Match Reaction vs United

[Marc Overmars]

Dear me, what a predictable showing that was. :doh:

Another Old Trafford non-performance to throw on the pile.

On we go.

[IBK]

Well - we can't say we haven't had most of the game to consider this.

In reality all this showed was that we are not really ahead of a vulnerable Premiership.

3 big matches in a week was too much for us. Let's forget this game and move on.

[Globalgunner]

NQ says we were the better team.

[Özim]

NQ says we were the better team.

:lol:

[LDG]

Bad first half, decent second.

When you just want a bounce your way.

Rooney won it for them. Not having Mert lost it for us IMO.

Fuck you RVP. Fuck off Utd. Spawny cunts.

[Master Splinter]

Hugely disappointing. A chance to show how serious we are and our attacking players don't turn up. Can't really fault the team selection with all the injuries. Vermaelen was fine. Rosicky was a big miss though. A really poor match decided by a set-piece.

Ozil and Cazorla really poor. Giroud and Ramsey weren't particularly good but were always involved.

Shame we didn't have any viable options off the bench, but if the starting players had played with some energy and cohesion, we could have got a result against a vulnerable team.

We need to go on another winning run to erase this missed opportunity.

Arsenal :doh:.

[IBK]

Mods merge pls. Thx

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sucks but top of the league tbf.

[Özim]

We were a waste of space, they were there for the taking, an out of form average side with a manager who hasn't put his stamp on the team. Instead we were shoddy, lazy and didn't turn up, very disappointing indeed.

I really believed before this game, it's probably the 1st time in years we've gone to OT and I've believed we could do something special, but as usual we blow it and lose, I don't get these players sometimes.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Well - we can't say we haven't had most of the game to consider this.

In reality all this showed was that we are not really ahead of a vulnerable Premiership.

3 big matches in a week was too much for us. Let's forget this game and move on.

So frustrating that we dominated against this side despite being awful, every one of our attacking midfielders played badly with the exception of Wilshere.....yet the media will laud Man United and the tactical masterclass......they sat back deeper than I have ever seen them do at Old Trafford and yet we still didn't have the presence to trouble. Lost a game we never deserved to against one of the most feeble United sides there has ever been.
Yet the media will go on about their shite like Phil Jones and how he kept us at bay, if the players hadn't been spending half the night on the toilet seat he'd have been dead on his arse....We created nothing yet they had to really struggle to keep us at bay....so annoyed!

[milla]

Poor team selection from Wenger again. I wonder what will he do when most of our midfielders come back from the international duties next week? How on earth he justified moving Ramsey to the wing for Arteta and Flamini?

Poor and very timid first half, this lot is scare playing at OT. :coffee:

[Munchies]

Ah well, was a perfect chance to gain some ground on everyone else. Thought we could win here, but again, OT will always be a difficult place to go to even without Fergie there.

First half was dire, couldn't pass it properly at all. Second half we improved, but had no cutting edge. The lack of width in our team is really evident, we badly need Walcott in the side right now, and thankfully he's back after the break.

Everyone up front was anonymous today.

Sagna , and the defence played well.

[Dennis Bendtner]

The difference in these games, as it has been for umpteen years, is the conviction and belief. Basically summed up by the second half. United are absolute pony and play shit on a stick, but they went for it in the decisive moment. Our team never did and it just led to god knows how many Bendtnerish anguished faces after playing it across or in front of goal. Talking of Bendtner. Quite why he came on ahead of Gnabry is anyone's guess.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

NQ says we were the better team.

We were the better team which is testament to how bad they are!

[Özim]

1st half from us was a complete disgrace, it wouldn't be unfair to fine the players a months wages for that performance, it was that bad.

[Darknight02]

I really hate losing to that lot. They have the Indian sign over us.

I don't think we deserved that. We were the better team in the second half and had 4 gilt edged chances from crosses into the box. Three from Sagna and 1 through the middle that Ozil just didn't show enough bravery to get to.

But what it does show is that we just can't concede the first goal against big teams. We are a good side but just don't have the pace and quality to recover a deficit.

Ozil has been poor of late. Nothing went right for him and missed so many passes that you wouldn't expect.

End of the day aside from the corner they only opened us up once. From Rooney.

Sadly we conceded the all important first goal.

No matter. We are still top of the league.

Our response to this is the key point. The players must not forget what they achieved this week. And they must put this blip out of their minds.

Lastly Cazorla looks tired and Ozil doesn't look fresh. We really need our pace forwards back ASAP.

Wenger must must buy in January or he'll let a golden opportunity to win this season pass by.

[IBK]

We were a waste of space, they were there for the taking, an out of form average side with a manager who hasn't put his stamp on the team. Instead we were shoddy, lazy and didn't turn up, very disappointing indeed.

I really believed before this game, it's probably the 1st time in years we've gone to OT and I've believed we could do something special, but as usual we blow it and lose, I don't get these players sometimes.

3 big matches in a week, too small squad and our kryptonite ground (like the stadium of light for Citeh?). Disappointed but not depressed.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Poor team selection from Wenger again. I wonder what will he do when most of our midfielders come back from the international duties next week? How on earth he justified moving Ramsey to the wing for Arteta and Flamini?

Poor and very timid first half, this lot is scare playing at OT. :coffee:

Poor team selection?....hardly like he had much choice really with the team he picked.

[LDG]

Well - we can't say we haven't had most of the game to consider this.

In reality all this showed was that we are not really ahead of a vulnerable Premiership.

3 big matches in a week was too much for us. Let's forget this game and move on.

Shame we didn't have mertesacker, rosicky, podolski, AOC, walcott available.

Sometimes you just get done by an inferior team, just hate that it was their gaff.

Yeah, we didn't perform, but it is soooo fucking annoying to see those cunts in the crowd singing like they're something special.

We'll finish above them regardless this year, or that I'm confident.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

1st half from us was a complete disgrace, it wouldn't be unfair to fine the players a months wages for that performance, it was that bad.

Fining them for being ill?.....yeah that's fair....don't be a dick.

[Xhaka Can’t]

A disappointing end to what has been an incredibly difficult week. Been saying all season, we need more up front, and the sight of Bendtner confirms that. if we are still in the mix by the time the window opens, we can strengthen and really push on and challenge.

Who knows, if Merts was playing, we may have got the draw - which despite our lethargic play and lack of passing accuracy would have een a fair result.

[gunnerrrrr]

This was a pure 100% Wenger Old Trafford bottle job.
Fucking ridiculous team to start the game with.... Arteta and Flamini in midfield, move your most prominent midfielder out wide, leave your pace and main driving forward players on the bench (Wilshire and Gnabry).
The team were shocking in the fast half as Wenger completely fucked the team balance all because he has some kind of mental block as the theatre of shit.
We have done well last few weeks but now desperatly need Theo, Podolski and Oxlade back.

[Marc Overmars]

Poor team selection from Wenger again. I wonder what will he do when most of our midfielders come back from the international duties next week? How on earth he justified moving Ramsey to the wing for Arteta and Flamini?

Poor and very timid first half, this lot is scare playing at OT. :coffee:

Not sure there was a lot wrong with the team selection, the problem was none of them bothered to turn up. They've shown they can deliver in the big games so it's very disappointing to see such a weak display. I can't remember the last time we put in any sort of performance at Old Trafford.

Such a shame but I suppose it's a reality check. Bad Arsenal are still alive and well.

[IBK]

Shame we didn't have mertesacker, rosicky, podolski, AOC, walcott available.

Sometimes you just get done by an inferior team, just hate that it was their gaff.

Yeah, we didn't perform, but it is soooo fucking annoying to see those cunts in the crowd singing like they're something special.

We'll finish above them regardless this year, or that I'm confident.

Sign of our progress, for me. The fact that we are by far the biggest game at OT this season shows our progress. Hasn't been the case for years.

[Özim]

3 big matches in a week, too small squad and our kryptonite ground (like the stadium of light for Citeh?). Disappointed but not depressed.

True but that doesn't excuse shoddy passing and lazy tracking back. If we're struggling now by the end of the season we'll be losing every other week, This isn't just another match it was a chance to set a marker and have the players really believe they can do something special. This defeat will put doubts in their minds now, it's knocked my belief we can win something that's for sure, I expected a decent display at least.

[IBK]

This was a pure 100% Wenger Old Trafford bottle job.
Fucking ridiculous team to start the game with.... Arteta and Flamini in midfield, move your most prominent midfielder out wide, leave your pace and main driving forward players on the bench (Wilshire and Gnabry).
The team were shocking in the fast half as Wenger completely fucked the team balance all because he has some kind of mental block as the theatre of shit.
We have done well last few weeks but now desperatly need Theo, Podolski and Oxlade back.

TBF, the manager has nothing to play with - which is a massive criticism in itself, but explains team selection.

[Niall_Quinn]

NQ says we were the better team.

I meant it in footballing terms. In terms of sheer fluke, Utd had the upper hand.

[Globalgunner]

We were the better team which is testament to how bad they are!

If we were shift for 45 mins and only start playing when losing, it means nothing. Wenger record against City, Chelsea, United, is appalling. It is not bad luck my friend.

[Özim]

Fining them for being ill?.....yeah that's fair....don't be a dick.

Don't think the players out there were ill, or else they'd be in bed wrapped in cotton wool.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

United weren't great, only problem is that we didn't particuarily turn up in attack. No pace at all, we really missed Theo and The Ox.

Spawny goal to give away. Could have done better for it but those type of goals do go in through the course of the season. We will conceed at times, the key is to fight back from it and unfortunately we didn't really show any ability to - very lethargic. Pretty certain had they not scored that it would have ended in a draw so I'm not really worried about Utd and Moyes over the course of the season. Play like that against a team more up for it than we were today and they would have lost.

All in all very meh. Losing this match isn't going to define our season - the key is to bounce back immediately with a strong showing in our next hopefully with a lot of more players having returned. We're still 5 points clear of them and a lot of our other rivals so it's not the end of the world.

[Niall_Quinn]

Well - we can't say we haven't had most of the game to consider this.

In reality all this showed was that we are not really ahead of a vulnerable Premiership.

3 big matches in a week was too much for us. Let's forget this game and move on.

2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[IBK]

True but that doesn't excuse shoddy passing and lazy tracking back. If we're struggling now by the end of the season we'll be losing every other week, This isn't just another match it was a chance to set a marker and have the players really believe they can do something special. This defeat will put doubts in their minds now, it's knocked my belief we can win something that's for sure, I expected a decent display at least.

I think the display reflected the tired legs and minds. For me this is what happens when you gamble with squad size rather than something to beat the players with.

[RomfordPele]

Really negative tactics by wenger, who was banking on another Dortmund smash and grab.

We are better than united this year and should have gone there with a line up that would take the game to them from the first minute onwards.

[milla]

Poor team selection?....hardly like he had much choice really with the team he picked.

Everyone would say we lack pace but why we didn't use Gnabry? We could have use him out wide instead of Ramsey.:coffee:

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

So the fact that our whole squad woke up during the night complaining of nausea and this kept two players out of the starting line up is not in any way significant. Stomach viruses makes people dehydrated especially if they have had diarrhea or vomitting.....your not going to be at your best if you have lost vital fluids. Yes we have played a lot of games in a week, but i don't think it's a coincidence that both Ozil and Cazorla looked totally lethargic out there and couldn't string a pass together.

[Niall_Quinn]

So frustrating that we dominated against this side despite being awful, every one of our attacking midfielders played badly with the exception of Wilshere.....yet the media will laud Man United and the tactical masterclass......they sat back deeper than I have ever seen them do at Old Trafford and yet we still didn't have the presence to trouble. Lost a game we never deserved to against one of the most feeble United sides there has ever been.
Yet the media will go on about their shite like Phil Jones and how he kept us at bay, if the players hadn't been spending half the night on the toilet seat he'd have been dead on his arse....We created nothing yet they had to really struggle to keep us at bay....so annoyed!

Yeah,spot on. We're miles ahead of Moyes' randomness but at this level if you don't play at 100% you can be caught out. Result ad nothing to do with an ordinary ad very Moyes like Utd, everything to do with our ack of a performance. This is like losing to Crystal Palace, a slip up but we won't do it too many times.

[Marc Overmars]

I must admit I do wish we had signed Rooney. That **** does such a brilliant job for the team.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Everyone would say we lack pace but why we didn't use Gnabry? We could have use him out wide instead of Ramsey.:coffee:

He should have brought him on much sooner granted, but to be fair why take the risk of starting with an 18 year old in a game like this......for me no doubt at all that Rosicky and Mertesacker would have started if they were fit and they were the big misses today without doubt.

[Niall_Quinn]

Poor team selection from Wenger again. I wonder what will he do when most of our midfielders come back from the international duties next week? How on earth he justified moving Ramsey to the wing for Arteta and Flamini?

Poor and very timid first half, this lot is scare playing at OT. :coffee:

Old criticisms are sad after we have all been proved 100% wrong. We were superior in every department and yet we were really below par. So an ordinary team grabbed a surprise result. Happens.

[Dennis Bendtner]

Shame we didn't have mertesacker, rosicky, podolski, AOC, walcott available.

Sometimes you just get done by an inferior team, just hate that it was their gaff.

