Oziliant Arsenal Slicker Than City
Dec 21st, 2015 by 'holic
The two sides contesting second place in the Premier League went into the Monday night fixture with contrasting team news. Sergio Aguero was a starter for Manchester City, but the anticipated return for Alexis for Arsenal didn’t materialise. The Gunners were unchanged for a third consecutive game, and Arsene said in his pre-match interview, somewhat prophetically.
“We need to have a great solidarity defensively. We have a bit variety in our attacking options.”
Jamie Carragher insisted pre-match that David Silva would be his preference over Mesut Ozil. Ninety minutes later his expert punditry had been shot down in flames.
Red Action organised a wonderful display to greet the players onto the pitch which helped to make for a decent atmosphere early on. The hosts were out of the blocks quicker but found a navy blue wall in front of them.
Not surprisingly Ozil created the first opening but Theo Walcott’s control let him down. At the other end a minute later Silva was given time to turn on the edge of the box but he fired his effort wildly high and wide. Fernandinho too missed the target when allowed a strike from a similar distance on nine minutes.
Growing in confidence, City attempted to exert more pressure but lost momentum when De Bruyne clumsily took out Walcott with a mistimed challenge. The Gunners responded, Ozil again was involved initiating a move which ended with a Nacho Montreal cross narrowly evading Olivier Giroud’s head. In the twentieth minute Ozil and Walcott combined again down the left but a promising move ended with just a goal-kick.
Petr Cech demonstrated his concentration, scrambling to his left hand side to save a speculative De Bruyne drive from distance midway through the half. Arsenal cleared the resulting corner with ease and Kolarov avoided punishment for a blatant trip on Ozil. The match was unfolding slowly with both sides happy to defend deep when not in possession.
Ozil’s sublime flick was not foreseen by the City defenders, nor sadly Giroud, and Hart had a simple save to make. After a couple of niggly fouls Silva was the recipient of the first card from Andre Marriner. De Bruyne broke again with menace put shot wide of Cech’s far post. The deadlock was about to be broken in spectacular style.
Twelve minutes before the break Laurent Koscielny picked out Ozil in the inside left channel. The wizard fed Walcott who created space for a wonderful curling right foot strike. Within a minute Ozil nearly set up another, Bellerin denied by a desperate Mangala.
Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City
Koscielny was almost next to benefit from Ozil’s creativity, but didn’t quite get enough on his near post header. In the next attack Joel Campbell appeared to take a flailing arm to the face from the fortunate Kolorov. Mr Marriner was unmoved. On a rapid break Campbell was a whisker away from putting Walcott clear. Arsenal’s quest for a second goal was evident, and it felt as though it was needed.
It arrived courtesy of an assist by guess who. The mercurial Ozil slipped in Giroud who struck a left foot effort through Joe Hart’s legs in the final move of the half. Arsenal had the daylight they both required an deserved.
Arsenal 2-0 Manchester City
City sent on Sterling at the start of the second-half for Delph, but Arsenal started the brightest and former Gunner Sagna was forced to head Hector Bellerin’s cross behind for a corner. Otamundi got the card he deserved for charging Giroud of the pitch with the half barely two minutes old.
City’s attempts to respond had until now foundered on a solid defensive record, with Mathieu Flamini and Aaron Ramsey holding impressively.They had a warning when the latter brought down Silva and Cech comfortably saved Aguero’s header.
Arsenal powered forward and the lively Campbell brought the best out of Hart before Giroud and Walcott were both denied at the expense of a corner. There followed another astonishing break by the Gunners and again Hart had to be alert to deny Ramsey. Fernandhino was next to see yellow for chopping down Campbell. City were rotationally fouling in a bid to break Arsenal’s rhythm.
Aguero’s return was halted just after the hour mark and on came Bony to provide a different kind of threat up front. Again the Gunners countered at pace and Bellerin’s cross just evaded the incoming Giroud. Ozil’s all round contribution was emphasised in the left back berth when he did not come out second in a test of strength with Saga. Seconds later he pursued a retreating Mangala in City’s right back position.
Midway through the half Aaron Ramsey lifted an effort high and wide after engineering space on the edge of the box. Arsene Wenger chose this moment to adjust the midfield, sending Kieran Gibbs on for the impressive Campbell. Pellegrini made his last change, sending on Navas for Carragher’s invisible Silva, after two outrageous dives by Sterling and Yaya Toure in the box went unpunished
Arsenal retreated in the closing quarter of the game, inviting City on and looking to exploit any gaps they might leave behind. Arsene opted to get a standing ovation for his playmaker in chief, sending on Alex Oxlade Chamberlain for the imperious Ozil. The crowd roared his name in celebration of what they had witnessed once again.
Navas was sent free but he opted to misplace a pass rather than take on Cech one on one.Β However City did get encouragement when Yaya Toure found a sublime chipped finish which made for a nervous final nine minutes. A couple of minutes later De Bruyne saw his effort deflected wide. For the first time City had a real foothold in the game.
