Arsenal Thread 2013/14

[toffee balls]

Bet you are fun at parties.

I'm great fun at parties. I just think that comments like that are what made the vermin from the Theatre of Debt into the arrogant scum they are now. We always swore that success wouldn't change us.

After the all the pushy swaggering that's gone on in this thread (understandable of course, we'd do it too), this is touching. Makes me feel like Manchester City are that honest little band that finally makes it to the big time, and it's all great and exhilirating at the start but ultimately they loose their soul as the band members turn on each other and become cynical because of their fame and fortune. I wonder if the metaphor will come true? Probably not, you're still the most likeable bunch of fans out there seems to me, definitely amongst the 'big' teams.

On to the match: you guys pummeled us. The ease with which you attack is breathtaking. Yaya Toure, it's days like this that make me seriously rue missing out on him, what a beast. How fucking great is Zabaleta? Wilshere absolutely dropped the ball on that front, but you've got one hell of a right-back. You guys re-define scoring for fun. This match would have been pure entertainment for neutrals. You cut through our defense to pieces time and time again (like a knife through melted butter, such ease!) and made our much-vaunted midfield look fairly average. I'm not going to pretend like it was close or we ever really had a chance, because whenever it looked remotely iffy (1-1, 3-2) you guys were just like, 'Oh, shall we have a goal now? Yeah why not, let's have a goal'. I was pleased to note though, that we didn't just roll over and take it, we had a modicum of pluck. Although that too was punctured completely by your fourth goal.

However. I am not completely downcast as an Arsenal fan. I suppose it helps that I was expecting to take nothing from this fixture. I don't get the Ozil-bashing on here. It was totally out of line for him to storm off the pitch like that, I'm sure Mertesacker will sort him out, but he is far far more than a vanity signing. He was absolutely excellent in setting up our first goal and is an absolutely immense player for this team. Ozil is often said to have 'had a quiet game' or 'gone missing' but this misses the point: he is not a flashy, very visible player. Yes he's capable of that killer pass, but most of what he does is keep the Arsenal attack ticking in a very low-profile way, opening up space and keeping the ball moving. Besides he's not the reason Cazorla was on the bench today, Cazorla is. He hasn't shown anywhere near the form of last season since returning from injury recently, and that's not to slight him it just takes some time to come back to full match sharpness. Speaking of which, Walcott. If there's one thing we can take strong encouragement from today it's the return of Theo. He reminded us just how lethal he can be, and why we was our top scorer last season. It's so important getting him back now when some of our key players seem to be flagging.

We knew that Ramsey could not keep scoring like he was. He is only human, after all. The question was always where the goals would come from afterward. Giroud? He's a good center forward but as mentioned above he doesn't break into that highest bracket. Moreover, he looks absolutely fucking knackered. The guy needs a break, badly. Unfortunately I don't think he's going to get it, because as Wenger loves reminding us we already have a back-up striker at the ready- no, not Bendtner- Yaya Sanogo, the 20-year old we signed on a free from the French second division. Yes, we spent 40 million this season on one player, but some things never change.

It looks like things are really coming together for you now. Your team is clicking at a ridiculous level and the away form is bound to follow. You've got the squad and thankfully the style to be champions. I sincerely hope it's you rather than our dull-fucking Blue neighbors across the city who lift the title come May, because I think it's gonna be a stretch too far for the Arsenal.

There's no way the result isn't going to chip our confidence. We've actually (for once) shown some character and mental strength so far i the beginning of a season. That has now been put to the severest test. The match against Chelsea takes on massive proportions now and is a must-win not in terms of points requirements but confidence. We're already flagging momentum-wise no question, but if we lose to Chelsea I think it will be a real blow mentally, and that matters. That result I think will have more of a reckoning on whether we have a prolonged negative period or whether we recover relatively quickly (as we've managed to do post-Villa and United).

I'm amused by the posts of my fellow gooners in this thread going on about how we're still top of the league. Sure we are, for now. I guess I can only smile and say let's enjoy it while it lasts.

Good and extremely fair post.

Aresnal made a real go of it and I was impreesed

 

[GunnerGer]

I wonder if some here have changed their mind on wanting Walcott to start? Poor performance from Arsenal today and Arsene got the team selection wrong. Should have gone for 3 in midfield from the start. Was a strange game and not the highest quality, though a great watch. Both teams were awful defending. I guess City were complacent that no matter what happened they could outscore their opponent, but Arsenal were slightly lazy/tired and just not focused enough. Pointless for players to jog back slowly. Either you make an effort to run back or you might as well save your energy for the counter. Giroud had a shocking game and could do with a rest.

I'll reply to your post mate and try and stay out the mudslinging.