Yeah, we didn't perform, but it is soooo fucking annoying to see those cunts in the crowd singing like they're something special.

We'll finish above them regardless this year, or that I'm confident.

Their midfield is absolute poo. It's all about conviction and belief. Wilshere, Gnabry and Sagna were the only ones to show it in the attacking third my view. When you get in those positions you have to go 100% for the kill, whether that be a pass or a shot. The rest just didn't do it.

Despite the goal - a good, decisive header from the **** - Merts' absence was not an issue today, as the pre-match concerns might have suggested.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Wazza runs around a lot, that's for sure. Metatarsal injury can't be far away.

[The Ogg Monster]

Lets not wet ourselves, we beat Liverpool and Dortmund this week and lost as the best team 1-0 at OT.

Fuck it, we're still top, United wont be bothering us any furth this season, they're shite.

Next?

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Yeah,spot on. We're miles ahead of Moyes' randomness but at this level if you don't play at 100% you can be caught out. Result ad nothing to do with an ordinary ad very Moyes like Utd, everything to do with our ack of a performance. This is like losing to Crystal Palace, a slip up but we won't do it too many times.


To be fair would be far less annoyed and frustrated if we had lost to a Palace instead of United today. I hate feeling like i am trotting out excuses for this performance but it's in such a contrast to last saturday and wednesday that for me it cannot simply be put down to bottling it or fatigue.....why would we bottle it against United and not against a technically superior side like Borussia Dortmund. Annoys the hell out of me.....fortunately we have six days before Southampton so we have time to rest before we need to give a response.

[4-3-3]

Only 6 points separate the Top 8 now and SIX of them are playing each other next

Arsenal v Saints, Everton v Liverpool & Man City v Spurs.
we need to beat the saints to have little big of breathing space.

[Marc Overmars]

It was just a poor game all round, I certainly didn't think United got on top of us at any point.

So annoying to lose out to a set piece and to not even look like scoring.

Gah. Hate losing before an international break as well.

[Munchies]

Next five games: Southampton (h) Marseille (h) Cardiff (a) Hull (h) Everton (h)

All winnable. COYG.

Walcott, Pods hopefully back by then. Pods upfront when needed instead of Bendtner

[Niall_Quinn]

To be fair would be far less annoyed and frustrated if we had lost to a Palace instead of United today. I hate feeling like i am trotting out excuses for this performance but it's in such a contrast to last saturday and wednesday that for me it cannot simply be put down to bottling it or fatigue.....why would we bottle it against United and not against a technically superior side like Borussia Dortmund. Annoys the hell out of me.....fortunately we have six days before Southampton so we have time to rest before we need to give a response.

I thought Southampton is where we would slip up. So we need to make sure that doesn't happen. I don't measure a football tach at OT to be a Arkwright. Lots of stuff can and does go on there. But the Sputhampton match is Abigail marker. Must win that.

[Master Splinter]

I think the display reflected the tired legs and minds. For me this is what happens when you gamble with squad size rather than something to beat the players with.

Squad size (strikers aside) is not a problem. Injuries are. Even if we had a squad of 50, 38 would be injured. Or ill, which is the new thing.

[RomfordPele]

We missed Walcott again today. He will make ozil come alive after the international break.

Starting to like the look of gnabry too having been hugely sceptical. So there's still an awful lot to be positive about.

Need to beat an in form Southampton though and get back on track.

[Marc Overmars]

Next five games: Southampton (h) Marseille (h) Cardiff (a) Hull (h) Everton (h)

All winnable. COYG.

Walcott, Pods hopefully back by then. Pods upfront when needed instead of Bendtner

Southampton are awesome.

When people said tougher tests to come, they were talking about them tbf.

[Niall_Quinn]

It was just a poor game all round, I certainly didn't think United got on top of us at any point.

So annoying to lose out to a set piece and to not even look like scoring.

Gah. Hate losing before an international break as well.

We did look like scoring, several times, many more than a very boring Utd. But Giroud was abit off the pace today, as was Ozil. Shame. Blip.

[Xhaka Can’t]

We have had a real run of tough fixtures,at home,away in Europe and now this. For once, I welcome an international break.

[Syn]

Bitterly disappointing not to come away with at least a point. Would've been a statement to win but we're closer to the chasing pack now. The big test we normally failed in the past was responding to a bitter setback. Four winnable games coming up in the league and I'd back us for 12 points out of 12. Let's see how the table looks then.

[Dennis Bendtner]

Bendtner's arrival really was depressing though :ilt: rather have seen Monreal with Gibbs further forward

[Niall_Quinn]

We have had a real run of tough fixtures,at home,away in Europe and now this. For once, I welcome an international break.


You welcome key injuries from boring and meaningless FIFA pocket stuffing non-entity who cares who cares natonal gravy train non football let me die instead of watching this fixtures?

[Power n Glory]

Ozil needs to step his game up big time. The combination in the middle wasn't right, Flam and Arteta can't play to together. That's confirmed. Ramsey can't play on the wing...but regardless of that, I'm expecting Ozil to step his game up. Yet to have a game where he's been unplayable and I hope he snaps out of it soon.

Still top of the league at least.

[Marc Overmars]

Bendtner's arrival really was depressing though :ilt: rather have seen Monreal with Gibbs further forward

Whenever that oaf is ready to come on I think we can all sense the simultaneous groans of millions of Gooners.

[Xhaka Can’t]

You welcome key injuries from boring and meaningless FIFA pocket stuffing non-entity who cares who cares natonal gravy train non football let me die instead of watching this fixtures?

I couldn't have put it better myself.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Whenever that oaf is ready to come on I think we can all sense the simultaneous groans of millions of Gooners.

Why can't he get injured?

[RomfordPele]

Gives the likes of podolski, Walcott and AOC some time to get fit though, plus a bit of a rest for Arteta, Flamini, Gibbs etc.

And there's always the chance bendtner could pick up a knock for Denmark...

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Why can't he get injured?

He just comes on for a brisk walk, probably.

[Xhaka Can’t]

He just comes on for a brisk walk, probably.

Brisk?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Brisk?

Walk?

Not sure what I was thinking.

[Newguy]

Let's just move on from this game. Poor selection from Wenger, arteta and flamini in the middle with Ramsey out on the left didn't work before and hasn't worked today. As soon as we changed that it was a better look to the team, Ramsey back where he belongs ect.

The silver lining is that we're still top of the league, but we shouldn't have list today IMO.

Need Theo back asap now and we really need to buy in the Jan window cause a striker is needed.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

It was a little concerning how many potential headed goals we let pass by the wayside.......

I thought that if Wenger had to play Flamini and Arteta, that he should have at least thought better of then also pushing Ramsey wide. He is our top scorer after all. It's coming naturally at the moment without the need for him to lick a toad or drink some special elixir to make him score. May as well make the most of it for now.

Mertesacker's absence could not have come at a worse time.

Manure were far from great and we were not much better if at all......

It was obviously annoying to watch but Jones was very good for them. I thought he read the play superbly if I am being honest. Rooney and RvP usually get far more clear cut chances between them and they probably had 1 each was testimony to our efforts defensively. Unfortunately the one goal off Chocolateleg Van Jazz Hands' shoulder was all they needed. I thought we should have made them pay in spite of who was there and who was not and that would have been a lovely message to send to them.

As long as they don't dwell on the defeat and let the results following spiral out of control, the fans won't stay hung up about this. As someone has already pointed out, a few of our rivals go up against each other in the next round of games. Instant, almost guaranteed pain relief. Especially from the City vs Spurs game.


We really need to make that fat ginger prick eat his words and his bendy elbowed mate by the end of the season..... Let's not leave it to chance neither. Get the Dud Viking out the club and buy a proper forward. I was sick of the sight of him before the CoCup exit never mind today. My heart almost dropped out of my anus when he came on. :doh:

[Letters]

Balls.

Balls, balls, balls.

Horrible performance in the 1st half. Better in the 2nd but just not good enough.
Utd really aren't that good, they were there for the taking today and we just didn't step up and give a performance.

Very disappointing. Could be a turning point in the season for us and Utd :(

[Niall_Quinn]

Why can't he get injured?

Because we don't know where he lives.

[Ernesto]

Our plan B isn't pace, it isn't swift counter attacking movement, it isn't fouling or playing dirty. It is the yet to be exploited ability to score from set-pieces. We can't defend them but, frustratingly, we don't seem to want to score from them either (case in point today, just how many corners did we have and how many of them were nonsensically played short?)

It was à dire game. We could have capitalised on slip-ups by Chelsea, spurs and man city but didn't. Many have touched upon the frustrations of watching this Arsenal side. Could Man Utd have gone to Dortmund midweek and won? Never in a month of Sundays. Makes today's result all the more galling.

We must win our next home game and not give way to mental fragility. Ironically, after we'd been robbed of our unbeaten record at Old Twatford a few years back, our next fixture was à home game against Southampton. We stuttered to a draw, rescued only by a last minute equaliser from the c*nt.

A win's important because I honestly believe that if we keep winning the games we're expected to win, we'll win the league. (Until our next banker away loss at the Etihad in early December)

[Marc Overmars]

Mesut Özil...

Discuss.

[Ollie the Optimist]

shit performance. they looked tired, which given a week where we played liverpool home, dortmund away and then united. perhaps was just one big game too many in a week.

united weren't great, nor were we but the league won't be decided on these big four games. they will be decided on the others. look at city. thrashed united, lost to cardiff, villa and now sunderland. 2 points clear, get to xmas without losing and we'll win the league. still confident of that, but no more performances like today

[Ollie the Optimist]

Mesut Özil...

Discuss.

a superb player but needs width to be at his best. his best games were when we had theo or gnabry on the wing. when its all midfielders he struggles. he got more involved when Gnarby was on today and look threatening.

[Daniele]

So the fact that our whole squad woke up during the night complaining of nausea and this kept two players out of the starting line up is not in any way significant. Stomach viruses makes people dehydrated especially if they have had diarrhea or vomitting.....your not going to be at your best if you have lost vital fluids. Yes we have played a lot of games in a week, but i don't think it's a coincidence that both Ozil and Cazorla looked totally lethargic out there and couldn't string a pass together.

Özil is always lethargic...

[Ernesto]

Mesut Özil...

Discuss.

Can't jump to head the ball else it'll mess up his haircut.

[Ollie the Optimist]

one more point. after villa game, if you told me that our next loss in the league would be united away in november and we'd be 2 points clear at the top of the league, id have called the men in white coats. shit game, shit result, but lets hope we bounce back like after villa. onwards and upwards

[Maestro]

Balls.

Balls, balls, balls.

Horrible performance in the 1st half. Better in the 2nd but just not good enough.
Utd really aren't that good, they were there for the taking today and we just didn't step up and give a performance.

Very disappointing. Could be a turning point in the season for us and Utd :(

:good:

just really pisses me off that we have shamelessly turned losing to these fucks, into a finely distilled art form. no one does it better.

[Power n Glory]

a superb player but needs width to be at his best. his best games were when we had theo or gnabry on the wing. when its all midfielders he struggles. he got more involved when Gnarby was on today and look threatening.

He needs to get involved more regardless of whose playing. That's what makes a world class player. A couple of bad games now and yet to really show what he can do. Just glimpses so far. The best was Napoli. We'll have to give him more time to adjust but it's very disappointing to already be thinking we need player x, y and x for him to really flourish.

[Niall_Quinn]

Mesut Özil...

Discuss.

Best player in the PL by such a distance it's a bit embarrassing.

Does this mean he'll win every game on his own? Does it mean he won't have any off-performances? Hardly. Football is still about narrow margins. But the effect his signing has had on the club is self evident. He's the cheapest player we've ever signed, in terms of the impact he's delivered.

[Niall_Quinn]

Özil is always lethargic...

Extremely sad comment. Just goes to show, there are some fans that could never, ever be satisfied.

[WMUG]

On a positive note, how fucking brilliant was Gnabry when he came on? Made a huge difference, we were much better following his introduction because if the pace and width he offered us, which in turn allowed Sagna to put those balls into the box that we very nearly grabbed 2 goals from.

[Dennis Bendtner]

Wenger wore the coat of doom. It's no coincidence.

[Niall_Quinn]

On a positive note, how fucking brilliant was Gnabry when he came on? Made a huge difference, we were much better following his introduction because if the pace and width he offered us, which in turn allowed Sagna to put those balls into the box that we very nearly grabbed 2 goals from.

I wouldn't say he was brilliant in terms of the match itself - but in terms of young kid coming on in such a big fixture and looking like he belongs, he did well. Wenger said Ramsey was a top player, which has seemed ridiculous until recently. He claims Gnabry is even better - I'm going to believe him.

[Syn]

Extremely sad comment. Just goes to show, there are some fans that could never, ever be satisfied.

No, he honestly is worse than Arshavin in terms of sticking a foot in. But we're not paying him to do any of that. He is obviously struggling to cope with the pace of the league atm. After Christmas we'll see him running games consistently. It doesn't help him that we don't have a runner upfront. Maybe Theo will help in that regard.

[Marc Overmars]

Wenger wore the coat of doom. It's no coincidence.