Arsenal 2-1 Manchester City
Bony headed over when Toure helped a corner goalward and Arsenal had a real rearguard action on their hands. Toure again put a sliding effort wide under pressure from Walcott. It was Theo’s last action, replaced by Calum Chambers with less than three minutes remaining. Another outrageous dive from Otamendi when challenged superbly by Giroud was ignored.
Had City converted in the four added minutes a huge injustice would have been done, but the diligent (Arsene would say efficient) Gunners ensured that Ozil’s masterclass was not in vain, and pocketed me a nice little Christmas bonus from my friendly bookmaker. Nice one.
Arsenal will be second in the Premier League going into Christmas. Who would have thought Leicester would be keeping us off the summit?
111 Responses to “Oziliant Arsenal Slicker Than City”
Get In.
GETINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!
π
That’s our two goals there H2H.
π
Arsenal 2 Manchester City 1.
That is all.
Γzil.
That is all.
I say let Jamie Carragher have David Silva if that is what he wants. Disgusting to think about it though. π
lovely way to go into the Christmas. well played, Arsenal!
“Otamundi got the card he deserved for charging Giroud of the pitch with the half barely two minutes old.”
Otamendi was leading with his elbow on that one, and it looked dangerous to me. Did anybody else see it that way?
What a great report just at the final whistle, you’re the wizard of Arse!
Tense affair for the final quarter, it would have been a shame to have to regret all those missed chances.
The front 4 were superb but it’s our defence that was the most impressive to me, we were super well organized and just about perfect at every last-ditch defending attempt.
It’s great to watch Joel Campbell becoming better and better, just need to spend less time on the turf π
Man of the match: the crowd was simply magnificent it felt like one of those magic nights. Congrats to them!
Matt, about the crowd, they came through loud and clear on the TV, real energy lifting.
Mangala transfer fee was Β£42m.
That is all.
Joel Campbell and Aaron Ramsey both so close to scoring. Maybe we didn’t need another goal but I sure wish we had gotten it while we were still in the ascendancy because the last 10 minutes were a bit more nerve wracking than I would have liked.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIZ2_3bm2PQ
Brilliant!
π
Ambydex. I hope for Mangala’s sake the agent didn’t take all the money. π
That buggered up my 3-0. Oh well.
Ozil had two assists on Theo’s goal – the pass and then ducking out the way of the shot. Excellent.
UTA.
Excellent report, Guv’nor. Out faster than Theo on the break.
Nervous final few minutes after Toure’s goal, but otherwise a well-deserved hard-fought win. Would have liked a third goal to kill the game off, but that would have done for the ‘Holic pound, so all’s well that ends well. Only sorry that Cech didn’t get his record-setting clean sheet.
Campbell coming on by leaps and bounds, and certainly puts in a shift. It was noticeable how much more space City found on its left flank after he went off. Ozil at his most fluent — yet again. And Monreal had a great game — yet again.
I was about to pinpoint some negatives, but fuck it. Three well earned points, 4 clear of $iteh, 7 clear of Manure and LWCs (can St Tott’s Day be far behind?), 12 clear of Poo and 18 (count ’em) ahead of chavs.
Happy Christmas everyone!
Oskar
Did you get Oskar (the dog’s) card ‘Holic? He put a lot of effort into them this year, I hope it didn’t end up in your spam!
Oskar
First time I see or hear Mesut speaking in English..he is just so humble.
http://arsenalist.com/f/2015-16/arsenal-vs-man-city/theo-walcott-and-mesut-ozil-post-match-interview.html
Lightening quick report there holic… Am Still buzzing about the victory… It was 3:30am here in India and I was jumping like a lunatic in front of my TV. Thanks for all the joy Arsenal…
Couple of amazing stats after tonight’s game – Ozil now has 101 assists since August 2008. Messi is second with a 100 and Fabregas a distant third with 84…(how about that Mr.carragher). More importantly the last two times we won the league – our position at Christmas – 2nd…
Everyone put in a shift tonight and it was heartening to see Giroud putting in a last ditch tackle inside our own penalty box and Theo being the last man covering Yaya Toure’s run into our 6yard box just before he was subbed… The team showed the big game attitude. Loved it. And to think of the amount of injuries we have suffered – our league position has to be lauded as a terrific performance. Just keep up the focus and play with the same spirit…
Oh his name is Mertesacker
He’s the leader of the team
The finest football team
The world has ever seen
Mesut Ozil keeps us ticking
And Giroud we’ve got up top
We’re second in the Premier League
And soon we will be top
La la la la la la la la la
Sorry Oskar, which email address?
Sent to your virginmedia.com address on 4 December ‘holic
Oskar
Great night out. Fantastic commitment on top of bucket loads of skill. Still on the train home. That was a mighty fast report HOLIC and bang on the money with what my eyes saw in the stadium.
