Arsenal Thread

It may not have changed the outcome of this match, but the ref was a right cunt throughout the whole thing. How on earth Danny Rose got away with that tackle from behind on Giroud and Lamela elbowed Monreal right in front of the ref, when at least 3 Arsenal players went into the book for much less that that?
I had a bad feeling for the ref bias when I saw that hand ball by Tottenham's holding midfielder inside their own box and the ref's body language left it clear we were getting fuck all in our favour.

Anyway, it was a nice try from Wenger to repeat the blueprint from when we beat Man City. But I'm afraid we let them have too much of possession. We should have been more menacing today and maybe our players weren't as pumped up for this as theirs.

Our subs came a bit too late. Walcott barely had any time to adjust to the match tempo. That was a shame, even though Welbeck had a fairly good game.
 
Rentboy said:
It may not have changed the outcome of this match, but the ref was a right cunt throughout the whole thing. How on earth Danny Rose got away with that tackle from behind on Giroud and Lamela elbowed Monreal right in front of the ref, when at least 3 Arsenal players went into the book for much less that that?
I had a bad feeling for the ref bias when I saw that hand ball by Tottenham's holding midfielder inside their own box and the ref's body language left it clear we were getting fuck all in our favour.

Anyway, it was a nice try from Wenger to repeat the blueprint from when we beat Man City. But I'm afraid we let them have too much of possession. We should have been more menacing today and maybe our players weren't as pumped up for this as theirs.

Our subs came a bit too late. Walcott barely had any time to adjust to the match tempo. That was a shame, even though Welbeck had a fairly good game.
Click to expand...

Atkinson. Makes decisions based on the loudness of the crowd, very little else. Worst ref in the league by a country mile - and yet the FA have him as the best. Also a weird one for linesmen, of the 5/6 close decisions, replays showed almost all were wrong. That's a tough job so I don't blame em, but goes against the thing the FA always trots out about 95% of decisions being correct. (including the Arsenal goal)
 
Nah not going to blame refs, it annoys me when fans do that. Every team get their fair share of dodgy decisions over the course of a season - it all evens out.

Today we were not up for it, Spurs were and played high tempo football. Better team won - race for top 4 is going to be the most interesting it's ever been IMO.
 
As I said, I don't think it changed the result. I'm just saying these things are a factor whether you like it or not. Our guys will be on their back foot on a day when the ref's booking them on a whim, while Spurs players can slide tackle from behind. That is a factor for sure.
I'd also bet that the ref would have given a penalty to Spurs if that handball was by Coquelin inside the Arsenal penalty box.

BTW beachryan, Özil was clearly onside when he scored his goal.

Anyway, that is all past and our players didn't show enough desire. I'm at peace with that and that Wenger showed he's sticking to a more cautious approach on important away games, I like that.

Time to move on and bounce back.
 
Having Cazorla, Özil n Sanchez in the middle is lovely to see. Their movements on the ball is effortless. Then you see Welzbk n Giroud movements in Bizarro form. I'm not knocking their efforts, it just shows the magnitude of those really gifted players. I also like Gabriel today a bit robust, but a CB that likes to stick to the back even during counter attacks. All in all good result I wanted more goals. I hope to get Liverpool @ Home! Then, if applicable get Mutd in the final!!! '05 ( full cycle)
 
Gabriel is very Koscielny-like! Good game from him and the others. Giroud got his scoring boots fortunately, long may it continue.

I just didn't see much from Boro, they simply didn't turn up. Only around the 80th minute they started to show some urgency, but overall I can't understand how they were capable of knocking Man City out.
 
I really like Giroud as a striker and feel he is underrated by many. Very important player for us.

Would still like a pacey striker join at some point - Weleck isn't the answer.
 
With Welbeck, Giroud, Walcott, Ozil, Ox, Sanchez, and Cazorla, it seems like we have a number of different attacking styles we could pursue. This is a first for us in a long while.
 
This was a very mature control win. I think we could of shown better options in the final 3rd. Crystal lack a target man in the box :FAIL: until the last minute :LOL: . That )Ospina drop clinch face and roll was shocking. I think it was a South American time wasting not sure ,but Clattenburg had a right laugh at him.

btw the refs were loaded by errors today for both sides...that Ozil gol wasn`t offsides either.
 
Time to go Wenger. You have no ambition anymore.

