with players. Don’t understand why he or Rosicky weren’t taken off instead of Denilson (who I know doesn’t make a lot of forward passes, but he can be very calm on the ball and quite good at keeping it!).
Strangely calm about losing to spuds. There was possibly that fear of losing to them growing for some time (because of the length of unbeaten run) which can’t be good (much like the fear that crept into our game at the end of the invincible season). So at least that’s over now. WIN the next game.
Morning Holic & Holic`s
Freak goal and poor defending costs us again.
I didn’t want to post last night as I would probably vent too much again. In the cold light of day things haven’t changed that much actually. The blood has cooled and I still feel disappointed.
Regarding the first goal, let me say a fantastic strike by the debutante Rose contender for goal of the season possibly. Now the onion, Almunia was under NO pressure and could have caught the ball. You do not come that far out to claim a ball unless you can take it cleanly. He was under no pressure and as he found out it did look good for the cameras but for the wrong reasons.
Once again the half time team talk turned to dust within 2 minutes of the re-start. Unlike the Barca game i think the boss had time to take his seat this time. Same story again 2 CB who don’t play together leaving a huge gap. Sagna had the best view of where the line was and he was 4 yards behind the rest of the boys but when you have 2 CB not knowing what the wing backs are doing leads to mistakes and costly ones at that.
For all the passing prowess and keep ball ability which unfortunately led to no penetration or drive. To sum up the lack of drive and ambition could be best summed up by the best player on the pitch for us Mr Sol Cambell. At 2-0 down he tried to pump up the team with screams of come on clapping we can do this, sadly this fell on deaf ears. Sol was doing this all game trying to get his team mates out of their slumber. If you see him doing this in front of them they barely looked up or joined in the we can win this mentality that was needed. Sad that no one had the belief of a 35 year old at the end of his career who took nothing but dogs abuse all game but kept going.
Again I was very disappointed with Rosiky,Diaby and Theo. They didn’t play as we know they can and in these games we need are big players to step up to the plate. However the plate was empty until the player who has been out for the best part of the season was willing and more than able to stand up and be counted. Enter the one and only Robin Van Persie who turned a very very average performance into 15 minutes of pure pain for the spuds fans. Sky were kind enough to show there pained expressions as they thought we will not win this as the dutchman took control of a game that had gone well out of our reach. It was claimed RVP had not played since November and that being the case what would have been had he been with us all season. No need to dwell on the past as that can not be changed its just good to have him back for the last few games. Not only to have a player of his obvious skill and ability but a leader who leads by example. Mr Wenger please stop giving the arm band to Almunia ! I have never understood that anyway a keeper doesn’t have a out field pr essence so why do it.
I will have to say that miracles are needed for us to win the league now. In saying that I think we are due some good luck from Miss Lady Luck who hasn’t been around all season. So another game has come and gone and the injury list has grown AGAIN WTF.
GOONER TIL I DIE
I BELIEVE
@ 76.
I think you should go support citeh.
“stop supporting under performing over rated players”
What planet are you on?
If they wear the shirt then they are ARSENAL and WE are the BEST.
Bet you never stood up the clock end before it was covered 🙁
Blood pressure coming down.
47 @Stoney – we know you have a job to do, so that’s okay by us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxxPLDZnqwA
The other Spuds on here have been remarkably (for the most part) balanced. Good banter, fair enough. Especially the guy who saw it as a victory for N London! Wow – are you Mother Teresa reincarnated?? 🙂
Makes a nice change from being invaded by thugs from the Midlands saying that we should learn to accept having legs snapped in two…
The season’s not (completely) over. WTNM FFS!
Long time listener, first time caller. Decided to finally get off my chest what i think it the root cause of most of our problems, tying together our frustrating inability to win games and our tendency to get injured.
Our tactical style is to pass teams off the pitch, with the aim of threading a killer pass which opens the tightest defenses. When we have Fabregas (/Hleb) playing, who can do that, then we create those chances for our strikers. When we have top class strikers such as RvP & Arshavin (/pre-crocked Eduardo) who can score from a sliver of a chance, then we convert those chances by the hatful. Subsequently the ‘pass it around the box’ tactic works. Without the expert ball-threader and quality striker we’re unable to penetrate mobbed defenses. By passing it slowly up the pitch rather than breaking at pace (like we used to) we give the opposition the best chance of regrouping and give ourselves the worst chance of ripping them apart on the break.