I was thinking that as well. :lol:

[WMUG]

I wouldn't say he was brilliant in terms of the match itself - but in terms of young kid coming on in such a big fixture and looking like he belongs, he did well. Wenger said Ramsey was a top player, which has seemed ridiculous until recently. He claims Gnabry is even better - I'm going to believe him.

Well yes, I was accounting for his circumstances by describing him as brilliant, but even from a purely pragmatic stance he was very good; his introduction really did change the face of the game, we were very unlucky (to have bendtner on the field who conspired) not to get on the end of at least one of the balls into the box right at the end.

[Marc Overmars]

Well yes, I was accounting for his circumstances by describing him as brilliant, but even from a purely pragmatic stance he was very good; his introduction really did change the face of the game, we were very unlucky (to have bendtner on the field who conspired) not to get on the end of at least one of the balls into the box right at the end.

We have no width and when the midfield aren't at their tippy tappy best it becomes quite easy for their play to be read, which is what United's defence did comfortably today.

Need Theo back ASAP and I'd also like Gnabbers to be involved more as well.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

People need to chill out.

If you were told we would be 2 points clear going into the 2nd international break you'd have taken it. I'm much more pissed off about our loss to Chelsea in the COC than this.

Last time we were there we lost 8-2, this time we lost our best defender on the day of the game and still managed to defend really well for the duration of the game. It's frustrating we didn't make more of it but we had no Walcott to get in behind their defence and he would have been key.

It's going to be a long season and as long as we get to January 1st/2nd, we can strengthen and push on.

UTAAAAA

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

People need to chill out.

If you were told we would be 2 points clear going into the 2nd international break you'd have taken it. I'm much more pissed off about our loss to Chelsea in the COC than this.

Last time we were there we lost 8-2, this time we lost our best defender on the day of the game and still managed to defend really well for the duration of the game. It's frustrating we didn't make more of it but we had no Walcott to get in behind their defence and he would have been key.

It's going to be a long season and as long as we get to January 1st/2nd, we can strengthen and push on.

UTAAAAA

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Double post for some reason.

Anyway, one thing I'll add is that at least Wenger is getting the subs spot on. Should have got them on sooner but his judgment in terms of players is improving. It's promising.

[Syn]

The problem has never been about losing at Old Trafford. It's about this pyschological mental block that we carried forward to let it fuck up our form. When we went there at a similar time in 2004, we were playing our very best football. We then lost the game 2-0, lost our unbeaten run and although we were top by 5 points, we quickly started dropping silly points. In fact the very next game was this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3947349.stm , where we celebrated a RVC wondergoal equaliser like a world cup win.

This time we also play Southampton at home. I can't be the only one who is not worried about this group of players letting this Man Utd result unsettle their form. We've been doing this shit since March and we can carry on building the lead at the top.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Nah.

We've lost in the league twice in the space of 8 months.

We got this.

[IBK]

Squad size (strikers aside) is not a problem. Injuries are. Even if we had a squad of 50, 38 would be injured. Or ill, which is the new thing.

Its the same thing with us. We need a squad capable of dealing with our ever present injury list. Its no use pointing our that we have key players injured when this is a permanent state of affairs with us.

[JonasTC]

Didnt see 2. half, but first half was abit "meh" from both sides, they get their goal from where merts would normally be... Sucks, but a 1-0 loss on Old Trafford isnt end of the world and we're still top of the league :bow:

Hopefully both Podolski and Walcott are back after the international break, so we can actually start playing proper football. I must say, its impressive that we've been able to do what we have done without any wingers/wide forwards :)

[Marc Overmars]

Its the same thing with us. We need a squad capable of dealing with our ever present injury list. Its no use pointing our that we have key players injured when this is a permanent state of affairs with us.

Then what do we do? Buy 3 players for every position? :lol:

Nowt we can do, we just have to deal with it and to be honest we've coped well anyway.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

The problem has never been about losing at Old Trafford. It's about this pyschological mental block that we carried forward to let it fuck up our form. When we went there at a similar time in 2004, we were playing our very best football. We then lost the game 2-0, lost our unbeaten run and although we were top by 5 points, we quickly started dropping silly points. In fact the very next game was this: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/3947349.stm , where we celebrated a RVC wondergoal equaliser like a world cup win.

This time we also play Southampton at home. I can't be the only one who is not worried about this group of players letting this Man Utd result unsettle their form. We've been doing this shit since March and we can carry on building the lead at the top.

If we have to look back nine years to make a point then I don't think it really holds many concerns for me. The difference then is that we were the reigning champions and had that feeling taken away. You could say we've had the feeling of comfortable league leaders shaken but I don't think it's going to hold much sway.

However, Southampton are going to be an arseache to play against though because they're another side that will press like demons.

[JonasTC]

Btw... Really not impressed with United, this is the champions :s They're playing like Stoke or any other mid-table team, they might win 1-0 over us on OT, but this team will not end up in top4 if they keep playing like this.

[Marc Overmars]

Btw... Really not impressed with United, this is the champions :s They're playing like Stoke or any other mid-table team, they might win 1-0 over us on OT, but this team will not end up in top4 if they keep playing like this.

They are run of the mill but unfortunately have 2 awesome strikers to negate that.

[Syn]

I have often said in the past that Man Utd don't look like 'champions' and then they usually go on a ridiculous run of form from December-February and blow everyone else out the water. This puts them right back in the hunt for top spot. But while they have the same players as last year, it's undeniably true that the Fergie influence in being that ruthless in the difficult Christmas period through to early Match will be missing.

On the other hand, Gaizidis has already said we will look to buy a striker in January. Might not be a good one but it'll be better than Bendtner. Probably some decent value in the market in January. Maybe a couple of very good players might even be looking for loan moves in a World Cup year.

[Marc Overmars]

Wish we had signed Negredo. Spanish Bif tbh.

We're going to need a striker in that sort of mould as the style of play relies on holding the ball up and bringing others in.

[Dennis Bendtner]

Nah...United are toilet. Today was more like playing Moize's Everton. Not like they showed anything on the counterattack and that midfield is :sick:. The way they are set out they'll still have problems against a lot of teams in the league like a few of their home games so far.

COYG, tbf.

[Niall_Quinn]

I have often said in the past that Man Utd don't look like 'champions' and then they usually go on a ridiculous run of form from December-February and blow everyone else out the water. This puts them right back in the hunt for top spot. But while they have the same players as last year, it's undeniably true that the Fergie influence in being that ruthless in the difficult Christmas period through to early Match will be missing.

On the other hand, Gaizidis has already said we will look to buy a striker in January. Might not be a good one but it'll be better than Bendtner. Probably some decent value in the market in January. Maybe a couple of very good players might even be looking for loan moves in a World Cup year.

Moyes is a massive step down from Ferguson (or any other decent manager tbf). He had zero to do with today's result. On better form we would have eaten up that team of average players (bar that cunt RvP) he put out. They'll struggle for a top 4 spot. I think they'll get it, due to retained DNA rather than the current breed, but they are very, very ordinary and being manged by a very, very ordinary guy. That will tell over the season. I don't think Moyes will "come good" after a settling in period either. I think he's shite and I think Utd will stick with him because it would be embarrassing not to. So good news all in all.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wish we had signed Negredo. Spanish Bif tbh.

We're going to need a striker in that sort of mould as the style of play relies on holding the ball up and bringing others in.

He's pure shit, but a good battering ram. Ideal complement to Aguero but I don't think he'd work for us.

[Marc Overmars]

He's pure shit, but a good battering ram.

No.

That's Altidore.

[Xhaka Can’t]

https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/6518820096/h5F34075F/

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

We're top of the league and lost to the champions, you penises.

So let's go and cry about it. Chill out.

[Syn]

Who's overly negative? From what I'm reading after the game, Arsenal fans aren't too bothered.

[GP]

I think we all know we're better then we looked today. With Theo, Ox and Poldi to come back, I think we look in remarkably good shape.

I'm a fairly optimistic soul, but even I can't believe how well things have gone.

[selassie]

I was expecting a point at best so wasn't overly surprised with the outcome. It looked to me….especially in the first half prior to RVC's goal as if the players were quite happy to play within themselves and limit the opposition.

It didn't really feel to me as if the players ever had the confidence to take the game to Manure.

We improved 2nd half and despite dominating possession it was very much a "huff and puff" type performance. We did admittedly open them up a little towards the end but I never really felt we had control of the game.

The league is still wide open this season, there isn't really any stand out teams so far, maybe us and Liverpool at a push, but I do fear our lead will be chipped away once we face Chelsea and Man City.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

He's pure shit, but a good battering ram. Ideal complement to Aguero but I don't think he'd work for us.

Anything's better than that danish sumo wrestler up front.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

I think we all know we're better then we looked today. With Theo, Ox and Poldi to come back, I think we look in remarkably good shape.

:gp:

[Bumble]

Today was important as had we won. I believe we would win the league. We didn't deserve anything today. You can't play like that and win at places like united.
Games like today show how important the first goal is. We got it last week and conceded it this week. Had we scored first we would have won, we are very good at closing out games but we don't seem to be able to chase games anymore. We have been behind in 6 games this season lost four and drew the other two.

Southampton Cardiff hull everton city Chelsea west ham and newcastle by year end. No push overs. If we are still top game on.

[Özim]

What really bugged me today was just how poor we were in the 1st half, we couldn't even pass properly and a number of times we didn't even track back (Vermaelen when he thought he was fouled just stopped, he got the foul but had he not we'd have been in trouble and Gibbs who let the ball go and the Man U player consequently kept it in near the byline), don't think we even had a shot 1st half and I personally don't think that's acceptable in such a big match (or any match for that matter).

Moreover this Man U side may be Champions but they're not a great side, Ferguson worked miracles with them, but under Moyes they have been sh*t. They were really there for the taking given our start to the season I was expecting a draw at least to be honest, at the same time I wasn't surprised we lost as we don't seem to be able to beat them for love nor money these days. I think we'll find it hard to beat the top sides like Chelsea and Man City as well which in the end will mean we'll come up short this season.

It's true we've exceeded expectations this season, but having done so it's disappointing to see us go out with a whimper when we had a great chance to strengthen our position.

Today also highlighted the lack of depth in our squad IMO, Giroud was poor today and we had noone to replace him, the midfield without Rosicky just lacked something as well which considering he's injury prone is a bit worrying.

Some might write it off as just one game, but I think psychologically this game had a lot of meaning attached to it, a result and I think the players might have genuinely believed we can do it.

Yeah I'm basically really disappointed.

[Niall_Quinn]

Anything's better than that danish sumo wrestler up front.

Statement of the obvious. That's why I volunteered to play. Admittedly the suggestion got a lukewarm reception - but honest, I'm better than Nik.

[Niall_Quinn]

What really bugged me today was just how poor we were in the 1st half, we couldn't even pass properly and a number of times we didn't even track back (Vermaelen when he thought he was fouled just stopped, he got the foul but had he not we'd have been in trouble and Gibbs who let the ball go and the Man U player consequently kept it in near the byline), don't think we even had a shot 1st half and I personally don't think that's acceptable in such a big match (or any match for that matter).

Moreover this Man U side may be Champions but they're not a great side, Ferguson worked miracles with them, but under Moyes they have been sh*t. They were really there for the taking given our start to the season I was expecting a draw at least to be honest, at the same time I wasn't surprised we lost as we don't seem to be able to beat them for love nor money these days. I think we'll find it hard to beat the top sides like Chelsea and Man City as well which in the end will mean we'll come up short this season.

It's true we've exceeded expectations this season, but having done so it's disappointing to see us go out with a whimper when we had a great chance to strengthen our position.

Today also highlighted the lack of depth in our squad IMO, Giroud was poor today and we had noone to replace him, the midfield without Rosicky just lacked something as well which considering he's injury prone is a bit worrying.

Some might write it off as just one game, but I think psychologically this game had a lot of meaning attached to it, a result and I think the players might have genuinely believed we can do it.

Yeah I'm basically really disappointed.

Out of three games that marked the end of our myth - we beat Liverpool, beat Dortmund and lose on a fluke to Utd after a fairly knackered display? We're doomed.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Statement of the obvious. That's why I volunteered to play. Admittedly the suggestion got a lukewarm reception - but honest, I'm better than Nik.

You're not in shape to play up front for Arsenal. You're two pounds overweight. Wenger said you need to put on another 6 by next week.

[Özim]

Out of three games that marked the end of our myth - we beat Liverpool, beat Dortmund and lose on a fluke to Utd after a fairly knackered display? We're doomed.

Liverpool game we played well and won well, Dortmund game was a great result, but in the 1st half of that game we again didn't have a shot, 2nd half after the goal was very good though.

You call it a fluke but we lose their almost every season, that can't all be due to flukes, it's got to be partly mental, we weren't good today, they weren't good either but they scored whereas we really didn't threaten to so lost because of it.

The point is we're in top form and yet we couldn't pass for toffee today (Vermaelen was fresh, so was Flamini and they were both poor too), if we are tired then it's the manager's responsibility for not planning well enough, it's only November after all there's a long way to go and if we're tired now god help us when we get to February.

[BOBN]

Wish we had signed Negredo. Spanish Bif tbh.

We're going to need a striker in that sort of mould as the style of play relies on holding the ball up and bringing others in.
Better than Higuian and cheaper. Wenger had a shit summer tbh.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Ozil's shit. Sell him.