Sat on the train on my way home from the game now with another carrier bag as a souvenir . What a fantastic result I must say.
I thought we started slowly and did not really create too much in the first 30 minutes. Then some moments of magic and a Theo wonder strike saw us take the lead. More magic and we go in at half time two up.
In the second half we had some fantastic chances that we could have put the game to bed with. But it wouldn’t be Arsenal if we did not make it tough on ourselves. After our changes I thought we lost a bit of shape and made it unnecessarily tough on ourselves. We let Yaya boss the midfield and all of a sudden it was a nervy ending.
The crowd were awesome tonight with the exception of the fuckwit a few rows back who thought he should boo Giroud. I’m just glad it was about 2 minutes before he scored. He was suitably advised during the interval.
Ozil was just awesome. I also thought Theo looked really good. I have sad both last season and this that I far prefer in out wide. Wide left so that he can cut in really works for me. Cech just demonstrates what happens when you actually buy players of genuine quality. Campbell had another industrious performance but for me lacked that bit of quality tonight. His effort and work rate however were both very commendable.
The final word goes to big Per. I don’t think we are blessed with enough leaders but Per is a giant in every way. He is often criticised for his lack of pace? I never have got that. You can count the errors he makes on one hand. Tonight he was awesome.
A great win and a very enjoyable evening. I’m glad I have beer in the fridge, the highlights and no work in the morning to look forward to. I wonder what old Maureen, that specialist in failure thought of it all?
It’s not been a bad few days has it fellow Gooners?
Great report H.
What a merry Xmas this is turning into.
We’re gonna win the league.
COYG
Thought Giroud was rubbish tonight.
And then he scored π
Thank you Oskar. Merry Xmas from the ‘holics to you too.
Sat on the train on my way home from the game now with another carrier bag as a souvenir .
At 5p a go it just shows you have a reckless streak when it comes to spending money.
Also thought, regarding the match, that although we had chances second half, it was noticeable that Theo was playing in a much more withdrawn role on the left. He was holding his position and sitting much more and we were a lot more defensive minded in our shape. At least I thought so anyway, but I might just be frustrated at losing a 75/1 bet because we only scored twice :@
Have just arrived home following a huge queue at the tube and motorway closure but I don’t give a toss! Great report Holic , you saw the same game as me but not the same one as Pellegrini. A bit more ruthlessness in the second half and we could have reduced the collective blood pressure of the crowd so much.
Some terrific performances tonight. Ozil was the pick as he so often is. I thought Cech and BFG gave us great assurance and Nacho as ever was terrific in attack and defence. Giroud was clouted from pilaf to post by two centre backs who cost the GDP of a small African nation between them. Theo’s first goal was Alexis at his best. Aguero did not contribute much but against a top side they need him. Also a word to Ox who gave the team a lot after replacing the sublime Mesut.
Everybody gave everything and made us proud Gooners at Christmas.
Wenger aht! ?
Ps- thought the referee was poor tonight. Missed an awful lot. But we know his eyesight is poor
Interesting stat, courtesy of the BBC:
Five of Arsenal’s last six top-flight title wins have seen them in second place at Christmas, including two of their three Premier League titles.
Slightly worrying that this is the second game after which AW has referred to the team’s ‘legs going’ towards the end of the game. And the season isn’t even half over yet.
Saw the same game guv’na and also the 2-1 scoreline.
Excellent result, very decent performance tonight which sets us up well for the Christmas run of games. It was a very solid defensive set up – the team managed to keep its shape really well apart from those last 15 minutes. Both goals were very well taken indeed.
Ned @ 33 – worrying in view of the amount of games coming up over the next 2 weeks. There’s talk that Alexis won’t be back until early January – fingers crossed there are no further injuries. We simply cannot afford to lose any more players with the bench already stretched.
Oskar…lovely card, very good for you and the real Oskar to have matching red noses π A happy christmas to you both.
Just read that Sanchez has suffered a bit of a set back. He is now expected back in mid January. I just hope this is not a typical 3 weeks Arsenal injury that goes on for months and months etc.
Great report H.
Wonderful card Oskars!
Fantastic result. I’m glad that Steve and H highlighted Big Per above. He takes a lot of stick which I too fail to understand. He was just immense tonight. He reads the game like no-one else. You don’t need lightning pace when you’ve been ambling into position two seconds BEFORE the pass is played. Simply superb.
Everyone worked their socks off. Even when it got a bit hairy at the end. That’s the stuff that wins you league titles.
Ozil won’t break Henry’s record. He needs 5 assists in the next game just to equal Titi’s 20 in half a season.
What’s that you say? It took him the WHOLE season to reach 20? Oh. I guess that means Ozil is taking this assist game to a whole new level, right?
Rant ahead…
I had to record the game as I was out tonight.