I can’t help feeling that this relates to our injury situation. If we have the vast majority of possession then it tends to be that the opposition players are trying to tackle us rather than the other way around. This would be less of a problem in leagues where physicality is more frowned upon, but in the Premier League there are enough teams full of clod-hoofed farmhands (like Shawcross) that we’re effectively putting our players’ legs in harms way. I’d be interested to see stats on the average number of tackles attempted on our midfield & strikers compared to those of other teams. Anyone got ProZone?
If seems to me that the solution to this problem (which is masked when our best players are present) is to have long shots. When we have all the possession and the opposition shut up shop, we’re deadlocked. By shooting from range, their midfield would be forced to defend higher up the pitch, thus creating interstitial spaces for our tappy tappy to go through, rather than us trying to find gaps which don’t exist. In addition, we’d score some fucking goals. What’s the point of having possession if you don’t use it?
The reward of creating a great chance (e.g. one on one with keeper) by retaining possession for a 5 minute spell is outweighed by the risk of wasting possession having created no chance, due to the cumulative probability of losing it every time we take on a player or pass it. With Fabs playing, his passing ability means we need less possessional time to create a good chance, and with a quality striker on we can get goals from lower-chance passes which require less possession to generate.
By assessing the quality of the team in terms of thread-needle passing and quality striking, Arsène could set some sort of possession-to-shot ratio for the match. With Fabs & Rambo feeding RvP & Arshavin, don’t bother with long shots. With all 4 of them out (like most of last night), have a whack from range when the opportunity presents itself.
Side-benefit of this approach1: would be that – by spending less time camped outside their 18-yard box – we’d be less vulnerable to conceding on the break. If Rosicky decides to shoot and swipes one towards the corner flag, well, fuck it, he’s getting his eye in, and in the meantime our defence & defensive mids can regroup.
Side-benefit of this approach2: packed defenses give pacy wingers no room to operate. We have the top two fastest players in the league and Clichy can’t be far behind. This would give them room to operate (not that Sol Campbell, at #2, is a winger…)
Side-benefit of this approach3: awesome goals.
So that’s it in a nutshell: shoot more from range, especially when Fabs isn’t playing. I strongly get the feeling that distance shots are despised by Wenger, hence our players who used to be great at them (e.g. Rosicky, Diaby) barely ever try them, and when they do Wenger looks disgusted, leading me to believe that they’re frowned upon in training hence potentially not practiced. ‘It’s not the Arsenal way…’
I’m hurting as much as you are – but I can still admit that Spurs deserved the win last night, and not just because they ‘defended’.
A game of defence against attack? I think not. It was Spurs who clearly had the best chances over the whole game.
Other than the goal, we only created one other chance of note and that was Van Persie’s great work in the penalty box. The other two fantastic Gomes saves came from a free kick and a corner.
Also your piece suggests that Gomes’ saves were to deny equalisers – they were not, they came when the score was 2-0. The saves Gomes made also were the first that he’d had to make in the game and came when there was more than 80 minutes on the clock, when Spurs were completely content to sit back and defend.
Spurs were simply the better team, yes they defended better but they were also more purposeful and creative when in posession. Each time Spurs went forward there was an air of panic in our ranks. Each time Arsenal went forward Spurs seemed calm and composed and easily able to deal with the threat. We ran up blind alleys, passed the ball sideways and eventually either put in an aimless cross, got tackled or made a bad pass.
In Ledley King and Michael Dawson Spurs have a fantastic centre half pairing. I think both of them should be going to the World Cup, but King absolutely HAS to go. Suppose Ferdinand picks up a suspension and has to mis the qtr/semi final – King would step in and guarantee a performance. He has to be the most naturally gifted centre half in the country. How the man can play like that while not being able to train is amazing.
Spurs may or may not finish in the top four this season. Irrespective of whether they do or not they are becoming a good team under Redknapp. I think over the next few seasons there will be six genuine Champions League qualification contenders with Spurs and Man City being a consistent threat.
Just to add I would like Sol to be given a years contract for back up for the first team as well as his leadership and experiance will be a bonus to the youngsters. If more of are players had his gille and belief we would have won last night ( plus bringing on RVP earlier of course)
So who is with me Sol for a new contract ?
Quick mention to Sol. I know a few above have mentioned him. Mr. Campbell, I am humbled to have to play for the mighty Arsenal again. You are pure class!! Just pure class!!
Come on the Arsenal. The scum won by fluke.
Sorry that should have read Guile. i think thats right.