Theres no way i would sacrafice Walcott today, he is crucial to how we set up attack wise. Sure, he can be a very limited footballer at times but he stretches defences and gets in behind them, and his finishing is generally really good.
Citys best attacks before we took Flamini off came down their right / our left, where Wilshere struggles to track back and where Monreal was terrible. If anything it should be Wilshere that is sacraficed, although this left side is a bit of a conundrum for Arsenal as Cazorla isnt in form either. It would be nice to have the option of a hard working player for some big games in the same way City have with Milner.

 

[TCIB]

Good post Ronuja,

Did not bash Ozil myself but it will have been tongue in cheek and rubbing salt in the wound a bit.
He is a good player but it is not unfair i think to question his cojones when the going gets tough and he needs to get back and defend more.
Mainly though it will be blues having releasing a bit of steam nothing more :)

 

[supercrystal7]

I wonder if some here have changed their mind on wanting Walcott to start? Poor performance from Arsenal today and Arsene got the team selection wrong. Should have gone for 3 in midfield from the start. Was a strange game and not the highest quality, though a great watch. Both teams were awful defending. I guess City were complacent that no matter what happened they could outscore their opponent, but Arsenal were slightly lazy/tired and just not focused enough. Pointless for players to jog back slowly. Either you make an effort to run back or you might as well save your energy for the counter. Giroud had a shocking game and could do with a rest.

I'll reply to your post mate and try and stay out the mudslinging.

Theres no way i would sacrafice Walcott today, he is crucial to how we set up attack wise. Sure, he can be a very limited footballer at times but he stretches defences and gets in behind them, and his finishing is generally really good.
Citys best attacks before we took Flamini off came down their right / our left, where Wilshere struggles to track back and where Monreal was terrible. If anything it should be Wilshere that is sacraficed, although this left side is a bit of a conundrum for Arsenal as Cazorla isnt in form either. It would be nice to have the option of a hard working player for some big games in the same way City have with Milner.

I wouldn't have sacrificed Walcott either. His pace and ability to run in behind defenders stretches the game and is an important factor in a balanced team. I agree your left hand side was the big problem. Wilshere just did not get back. I am guessing Clichy picked up some kind of injury? This is the kind of game you could have done with Podolski. He actually can do a good defensive job on the left wing. I would have possibly gone 4-3-3 just for this game. Stuck Ozil on the right and Walcott on the left. Watched the first half with some Chelsea fans and they could not help, but laugh how Zabaleta just kept running into space with nobody tracking him. A compact 3 of Ramsay, Wilshere and and Flamini. If Ozil was still not prepared to track back then I would have taken him off for someone who was maybe even Rosicky.

The Chelsea game is now a huge one. Lose and Chelsea go top of the league.

 

[mad4city]

^^6 against spurs and arsenal. 7 against norwich. 4 against the rags and newcastle. Are you not entertained?

Sublime at home man city, possibly the best home form in europe, but outstanding sides dont lose to cardiff villa and sunderland and end up possibly 4th in an average league after 15 games. Outstanding sides need to be consistent too.
City may go on to become outstanding, everyone is waiting for them to make the step up and leave the pack behind, but at the moment you cant be below this arsenal side and claim to be outstanding. City fans have become very touchy, but unfortunately, for all their amazing home performances, the table has never lied before.

Our last three away games:

Beat WBA
Drew at Southampton
Beat Bayern Munich

Stuffed a much improved Arsenal, at home, yesterday and all anybody can pitch at us is that we need to sort our away form out. Admittedly, there is room to improve on those last three aways but not much.

There are no trophies for topping the league after 15 matches. You're right though, we have f**ked up, a few times, up to now. And we are third/fourth. We are also steadily improving both at home and away. We are breathing down Arsenal's neck - and we haven't broken sweat yet.
So you might want to cut us some slack if we appear to come over all giddy. We're not the only ones guilty of that, are we?

 

[GunnerGer]

I wonder if some here have changed their mind on wanting Walcott to start? Poor performance from Arsenal today and Arsene got the team selection wrong. Should have gone for 3 in midfield from the start. Was a strange game and not the highest quality, though a great watch. Both teams were awful defending. I guess City were complacent that no matter what happened they could outscore their opponent, but Arsenal were slightly lazy/tired and just not focused enough. Pointless for players to jog back slowly. Either you make an effort to run back or you might as well save your energy for the counter. Giroud had a shocking game and could do with a rest.

I'll reply to your post mate and try and stay out the mudslinging.

Theres no way i would sacrafice Walcott today, he is crucial to how we set up attack wise. Sure, he can be a very limited footballer at times but he stretches defences and gets in behind them, and his finishing is generally really good.
Citys best attacks before we took Flamini off came down their right / our left, where Wilshere struggles to track back and where Monreal was terrible. If anything it should be Wilshere that is sacraficed, although this left side is a bit of a conundrum for Arsenal as Cazorla isnt in form either. It would be nice to have the option of a hard working player for some big games in the same way City have with Milner.

I wouldn't have sacrificed Walcott either. His pace and ability to run in behind defenders stretches the game and is an important factor in a balanced team. I agree your left hand side was the big problem. Wilshere just did not get back. I am guessing Clichy picked up some kind of injury? This is the kind of game you could have done with Podolski. He actually can do a good defensive job on the left wing. I would have possibly gone 4-3-3 just for this game. Stuck Ozil on the right and Walcott on the left. Watched the first half with some Chelsea fans and they could not help, but laugh how Zabaleta just kept running into space with nobody tracking him. A compact 3 of Ramsay, Wilshere and and Flamini. If Ozil was still not prepared to track back then I would have taken him off for someone who was maybe even Rosicky.

The Chelsea game is now a huge one. Lose and Chelsea go top of the league.

Ah, thats exactly who i would have played left side for this game, Rosicky, i knew i was forgetting someone, he seems to be able to track back better than the other guys mentioned, Podolski has been a loss as well.
Again though, ill hark back to the Giroud problem, which gives us a problem where he relies on midfield runners, namely Ramsey, which means he has to vacate his position all too often. If you look at the hotspot graph of where he takes up position, its very deep rather than looking to play off the last shoulder. I honestly think a proper top striker with the attributes the team needs will result in a better shape. Anyway, i dont want to sound like im picking on the big man as i like him and hes a great option, i just dont think hes top level.

Im also not belittling Citys victory, just analysing where i think it went wrong for Arsenal.

As for the Chelsea game, you are correct, it is massive in the context of where we want to finish up. No excuses, a good 9 day rest period before that one, and a home game against a side that is stuttering to victories against lower table opposition. If Jose does us again, your looking at a 3rd place finish probably.

 

[Marvin]

I'll reply to your post mate and try and stay out the mudslinging.

Theres no way i would sacrafice Walcott today, he is crucial to how we set up attack wise. Sure, he can be a very limited footballer at times but he stretches defences and gets in behind them, and his finishing is generally really good.
Citys best attacks before we took Flamini off came down their right / our left, where Wilshere struggles to track back and where Monreal was terrible. If anything it should be Wilshere that is sacraficed, although this left side is a bit of a conundrum for Arsenal as Cazorla isnt in form either. It would be nice to have the option of a hard working player for some big games in the same way City have with Milner.

I wouldn't have sacrificed Walcott either. His pace and ability to run in behind defenders stretches the game and is an important factor in a balanced team. I agree your left hand side was the big problem. Wilshere just did not get back. I am guessing Clichy picked up some kind of injury? This is the kind of game you could have done with Podolski. He actually can do a good defensive job on the left wing. I would have possibly gone 4-3-3 just for this game. Stuck Ozil on the right and Walcott on the left. Watched the first half with some Chelsea fans and they could not help, but laugh how Zabaleta just kept running into space with nobody tracking him. A compact 3 of Ramsay, Wilshere and and Flamini. If Ozil was still not prepared to track back then I would have taken him off for someone who was maybe even Rosicky.

The Chelsea game is now a huge one. Lose and Chelsea go top of the league.

Ah, thats exactly who i would have played left side for this game, Rosicky, i knew i was forgetting someone, he seems to be able to track back better than the other guys mentioned, Podolski has been a loss as well.
Again though, ill hark back to the Giroud problem, which gives us a problem where he relies on midfield runners, namely Ramsey, which means he has to vacate his position all too often. If you look at the hotspot graph of where he takes up position, its very deep rather than looking to play off the last shoulder. I honestly think a proper top striker with the attributes the team needs will result in a better shape. Anyway, i dont want to sound like im picking on the big man as i like him and hes a great option, i just dont think hes top level.

Im also not belittling Citys victory, just analysing where i think it went wrong for Arsenal.

As for the Chelsea game, you are correct, it is massive in the context of where we want to finish up. No excuses, a good 9 day rest period before that one, and a home game against a side that is stuttering to victories against lower table opposition. If Jose does us again, your looking at a 3rd place finish probably.

Wenger admitted taking Flamini off was a mistake. That ended Arsenal's mini-revival but at 4-2 you can understand why he felt he had to gamble

At half time I was gutted it was only 2-1 as we battered you in the 1st half, and when it went to 3-2 I was worried. That Silva goal, and the Flamini sub killed you off when Arsenal were the better team.

Great game.

 

[supercrystal7]

I'll reply to your post mate and try and stay out the mudslinging.

Theres no way i would sacrafice Walcott today, he is crucial to how we set up attack wise. Sure, he can be a very limited footballer at times but he stretches defences and gets in behind them, and his finishing is generally really good.
Citys best attacks before we took Flamini off came down their right / our left, where Wilshere struggles to track back and where Monreal was terrible. If anything it should be Wilshere that is sacraficed, although this left side is a bit of a conundrum for Arsenal as Cazorla isnt in form either. It would be nice to have the option of a hard working player for some big games in the same way City have with Milner.

I wouldn't have sacrificed Walcott either. His pace and ability to run in behind defenders stretches the game and is an important factor in a balanced team. I agree your left hand side was the big problem. Wilshere just did not get back. I am guessing Clichy picked up some kind of injury? This is the kind of game you could have done with Podolski. He actually can do a good defensive job on the left wing. I would have possibly gone 4-3-3 just for this game. Stuck Ozil on the right and Walcott on the left. Watched the first half with some Chelsea fans and they could not help, but laugh how Zabaleta just kept running into space with nobody tracking him. A compact 3 of Ramsay, Wilshere and and Flamini. If Ozil was still not prepared to track back then I would have taken him off for someone who was maybe even Rosicky.

The Chelsea game is now a huge one. Lose and Chelsea go top of the league.

Ah, thats exactly who i would have played left side for this game, Rosicky, i knew i was forgetting someone, he seems to be able to track back better than the other guys mentioned, Podolski has been a loss as well.
Again though, ill hark back to the Giroud problem, which gives us a problem where he relies on midfield runners, namely Ramsey, which means he has to vacate his position all too often. If you look at the hotspot graph of where he takes up position, its very deep rather than looking to play off the last shoulder. I honestly think a proper top striker with the attributes the team needs will result in a better shape. Anyway, i dont want to sound like im picking on the big man as i like him and hes a great option, i just dont think hes top level.

Im also not belittling Citys victory, just analysing where i think it went wrong for Arsenal.

As for the Chelsea game, you are correct, it is massive in the context of where we want to finish up. No excuses, a good 9 day rest period before that one, and a home game against a side that is stuttering to victories against lower table opposition. If Jose does us again, your looking at a 3rd place finish probably.

On the Giroud point I agree that is why he is not a top striker and why Lewandowski is. Lewandowski gives you eveything Giroud does, but also gives you the threat of running in behind. It just gives a team far more options.

Madrid will probably go in big for Suarez in the summer especially if Liverpool don't get fourth, which will mean Benzema will be available.

 

[JoeMercer'sWay]

I wouldn't have sacrificed Walcott either. His pace and ability to run in behind defenders stretches the game and is an important factor in a balanced team. I agree your left hand side was the big problem. Wilshere just did not get back. I am guessing Clichy picked up some kind of injury? This is the kind of game you could have done with Podolski. He actually can do a good defensive job on the left wing. I would have possibly gone 4-3-3 just for this game. Stuck Ozil on the right and Walcott on the left. Watched the first half with some Chelsea fans and they could not help, but laugh how Zabaleta just kept running into space with nobody tracking him. A compact 3 of Ramsay, Wilshere and and Flamini. If Ozil was still not prepared to track back then I would have taken him off for someone who was maybe even Rosicky.

The Chelsea game is now a huge one. Lose and Chelsea go top of the league.

Ah, thats exactly who i would have played left side for this game, Rosicky, i knew i was forgetting someone, he seems to be able to track back better than the other guys mentioned, Podolski has been a loss as well.
Again though, ill hark back to the Giroud problem, which gives us a problem where he relies on midfield runners, namely Ramsey, which means he has to vacate his position all too often. If you look at the hotspot graph of where he takes up position, its very deep rather than looking to play off the last shoulder. I honestly think a proper top striker with the attributes the team needs will result in a better shape. Anyway, i dont want to sound like im picking on the big man as i like him and hes a great option, i just dont think hes top level.

Im also not belittling Citys victory, just analysing where i think it went wrong for Arsenal.

As for the Chelsea game, you are correct, it is massive in the context of where we want to finish up. No excuses, a good 9 day rest period before that one, and a home game against a side that is stuttering to victories against lower table opposition. If Jose does us again, your looking at a 3rd place finish probably.

Wenger admitted taking Flamini off was a mistake. That ended Arsenal's mini-revival but at 4-2 you can understand why he felt he had to gamble

At half time I was gutted it was only 2-1 as we battered you in the 1st half, and when it went to 3-2 I was worried. That Silva goal, and the Flamini sub killed you off when Arsenal were the better team.

Great game.

it's amazing that after seeing what AVB did and get thumped, and how Moyes stemmed the flow when he moved to a 3 in midfield that Wenger took his DM off and killed the game for himself, teams who do that lose their natural rhythm and get punished.

 

[jimharri]

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/arsenals-nicklas-bendtner-caught-saying-the-tunnel-at-manchester-city-stinks-of-piss-video/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/arsen ... iss-video/</a>

B-b-b-but; I thought Arsenal were supposed to be a classy club and did things the right way? Not forgetting the whole ''history'' bit of course. What a bunch of cuntish individuals there are at that club.