I told the colleagues I was out with not to tell me the score. I also gave them very specific instructions to tell me NOTHING about the game. I gave the example of someone telling me previously that another match had ‘been a brilliant game’. Well, that rules out a dull 0-0 then, doesn’t it?. Which I didn’t want ruled out before I had seen a ball kicked. Because it would not have been ruled out if I were watching the game live. And I wanted to watch the game AS THOUGH it were live. So, I wanted to know NOTHING about the game. This is simple stuff- you are following me, yes?
Ten minutes before I left my boss checked his phone then looked up at me and said “You are going to enjoy the game- that’s all I’ll say.”
So we win then. Clearly. What a guy.
There is a word for people like this. I’ll let you all decide for yourselves which word you think is most apt.
I shall simply observe that if I spent my working day failing to observe such basic instructions and smiling blithely at him like it didn’t really matter anyway he would not react with the same calm demeanor that I managed.
I don’t act like your faith is unimportant. Or ruin family outings for you. I represent your business to the best of my ability with an unfailing professionalism. In fact, I am scrupulous in my respect for any and all things that you have told me are important to you. Anything else would be disrespectful and I would consider wrong behaviour- treat others as you would wish to be treated. So why is it that just because football is not something that matters to everyone people who aren’t bothered by it (and my boss in particular today) seem to think they have the right to decide on behalf of us all that it is not important and that they do not have to be respectful of the value that others place upon it?
I don’t care if you think it is stupid. That is not the point. IT MATTERS TO ME. So show some bloody respect.
Also, at the Christmas drinks and dinner, at least buy a bloody round for your staff. And no boss, paying for all of my evening’s supply of tap water does not count…
Rant ranted. As you were.
Just saw that Ozil interview. He is such a star. His attitude is wonderful. I am proud to have him wear our shirt. That he is one of the best footballers on the planet and clearly feels at home with a cannon on his chest says an awfully large amount. Class is permanent.
Victoria Concordia Crescit.
GSD, You are right there is a word for people like that but when they are your boss it may be best not to say such a word out loud. Merry Christmas. π
You weren’t wrong about Theo playing in a more withdrawn role, Cynic (#29). On TV they showed a heat map (or whatever they’re called) at half time and Theo’s average position was actually in Arsenal’s own half and behind about five other gunners. I thought he gave an excellent defensive display today, never mind the beautiful goal. Unlike our other winger who was full of industry but lost the ball in attack and lost the plot in defence. Campbell could be a star in the Championship, but the Prem is a step too high for him, imo.
Yes, I know many here disagree. And I hope he proves me wrong.
Oskar
…maybe a bit unfair to Joel above. He didn’t lose the ball all the time, just too often. And his efforts on goal were disappointing. He may have improved a little lately, I just don’t see him worrying Theo or even Danny (if he ever returns) for the RW position when Alexis gets back.
Oskar
OTD
I can see your point about Campbell but he didn’t let the side down tonight although taking the chance from Nacho’s great cutback would have been very welcome. He has some delicious touches with his left foot and works very hard ( as did Theo who worked incredibly hard and effectively back). I doubt if Welbeck will be seen much this season .
One thing reflecting on the game which I’ve not seen back yet was that Yaya Toure’s contribution defensively was laughable. He just let Ramsey et al run off him all evening without seeming remotely interested. He can’t play centre midfield in the current Premier League even if he can score wonderful goals as he did tonight. While I’m on midfield discipline props to Matty Flamini who was discipline and commitment personified tonight. He was solid and effective and helped us keep our shape really well. I suspect he’s relaxed knowing he’s a billionaire! As a man who has never been transferred for a fee I suspect he had bulging pockets already!
Worrying that we had two young boys on the bench tonight . Jeff looks as if he may have to play over Christmas and Theo and Giroud may have to alternate in the middle as the workload on them over Chrustmas may be too much. Hope Wenger gets a forward in early
little bit yes
no ?
.
??
come on you beautiful reds ?
.
?
merry christmas ‘holic
have a crackin goodun
thanks for another year here
good fuckin sorts
all shapes and sizes
cheers big man
and
cheers ‘holics
love here
and
am proud to feel welcome here
UP THE ARSENAL
and
UP YOURS GOONERHOLICS
have a very merry christmas
and a belter new year
?????????
not in donegal just now
but
a big fat
MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
sent to you all
from the big black an white shittin’ machines
.
slainte ‘holic
slainte ‘holics
and
slainte the real oskar
and
howdy there thunder T
morning and slainte to you m’lud
?
Excellent summary H.
I allocate you an 8.5 out of 10,on the Sweeper ‘ Fact before Fiction ‘
Excellence in Writing ratings on Match reports.
The 21st century Wizard Of Oz’s performance last night all the more meritorious, when you consider he spent the week prior to the game in bed with a chest infection,only had one training session.
And as Steve T alluded to,re Alexis setback,he had a training session on Saturday which went awry.
Don’t have to be Sherlock to work out that they were desperate for him to play against City.
Hopefully only a minor setback,with a new return date of Jan 10.
Great team performance all round,and that will instill a belief in them that they are good enough to win the Title.