I certainly am Arsenal 1971. Watching him on the field this morning, his attitude towards the game, took the edge off the loss.
“It was all a bad dream!!!” The End.
Sadly, this is not the case!! The next ten years begins today!!!
Just one observation i’d like to make- Gooners should be proud of the teams performance so far this season – shorn of FIVE world class players- Fab, Verminator, Arshavin, Gallas, and Song (+ Wilshere & RVP (temporarily)) – any team would struggle!
Sol was MOTM last night (In my opinion)
RVP looked sharp!!
Could we please buy a goalkeeper that can catch?? Dont care who it is as long as he can CATCH THE F**ING BALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@1971: I’m with you, I’d be happy to keep Sol on board. He shouldn’t be the first-choice backup of course, but he brings very valuable experience to the team and he will without a doubt be able to play the odd game here and there next season as well if needed.
Nice try Luke.
Hope you take the points off Chelsea. 🙂
Don’t call me one of them just because I saw it objectively Goonerholic….
I was there last night, and had the pain of watching it all unfold- were you?
If you can’t accept that Spurs played better than we did then you are in denial.
Trev, Steve T and others.
I am right behind the team and you should know (Steve) that I think this is BY FAR the best team in the EPL.
I wrote that list cause there’s no denying that our season is over, we could win the last 4 matches, end with a nice taste but that’d do nothing to our title bid unless Chelsea’ll lose 7 points.
I do think that this team is the best in the EPL and that’s what makes me so disappointed with that result and the title bid gone to waste.
I also think that with the needed changes we will be one of Europe’s best without a doubt. And that’s of course a decent keeper, a good solid centre half, a replacement for when Song gets injured and Chamakh.
Next year should be a piece of cake.
@Snir Geuli (4)- agree with proposed changes with possible exception of Denilson, on the proviso that he can learn to give a shit and bother to run after people.
@Dadric (78) – somewhat agree, tho he waved his yellow around a lot to start with – 3 yellows weren’t yellow (inc Modric)
@Drapedindarkness (83) / others: disagree with Rosicky criticism FOR THIS GAME. Recently (esp 2nd leg Barca) he’s been ineffectual and brought nothing. Last night his movement was good, jinking runs were something i’ve not seen in a while, he genuinely looked like he was trying to create stuff and have some (2) shots.
@Kings very Cross (85) bloody right mate! We had all the ball and knocked on the door all game, but did our usual thing of trying to play it too tight. When they broke they looked pretty good on occasion but they should – they’ve got quality players and are challenging for top 4.
@Arsenal1971 – with you on theo & diaby (somewhat). Theo just doesn’t have an answer to tight defenses, and when he passes the ball to the line-runner (sagna, eboue, bentdner, whoever) he always just runs behind the nearest defender, giving the guy with the ball no option to use him unless there’s a gulf of space for him to run into.
With you on the armband also. If Big Sol’s ostensibly been brought in to mould the young defense as much as to actually defend, give him the armband.
@Luke (90) calm and composed? Maybe to start with, but increasingly panicked and error-prone. Props to Gudjohnson for keeping his head.
@Arsenal1971 (91) +1 for that. Shame we didn’t sign Viera to do the same for Diaby & the rest. Maybe next season?
@Luke
“Spurs were simply the better team, yes they defended better but they were also more purposeful and creative when in posession.”
On the surface it may have appeared this way, but I don’t think it holds up once you actually consider how things played out. For the overwhelming majority of the game, they were pretty content to leave eight back and catch us on the break. Fair play to them, God knows it’s been a consistently useful strategy against us (especially once Vermaelen went down), but it also provides a bit of a flattering image. It’s easy to look “purposeful” when there’s so much space to push forward quickly, and much easier to look “creative” then when there are fifteen players crowded in the attacking third.
Don’t get me wrong, I honestly don’t think we outplayed them, and they certainly looked as if they “wanted it more,” which might be the most painful part of the loss, but I don’t buy the “more creative” label being given to them. Our biggest problem, as I think Arseblogger mentioned today, was that too many players were looking for the safest option, and it ended up resulting in a failure to penetrate and create real chances. As frustrating as it must be for “lesser” sides to watch us possess-possess-possess for the entire match, it’s just as frustrating for us to watch the boys tippy-tap around with nothing to show for it. It’s not a criticism of the philosophy, because I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but without the right players on the end of it (especially RvP), it’s tough for it to translate into anything.