[Özim]

Giroud produces some excellent touches and works hard, but he's not deadly in front of goal, we need someone who lives and breathes goalscoring and will shoot at any opportunity.

[Niall_Quinn]

Better than Higuian and cheaper. Wenger had a shit summer tbh.

Yeah - he only signed Ozil. What a cunt.

[Niall_Quinn]

Giroud produces some excellent touches and works hard, but he's not deadly in front of goal, we need someone who lives and breathes goalscoring and will shoot at any opportunity.

He's an extremely good player with a huge engine and a great desire to work for the team. He's taken a year to adjust to the PL but now he's a key component. There are few better at holding the ball, he's also got a very good touch 8 times out of 10, and he'll still be running in the 95th minute even when he's been asked to play alone up front. Considering Liverpool won't sell us Suarez, City are unlikely to sell us Aguero and RvC has already pissed off I doubt we could find a more effective striker. He doesn't score every game - only Messi does that. BUt if he stays fit then they can bring in Benzema or Llorente and I bet you Giroud sees them off.

I've got to say, I thought I'd come back on here and see everyone raving about the team. But it's the same as when I left - same old moaning. Wenger and the board have done what we demanded (yes - about time), the team has stepped up in ways that we couldn't have even secretly dreamed about (Ramsey, Merts, Ches, Rosicky, Gibbs, Sagna - all playing a couple of levels above what we have previously seen). Why are we trying to pick faults in this? Let's ride it it out and have some fun in the process. We're top of the league. That means, so far, we are better than everyone else. That's just a fact. We aren't absolutely perfect, but who is? Giroud is part of what we have achieved so far, the positives he brings far outweigh the negatives. Fior me, I just say - good bloke, well done, keep it going!

[selassie]

Ozil's shit. Sell him.

http://www.bishops-wood.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Smarty-pants-for-web.jpg

[BOBN]

Yeah - he only signed Ozil. What a cunt.
For about 15 million more than he would needed to have to get any credit for his negotiation skills and 10 million more than his current worth.

Did he rub two rocks together to get that 40mil? No, he took the clubs money, rolled up to Madrid, then dropped it on one of europes big name players. Then he resigned Flamini on a free. Two no-brainer piss easy transfers. What exactly did you do in the summer that was praiseworthy? Oh yeah he also got rid of Gervinho, who is now destroying Serie A. A rejuvenated Gervinho could have changed todays game.

He had a shit summer, end of story.

[I am an entertainer, Fact]

I see it like this, just 1 game too many in one week. It's was always going to be a tough ask to carry on the high intensity after two big wins back to back. A third would have been a little miracle, at the end of the day it's still human beings and without a few key players, namely podolski and walcott to play in the wide areas to freshen things up, I could see this result happening.

The fact that we lost Mertle and Rosicky didn't help at all. Personally I'd have started Gnabry and then brought him off if it want working. Instantly looked threatening when he came on.

Still we are top and this side I feel is stronger mentally than in years past. Good time for an international break.

[GP]

Gervinho is utter shit.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Gervinho is utter shit.

Not sure why any Gooner, who's had the misfortune of watching him wear our shirt, would argue otherwise.

[A Gunner]

Not sure why any Gooner, who's had the misfortune of watching him wear our shirt, would argue otherwise.

When I was in Montreal, watching in a bar, I'd have think some of them really love him and actually think he's good, which kind of baffled me...

[Niall_Quinn]

For about 15 million more than he would needed to have to get any credit for his negotiation skills and 10 million more than his current worth.

Did he rub two rocks together to get that 40mil? No, he took the clubs money, rolled up to Madrid, then dropped it on one of europes big name players. Then he resigned Flamini on a free. Two no-brainer piss easy transfers. What exactly did you do in the summer that was praiseworthy? Oh yeah he also got rid of Gervinho, who is now destroying Serie A. A rejuvenated Gervinho could have changed todays game.

He had a shit summer, end of story.

Fair point, we lost Gervinho and ended up with Ozil. But I think we can still do well this season, even without Gervinho.

[JonasTC]

For about 15 million more than he would needed to have to get any credit for his negotiation skills and 10 million more than his current worth.

Did he rub two rocks together to get that 40mil? No, he took the clubs money, rolled up to Madrid, then dropped it on one of europes big name players. Then he resigned Flamini on a free. Two no-brainer piss easy transfers. What exactly did you do in the summer that was praiseworthy? Oh yeah he also got rid of Gervinho, who is now destroying Serie A. A rejuvenated Gervinho could have changed todays game.

He had a shit summer, end of story.

I think you should read your own comment after you sober up :haha:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Yeah - he only signed Ozil. What a cunt.

:gp:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Fair point, we lost Gervinho and ended up with Ozil. But I think we can still do well this season, even without Gervinho.

:haha: :haha:

[BOBN]

Fair point, we lost Gervinho and ended up with Ozil. But I think we can still do well this season, even without Gervinho.
He just HAD to buy a striker, had to. How the fook do you bring on Bendtner? Who relies on Bendtner to change a game? He failed. Bar the shittest 5 teams they can all bringing on a more formidable forward to change a match.

Btw the Premier League is shit. Anybody can beat anybody because everybody's shit. Like 2 top players in the whole thing. Joke league.

[Grebbo]

I thought we were very poor. As has been said; our attacking players didn't show up. A real pity we couldn't send a message and beat those twats.

Title winning teams win their next game after a defeat - Southampton wont be easy. Lets hope some players come back soon. Where the fuck is Walcott????

[AFC Leveller]

Our record at OT is awfull, 3 wins in about 17 years. Man u are an average side and were there for the taking but we bottled a game at OT once again due to lack of belief.

Our attacking players were fucking toilet, they not only failed to create aything but kept giving the ball to Man u every two minutes. I just hate the fucking gutless performances we come up with everytime we go there. Even when we were winning titles, winning there was always difficult and it just seems to me that AW is scared, as he continues to show with his team selection.

We are top of the league amd scoring goals, we had scored in every league goal this season so why the fuck did he play both Arteta AND Flamini? not only was that a message to Man u saying 'we're going to try contain you even though you're shit and we're top of the league" but it also meant that our best player, Ramsey, was played out wide. I'd have played Gnabry right with Ramsey, Ozil and Arteta in the middle and attacked Man u.

if Southampton, Stoke, West Brom etc can get at them and score goals then why can't we?

We badly need a real striker ala Suarez, someone who has pace, trickery, runs in behind and scores goals regularely. we have no runners, no pace and Man u knew we'd play thur the middle, which was evident all season.

[Bumble]

Last time united ended a run of ours didn't we have Southampton at home next which we scrapped a draw
We need Walcott we need him to work like shake an vac.

[AFC Leveller]

Delap getting two goals i think? PV losing him in a set piece.

RVC getting a late equaliser. We drew at Palace again and then won 4-5 down the road.

[Xhaka Can’t]

What really bugged me today was just how poor we were in the 1st half, we couldn't even pass properly and a number of times we didn't even track back (Vermaelen when he thought he was fouled just stopped, he got the foul but had he not we'd have been in trouble and Gibbs who let the ball go and the Man U player consequently kept it in near the byline), don't think we even had a shot 1st half and I personally don't think that's acceptable in such a big match (or any match for that matter).

Moreover this Man U side may be Champions but they're not a great side, Ferguson worked miracles with them, but under Moyes they have been sh*t. They were really there for the taking given our start to the season I was expecting a draw at least to be honest, at the same time I wasn't surprised we lost as we don't seem to be able to beat them for love nor money these days. I think we'll find it hard to beat the top sides like Chelsea and Man City as well which in the end will mean we'll come up short this season.

It's true we've exceeded expectations this season, but having done so it's disappointing to see us go out with a whimper when we had a great chance to strengthen our position.

Today also highlighted the lack of depth in our squad IMO, Giroud was poor today and we had noone to replace him, the midfield without Rosicky just lacked something as well which considering he's injury prone is a bit worrying.

Some might write it off as just one game, but I think psychologically this game had a lot of meaning attached to it, a result and I think the players might have genuinely believed we can do it.

Yeah I'm basically really disappointed.

I doubt anyone is less than disappointed, but a ball bouncing off someone's shoulder into the goal is, by definition, a fluke.

I'm gutted at the result, but I feel justified in cutting a team, that nullified Liverpool, beat Dortmund and lost some players at the 11th hour to a bug, some slack.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. We have a team that I can really get behind this season. I feel proud to be a Gooner watching these guys.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Gervinho is utter shit.

As bad as Bergkamp?

[GP]

As bad as Bergkamp?

Lets not go overboard.

[Penguin]

Nobody can be THAT bad :sulk:

[Marc Overmars]

It's just a setback that's all. It's the bread and butter ones against the teams we "should" be beating that will keep us at the top, keep doing what we've done so far and we'll have a great shout at winning the league. Every contender is dropping points left, right and centre.

[Munchies]

Premier League

Arsenal V Southampton
Sat 23 Nov 15:00
Champions League - Group F

Arsenal V Marseille
Tue 26 Nov 19:45
Premier League

Cardiff V Arsenal
Sat 30 Nov 15:00
December 2013
Premier League

Arsenal V Hull
Wed 4 Dec 19:45
Premier League

Arsenal V Everton
Sun 8 Dec 16:00
Champions League - Group F

Napoli V Arsenal
Wed 11 Dec 19:45

All winnable games, we play Shitty away on the 14th after Napoli though, so 2 days rest for that :wacko: . Hopefully the group is wrapped up somehow by then so we can field a reserve side.

[AFC Leveller]

City will pose a different problem for us, they have so many good forward players and will attack us so i think it would suit us. Its Man u and Chelsea who know how to beat us and have proved it over the years.

[I am invisible]

City will pose a different problem for us, they have so many good forward players and will attack us so i think it would suit us. Its Man u and Chelsea who know how to beat us and have proved it over the years.

Yeah, I agree - it feels very much like a horses-for-courses problem with us vs Man U / Chelsea at the moment, rather than a huge gulf in class. It's getting tighter between us - 1-0 at OT is certainly better than it has been in the recent past - but they still just annoyingly know how to beat us, every time, and that's got to change.

To be honest, I think that's my overall feeling this morning: annoyance, rather than raw anger or despondence. It's still a loss, but not a particulalrly embarrassing or worrying loss, as far as they go, so the result doesn't bother me that much in itself - I'm just irritated beyond belief that it's always f--king Man f--king United and Robin f--king van C--t who do it! And I'm sick of having to watch their preening, tosser "fans" lauding it over us. AAAARRRGH!!!!

...


AAAARRRRRRGGGGHH!!!!

[I am invisible]

On the plus side, we're still clear at the top of the Prem and leading the the group of death in the CL (both by points rather than GD), and we have half a team of players to return from injury and sickness (hopefully imminently), which should give us a timely boost. So not all doom and gloom.

[LDG]

Yeah, I agree - it feels very much like a horses-for-courses problem with us vs Man U / Chelsea at the moment, rather than a huge gulf in class. It's getting tighter between us - 1-0 at OT is certainly better than it has been in the recent past - but they still just annoyingly know how to beat us, every time, and that's got to change.

To be honest, I think that's my overall feeling this morning: annoyance, rather than raw anger or despondence. It's still a loss, but not a particulalrly embarrassing or worrying loss, as far as they go, so the result doesn't bother me that much in itself - I'm just irritated beyond belief that it's always f--king Man f--king United and Robin f--king van C--t who do it! And I'm sick of having to watch their preening, tosser "fans" lauding it over us. AAAARRRGH!!!!

...


AAAARRRRRRGGGGHH!!!!

You have summed up my feelings entirely.

I haven't psyched myself up for a game that much for ages. Usually, I'll keep reserved about the outcome. But I believed we would stuff 'em for a change.

SOOOO FUCKIN FRUSTRATING.

[Munchies]

"Our National team meets in Munich! And Jogi comes with bad news: Ozil and Mertesacker stay in London due to flu" @BILD_Sport

Good news, hopefully they miss one of the games

[PGFC]

I still can't believe the club doesn't give players flu jabs, damn you flu virus for costing us the game :threaten:

[I am invisible]

You have summed up my feelings entirely.

I haven't psyched myself up for a game that much for ages. Usually, I'll keep reserved about the outcome. But I believed we would stuff 'em for a change.

SOOOO FUCKIN FRUSTRATING.

I don't know if I ever entirely believed we'd stuff them - I just wanted it, more than I've wanted any result for a long time! I just can't stand their bloody fans, and that dutch a-hole.

Oh well, c'est la vie, and all that - we get another crack at them later in the year at our place, so I guess we'll just have to focus on that. We still need to break that hoodoo that playing at Old Trafford seems to have on us, but that'll have to wait until next season now - if we can beat them at our place then it'll still be progress...

[Xhaka Can’t]

Well that explains Ozil's lethargy. I wondered a few times if we had players out there that were in the early stages of the bug.

I do think that yesterday was mainly down to shit luck for a change.

This team has played well enough, consistently enough, to be given the benefit of the doubt.

I love supporting this team, and I have not felt so positive about that for a long while.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

He just HAD to buy a striker, had to. How the fook do you bring on Bendtner? Who relies on Bendtner to change a game? He failed. Bar the shittest 5 teams they can all bringing on a more formidable forward to change a match.