Tough fixture at Southampton on Boxing day,hopefully the players will have recovered sufficiently from last nights exertions.
Some of them ooked exhausted at the end of the game.
Come away with a result on Saturday,and then maybe rotate a few for the Bournemouth/Newcastle matches to follow.
How is JW going to get back in the team. ??
and howdy
to you too clive
UP THE RAMBLERS ?
CBA never fails to bring cheer here! π
Bring on the saints…
Up The Arse!
π
and
if it isn’t
a big BB howdy do to you
merry etcs sent yer direction chief
?
same to you CBA
Christmas will be all the merrier after last nights great performance.
Have a good one.
Kiss a Cow for me,preferably front end. !!
front end indeed clive
as if i’d kiss a cow
UP THE ARSENAL
I think Joel still has a role to play in Arsenal, more game play and he will improve. Of course the competition is hard by the time Alexis and Danny bavk in the team, but who knows we will have another Bellerin.
What I like from him last night was he worked really hard and gave Nacho better protection from City winger. For me last night, he was even better than gibbs defensively, and Gibbs is our left back.
Has anyone noticed that Gibbs tend to drifted to the middle instead of staying on the left, resulting a gap in front of Nacho and City exploited that in the last 15mins. I don’t know the instruction from Wenger but that is just only my observation.
twice as many points as chelsea
???
.
deep joy
.
.
cheerio
?
Great report ‘Holic! U nid to cee d electric atmosphere around viewing Centers here in Naija last 9t;great team performance d type champions exhibit,very encouraging;congrats gooners worldwide,wat a swit xmas present!!!
Great night ; Great Result
Hated the last ten minutes but should know better after all these years…
Last night’s match was a proper game of football. Both sides played to win and there wasn’t a parked bus to be seen( apart from Queensland Rd). The quality of the football is likely to have been the best to be seen at the Ems this season and the heart stopping final minutes had us all holding are breath and hiding behind our scarves, well at least that’s were I was!
Two great goals but all those missed chances in the second half. We should have put the game to bed long before Toure’s immaculate chip had us all saying ” where did that come from”?
Ozil was the star man yet again but the BFG, Kos, Nacho, Cech and a now up to speed Hector were immense. In fact it was a terrific all round team performance and let’s hope we can maintain this level all be it with a depleted squad. One wonders who we might see playing next Monday night and the need for re enforcements up front and at DMF remain a priority.
It was a very long day, I had an early start to get to the ROH for the 12.30 matinee and I final got home at 01.30 but it was all worth it.
COYRs
Brilliant report Holic
Those booing OG should have gone to spec savers I reckon, he did seem rather slow to start with but that was due to the task that was set by Wenger no doubt!
We should have put the game to bed in the second half but it wasn’t meant to be and as we witnessed there was some nail biting stuff towards the end but hey it’s definitely worth it.
Bring on the Saints!
Thanks Arthur, et al.
Delia, sounds like you had a marvelous day. Excellent. π
Heroes on the park, every one.
Great result.
Feet up and intensive massage all round.
Here’s to at least one decisive early purchase.
BMBD
GSD@38:
http://img0.joyreactor.com/pics/post/full/comics-dilbert-boss-job-737401.gif
Otd: great cards. Season’s compliments to you both.
NBN
That made my day fella hahahahaaaaa π
NBN. Thanks. That gave me a good chuckle. Although I’d be careful about letting the monks near that sort of material…
Baff. Get yourself a good bottle of malt on January 1st. It may be of some comfort if it does, in fact, prove to be the only ‘decisive early purchase’ that you bear witness to. Wink.
Bear witness is one of my favourite usages of English language…
http://40.media.tumblr.com/30f6b8ab5a7d2784ffec3d2b58b8363d/tumblr_mvur6nYJq11qhxazgo1_500.jpg
Mesut Ozil as quoted in the Guardian today:
“I am very happy in London and that my decision to come here from Real Madrid was the right one. There is not a single day, apart from when I was injured, that I have not felt great at Arsenal.β
Most of the online sources included this quote in a story with a headline along the lines of “Ozil not in a hurry to start contract talks with Arsenal”
Not surprising.
I know the link I am posting has nothing to do with our team, but was anyone else impressed with AFC Bournemouth setup this corner kick that Jordan King scored vs Man. U? I was really impressed with the preparation behind this specific success.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgonQUO1Hrg
Oops that was supposed to be Josh King.
Merry Christmas to the Gooners here and it did come early yesterday.
We did not play well first half yet scored two shows that this team is the real deal and wont flatter to deceive. Theo’s goal was stunning and then Ozil nonchalantly passed one for OliG to score a beautiful second.
Second half we should have put the game to bed but for Campbell’s finishing and Ramsey’s expansiveness. Yaya scores the goal of the game and the last ten minutes was nail biting and a feeling of oh no please let us not mess this up. We did not and three points were in the bag.