Not so Luke. I saw a very different game to you. I’ll grant you they were more determined than us, defended better than us, because they had to. We had nearly all of the ball, but devoid of five of our best six players throughout, all six in fact for half a game we lacked creativity and that fabled mental strength.
But they offered nothing other than that. They deserved their win for working harder than us, and I have acknowledged that, but they had no qualities other than hard work and sheer bloody mindedness.
To take one game a month King to the World Cup would be madness with other injuries in the squad, and if a space were available it should be Sol’s rather than his boot-cleaner’s.
KingsVeryCross – I like your perspective and agree with your sentiments. You should contribute more often. You’re almost as positive a force as ‘Holic himself.
Aussie Jack – “We’ve got two world class, we only need nine more” is an interesting theme to ponder.
I don’t agree that we only have two. I’d put Vermaelen (there), Gallas (there) Ramsey (there at his age) and Nasri (Frequently flickers). Song comes very close. I’d love to add Denilson to the list, but he needs to improve his defense and ball-winning. Some would say, Arshavin, I can’t agree.
Which team in the world has eleven? Certainly not Barcelona and they’re acclaimed worldwide. No one in England. So, how many do you need? And do you need back-ups when they’re injured? More importantly, how much are you prepared to pay (Renaldo ~ 90M; Kaka 80M – and RM still can’t win anything). And where’s all the money coming from??
I wish we could have FIVE world class players on the field for every game. Then, as the Barcelona team does, the balance of the squad needs to play off them, and to their particular strengths.
Unfortunately, in NOT ONE single game this season did we have Gallas, Vermaelen, Cesc, Robin, Nasri on the field at the same time.
Iv been following your blog for a while and its the place i turn to for (footballing) happy times and sad.
I think its difficult these days when you teams not doing well because of the Blogs, Podcast,and 24 Hour rolling sports news.
Yes i can Go in to “Mugarbie Media Lockdown” but that dosent stop the texts coming through when you switch your phone on!
Cup of tea 2.5 sugars please
Defensive mistakes cost us again last night and if I was pointing the finger at anybody for the first goal it would be Almunia. I thought when I first saw the corner played in it simply should have been caught the punch was good and into a fairly safe area and the strike was unbelievable but I thought it was avoidable. The second you gotta say was a mixture of the Silvestre and Clichy. Silvestre for ignoring what was behind him but worse was Clichy who spotted the danger and persisted in playing the offside trap with his arm in the air.
IMO overall from last night it was the same problem/s that has been an issue for the last 3 weeks or so we just look like a team that is running out of steam like a knackered horse in the last furlong. Injuries have taken their toll and also the late goals we had to work so hard to get we played up until the last seconds in a lot of games this season were it would have been lovely to be 3 nil up and cruising and you can start to take your foot off the pedal and rest players with 20minutes to go. As much as a late goal is great for a team it is also very mentally draining on a side to have to do it week in week out. Too many under performers for me last night and spurs wanted it more they played well last night they tackled us all over the pitch and defensively they were solid until Van Persie came on, and most annoyingly played with more heart than our lot too :o(
A word of a mention for Sol he was awesome last night. I thought he had one of his best games ever in an Arsenal shirt he was that good. He had the heart of a lion through all the abuse he that he received from the Spurs fans and came through it shining on the other side, he showed determination and fight merits that were sadly missing from the rest of our team. I hope Wenger keeps him around next season as he still has job to do in my opinion whoever we bring in as defensive cover will need experience around them.
The league is gone now but we still have second to play for which in its own right would be an achievement while putting one over Utd!
On another note listening to the Spurs fans vile chants towards AW when he was stood on touchline sadly shows that the neandertall attitude in old Trafford is matched by that in WHL, an absolute disgrace!! Thankfully it’s only these 2 sets of fans that show themselves up for what they are…
Gooners!
I agree with all of that ‘holic
Interesting you make the point BtM about not necessarily the number of absentees, but who they were. Something I have said elsewhere this morning.
Afraid I cannot be the champion of the reasoned today. Waves of anger have come over me, and I’ll get it all down in a blog later so everybody can have a good old bitch at me and put me back on the right track.
Right now though I am lower than the belly of a snake that has just been run over by an articulated lorry…
And heh!
I needed that Jackster 😉
Paul F@105. Such hypocrites. There was a chant sung about adebayor when he wore an ar2ena1 shirt and people like you jumped up and down calling it disgusting. You lot now sing it to him since he had the sense to leave your sinking ship. You’re just another bitter goon grasping at straws and looking for pathetic excuses. You lot are a laughing stock.