Btw the Premier League is shit. Anybody can beat anybody because everybody's shit. Like 2 top players in the whole thing. Joke league.

Wenger may have missed the trick with a striker but he sure as hell deserves the season to give it a go for the title.

With Cripps gone I've probably been his biggest critic alongside Zimm on this forum, but what I do know is that the problems do not lie with Arsene Wenger anymore.

What I do know is that the win against Liverpool, but more importantly the win away to Dortmund, opened my eyes to a new Arsenal. In fact, this week has been pretty big in terms of softening my attitude towards Wenger because I fully expected us to drop points against Liverpool then draw/lose to Dortmund, followed by a spanking at Old Trafford, just like what we have been seeing over the years. But we got 6 points. We were organised, disciplined and resilient, and instead of being embarrassed, I was proud to be an Arsenal fan. That tells me calamity Arsenal has gone.

We asked Wenger to stop being a control freak. He has let Bould train the defence this season.
We asked him to sign a world class player. He delivered Ozil.
We asked him to stop making bizarre subs. So far this season his subs have been pretty much spot on.
We asked him to apply some tactics. Our high defensive line and team organisation proves that we are working on the finer details in training.

In other words, Wenger is delivering. All we ever wanted was for a manager to do the basics and apply some common sense. He is now doing that.

The result yesterday was linked to fatigue, not the manager. That gives me hope because we can strengthen in January and give ourselves a real shot at the title. It's no longer the nutty manager holding us back, it's fatigue. We can deal with that.

I'm interested to see what he does in January but for now, I guess you could say I'm kind of in the Wenger in camp. We went to Old Trafford as title challengers and left Old Trafford 2 points clear going into the 2nd international break. Who would have thought we could say that after the Aston Villa loss?

[IBK]

Then what do we do? Buy 3 players for every position? :lol:

Nowt we can do, we just have to deal with it and to be honest we've coped well anyway.

What a strange post. What we can do is make sure we have cover, anticipating that we will have key players injured. You say nowt we can do. I say that we should have invested in some proper striking options up front, and arguably a specialist winger or 2 - because we had absolutely nothing to change the game yesterday attacking wise and if you think otherwise you are on something.

You say we've coped well so far. Well we didn't yesterday in what was the biggest test our title credentials to date. Only a huge over optimist would back us to last the season with this squad of players.

[GP]

What a strange post. What we can do is make sure we have cover, anticipating that we will have key players injured. You say nowt we can do. I say that we should have invested in some proper striking options up front, and arguably a specialist winger or 2 - because we had absolutely nothing to change the game yesterday attacking wise and if you think otherwise you are on something.

You say we've coped well so far. Well we didn't yesterday in what was the biggest test our title credentials to date. Only a huge over optimist would back us to last the season with this squad of players.

We have striking cover. Both of them are injured.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

What a strange post. What we can do is make sure we have cover, anticipating that we will have key players injured. You say nowt we can do. I say that we should have invested in some proper striking options up front, and arguably a specialist winger or 2 - because we had absolutely nothing to change the game yesterday attacking wise and if you think otherwise you are on something.

You say we've coped well so far. Well we didn't yesterday in what was the biggest test our title credentials to date. Only a huge over optimist would back us to last the season with this squad of players.

No-one is backing us to last the season with this squad of players because we won't. We will spend in January just like Gazidis said over the weekend.

The aim was to get to January still in the mix. At the moment we're exceeding that aim.

[IBK]

I was expecting a point at best so wasn't overly surprised with the outcome. It looked to me….especially in the first half prior to RVC's goal as if the players were quite happy to play within themselves and limit the opposition.

It didn't really feel to me as if the players ever had the confidence to take the game to Manure.

We improved 2nd half and despite dominating possession it was very much a "huff and puff" type performance. We did admittedly open them up a little towards the end but I never really felt we had control of the game.

The league is still wide open this season, there isn't really any stand out teams so far, maybe us and Liverpool at a push, but I do fear our lead will be chipped away once we face Chelsea and Man City.

I agree with all that, mate. What feels deflating today is that although we have clearly made an improvement as a team, we really are no better than the competition - and our league position so far is as much down to transition at all of our rivals and a kind fixture list as anything else. It was depressing that while Manure's 'big players' turned up yesterday, ours went completely missing.

[Syn]

What feels deflating today is that although we have clearly made an improvement as a team, we really are no better than the competition - and our league position so far is as much down to transition at all of our rivals and a kind fixture list as anything else.

Did you expect us to be better than the competition?

[IBK]

No-one is backing us to last the season with this squad of players because we won't. We will spend in January just like Gazidis said over the weekend.

The aim was to get to January still in the mix. At the moment we're exceeding that aim.

I hear you, but I think that we are gambling big time with what might be our best chance to win the league. Yesterday exposed our lack of options for all to see. Also, I think we can safely take whatever talk comes out of the club with a massive pinch of salt. January is traditionally not a happy hunting time for us - and rarely is there any real quality available then anyway.

[IBK]

Did you expect us to be better than the competition?

Before the season, no. But when we were 5 points clear and with Chelsea; Citeh and Manure uncharacteristically dropping points plenty of people were beginning to believe that we were - and with some justification.

Yesterday pisses on that particular bonfire.

[Marc Overmars]

I hear you, but I think that we are gambling big time with what might be our best chance to win the league. Yesterday exposed our lack of options for all to see. Also, I think we can safely take whatever talk comes out of the club with a massive pinch of salt. January is traditionally not a happy hunting time for us - and rarely is there any real quality available then anyway.

It exposed our lack of options because our options were injured/ill. :shrug:

[IBK]

We have striking cover. Both of them are injured.

Who - Sanogo? Says it all really. :lol: However you slice and dice it when you look at the consistent top 6 teams in the league and compare their striking options to ours, it's a bit of a joke, really.

[IBK]

It exposed our lack of options because our options were injured/ill. :shrug:

When aren't they injured/ill?

[Power n Glory]

I agree with all that, mate. What feels deflating today is that although we have clearly made an improvement as a team, we really are no better than the competition - and our league position so far is as much down to transition at all of our rivals and a kind fixture list as anything else. It was depressing that while Manure's 'big players' turned up yesterday, ours went completely missing.

I'm not sure what to make of that game considering the reports of flu sweeping through the team. It may not have been the usual bottle job. It was such a flat performance from everyone.

[Master Splinter]

It exposed our lack of options because our options were injured/ill. :shrug:

The continual NO SQUAD DEPTH thing has perhaps become the biggest lazy cliche in all of football. No thought behind it.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

I hear you, but I think that we are gambling big time with what might be our best chance to win the league. Yesterday exposed our lack of options for all to see. Also, I think we can safely take whatever talk comes out of the club with a massive pinch of salt. January is traditionally not a happy hunting time for us - and rarely is there any real quality available then anyway.

True but you can't deny this season has been a massive step forward. It feels like we finally have our Arsenal back.

We can always do more and it's healthy we are having these discussions but the fact we are disappointed having lost 1-0 at Old Trafford, having conceded our first corner of the season (we've faced 92 corners and conceded from none), shows we are moving a step in the right direction.

If this is the start then I'd love to see where we will be in 12 months time with a few more top quality players in hopefully.

All we've ever asked for is to compete. We genuinely are now.

[Syn]

Before the season, no. But when we were 5 points clear and with Chelsea; Citeh and Manure uncharacteristically dropping points plenty of people were beginning to believe that we were - and with some justification.

Yesterday pisses on that particular bonfire.

It's one very tricky game that we lost. Interesting we also won against Liverpool and away at Dortmund a few days ago but of course the game we drop points in is the one that was true test.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Before the season, no. But when we were 5 points clear and with Chelsea; Citeh and Manure uncharacteristically dropping points plenty of people were beginning to believe that we were - and with some justification.

Yesterday pisses on that particular bonfire.

No then, yes before yesterday and no now. Could it be that you're fairly reactionary? :lol:

It reflects far worse on Chelsea and Man City dropping points in games they should realistically hoped to have closed in on us then it does us losing to the reigning champions, away.

It's incredibly difficult to win two away games in a row, regardless of the opposition. Man Utd for instance next have three away games in a row (including a Champions League) and will probably not win all of them.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Who - Sanogo? Says it all really. :lol: However you slice and dice it when you look at the consistent top 6 teams in the league and compare their striking options to ours, it's a bit of a joke, really.

Can you imagine how good we'd be with another top striker? We've done this well and we've only got 1.

Give the board more time to do some transfer business and we'll judge them then. For now we can't really complain at our form.

[IBK]

True but you can't deny this season has been a massive step forward. It feels like we finally have our Arsenal back.

We can always do more and it's healthy we are having these discussions but the fact we are disappointed having lost 1-0 at Old Trafford, having conceded our first corner of the season (we've faced 92 corners and conceded from none), shows we are moving a step in the right direction.

If this is the start then I'd love to see where we will be in 12 months time with a few more top quality players in hopefully.

All we've ever asked for is to compete. We genuinely are now.

Aye - I suppose that when you look realistically at our chances then we were never going to be league winners, and it's totally fair to look at the improvements that we have made. The disappointment is having our early season bubble burst by the same old same old result at those cunts - but also seeing how ordinary the competition looks for once, and most likely not being able to exploit this.

[IBK]

No then, yes before yesterday and no now. Could it be that you're fairly reactionary? :lol:

It reflects far worse on Chelsea and Man City dropping points in games they should realistically hoped to have closed in on us then it does us losing to the reigning champions, away.

It's incredibly difficult to win two away games in a row, regardless of the opposition. Man Utd for instance next have three away games in a row (including a Champions League) and will probably not win all of them.

The old reactionary tag eh? In this case misapplied.

[Master Splinter]

Our bubble seems relatively ripe at the top of the League.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Aye - I suppose that when you look realistically at our chances then we were never going to be league winners, and it's totally fair to look at the improvements that we have made. The disappointment is having our early season bubble burst by the same old same old result at those cunts - but also seeing how ordinary the competition looks for once, and most likely not being able to exploit this.

Just look at our defence. It was a calamity show every week for about 5 years but now it's probably the best thing about our team.

For all the wins we've had and beautiful goals this season, my favourite moment will always be in the game against Dortmund when our defence stepped up twice to leave 4 of their forwards offside on both occasions, with our defenders walking away with their arms in the air calling for the offside. That wasn't Wenger's Arsenal, that took me back to the Graham days.

In fact, every time our defence step up and get the offside decision I die a little bit inside. I get the same feeling when we get an offside call as I get when we score. You can't win anything without a solid defence and we finally have it.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

The old reactionary tag eh? In this case misapplied.

Well tell me when a defeat for us (and they will come in the league) would not have changed your feeling prior to yesterday then.

[GP]

Who - Sanogo? Says it all really. :lol: However you slice and dice it when you look at the consistent top 6 teams in the league and compare their striking options to ours, it's a bit of a joke, really.

Yeah, Sanogo.

Or, you could not be deliberately obtuse and name Podolski and Walcott.

[Marc Overmars]

Well tell me when a defeat for us (and they will come in the league) would not have changed your feeling prior to yesterday then.

This is the one game (and possibly Chelsea away) that a defeat should be brushed off with an...oh.

[Fist of Lehmann]

Had a bad feeling when I heard about the flu, it was just a bridge too far for this squad.

OF ALL THE F*CKING LUCK

Hard to know how much of this performance was fatigue, how much flu and how much Old Tranny inferiority complex. We seldom perform there, but we were better than last year (and far better than the year before), plus they are worse. I still think there is maybe little bit mental problem but impossible to know for sure.

We looked washed out but nevertheless, I thought we deserved a point.
It was a tight game and tight games are often decided by "one chance, one goal" strikers.
Utd have one, we do not (not that he scores every chance ofc) but he did that often for us in his last season.

I like Giroud, but I think the quality of his link up play is hugely variable. He can be sublime, but his pass %age is frankly crap. Suariddge are both up around 80%, RooVP are around 79%, Aguerro is 83.4%.

Giroud 66%

Mind you Torres is even worse.

Anyway, striker pls. Watching Bendtner stumble around like a tranquilised moose is just painful.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

This is the one game (and possibly Chelsea away) that a defeat should be brushed off with an...oh.

Exactly right. I even broke off my tradition of predicting a win for us in every league game on IKTS for this game in anticipation of a defeat.

[Letters]

This is the one game (and possibly Chelsea away) that a defeat should be brushed off with an...oh.
I don't agree.

Not an 'oh' but not a wailing and gnashing of teeth either. For all their troubles Utd are still a good side, going away there isn't easy and after 2 tough games and good results it's not the worst thing ever that we lost this one.

We've passed a few tests this season - we're top of the 'group of death' in the CL, we've beaten Liverpool in the league. We've gone from a side who were widely tipped to fall out of the top 4 to one who are now being spoken about as potential champions. Spoken about fairly dismissively but even a serious discussion about it would have been laughable in the summer.