Monreal and Kos brilliant, Per had one of his better games, bellerin seems to have turned a corner after his not so great come back from injury, yet the 2 names that stood out was Cech and Ozil. 2 genuinely wonderful players and the ones who are making that extra bit of difference.
Arsenal do have a fixture pile up but come jan 2nd if we are top of the league, then we may just start the dream. Till then hope no more injuries, wrap Mesut in silk, hope our injured players come back sooner and oh yes boss how about a couple of players added in soon.
Still buzzing.
Massive win and a true marker has been laid down. A lot of positives and a few negatives, but after a victory like that I don’rt think it’s right to dwell on the negatives.
Next up The Saints, usually a hard place to go, but they are not having the best of runs. 5 loses and 1 draw v Villa in their last 6.
Eyes on the prize, lads, stay focused!!
CBA
Slainte my friend. Have a rattling good one?
I was disappointed to hear Bacary Sagna booed by people last night. He was a loyal and excellent servant and was offered a longer and better contract by Citeh at a critical period of his career. He deserved better than catcalls at a club he served so well. RVP and Cesc you can take the roof off with boos as far as I am concerned but not Sagna.
I was musing today on the value we get in transfers relative to Citeh. For the cost of Mangala we signed BFG, Gabriel, Koscielny and Monreal.
For the price of Mangala and Otamendi we got Ozil and Sanchez.
Arsene might be a skinflint but he’s a canny one.
Gary Neville quoted as saying Arsene Wenger was “either naive or arrogant” in failing to sign another defensive midfield player to support Arsenal’s title challenge.
http://www.goal.com/en/news/9/english-football/2015/08/28/14833322/is-coquelin-really-among-europes-best-defensive-midfielders
Maybe so, but with Neville now manager of Valencia it could be a good time to sign one or two of Valencia’s midfielders out from under Neville’s nose.
This guy looks like a bruiser even if he is just on loan from Braga:
http://en.valenciacf.com/ver/42145/danilo.html?temporada=2015
Then there is this guy, Jimmy Fire in English, and the club’s web site says he was the best ball winning midfielder in La Liga last season.
http://en.valenciacf.com/ver/41885/javi-fuego.html?temporada=2015
Wondering how to say “raid” in Spanish? “Asalto” should do it.
GSD @38.
I fucking hate (a word I don’t use lightly) when that happens.
“I won’t tell you the score, but………”
Fuck the fuck off!!! Tossers.
TTG @72.
Agree on Sagna, said the same last night, makes us look petty. He always did his best, left at the end of his contract and never bad mouthed us.
Bad form from the boo crew.
Mezuty Christmas everyone!
https://imgur.com/2B6vvvd
I understand from a couple of very decent sources that we will either sign Kokorin on a free in the summer or for a small fee if Danny’s recovery is deemed to be too slow.
Good thinking ( I think the fee is just over Β£4 m) IF the boy is any good.
A Chamakh or a Giroud? Time will tell
Absolutely H2H. Also agree completely on Sagna. I went to the pantomime a few days ago (Robin Hood) and had a great time booing evil Prince John. Who are these people who think football has the same set of conventions? Is it compulsory to boo any ex-player nowadays, regardless of the stellar service they have given to your club?
And, once they had started down that road, why fail to do so when it could have helped the team? Where were all of these panto-wannabes when Rambo let Toure run off him to finish so deftly? That was the perfect moment for a chorus of ‘he’s behind you!’. Bloody amateurs.
Evening Ned
I need the Monks to confirm a stat i find astonishing if correct.
My brother sent me a text proclaiming that the Flamster has played in 52 games at the Ems,and if he is to be believed,has never LOST. !!
Can that be true. ??
Could you politely ask the Monks to stop baking the mince pies and the Christmas pud,and delve into their archives one last time
{ before Santa comes down the chimney, } to confirm or deny.
Cheers
GSD @ 64, good suggestion, pal. On it.
H2H @ 74, fully agree on all points.
GSD @ 77, great point on the Panto mentality. Pathetic stuff from those morons.
GSD
Instead of Junior Gunners taking pens we could have had Wenger and Pellegrini doing a slapstick routine, covering each other in flour and wallpaper paste. No imagination at all shown by the marketing department .
We could have had a sing song following the bouncing ball on the screens and then the stadium announcer could have dressed as Wishy Washy and been chased around the pitch by Christopher Biggins as Widow Twankey who could have squeezed his bosom to musical effect. In fact he could have refereed in the same manner although Andre Marriner did a similar job. He was the only one in on the joke .
They scarcely needed any football but at least we all got a 5p carrier bag
Clive@78: Not true. He played all 90 minutes of the 2-0 home defeat by Bayern Munich in Feb 2014. However, it is – remarkably – true of all the other 72 games (all competitions) he has played at the Ems.
To be fair to Carragher, if nobody already has been, he did say his doubts about Ozil had gone and his answer to who he’d pick between Silva and Ozil was based on a specific scenario, where we were in a really tight game at 1-1, who would he rather have.
