Arsenal v Manchester City 27/7/12 13:00 ESPN

[Cripps_orig]

Can see us being slaughtered here

[Marc Overmars]

Haven't kept tabs on much to do with Arsenal this pre-season, what with the Euros and now the Olympics.

I'll try and stream this one though.

[Flavs]

Wonder if we will play the kids in this

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I think we'll win.

[Syn]

What's going on? Is the training session at 1 or not?

[Syn]

Fuck. Just realised today isn't the 27th.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

if our defence performs anything like it did against malaysia then they'll get into double figures

[Flavs]

Fuck. Just realised today isn't the 27th.

:lol:

Brown people - Know your limits

[fari]

looking forward to this game. should be a nice one

[Syn]

AFC v Man City: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Bartley, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Song, Arteta; Walcott, Diaby, Santos; Gervinho.

WUF :bow:

[Joker]

Reckon Gervinho's going to be upfront.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

MANCHESTER CITY: Pantilimon, Savic, Kompany ©, K. Toure, Kolarov, Zabalata, Biton, Y. Toure, Razak, Aguero, Tevez

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

interesting to see how bartley fares in a pretty decent defence by our standards. he wasn't very effective against malaysia but he had wally's next to him so no surprise.

also hope diaby pulls through ok.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

also would prefer to give walcott a run out as striker instead of gervinho just to see if he can play in the role. doubt it'll happen though.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

The player names are in Mandarin on thee Arsenal shirts. :bow:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Tevez shoots, easy for Fab.

Wake up Song.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Theo. :doh:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We had a chance of a good attack there, not sure why Theo didn't try to go for goal. Santos being one of our supporting strikers is just weird.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Vermaelen tries to abuse Sian Massey! :haha:

[Bergkampwonderland10]

What did he do?

[Syn]

The number of times our players pick the wrong option in a move that should result in a goalscoring opportunity is ridiculous. Gervinho, the idiot, this time.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

What did he do?

Going after the ball, ran towards where she was and looked like he was trying to grind on her.

What a pervert.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Great work from Bartley to deny Yaya's Beast Mode.

Also, Gervinho in the middle just runs in to brick walls, he should theoretically have the ability to get past players there though.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Good play from Aguero and Tevez, great block from GHELkinson.

[Edinburgh Gooner]

Good game this IMO. Defence is still looking shaky though.

[Syn]

Great work by Ghelkers to deny Aguero.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Santos is bringing back the 1980s style shorts. :bow:

[Bergkampwonderland10]

Going after the ball, ran towards where she was and looked like he was trying to grind on her.

What a pervert.
Ha - just saw replay

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Theo shoots, Kompany blocks.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Theo goes for glory, very close. Good break.

[Syn]

So close to a wundergoal from Theo.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

GHELkingson fancies his chance, bursting forward, balloons a shot over. Good to see though.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Fabianski's name is falling apart. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Good shot from Santos, Pantilimon saves well.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Aguero tries to comb one, goes miles away.

Yaya is a beast.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

1-0 Citeh, Zabaleta.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

2-0 Yaya.

:doh:

[I_Killed_Kenny]

same shit different season

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

same old. dominate but end up conceding.

jenkinson caught out of position numerous times.

if we don't strengthen our full backs we'll see a repeat of the past 7 years.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

2-0 HT.

[Bergkampwonderland10]

Toure's goal looked a bit offside to me. Ah well...still need to get some defenders in that can defend. Jenkinson pulled all over the place...not v disciplined. Bartley looks like a kid out there. Gibbs and Vermaelen ok...though Verms still going AWOL up front - he needs to sort that. To be fair 2-0 is flattering...we've had a bit more possession but still no clue how to finish a move off.
We need to buy buy buy.

[Power n Glory]

What's the formation and whose playing where?

[Joker]

What's the formation and whose playing where?

Looks 4-3-3, with Walcott wide right, Santos wide left and Gervinho through the middle. Jenks and Gibbs fullback, Bartley and Vermaelen centre backs and a midfield trio of Arteta, Diaby and Song.

[Bergkampwonderland10]

Stream if anyone wants...http://tv.indonewyork.com/soccer4/

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

the thought of jenkinson covering for sagna until he recovers around september time sends shivers down my spine. dear lord.

it's going to be a long season.

[Marc Overmars]

Couldn't be bothered to watch this, sounds like I made the right choice.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Toure's goal looked a bit offside to me. Ah well...still need to get some defenders in that can defend. Jenkinson pulled all over the place...not v disciplined. Bartley looks like a kid out there. Gibbs and Vermaelen ok...though Verms still going AWOL up front - he needs to sort that. To be fair 2-0 is flattering...we've had a bit more possession but still no clue how to finish a move off.
We need to buy buy buy.

I think we need to ask our younger full-backs to stay behind more often, we coach them to attack and then do all the defensive work at the same time. Work on the most important side first but we don't seem to do that.