Everyone likes to say that Wenger never signs anyone, but he did. He brought in Sol Campbell and Thomas Vermaelen, both have been brilliant for us this season. We’re not there yet, but I have faith that he’ll make the necessary tweaks this summer (like Chamakh for starters).
And for those calling for Wenger to leave. Who would replace him? Mark Hughes? Phil Brown?
The one thing we have missed for the latter part of the season is consistanty. We have been in awe of some of the performances by the lesser know propagandist within the Arsenal team namely Diaby,Eboue and of course Song.
Song at this moment could be classed as a must for whenever or whomever we play. His game is second to none this year quietly going about his business under the radar of most other supporters apart from us. The Gilberto role if you will, not knowing what you have until he is not there. I among most of you on here have sung his praises to the hilt and i think he can still get better with age.
Diaby has blown me away with some of his performances but still very inconsistent he really needs to work on that.
Eboue`s big difference this season has been his willingness to take people on and go past them and his final ball and decision making has been first class until last night but overall a great squad player.
Theo, what can you say from the sublime to the ridiculous sometimes. Form is fleeting but class is forever, that in mind i am worried about his future. Before I get berated yes I know he is only 21 but has there been much in way of improvement in the last 4 years ? Pace without control is nothing but pace, can anyone remind me the last team to win the PL because they were the fastest team in the league. I believe his passport has blinded some of us but not me. If he was sold to make extra transfer funds available i wont shed a tear.
Rosiky,Eddie and Vela need to stay behind in training and stand up to be counted, loss of form ? work on it ! bad first touch ? work on it ! lost confidence in front of goal ? yes you guessed it work on it !
I have said before i have no problem with us losing as long as they all gave a 100% to me that’s that cant ask for more, I’m fine with it but as i said in the earlier posts losing through lack of application or desire i do have a problem with.
The potential of this team is there for all to see and it will reach its potential with the odd couple of players needed as once again the team has gain another years experience. The players we bring in MUST be proven not young talent as we have that in abundance. This team I believe will take over from manure as the new PL force and then our back to back titles will flow.
I Believe
Haha look at Stoney he can incorporate numbers into words isnt he a clever little Heeb 🙂
@stoney
A sinking ship ?
Give me some of what you are on !
Sol left the lane to win trophy`s can you just remind me how many he won, and how many he would have won if he stayed put.
You may get 4th place and that is a doubt and your preaching to a team who have the best record of appearing in the champions league. Yes thats right Barca or Real or even man U dont have our consistency. But if that is proof of a sinking ship you need to go and read up a bit more.
I wont bring up the old 1st division as that is too far in the past, but can you tell me how many PL titles you have. I dont think that will take too long. How have you got the front to say Arsenal is a sinking ship. Cast your mind back to last season and your relegation fight. Now lets see you get in the top 4 every year and not once in a blue moon and that`s if you even will. When we are fighting relegation and you are in the CL every season you will be welcome back to say I told you so. But until hell decides to freeze over I dont think your statement holds water. Do you
i feel fine as f#ck after reading this post…simply because the first thing the spuds did after the win was log on to arsenal blogs.
i have never seen a sp#rs blog all my life let a lone the last 10 years
Anyone think that Wenger might start looking to next season with the few games remaining and try pairing RVP (7 in 13) with NB52 (9 in 11)? It looked quite good yesterday… but would mean going back to 4-4-2 .
Thoughts? Trying to get something positive out of the game!
Thank you SI (100) and BTM (!03).
I am of course a cup half full merchant – so when we only need a top up it is positively overflowing in my eyes.
And I agree with J of C (104). You get a decent perspective and the posts are football related. Well done Holic.
Can not wait for the Barnet game! Oh – the seasons not over yet.
I realize I’m not the most intelligent person in the world, so I was hoping Stoney might clarify for me what led him to conclude that Arsenal is a “sinking ship.” It’s probably really obvious and I’m just really slow. Was it finishing higher than last year? Or qualifying again for the Champion’s League? Maybe it’s our ridiculously solid financial situation, and being so far ahead in paying off a money-generating stadium? Wait, I suppose its the absurdly low average of our squad, especially cornerstone players like Fabregas and Vermaelen.
Honestly though, you’re probably right that we’re a sinking ship, which I suppose means we must have been so all year, no? Gotta feel for teams that we embarrass 3 – nil (just a randomly selected scoreline from this season), I can’t even imagine how pathetic that must make them feel.