I wasn’t really listening at that point but think he said something about Silva scoring more goals.
End of fairness.
Carragher, you’re no Gary Neville and he was no Andy Gray who was no Jimmy Hill, Gawd rest ‘im.
Great report, Holic !
I got back very late last night courtesy of my rail, ahem, services provider ( not sure if it is still First Capital Connect or, latterly, Virgin ).
Could we maybe have one match night without delays and cancellations ?
Great match, great atmosphere, great result.
Agree with others that the BFG was terrific last night, as were the others.
Completely disagree with the “Campbell is not good enough” comment. He has still only played a mere handful of games, for goodness sake.
He is very positive on the ball. He does lose it sometimes but boy does he fight to get it back. He put one over from six yards last night but at least he raced to the six yard line to have a go. We don’t normally have anyone in that area to meet crosses, so that was fine with me.
Campbell has worked back so hard that we have not really missed that aspect of Sanchez’ game. In the circumstances, that was probably the most important requirement of his performance.
Is he the finished article ? Not by miles but neither were Thierry Henry, Robert Pires or Tony Adams after half a dozen games.
Neither am I suggesting he will reach their heights – as very, very few do. But give the lad a chance, eh ?
Carragher sounded like a proper twat, trying to do his Γzil-Silva comparison. Just another bitter Scouser, with a bad case of phlegm, who can’t get over the fact that we won the league at Anfield.
It amazes me that he ever got the job. I can honestly barely umderstand him.
Many thnks Ned
Pass on my best to the Monks for the festive season,and hopefully the box of Double clotted cream i sent them, that i sourced from a certain Donegal farmer who shall remain nameless,goes down well with the mince pies and Christmas Pud. !!
Cheers
Clive.
The “52 games stat” refers only to PL games, making it correct.
Cracking performance and result last night. I think with Flamini and Ramsey as our CMs, playing a tight, disciplined, counter-attacking style suits us well, as I wouldn’t like our chances of being quite so watertight if Ramsey (and to some extent, Flamini) were given greater scope to rampage forward.
Commendable defensive performance in particular. Bar the one occasion where he tried to nick the ball in front of Aguero, leaving De Bruyne free down the right, I thought Koscielny was majestic last night – such a great foil for Mertesacker who can cover and read the game so well. Good to see Bellerin back at his lightning best, Theo was outstanding – he’s a very, very interesting prospect in the inside left slot, and Giroud keeps on sticking them away. Very few (if any) strikers in the Premier League I’d swap Ollie for.
Now for Southampton, Bournemouth and Newcastle. A minimum of 7 points please, no more injuries, then hopefully for the tricky run of Stoke, Liverpool and Chelski in Jan, we’ll have Alexis back, plus maybe – God forbid – a new signing?…
Clive@85. You are most welcome, as ever. And the monks are as appreciative of your generosity as they are of your good wisdom and a certain Donegal farmer’s eccentric prose.
Giroud is building up some impressive numbers in a methodically unspectacular yet very effective way. 25 goals not out of his reach by any means.
Mesut credits getting more sleep as the key to his improved form.
Not like last year, when he stayed awake at night trolling the drinks to see if Oskar would say anything nice about him. π
What a Goa…..Saaaaaaaaaaavvvvve!
http://i.imgur.com/OaCMsk2.gifv
π
http://i.imgur.com/cR0W1Rk.gif : http://i.imgur.com/28msXeq.jpg
Γzil
π
Still feeling good about the win and in fact the whole day. Finished what I had hoped to finish at work ahead of 13 days off, had a very good burger for which my employer paid, met up with a mate for a couple of pints and a chat about everything and nothing, down to the regular match pub, loads of people turned up, more pints were had, the Arsenal bossed Man City around, goals were cheered, atmosphere in the pub was electric and the final whistle was duly cheered, more pints followed, several stayed behind, the pub closed, a bunch of us moved on to another pub nearby and had another pint until they too closed and before we knew it it was 1.30, tube wasn’t running anymore and the only option was taking a cab home while still smiling from ear to ear. As Mondays go, this one wasn’t too shabby!
GSD, sorry to hear about your utter see you next Tuesday of a boss. I fully understand and support your anger, because even though people like him often think they are just being matey they do nothing but display a massive lack of respect. I asked you to say absolutely nothing, what part of “nothing” was too ambiguous for you???
Trev, fully agree with you on Campbell. Has definitely earned his place in the squad.
But as for Carragher, I don’t believe for a second anyone really understands what he’s saying. Only dolphins can understand his squeaking and squawking.
Those booing Sagna, what the fuck were they thinking??? The guy served us well for the peak years of his career, he left us without the hint of a bad word and has never since said anything bad about the club.
Anyway, time perhaps to start looking forward to Boxing Day. We are facing a wounded animal in Southampton who no doubt will be looking to find their form again after a dysmal run, and this at a ground at which they have good memories of playing us. We will have to be on our toes again, but all that said it is of course a game we must be looking to win. And I think employing the same kind of tactic as v ManCity may be the way to go to give us opportunities on the counter.