I'm very disappointed about yesterday because I really do feel we're better than them this year and had a real chance to make a statement. We've already made a few this year but if we could have gone to the champions and got a point then it would have made those dismissing our title changes (me included) start to take us a bit more seriously. And maybe it would have made the players believe in themselves as potential champions too. It'll be interesting to see how we react and I think the international break this time has come at a good time for us. We've got 3 more games in November, all winnable. If we can get good results there then it'll get the momentum going again.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Had a bad feeling when I heard about the flu, it was just a bridge too far for this squad.

OF ALL THE F*CKING LUCK

Hard to know how much of this performance was fatigue, how much flu and how much Old Tranny inferiority complex. We seldom perform there, but we were better than last year (and far better than the year before), plus they are worse. I still think there is maybe little bit mental problem but impossible to know for sure.

We looked washed out but nevertheless, I thought we deserved a point.
It was a tight game and tight games are often decided by "one chance, one goal" strikers.
Utd have one, we do not (not that he scores every chance ofc) but he did that often for us in his last season.

I like Giroud, but I think the quality of his link up play is hugely variable. He can be sublime, but his pass %age is frankly crap. Suariddge are both up around 80%, RooVP are around 79%, Aguerro is 83.4%.

Giroud 66%

Mind you Torres is even worse.

Anyway, striker pls. Watching Bendtner stumble around like a tranquilised moose is just painful.

I'm not sure there was an inferiority complex. I think there was just a lack of quality and that was down to fatigue. We were very flat and looked jaded, funnily enough because we've had a tough week.

I think we would have won with Suarez up top. We had 3-4 top chances but not the top strikers to put them away.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

I don't agree.

Not an 'oh' but not a wailing and gnashing of teeth either. For all their troubles Utd are still a good side, going away there isn't easy and after 2 tough games and good results it's not the worst thing ever that we lost this one.



They're the champions for goodness sake. People talking about them like they're an established mid-table team.

[Xhaka Can’t]

They're the champions for goodness sake. People talking about them like they're an established mid-table team.

Exactly.

It will take Moyes a couple of years before he establishes them there.

[fakeyank]

Whats the news on Walcott, Poldi and Ox? Do we have dates on when they are back or we going to be tentative forever?

[Marc Overmars]

Theo and Podolski should be back after the break.

Haven't heard anything about Oxlade for ages.

[BOBN]

Wenger may have missed the trick with a striker but he sure as hell deserves the season to give it a go for the title.


Obv.

Im not one to call for Wenger to be sacked. Ive better things to do than make cloud cuckoo declarations on the net. We all know the board are shit scared of Wenger and would never sack him no matter which self-important fan finally decides theyve "had enough".

But how the HELL can you go into the season with this faggit?

"At the moment I am an easy target for [some of the fans] because I want to leave the club and Arsenal don't want to keep me.

""I was very disappointed when he [Wenger] phoned because I was ready to move on. I didn't actually think that they wished to keep me.

And these haters - they always choose the same solution. But I think it is unfair to have a go at me when I had a transfer in place in the summer and Wenger told me to stay.

"I am training far more seriously [now] than I have ever done in Arsenal. I am in the process of building myself up so that I become this strong machine, this perfect product to sell. I want to start as strongly as possibly in my next club."

How dare he rely on a striker who doesnt want to be here and admits he only just started trying.

[I am invisible]

December for Oxlade-Chamberlain, last I heard...

[Letters]

Ive better things to do than to make cloud cuckoo declarations on the net.
You're going to fit in just great here.

[Marc Overmars]

Obv.

Im not one to call for Wenger to be sacked. Ive better things to do than make cloud cuckoo declarations on the net. We all know the board are shit scared of Wenger and would never sack him no matter which self-important fan finally decides theyve "had enough".

But how the HELL can you go into the season with this faggit?


How dare he rely on a striker who doesnt want to be here and admits he only just started trying.

Never seen those quotes before.

Makes me wish he was killed even more.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Theo and Podolski should be back after the break.

Haven't heard anything about Oxlade for ages.

His game is coming along nicely, on FIFA.

[BOBN]

Was reported today

http://www.football365.com/news/21554/9019340/Bendtner-Disappointed-With-Arsenal

[Marc Overmars]

Was reported today

http://www.football365.com/news/21554/9019340/Bendtner-Disappointed-With-Arsenal

What a dick.

Although to be fair it sounds like he finds it just as ridiculous as we do that he's still here.

Wenget. :lol:

So close to transforming back to Wenger.

[Fist of Lehmann]

Grandiose delusions are distinct from grandiosity, in that the sufferer does not have insight into his loss of touch with reality.

An individual is convinced he has special powers, talents, or abilities. Sometimes, the individual may actually believe they are a famous person or character.

[Penguin]

He thinks he's Zlatan but he's just a lazy Kevin Davies with a bad haircut.

[Ollie the Optimist]

its funny how bentdner is complaining that AW refused to sell him, when in July, clubs refused to sign him, despite agreeing a fee with us, because he refused to lower his wage demands. forget that bit Niklas? prick

[IBK]

Well tell me when a defeat for us (and they will come in the league) would not have changed your feeling prior to yesterday then.

Not sure what you are after. Prior to the season I didn't think we'd win the league. A (hopeful) change in position having seen us get to the top come November is a perfectly reasonable thing. And now the Manure game has demonstrated our team's shortcomings. You know as well as I do that this game was not an average league defeat. My position may change again after a few more games. Because that's what football is. Each weekend can cause perceptions to change.

Don't confuse pointing out issues with the team with being reactionary rather than reacting.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Not sure what you are after. Prior to the season I didn't think we'd win the league. A (hopeful) change in position having seen us get to the top come November is a perfectly reasonable thing. And now the Manure game has demonstrated our team's shortcomings. You know as well as I do that this game was not an average league defeat. My position may change again after a few more games. Because that's what football is. Each weekend can cause perceptions to change.

Don't confuse pointing out issues with the team with being reactionary rather than reacting.

in the league and champions league this season, we have played spurs, liverpool, united, dortmund x2 and napoli. conceding 2 goals. our defence has kept out some of the best striker partnerships. we've lost 2 and won 4. the four wins were some of the best performances from this team in a long way, the two defeats were to an extent unlucky, the winners on both occasions were not better then us on the day. the fact is, that was united's best performance of the season. says everything you need to know about their season.

these shortcomings you talk of, look at the big games this season, not only have we won 4 of them, we won all 4 by being the best team, being resilient in defence and explosive in attack. superb performances, and we won those games with a huge injury list too. you can prepare for injuries by adding cover, you can't prepare though for extremes, such as all 4 wingers being out at once. while we may not win the league, yesterdays game shows how fall united have fallen. that was their best performance of the season, it was probably our worst one, and we almost got a point and perhaps that was the least we deserved.

[Bumble]

in the league and champions league this season, we have played spurs, liverpool, united, dortmund x2 and napoli. conceding 2 goals. our defence has kept out some of the best striker partnerships. we've lost 2 and won 4. the four wins were some of the best performances from this team in a long way, the two defeats were to an extent unlucky, the winners on both occasions were not better then us on the day. the fact is, that was united's best performance of the season. says everything you need to know about their season.

these shortcomings you talk of, look at the big games this season, not only have we won 4 of them, we won all 4 by being the best team, being resilient in defence and explosive in attack. superb performances, and we won those games with a huge injury list too. you can prepare for injuries by adding cover, you can't prepare though for extremes, such as all 4 wingers being out at once. while we may not win the league, yesterdays game shows how fall united have fallen. that was their best performance of the season, it was probably our worst one, and we almost got a point and perhaps that was the least we deserved.
We weren't the best team in Dortmund, that was a real smash and grab. We won those four games because we scored first, the two we lost were because we conceded first. In games against the top sides, it is very important who can score first. We aren't very good at chasing the game but are very good at keeping a lead. Had Spurs or Liverpool scored first I am not sure we would have won either game, likewise had we scored first against United I am sure we would have won.

The best teams absorb pressure and hit on the break. I doubt that was Uniteds best performance because they didn't play that well but didn't really need to.

[fakeyank]

Looks like he is out till December and Theo is the only one coming back

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2013/11/08/4391397/revealed-podolski-set-for-december-return-after-horror-hamstring-

[JonasTC]

We weren't the best team in Dortmund, that was a real smash and grab. We won those four games because we scored first, the two we lost were because we conceded first. In games against the top sides, it is very important who can score first. We aren't very good at chasing the game but are very good at keeping a lead. Had Spurs or Liverpool scored first I am not sure we would have won either game, likewise had we scored first against United I am sure we would have won.

The best teams absorb pressure and hit on the break. I doubt that was Uniteds best performance because they didn't play that well but didn't really need to.

We werent the best team!? Just because Dortmund plays super direct football, doesnt mean they were the better team, we were milimeters from scoring 3-4 more goals, Dortmund didnt really have any dangerous chances. People like you dont even consider defence to be a part of a team and therefor you think Dortmund are better because they play the more direct football...

[IBK]

in the league and champions league this season, we have played spurs, liverpool, united, dortmund x2 and napoli. conceding 2 goals. our defence has kept out some of the best striker partnerships. we've lost 2 and won 4. the four wins were some of the best performances from this team in a long way, the two defeats were to an extent unlucky, the winners on both occasions were not better then us on the day. the fact is, that was united's best performance of the season. says everything you need to know about their season.

these shortcomings you talk of, look at the big games this season, not only have we won 4 of them, we won all 4 by being the best team, being resilient in defence and explosive in attack. superb performances, and we won those games with a huge injury list too. you can prepare for injuries by adding cover, you can't prepare though for extremes, such as all 4 wingers being out at once. while we may not win the league, yesterdays game shows how fall united have fallen. that was their best performance of the season, it was probably our worst one, and we almost got a point and perhaps that was the least we deserved.

But Ollie - noone's underplaying our achievements. What is being focused on is the problems that we continue to suffer regardless - namely:

- Ongoing debilitating injury situation that we need to start taking into account with our transfer dealings if we want to be champions
- Overplaying our match winners. Whether or not we have a capable squad on paper - we all know that the reality is that there are at least 8 first team players who need to be on the pitch if we are to be confident of winning games.
- Predictability. Our players need to be 100% every game to counter the fact that teams know how to stop us play. We have done exceptionally well to maintain this so far this season - but there seems so little room for error.

If we are honest, these issues are nothing new. The improvement in our defence, not in our attacking ability as a team is why we are where we are.

[JonasTC]

But Ollie - noone's underplaying our achievements. What is being focused on is the problems that we continue to suffer regardless - namely:

- Ongoing debilitating injury situation that we need to start taking into account with our transfer dealings if we want to be champions
- Overplaying our match winners. Whether or not we have a capable squad on paper - we all know that the reality is that there are at least 8 first team players who need to be on the pitch if we are to be confident of winning games.
- Predictability. Our players need to be 100% every game to counter the fact that teams know how to stop us play. We have done exceptionally well to maintain this so far this season - but there seems so little room for error.

If we are honest, these issues are nothing new. The improvement in our defence, not in our attacking ability as a team is why we are where we are.

You are being unrealistic if you expect arsenal to have more squad depth than silly money clubs like chelsea and city, we cant have 3-4 quality players on every position just because we've been unlucky with injuries in the same area the last couple of months. All we really need is a 2. quality striker.

[Bumble]

We werent the best team!? Just because Dortmund plays super direct football, doesnt mean they were the better team, we were milimeters from scoring 3-4 more goals, Dortmund didnt really have any dangerous chances. People like you dont even consider defence to be a part of a team and therefor you think Dortmund are better because they play the more direct football...that is a very stupid statement. We scored from our first chance which was in the second half. We played better after that, you are being an idiot to forget the first hour or so. I assume you know the idea of football is to score goals and win games. Defending for 90 minutes doesnt win many matches.

[Xhaka Can’t]

that is a very stupid statement. We scored from our first chance which was in the second half. We played better after that, you are being an idiot to forget the first hour or so. I assume you know the idea of football is to score goals and win games. Defending for 90 minutes doesnt win many matches.

Really?

It pretty much won both fixtures between us and Dortmund.

[Bumble]

Don't think anyone thinks we need 3-4 top players in every position. We have had a very good start to the season, our best result in the league was possibly Swansea away. I expect us to win home games. The problem with the united game was very similar to many other united games, united didnt need to be top drawer to beat us. We do need a clinical striker, giroud fits really well into the way we play but he sometimes isn't selfish enough and misses opportunities in close games. Overall no one can complain about our start to the season, but we have been here before and its a long season. Be good to get walcott back though.

[Globalgunner]

Football fans are surely the most blinkered individuals in any walk of life. Someone said that Dortmund didn't create any good chances. REALLY!. I seem to remember Reus swinging at the ball just 2 feet from our goal line and missing.
The honest truth is that just like the Manchester game we were craps 1st half and better 2nd half. In neither game can you overwhelmingly say we were the better team. The differences that we one one and lost the other game.
Our record against United is absolutely atrocious. Call it the Fergie effect if you wish but he was in the directors box on Sunday. I still maintain that until we do better against City, Chelsea and even this crap Moyes United we will not win this PL.
Unless of course, if winning the league is not our objective, as some seem not to mind as long as they are winning the argument in their own minds.
In the big matches we always get found out, either due to tactics or eam selection, teams like West Brom can go to OT or Stamford bridge without fear. The only team we are prepared to shed blood against are the Spuds, and they really aren't our competitors for the league. If you keep making the argument that we can't compete with the moneyed clubs, then why even dream of winning the title, let's just stick either our 4th place championship, and keep hoping lady luck will nobble the big teams for us. Lack of money is not the reason why we fail, we have money, we just choose to spend it unwisely.

[The Ogg Monster]

Wenger spends money very wisely.

[Power n Glory]

Football fans are surely the most blinkered individuals in any walk of life. Someone said that Dortmund didn't create any good chances. REALLY!. I seem to remember Reus swinging at the ball just 2 feet from our goal line and missing.
The honest truth is that just like the Manchester game we were craps 1st half and better 2nd half. In neither game can you overwhelmingly say we were the better team. The differences that we one one and lost the other game.
Our record against United is absolutely atrocious. Call it the Fergie effect if you wish but he was in the directors box on Sunday. I still maintain that until we do better against City, Chelsea and even this crap Moyes United we will not win this PL.
Unless of course, if winning the league is not our objective, as some seem not to mind as long as they are winning the argument in their own minds.
In the big matches we always get found out, either due to tactics or eam selection, teams like West Brom can go to OT or Stamford bridge without fear. The only team we are prepared to shed blood against are the Spuds, and they really aren't our competitors for the league. If you keep making the argument that we can't compete with the moneyed clubs, then why even dream of winning the title, let's just stick either our 4th place championship, and keep hoping lady luck will nobble the big teams for us. Lack of money is not the reason why we fail, we have money, we just choose to spend it unwisely.

That’s not true. We’ve had seasons where we’ve beaten and taken points off the biggest clubs In the Prem but failed to beat the lower league teams and drop silly points. Losing away to Man Utd by 1 goal isn’t a title decider. We could probably lose/draw against City, Chelsea and Utd but stay within reach of the title if we manage to beat everyone below. Our rivals are dropping unexpected points against lower league teams and if we avoid that, we should be okay.

[Özim]

Got to agree about the Dortmund game, it was a great result and after the goal we improved dramatically and created a few chances, but before that they totally dominated and we could barely get out of our half (we defended very well admittedly) and on another day they might have scored which would have changed the game.

Against Man U it was more of the same, we didn't have a shot in the 1st half either and unfortunately for us they scored. I don't think it's great to start playing in the 2nd half, getting the 1st goal makes a big difference and if you don't get forward and create until the 2nd half more often than not you'll find yourself behind by the time you start going forward in the 2nd.

It's almost like we're intimidated by the bigger sides.

[Syn]

Little bit Chamakhy?

http://i.minus.com/i3pLvkN8oOU9m.gif

http://i.minus.com/ibd5heR63eQNKC.gif

[Penguin]

Oh Ozil :doh:

[Syn]

I kind of expect that sort of thing. He can't stand getting hurt and if he properly went for it, Evra would've gone straight into his back. But straight after he had a brilliant opportunity to play Cazorla in on goal - an easy pass by his standards. Completely underhit it...those are the ones you want him making.

[Xhaka Can’t]

What the fuck is wrong with you people? He was coming down with flu or whatever that bug was. He was under the weather and he played accordingly.

The expectations of some here are ludicrous. He had a bad game. Big fucking deal. Also from the sounds of some here, he has been crap from day 1. That is simply wrong.

[Power n Glory]

I kind of expect that sort of thing. He can't stand getting hurt and if he properly went for it, Evra would've gone straight into his back. But straight after he had a brilliant opportunity to play Cazorla in on goal - an easy pass by his standards. Completely underhit it...those are the ones you want him making.

I'm not really sure he'd have been able to get a head to that one. It was whipped in fast from the look of things. The type of ball that was dropping over his shoulder. I think he got his timing wrong. Type of ball you want to control or poke your head out to the win the header if your sprinting at that sort of pace to make up the ground.

[Syn]

What the fuck is wrong with you people? He was coming down with flu or whatever that bug was. He was under the weather and he played accordingly.

The expectations of some here are ludicrous. He had a bad game. Big fucking deal. Also from the sounds of some here, he has been crap from day 1. That is simply wrong.

He has had quite a few games like this. Some good ones too. His performances have more to do with the fact that he's struggling for fitness and trying to adapt to the physical side of the game - the same things Giroud was saying last season. That's fine and I don't expect him to start showing his best until after a few months, maybe a season. That said he could've done better on occasions where we might've been in on goal in a game we lost. This is a match reaction thread. Where you talk about things that might've influenced the game or summat. I'm not saying signing Ozil was a mistake or criticising his inability to take on 4 players and score. Sorry if that's causing you emotional pain.

[PGFC]

What the fuck is wrong with you people? He was coming down with flu or whatever that bug was. He was under the weather and he played accordingly.

The expectations of some here are ludicrous. He had a bad game. Big fucking deal. Also from the sounds of some here, he has been crap from day 1. That is simply wrong.

:sulk: never let the truth get in the way of a good whinge.

If he had left out Arteta and Ozil who were showing signs of sickness, he wouldn't have had enough players available to fill the bench, Jenks and Hayden had to be driven up on Sunday as bench cover for Merts & Rosicknote, maybe there was no-one left sober enough to travel.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Little bit Chamakhy?

http://i.minus.com/i3pLvkN8oOU9m.gif

http://i.minus.com/ibd5heR63eQNKC.gif

When I saw that chance in real time, Chamakh against us sprung to mind immediately. Had it been Chamakh himself we would all be laughing and stating that he bottled yet another chance in all likelihood. I was only aware of the virus after the game and I can only surmise that Ozil was feeling the effects and probably should not have been playing at all. As perhaps one or two others possibly shouldn't.

The flight of the ball was certainly not so tricky that a player who is regularly called a top 10 player in the world could not have accurately judged it. He didn't even poke his head out.

I think that it is not only reasonable but pertinent to factor in the effect of a sudden epidemic throughout a squad when looking at it in the light of a game where the margins between success and failure are thin. The higher the quality of the players and teams the more reasonable it is to expect games to be settled on very little. Despite not being at our best we could have easily got a point.

I also think the issue underlying a lot of the debate here is the fact that despite the impressive wins, we've beaten Dortmund before (albeit at home) and we generally have good records against Spurs and Liverpool who we beat also. Chelsea and United however have far too regularly got one/many over on us and so it leaves us with that somewhat convoluted feeling of 'nothing has changed'. Of course things have actually changed, but it would be nice to rubber stamp that by really sticking it to one of the teams we have now traditionally made hard work of. For some that will only come after we win a game that we typically lose.

I find it difficult to get too worked up about Bendtner's comments because I kind of had the feeling that his personal focus was always about ensuring he gets the best move out of here for himself. That is his best shot of finding a team who will be willing to pay him anything like what he is on now after all. I don't really have a whole lot of ill will left to spare but I am left with the lingering annoyance that having known what a tit he is, Wenger still allowed us to enter the season relying on a player who publicly vowed never to play for us again. At best it is a laughable situation and at worse it is negligent. Moreover we spent the saying hours trying to sign a player from a club who a) have absolutely no need for our money (and relatively little of it at that) and b) Would like nothing more than to see us fail.

I appreciate that we have Walcott, Podolski and Sanogo but what bothers me is the fact that they are options at CF the manager doesn't really trust. You get the feeling that they are options that follow as a result of our hand being 'forced' rather than actually 'opted' for. Not like making a choice between Chamberlain and Wilshere in midfield with both offering slightly different qualities which may be more or less suited to certain opponents. Or like choosing between Arteta and Flamini....

I won't give Wenger too much stick for it because we haven't been made to pay for our lack of options too severely yet, but I really hope this is an urgent matter to him which will be addressed as soon as he can do so. Even if it means moving one or two of his summer plans (assuming he has them) forward to January.

[Niall_Quinn]

I'm not really sure he'd have been able to get a head to that one. It was whipped in fast from the look of things. The type of ball that was dropping over his shoulder. I think he got his timing wrong. Type of ball you want to control or poke your head out to the win the header if your sprinting at that sort of pace to make up the ground.

He was ill wasn't he? Sapped of energy, like a couple of other players. Utd met us right time, right place, our team coming off two huge games with illness in the camp. The disruption to what has become a solid defensive pairing made the difference. I won't claim the injury thing because our injuries haven't been nearly as bad over the last two seasons and are now roughly on par with other teams.

Utd won with a fluke off the shoulder of a player neither Ferguson or the dreadful Moyes built. I still maintain selling them the cunt was our low point in recent history. It was a nervy and tired game where either side was just as likely to bundle a result. There was nothing in it and if we played the match ten times in a row under the same circumstances we'd win 5. they'd win 5.

Fact is, the Utd fans went into that game HOPING they could win it. There's the difference, their confidence levels at OT were 50/50 at best. Moyes has killed them, they may be able to get confidence from scraping out a win against us on their own patch but Moyes will still be showing up in the morning and there's nothing their players can do about that downer.

I take it we'll be fit and may even have a few players back when they visit our patch? If we click into the extra gears we have we'll annihilate them. They don't have the extra gears any more. This is not a bad place to be at all considering a few weeks back we were looking every bit a mid table outfit. And if we haven't been "perfect" and seem to have a few weaknesses still, or if brand new players aren't quite on target to walk the footballer of the year award in their first season - what's City's excuse? Or the chavs? Ot Utd's in fact? They are 5 points behind us still - I fail to see how that puts them in the driving seat or marks some sort of demise in our prospects.

It was always unlikely we'd go from being below par to the Invincibles in a few weeks - not sure why some of the other posters on here are demanding something so unrealistic.

[Niall_Quinn]

:sulk: never let the truth get in the way of a good whinge.

If he had left out Arteta and Ozil who were showing signs of sickness, he wouldn't have had enough players available to fill the bench, Jenks and Hayden had to be driven up on Sunday as bench cover for Merts & Rosicknote, maybe there was no-one left sober enough to travel.

What would you rather have? An empty bench or a bench full of Bendtners? I'd rather play with 8 on the pitch. We had a clear out of all the shit we'd accumulated over the years and that freed up cash to buy and retain better players. We are light in numbers but this is the start of heading in the right direction.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

That reminds me. It was sickening to hear the 'he's an Arsenal man' talk as well as having to stomach him scoring the winner against us and sliding on his knees. Pure vomit material.

Sell them the best player in the league, call him an Arsenal man before a game and then watch him score the winner against us. You couldn't make it up. :doh:

[PGFC]

Is it not an FA requirement to have a full bench available? :unsure: I would have preferred to have had a fully fit starting 11 but I suppose AW played the cards he had been dealt on the day and got what he got, thems the breaks.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

What the fuck is wrong with you people? He was coming down with flu or whatever that bug was. He was under the weather and he played accordingly.

The expectations of some here are ludicrous. He had a bad game. Big fucking deal. Also from the sounds of some here, he has been crap from day 1. That is simply wrong.

He is shit and we need to sell him. Can't believe we swapped him for Gervinho. Wonder if Roma will do a swap deal.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

What would you rather have? An empty bench or a bench full of Bendtners? I'd rather play with 8 on the pitch. We had a clear out of all the shit we'd accumulated over the years and that freed up cash to buy and retain better players. We are light in numbers but this is the start of heading in the right direction.

Exactly.

The main aim over the summer was to get rid of all the crap and create a team spirit through players that have something to offer. We done that bar 1 player, Bendtner. It was a pretty decent effort tbf.

Now it's time to sprinkle the current squad with top quality players over the next 2-3 transfer windows.

After that, it's time








http://alternativenation.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/mrburns.jpg

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

When I saw that chance in real time, Chamakh against us sprung to mind immediately. Had it been Chamakh himself we would all be laughing and stating that he bottled yet another chance in all likelihood. I was only aware of the virus after the game and I can only surmise that Ozil was feeling the effects and probably should not have been playing at all. As perhaps one or two others possibly shouldn't.

The flight of the ball was certainly not so tricky that a player who is regularly called a top 10 player in the world could not have accurately judged it. He didn't even poke his head out.

I think that it is not only reasonable but pertinent to factor in the effect of a sudden epidemic throughout a squad when looking at it in the light of a game where the margins between success and failure are thin. The higher the quality of the players and teams the more reasonable it is to expect games to be settled on very little. Despite not being at our best we could have easily got a point.

I also think the issue underlying a lot of the debate here is the fact that despite the impressive wins, we've beaten Dortmund before (albeit at home) and we generally have good records against Spurs and Liverpool who we beat also. Chelsea and United however have far too regularly got one/many over on us and so it leaves us with that somewhat convoluted feeling of 'nothing has changed'. Of course things have actually changed, but it would be nice to rubber stamp that by really sticking it to one of the teams we have now traditionally made hard work of. For some that will only come after we win a game that we typically lose.

I find it difficult to get too worked up about Bendtner's comments because I kind of had the feeling that his personal focus was always about ensuring he gets the best move out of here for himself. That is his best shot of finding a team who will be willing to pay him anything like what he is on now after all. I don't really have a whole lot of ill will left to spare but I am left with the lingering annoyance that having known what a tit he is, Wenger still allowed us to enter the season relying on a player who publicly vowed never to play for us again. At best it is a laughable situation and at worse it is negligent. Moreover we spent the saying hours trying to sign a player from a club who a) have absolutely no need for our money (and relatively little of it at that) and b) Would like nothing more than to see us fail.