Incidentally, not that it should distract from our problems, but it occurs to me that the last time we felt the sting of this particular loss, I was a freshman in high school. When I consider that I managed to finish four years of high school, five years of university, and almost two years of graduate school before they could manage to beat us again, it’s not quite so bad.
Not a bad run, boys. Not a bad run. And of course, the end of this one only means it’s the perfect time to start the next.
@ Stoney. I’m not talking about player chants or booing of ex players. If you were there last night or watching it on telly you would have heard it as it was very audible. It’s the despicable chant Spurs and Utd fans sing about Arsene of which I will not repeat and one of which should not be sung so casually among children.
Just my thoughts. I’m not going to get hung up on it in here it just boils my blood to hear it been sung, end of!
Stoney, YOU’RE the one who sounds angry and bitter and full of resentment. Why so angry? You just beat us for the first time in 11 years!
Every single Arsenal blog I’ve read has been full of gracious acceptance of defeat. Where’s the conspiracy mongering? Show it. Which one of us has complained about the ref or anything else, except our own players’ faults? Every single Arsenal blog I’ve read have credited Spurs for their performance — good defense, great goals. You deserved it. Give examples of gooners complaining or blaming anything other than our team’s failings.
Why can’t you simply enjoy your victory without all this pathetic vitriol and bile? Geezus, even in victory some of you spuds just continue to show what a bunch of sad, whingeing losers you are.
I will just post Arsene’s own words here:
“Sol was one of our better players. He has shown the way to some players. What a winner he is. He showed what you need if you want to win titles. He deserves a lot of credit because he turned up with a real performance.”
Amen to that.
Sol Campbell for vice captain. Why Almunia keeps getting chosen for that role is beyond my understanding.
We actually haven’t done all that well in our previous 9 games at WHL (winning only twice) – statistically, a win for them was coming. Well done to them, they earned it. I had a bad feeling about last night’s game so I wasn’t too surprised.
But I don’t buy any injury excuses for us. Totally irrelevant. Spurs had injuries too. And Diaby, Rosicky, Denilson, Sagna et al. are all quite good enuf to beat a Spurs squad also with injuries.
And that RVP, huh? Geezus, if only he could stay injury free, we’d win the fkg league!
Dadric, don’t look at it logically my friend you must know and understand the culture of the heebs basically one league victory over us is seen as un beleivable success and will sustain them for the next ten years whilst we aim for greater things such as titles they will for always measure there success over 2 games a season, sad but true and that is why the have one solitary title in there history if they spent less time worrying about us they may move on!
Guys, the spuds have been telling us we’re a sinking ship since long before Wenger came along. Same old wishful thinking.
Remember, the spuds are a particular species of football supporter possessing a huge HUGE amount of one particular gene in their makeup: CLINICAL DELUSION. You won’t find any other species of supporter who’s got more of it.
Stoney
If you don’t like what you see here then go and be a niusance somewhere else, to call Arsenal a sinking ship is just as rude as slapping me in the face, you obviously know jack shit of how a football club should be run. If you have any decency you would at least admit that Arsenal is one of the only clubs that is run as it should be unless you are short sighted and if that is the case perhaps a trip to Spec Savers might help than again the infection of being an utter brainless spud has spread everywhere so it’s probably too late for any treatment for you now. The fact is you and your liitle club will always be smelling the fumes we leave behind so get use to it, you know know deep down we are miles better.
You beat us once in 10 long years and suddenly you are better….
Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaa….what a crack head!
@76cescfiberglass – you are a bit of a knob aren’t you?
Sol a washed up reject? Are we talking about the same game?
Can’t argue about Silvestre though.
Look at the language 74. About thirteen, I would say, and a LWC to boot.
Morning ‘Hols, yes 13ish I would say, hence I refrained from using anything stronger the ‘knob’. Well, it is half-term.
It’s a good day to reflect. In all my time as an Arse (well that’s how my wife often refers to me) I have never known such a plague of injuries in a season. You can have a squad that is competitive when injury free, but if you take 8 or so first teamers out of that on a regular basis for long periods then you are going to struggle. 2nd or 3rd place in probably the toughest league in Europe is NOT struggling.
NOT blind faith, but let’s give the gaffer some respite eh lads? He didn’t let us down against the Spuds. Some players just didn’t want it bad enough.
I have always said we need a top class keeps. And now it looks like another central defensive player too.
Win the next match boys
And two days later you’re a shit that needs flushing. Lap it up Stone age man. It’ll be another ice age before that happens.
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