Cheers H!
What a fucking night that was! Met up with Steveo and his stunning Irish girlfriend in The Eaglet for some serious pre match pintage. Stopped off outside the Tollie on way to ground and collected a bottle of West Stand Tone’s xmas pudding infused Rum. Awesome! Then the game, then more post match pints with Big Steve afterwards back in The Eaglet. All in the company of youngest who enjoyed himself suitably as well. Could not have gone better.
My observations on match itself; Mariner was fucking appalling, no idea why that still surprises me. Flamini was unobtrusively excellent defensively. Ozil is some player, and there’s more to come. Not sure how he’s done it, but Le Boss has conjured up some synergy from this squad. The collective sum of what we’re getting from those available right now out on the pitch, is most definitely greater than the sum of the constituent parts. Long may it continue.
Merry Xmas to all those in the ‘holic world!
Wenger lets out a fairly large hint he doesn’t want to be replaced by Pep Guardiola. That’s how I read it anyway. From the BBC today:
Wenger feels uneasy with Guardiola announcement
Another manager who has been linked with a move to the Premier League is Pep Guardiola, who said on Sunday he will be leaving German champions Bayern Munich at the end of the season.
But to make the announcement in December does not sit right with Wenger.
He said: “I don’t like the fact that the managers come out so early for what they will do, because it’s not necessarily good for their own team, nor for the speculation about the managers who are going through a little bit of a difficult patch.”
Asked if he would encourage Guardiola to come to England, Wenger replied: “Yes, I would welcome [him] to the competition.”
Merry Xmas to all ‘holics, and a big thanks to the guv for his timely and spot on match summaries!
And the best Xmas gift of all, deliverable in the spring, is for the side to win the league and dedicate it in memory of Ernie Crouch. To be sure, he’s still watching.
What Bayonne Jean said. Merry Xmas to all you people who deserve to see Arsenal lift the trophy this Spring.
To be an Arsenal fan in the Best bar in town,
And to ‘holics one and all…
Have a blessed and peaceful X’mas!!
I would not want such a thing to happen at Arsenal, and pray it never does.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/35166770
Romans to the lions seems to be an apt description of the situation.
I have been baying for this to happen to Van Gaal for months, as I bayed for it to happen before that to Mourinho. But I am not a supporter of one of those clubs, which makes a difference. Proud to have supported Arsene Wenger through good times and bad.
And it’s a goaaaaaaaaaaaaaall!!!
π
RIP Don Howe. He was such a proud Arsenal man and a great coach.
Well in BB!
bt8 @99, I think that the UK football press have descended into the modern equivalent of a lynch mob. They select their victim (on the basis of recent results) and create an atmosphere of hysteria hounding those around him until he is sacked. Quite despicable.
Sad news on Don Howe. Fine servant to this club. RIP
Just heard the incredibly sad news about Don Howe. He was always someone that came across as a true gentleman. He was a wonderful servant of our great club and will be sadly missed. My thoughts go to his family at this difficult time. RIP and thank you for all you did.
Very sorry to hear about Don Howe. RIP.
Well in BB.
Very sad news indeed about Don Howe RIP. He was quite a tough tackling full back in his day. When we signed him from WBA, he was an established England international – a rarity for Arsenal in those bleak days.
As a coach / manager he always conducted himself impeccably – many
managers today could do no worse than take note. Of course, they are wound up no end by the people purporting to be sports journalists. What a despicable bunch of cretins most of them are. Their treatment of Van Gaal quite rightly called out by AW earlier today.
As mentioned by our learned regulars in the bar, it was most embarrassing to hear the booing of Bacary Sagna the other night. An excellent servant / player who fulfilled his contract and decided to take the big payday offered by the Oilers. Most people would choose the same if offered to them – it was not as if he was a local lad deserting his home grown team. Few clubs have such players in their squad nowadays.
Don Howe’s death is very sad news. Football has lost two major figures in the last few days. I know many of the first Double side and they agree to a man that he deserves an enormous amount of the credit for what they achieved.
As player, manager, youth head and above all as one of the finest coaches we have ever had he made a magnificent contribution to the club. Arsene Wenger used him as a sounding board on many occasions.
RIP Don and thanks for some wonderful memories
Don Howe. Top Gunner. Top man.
Mixed with the sadness there must also be a lot of thanks for a life well lead and one which affected a lot of people in a very positive way.
RIP
Don Howe is a sad loss to the club and to the game. Arsenal has made a habit of hiring progressive and outstanding coaches, who are also individuals of integrity, and Don Howe was certainly in that mold. Thoughts and best wishes to his family. RIP.
“Donnie Howe and his red and white army”
Sang loud and proud many a Saturday on the North Bank back in my yoof.
Condolances to family and friends.
Tribute to Don. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>