This Monaco side with 5 key injuries are awful.

But oh no, get the top 4 trophy end of season that will keep board happy.

I don't care about the FA Cup win against a terrible Hull side last season either, it's not good enough.

WENGER OUT!
 
Only caught the last 10 mins. Had to make a double take when I saw 0-2. That 3rd goal makes it really difficult
 
Last edited:
Well beaten , well sized and well measured. Arsenal couldn`t beat this well defending quick side. Per was like a fish stuck in a net . I can`t blame Wenger the team should of played like a unit ....I didnt see that. Giroud was wasteful :CURSE:
 
This is the few times where I really don't think it's Wenger's fault. The goals we missed and conceded were either unlucky or terrible individual mistakes.
 
We need Wenger gone, so many players coast. There was an interview in which Ozil said along the lines of "I'm the world champion, I see no need to improve" in regards to his turgid performances for Arsenal for the previous 6 months. Why would he see the need to improve, no matter how badly he plays, he starts when fit. Same goes for a huge portion of the squad.

Ox occasionally gets those kinds of goals and I mean VERY occasionally but his woeful giving the ball away and costing us goals happens a lot more often. He was starting when completely undeserved but only because other better favourites of Wenger were fit. Ox needed dropping when he was having a run of games because he was terrible. Ozil needed dropping multiple times since 3 months after he joined Arsenal when he stopped what little effort he was putting in.

A new manager would likely put the fear of god into many of the lazy stupid players we currently have but would also do a better job of moving on those we don't need and bringing in what we do need.

250mil we've spent in 4 seasons and the closest we've come to a defensive midfielder or physical player is Arteta and Flamini... we've spent more on CRAP left backs when he starts Gibbs(who sucks) anyway, than a position we had effectively no one to fill. Flamini was a sicknote who was washed up and only marginally useful, the fact that he improved us in central mid is a pretty scathing criticism of Arteta's effectiveness. Even then it's more of a criticism of Wenger because Arteta was always really a creative attacking midfielder, was absurd to buy him to cover holding midfield roles in the first place.

A new manager would improve the existing squad, change the mentality, actually drop players who played like crap or constantly backed out of tackles, showed no effort on the pitch and would likely highlight the biggest changes required and ATTEMPT to fix them, you might buy the wrong player, it's better than ignoring the problem entirely.

Honest to god the only time I saw Ozil even show a hint of caring was when he kicked the ball out accidentally, didn't get the call given(incorrectly) his way and he slammed the ball down and got a yellow card. He didn't get that fired up when we conceded, or when he had to tackle or fight to stay on his feet, just over a god damned throw in after the game was over anyway.
 
And here was i thinking Monaco played a great match.
Unlucky first goal oh and Ospina made a good save after that splendid pass from Moutinho.


Wenger, go shopping in Monaco: Moutinho and Kondogbia are players Arsenal could use well.
 
No no no Gerald, we dont need Wenger - we are going nowhere with him.

His "10 year plan" - what has happened? One FA Cup win against a terrible Hull City team, WOW!

Teams like Portsmouth and Wigan have also won FA Cup in last few years, it doesnt mean anything these days. That sounds spoilt, I dont care.

WENGER HAS LOST THE PLOT! Our players dont respect the old fool. They light up cigarettes in front of him, he doesnt care.

Sick of the old fart and SICK of Kronke - GET RID and lets get in a fresh, modern thinking manager.

WENGER OOOOUUUT!
 
Come on people, PEOPLE! :LOL:

I'm angry as fuck too, but it's funny to see things like "we're improving all the time" and "Wenger out" right after each other.
Let's not be unfair with some things, for instance: Wenger did drop the idiot who lit up a cigarrete in the dressing room (ok, it took the cigarrete AND two howlers for Szcz to be sat on the bench, but still).
Jonney, Gibbs didn't cost a penny because he came from the youth system. And so on and so forth, we're all livid now, but let's keep our cool.

On the other hand, while we were incredibly unlucky with Giroud having an off day (to put it mildly) and that Monaco had 2 shots and 2 goals at some point in the game (what with the 1st one being a luck deflection), I do think Wenger is at fault.

First of all, it's about the mentality of the team. It's not a team of fighters, you don't see real desire. The difference between the teams in terms of wanting it more was abysmal. Plus, the confidence of our team is that feeble: when they scored the 2nd, we were all over the place and practically giving up. The moment when Ox scored, energy levels and belief were sky high again. Only this time there was no organisation and we conceded the 3rd on a stupid counter.