[Joker]

Couldn't be bothered to watch this, sounds like I made the right choice.

The same defensive problems seem to be rearing their ugly heads again. The way our midfield seems to disappear when Yaya's marauding through is a bit worrying.

[I_Killed_Kenny]

seems like a lot of fullbacks nowadays are praised for their attacking ability yet their job 1st anf foremost is to defend. sagna does that. our other 3 are pretty pants if you ask me. back RB and 2 LB's still needed

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Oxo, Chakma, Coquelin and Miquel are on.

Diaby, Arteta, Theo and somone else are off.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

They still have Beijing 2008 emblazoned around the stadium. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Gervinho shoots, Pantilimon saves. Should've scored. Superb assisting the assisting assister by Oxocube.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Oxocube smashes both posts! FFS.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Kompany off, Boyata on to get sent off within six minutes again.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Afobe is on, Santos off.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Terrible pass from Oxo, scuffed the turf. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Poor from Tevez, though Gibbs positioned himself well. Only he and Miquel were there at the back.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Gervinho and Jenkinson off, Aneke and Eastmond on.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

How hasn't Aguero made it 3-0? :lol:

[Syn]

Maccy, where's Oxlade playing? (If they're holding enough of a shape for you to tell)

Better be ACM.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Pantilimon just keeps saving our long range shots.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Maccy, where's Oxlade playing? (If they're holding enough of a shape for you to tell)

Better be ACM.

I suppose that's where I am mainly seeing him, it's Song that is playing anything penetrative though.

Song off, Eisfeld on (I think).

Yaya off, Johnson on for his +1.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Eastmond fires one right across goal.

Aneke has been decent.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Surface water. :bow:

[Syn]

I suppose that's where I am mainly seeing him, it's Song that is playing anything penetrative though.


I don't mind so much if he hasn't got the eye for the passes, he seems to have a good hit-and-hope ratio so he needs to play the numbers game like Ronaldo. Have 5 of those shots a game and one will go in.

This team's very shit. How are Walcott and Oxlade there but Giroud and Podolski aren't? Would've thought they'd need as many mins as possible to ghel with the rest of the team.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Oxocube belts another one from long distance. :lol:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

2-0 FT. Fuck it.

[Gooner23]

More positives than negatives though. Dominated second half but lacked cutting edge (whats new).

Oxo should be in our starting XI, makes things happen. Was really impressed with Miquel second half. Aneke, Santos and Coq all looked bright as well.

[I_Killed_Kenny]

oxo always seems to up the tempo when on the pitch and also lifts other players too. our pace always gets upped when he is on IMO. seems like the rest need someone to take the initiative to the opponents and then join that player. that player is oxo

[LDG]

Not bad second half. If the water wasn't slowing the ball on the deck, we may well have got quicker ball through. Was quite pleased second half.

Didn't really see the city team as sat from afar in the beer garden, but would assume city had more experience out there??

[Gooner23]

First half was quite even with both teams fielding mainly first teamers. Second half we brought on a load of kids and they kept the same team for most of it. Yaya Toure was the best player on the pitch though, he's a beast.

[jelgoon]

Its not really a positive. We have been dominating teams (ie playing tappy-tappy football where the opposition cant get the ball) for 7 years but we always end up losing. Funny that, as Diaby was playing and people on here seem to think he's our best midfielder.


More positives than negatives though. Dominated second half but lacked cutting edge (whats new).

Oxo should be in our starting XI, makes things happen. Was really impressed with Miquel second half. Aneke, Santos and Coq all looked bright as well.

[Syn]

There aren't positives or negatives. It's a fucking training session. One of about a hundred before the season kicks off. We know we're not going to be challenging for the title and we know there are serious flaws. Our level has dropped from what it was. That's not news. But we are also in the top 10 teams in Europe and after adding Giroud, Podolski and hopefully Cazorla/Sahin there's a chance we may have more firepower than last season. Thinking too much about the performance in a pure marketing game isn't wise.

[Power n Glory]

I was hoping we'd try a new formation. As we play more games we'll get an idea if we're going to try something new this season.

[Syn]

I was hoping we'd try a new formation. As we play more games we'll get an idea if we're going to try something new this season.

Not trying to do Wenger a disservice but I think he happens to stumble upon tactical changes forced through injuries rather than being proactive.

But to be fair, we don't tend to have much shape anyway in the front 6. Everyone (barring Arteta) just do whatever they want.

[Xhaka Can’t]

There aren't positives or negatives. It's a fucking training session. One of about a hundred before the season kicks off. We know we're not going to be challenging for the title and we know there are serious flaws. Our level has dropped from what it was. That's not news. But we are also in the top 10 teams in Europe and after adding Giroud, Podolski and hopefully Cazorla/Sahin there's a chance we may have more firepower than last season. Thinking too much about the performance in a pure marketing game isn't wise.

I haven't seen any of this, however I feel that we can safely view this season as a write off.

[Syn]

I haven't seen any of this, however I feel that we can safely view this season as a write off.

As things stands, I think so. Should be similar to last year even with the sale of Van Persie. A couple of players have to become prodigious talents for anything to change - considering we aren't able/willing (don't care which) to sign such talent.

[Master Splinter]

on the performance…
It was lively and both teams tried to play. I think we were quite dominant in the first half but suddenly found ourselves down 2-0 against the run of play. I feel Manchester City played on a very solid defence with five real defenders and we played forward without calculating too much. We were a bit vulnerable on the counter-attack and that is where we got caught. But overall what is important for us is to see everybody play and give everybody competition. We lasted 90 minutes at quite a good level.

on Van Persie's situation…
We could come back forever on Van Persie. We have our main strikers at home and Van Persie is one of them. But we have Podolski and Giroud who are at home, so we have plenty of strikers. For us at the moment it is to prepare for the season - it is more than any individual player.

on his message to Chinese fans…
I would personally like to thank them because they were absolutely outstanding. I would love to book a few 747s and bring them all to the Emirates! They have been outstanding throughout our whole stay. They have been better than our team!

on the Olympics…
Of course it is a little bit symbolic because here we are in an Olympic stadium where the last games took place. It will be a great night for London and for England to open the Olympic Games. I have watched the Games since I was a kid and I have seen many special things. I just hope that it will all go well. Maybe it is 16 days where the whole world is really united around sport.
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/-we-lasted-90-minutes-at-quite-a-good-level-

Chinese fans :bow:.

"little bit symbolic" - WUMger :bow:.

[Syn]

"little bit symbolic" - WUMger :bow:.

:haha:

Wenger is a psychopath.

[Gooner23]

There aren't positives or negatives. It's a fucking training session. One of about a hundred before the season kicks off. We know we're not going to be challenging for the title and we know there are serious flaws. Our level has dropped from what it was. That's not news. But we are also in the top 10 teams in Europe and after adding Giroud, Podolski and hopefully Cazorla/Sahin there's a chance we may have more firepower than last season. Thinking too much about the performance in a pure marketing game isn't wise.

Well it was a bit more than a training session. It was played at quite a reasonable pace I thought. Agree you can't read too much into a pre-season game, but still think you can be encouraged by some of the individual performances. Particularly some of the youngsters who did well against the likes of Aguero, Toure, Tevez etc.

[Cripps_orig]

Forgot about this

We lost

What a surprise

[Xhaka Can’t]

Who fucking cares (apart from limp dick saddos looking to get a cheap shot in)?

[Cripps_orig]

Arsenal fans i suppose :shrug:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Who fucking cares (apart from limp dick saddos looking to get a cheap shot in)?

i clearly remember the same being said last season after some bad defending at the emirates cup. people said 'who cares, its only pre-season' and 'i couldnt give a fuck about pre-season because it isnt significant'.

it led to our worst start in 58 years.

pre-season matters. things that happen now regarding organisation, shape and defending are unlikely to change in a matter of weeks.

[Cripps_orig]

i clearly remember the same being said last season after some bad defending at the emirates cup. people said 'who cares, its only pre-season' and 'i couldnt give a fuck about pre-season because it isnt significant'.

it led to our worst start in 58 years.

pre-season matters. things that happen now regarding organisation, shape and defending are unlikely to change in a matter of weeks.Pretty much

Same thing was said the pre season before and before that

Wenger lovers dont care though

[Xhaka Can’t]

i clearly remember the same being said last season after some bad defending at the emirates cup. people said 'who cares, its only pre-season' and 'i couldnt give a fuck about pre-season because it isnt significant'.

it led to our worst start in 58 years.

pre-season matters. things that happen now regarding organisation, shape and defending are unlikely to change in a matter of weeks.

I also remember a shitty pre-season where we went on to win a double.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Pretty much

Same thing was said the pre season before and before that

Wenger lovers dont care though

Nah - you use any and every opportunity to be a dick - you wouldn't give a toss if we won.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

I also remember a shitty pre-season where we went on to win a double.

there wasn't 7 years of continuous mistakes leading up to that pre-season though.

[Xhaka Can’t]

there wasn't 7 years of continuous mistakes leading up to that pre-season though.

We've had good pre-seasons leading to shitty seasons and vice versa. Some of the shit pre-seasons have been followed by great starts. There has been very little correlation between pre-seasons and the actual season. So excuse me for the lack of fucks I give over a marketing jaunt to China.

[Injury Time]

Dominate the game, concede two....plucky second half....sounds strangely familiar, bored now just get the season started:coffee:

[fakeyank]

Cant wait for season 2013/14 to start..

[dazthegooner]

It's this year isn't it? ;)

[Niall_Quinn]

Dominate the game, concede two....plucky second half....sounds strangely familiar, bored now just get the season started:coffee:

Before you know it you'll be saying, "Let's just get this season ended..."