I appreciate that we have Walcott, Podolski and Sanogo but what bothers me is the fact that they are options at CF the manager doesn't really trust. You get the feeling that they are options that follow as a result of our hand being 'forced' rather than actually 'opted' for. Not like making a choice between Chamberlain and Wilshere in midfield with both offering slightly different qualities which may be more or less suited to certain opponents. Or like choosing between Arteta and Flamini....

I won't give Wenger too much stick for it because we haven't been made to pay for our lack of options too severely yet, but I really hope this is an urgent matter to him which will be addressed as soon as he can do so. Even if it means moving one or two of his summer plans (assuming he has them) forward to January.

I think that chance is as clear cut as you'll get. I'm not sure why people are making it out as a hard chance for Ozil. Rampard's ball was pretty much inch perfect. All he has to do is jump and he'll connect. Giroud would have scored that.

I think Ozil assumed De Gea was coming out for it and was going to catch it rather easily. In the end he didn't, and the chance went by.

[Xhaka Can’t]

He has had quite a few games like this. Some good ones too. His performances have more to do with the fact that he's struggling for fitness and trying to adapt to the physical side of the game - the same things Giroud was saying last season. That's fine and I don't expect him to start showing his best until after a few months, maybe a season. That said he could've done better on occasions where we might've been in on goal in a game we lost. This is a match reaction thread. Where you talk about things that might've influenced the game or summat. I'm not saying signing Ozil was a mistake or criticising his inability to take on 4 players and score. Sorry if that's causing you emotional pain.

No pain for me. I just think you're batshit crazy if you think he has played a number of games like that. With hindsight, you can clearly see, he was not well.

[Power n Glory]

Giroud wouldn't have gotten into position. Too slow. Looks like a diving header type of ball.

[GP]

I think that chance is as clear cut as you'll get. I'm not sure why people are making it out as a hard chance for Ozil. Rampard's ball was pretty much inch perfect. All he has to do is jump and he'll connect. Giroud would have scored that.

I think Ozil assumed De Gea was coming out for it and was going to catch it rather easily. In the end he didn't, and the chance went by.

Easy tap-in for Giroud.

An easy tap-in for a fit and well Ozil as well, though.

[Marc Overmars]

Think most strikers would have instinctively tried to poke that in. Özil hasn't really shown a huge amount of composure in front of goal so far anyway, to be honest he was probably the worst player we could have had going for a ball like that. He probably felt light headed being so high up the pitch tbf.

[Syn]

No pain for me. I just think you're batshit crazy if you think he has played a number of games like that. With hindsight, you can clearly see, he was not well.

What's a number of games out of the handful he has played. That Man Utd performance was nothing unusual from him, no - he has often been on the periphery of games...some games he has made a good impact when he is allowed a bit of time, some he has not. He is struggling to last the pace physically and mentioned how quick the game is in England, which is probably to be expected - flu or not. He is having a positive impact overall, but when he makes silly mistakes and ducks out of headers, we're going to talk about it in a match reaction thread, and when he has a fantastic first touch and lays it on a plate for others we're going to talk about it in a match reaction thread.

[Power n Glory]

I think the squad need to look to give him the ball more often. It's going to take them time to adjust to his movement.

[Niall_Quinn]

What's a number of games out of the handful he has played. That Man Utd performance was nothing unusual from him, no - he has often been on the periphery of games...some games he has made a good impact when he is allowed a bit of time, some he has not. He is struggling to last the pace physically and mentioned how quick the game is in England, which is probably to be expected - flu or not. He is having a positive impact overall, but when he makes silly mistakes and ducks out of headers, we're going to talk about it in a match reaction thread, and when he has a fantastic first touch and lays it on a plate for others we're going to talk about it in a match reaction thread.

Nah. No way. He hasn't run past 11 opponents and their bench every time he's got the ball but what I like about the bloke is he can control the ball, make time for himself and lay it off accurately. That's an invaluable asset for the team. He plays a very simple game of ball retention and he's good at it. I said it all last year - just a bit more care required in what we do. Ozil is a big step forward in that respect and I don't think it's a coincidence we're seeing better performances from other player too. I also don't think it;s a coincidence Bobby Pires is around and about the training ground as an "ambassador" - quality rubs off. These are the characters we are going to need to move on and as far as I can see it we are moving on fast.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Wenger wore the coat of doom. It's no coincidence.

http://i.minus.com/ibNiu4VzC93M7.gif

[Bumble]

Ozil will really come into his own when Walcott returns, someone who can run behind the defence. Stretch the game.

Even henry and bergkamp took time to adjust.

[IBK]

You are being unrealistic if you expect arsenal to have more squad depth than silly money clubs like chelsea and city, we cant have 3-4 quality players on every position just because we've been unlucky with injuries in the same area the last couple of months. All we really need is a 2. quality striker.

Noone is expecting us to trump the billionaires. But I see that you agree emphatically that short of this we need more cover.

[IBK]

Saw this post on Arseblog and liked it....


Whenever United think they might not be technically superior to their opposition, they compensate with energy, pressing and harrying, winning most of the 50-50 balls, forcing mistakes from the opposition. Rooney was a one-man disruption machine yesterday, and the rest weren't far behind.

These tactics are not a surprise, we've seen them many times before. Assuming you don't have the players to go face-to-face in a slugging match and hope for a points victory, then the only way to win in such circumstances is to make the ball do the work.

You need to be like Jackie Chan in a fight scene, moving so fast every punch misses its target. If you pass the ball before every onrushing United player gets to you then you suck the wind out of their sails. Even Rooney would give up after an hour of chasing shadows.

Arsenal have the players to do that, but Wenger bottled it, and in the first half there was only one team at the races and it wasn't Arsenal. They were better in the second, playing at a higher tempo, and the introduction of Wilshire added energy, though he seems to be a bit of a loose canon these days.

[Özim]

United do us regularly it should come as no surprise they beat us again, everytime we play them it's largely the same, they seem to want it more. Maybe Wenger should try something different it's been a long time since we've beaten them. I can still remember how great it felt winning games against them in the Henry days when we always felt we had a great chance, these days it's almost like we're beaten before we even start.

I thought we could get a result last weekend but was still tentative despite their awful start, our great form and the fact they have a new manager who hasn't managed to stamp his authority or style yet. If we ever had a great chance of winning it was last Sunday, we're not going to get such a good opportunity for a while I don't think, next time we play them I reckon they'll be a much more settled/confident side.

[Letters]

Often we've gone to OT of late they were clearly a lot better than us and it was more a matter of pride than anything. We've generally raised our game and dominated possession but to little effect and they've caught us on the counter-attack. It happened with wearying regularity and predictability. This time I think we're more than a match for them, the first half performance was baffling, we just didn't turn up. It does seem to be a mental thing. We were better in the 2nd half but still not good enough. Very disappointing because we're good enough to get something. The important thing is how we react, the international break has come at a good time on this occasion, we've got 3 winnable games in the rest of November.

[Munchies]

http://observer.ug/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=28551:arsenal-fan-loses-house-in-betting&catid=34:news&Itemid=114


In Iganga, a staunch Arsenal football fan is looking for a home for his family after he lost his house in a bet over a game between English clubs Arsenal and Manchester United.

Before the game, Henry Dhabasani staked his two-roomed house in a bet with Rashid Yiga, that Arsenal would win the game. On his part, Yiga staked his new Toyota Premio car and his wife that Manchester United would win.

The two put their stake in writing, with local leaders and fans witnessing the deed. Dhabasani, married to three wives with five children, fainted at the end of the match on realizing Arsenal had lost the game 1–0. On Monday, several Manchester United fans stormed Dhabasani’s home and threw him and his family out.

:haha:

[Letters]

:lol: I told a colleague he could have my house if Chelsea won the CL a couple of years back.



That's why I now live in a cave <_<

[BOBN]

Ozil will really come into his own when Walcott returns, someone who can run behind the defence. Stretch the game.

Even henry and bergkamp took time to adjust.
Meh, after the sunderland game where Walcott missed a few chances people are calling for him to be dropped. Now hes Ozils saviour when it suits. Im not allowing Ozil this excuse.

[Fist of Lehmann]

Saw this post on Arseblog and liked it....

In general 'bottling it' is such a lazy accusation, but in his email Wenger conceded as much.


...we paid the price for being too tentative and nervous in the first half.

and


It's hard to say whether our recent record at Old Trafford was a factor.

Psychological factors are difficult to interpret and consequently difficult to fix. Ultimately however I thought other factors were more influential to this result than any mental issues. Which is annoying, because winning there would have gone a long way to slaying those particular demons - if they existed.

When our passing is slow and our movement sluggish we have looked flat. On the occasions it's happened this season we have not been punished because our defensive organisation has been good and our ability to put one or two deadly goal-scoring moves together is inherent in the quality of our players.

That flatness is going to happen with tired, overplayed players, so the measure of our squad depth will be borne out over the course of the season. We've coped brilliantly so far but we need get players back. The virus was just a shittily timed piece of bad luck.

[I am invisible]

It's a mismatch of styles in their favour at the moment - that's the biggest problem we have against them. For all the improvements we've made this year (and we have improved), we're still basically playing the same football that all Wenger Arsenal sides play, and that suits that same, simple tactic they've been using against us for the last 6 or 7 years. Even in their current ageing, slightly-declining state, we're still talking about the same Man U squad and the same group of players who have been doing this to us for years - they must know the routine in their sleep by now!

What makes it so frustrating is that we all know exactly what they're going to do - you can see it coming a mile off, as, I'm sure, can the manager and the coaching staff - but without more variety in the options we currently have available, there's not really much we can do to adapt our game? We have a little bit of choice between some quality options in some areas, but most of those options (e.g. our midfielders) all play the same sort of football, so we're talking about variances in form and fitness, composure vs aggression, etc more than tactical changes - where our shape and style of play are concerned, all we can really do is carry on playing the same quick-passing game and hope that, on the day, we're just so quick and sharp that they're chasing shadows. Perhaps we can choose whether we sit back and let them make the first move, or whether we take the game to them from the off, but that's about it.

On the plus side, I think this is one of the last big hurdles / mental hang-ups left that this squad has to overcome (beating a Mourinho Chelsea side being the other), and I think we're getting closer - even with home advantage and a (near enough) full-strength squad against a side that's carrying a lot of injuries / illness, and has just played two other gruelling games in a week, they still only managed a tight 1-goal win. I really don't think it will take much for us to turn them over in the return fixture - if we can do it to Munich and Dortmund then we can do it with this lot...

[Xhaka Can’t]

Meh, after the sunderland game where Walcott missed a few chances people are calling for him to be dropped. Now hes Ozils saviour when it suits. Im not allowing Ozil this excuse.

Let me get this straight. Theo missed a bunch of chances.

Chances that were laid on a plate by Ozil.

Am I right so far?

If so, how does this demonstrate how ineffective Ozil is when playing a ball through to a teammate with pace?

[Globalgunner]

The problem is that in these big matches but especially against United, Wengers philosophy is not."How am i going to win this game"? but more, how am i not going to lose. To prevent losing he plays every single senior player he has available to him. Hoping that their combined experience will see us through. He therefore deploys the players in a form that will suit as best as possible but not one that allows the talents of each player to come through. Ramsey on the wing doesnt work, never has. He is a central midfielder, so is Ozil, He needed to drop one of flamini or Arteta and play Gnabry on the wing, Ozil, Ramsey behind Giroud. A winning formula. When the team play badly, he says they were tentative, while he sits at the side doing sweet FA. You cannot win by playing not to lose. If United had not scored we would have most likely kept on playing the same shit in the 2nd half.

[JonasTC]

Meh, after the sunderland game where Walcott missed a few chances people are calling for him to be dropped. Now hes Ozils saviour when it suits. Im not allowing Ozil this excuse.

:sulk:

So what are you exactly saying? Özil will keep feeding Walcott like that, and Walcott will keep missing those chances every game and therefor you dont like Özil...?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Ozil's rubbish.

Walcott's awful.

And Bergkamp was overrated.

It's time for a legend to come back and sort this mess
















http://www.arsenalsite.com/media/galeria/102/7/6/1/8/n_arsenal_fc_denilson-678167.jpg

[GP]

BONBON :lol:

It's funny cos he talks utter shit.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

BNBN's :bow:




http://i6.tagstat.com/p1/p/2pwoT3FfTcrx0q3rbkUuJWP1lORaBGX6L9eceTVBd5bbyAIWGG FLow==.jpg

[GP]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJObP2Ptww8

:bow:

[Munchies]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJObP2Ptww8

:bow:

:bow:

[Penguin]

BOBN :haha:

[BOBN]

Let me get this straight. Theo missed a bunch of chances.

Chances that were laid on a plate by Ozil.

Am I right so far?

If so, how does this demonstrate how ineffective Ozil is when playing a ball through to a teammate with pace?
Meh dude.

All I want to know is at what point, precisely, did Walcott go from being a burden who messes things up for Ozil, to being Ozils babysitter, required to carry him to any semblance of success.

Just tell me when dude.

[GP]

Radical, dude.

[LDG]

Bodacious BOBN