The team's spirit is like a rollercoaster during a decisive match. It's recurrent. There is always this collapse, this blackout. The job of the manager is to mould a calculated, cool-under-pressure unit of 11 guys, and that's what we are not. I've grown tired of this "go out there and express yourselves" approach.

You look at Monaco, and you see their game plan was executed to perfection. Their manager, Jardim, did some unexpected things too. He actually moved Fabinho (a guy who was playing as fullback) to the middle and congested the middle. Him and especially Kondogbia destroyed us. Both guys marked us out of the match, and Kondogbia was probably the man of the match.
So there you go, there's a manager adapting things for an opponent. And here we are playing exactly the same way as always, you can pinpoint exactly who will play where in Wenger's 4-5-1 when the starting 11 is revealed.

Lots have changed in football and it seems everyone's got Wenger number. A great coach he is, but immensely predictable.

It does seem like we're going backwards. I was getting spoiled by us being battered by the likes of Milan, Barcelona, Bayern Munich :LOL: :COAT:
While a team like Monaco, and an injury hit one at that, with all due respect, we should be doing a lot better.
 
Wenger has been biding his time since 2010-11 waiting for FFP to come in.
Problem now for Arsenal is that the CL seeding changes will mean they will no longer be in pot 1. On average that'll mean tougher groups in the future
 
Yeah there will come a time when we won't get out of the group. Which in itself isn't a huge catastrophe, I remember better Arsenal sides exiting at the group stages when we still had Bergkamp, Parlour, Overmars, Adams, Petit, Vieira...

UEFA has to do something about the seeding indeed, to prevent for instance Arsenal vs Dortmund facing each other every year in their group. Their system became kind of broken with time and all the restrictions meant very similar clashes every year.

As for Arsenal, I can tell you exactly how the 2nd leg will go. We will put up a fight and the team won't be this souless bunch we saw yesterday. We will mount a reaction and go like 2-0 up only to squander a few chances and fall agonizingly short.

Some people will think that I'm just a pessimistic, bitter bastard who likes to bitch and moan and rub salt in our own wounds... but those who have seen Arsenal in the CL in the last 4 years or so, will know we got hammered 4-0 at Milan and then won 3-0 in North London, then the next year got beaten 3-0 at home by Bayern with an abject performance, only to turn up and stick 2-0 past them in Munich, and so on.

This is typical Arsenal and while there was the consolation of being able to beat those teams by those margins, it brings out frustration and the notion that this team is not fulfilling its potential and that they can do much better if only they tried harder.
 
Munich won the CL and went through on away goals 3-3 ;3-1(h) 0-2(a). Hope is a good thing , never stop and keep trying I say. I tell my sons never stand in the shadows waiting to be called upon. Every moment is a opportunity to improve . Monaco players made damn sure their names get recognised.

Last night Gary Neville commentating annoyed me so much I had to watch the match from the distance not to hear him moan about Özil. It served one purpose, he doesn't like him. Every English player he gies excuses. I think give when warrant , not the entire match.
 
You're right bebo, I stand corrected: Bayern had beaten us on away goals that year. It was even closer than I remembered.
Özil is a frustrating thing at the moment, because he seems like not trying hard enough. Maybe it's just his style, somewhat blasé, but it does get on my nerves to see him get dispossessed so easily and looking casual about it. I don't know exactly what Neville said, but he probably has a point. Today we saw more of the same from Özil BTW.

As for today, good result to help us weather that CL shit storm. It sees up creeping up on Man City's rearview mirror too. Hopefuly we get a good run of games and challenge for this 2nd spot.

Not all was good though... Coq was taken out by Giroud today, all covered in blood. Not a pretty sight by any means.
 
Good result , we defended and nicked a few goals. You wonder how important a (-GD) clean sheet will be at the end of the season . City better watch out !!! The gap is closing.

I saw the Invincibles documentary, good memories that. Lemon still an arse after so many years lol.

btw I thought i saw Ramsey playing for Everton today :P

on Ozil https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/572073832762220544
 
Last edited:
They were poor, but they expected Arsenal to go gun ho blazing. We didn't give them that and credit to Arsenal for conservative approach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom