Match Reaction - Reading 1-2 Arsenal. 18th April. FA Cup Semi-Final

[Niall_Quinn]

WUMger is a loon. No excuses for him today.

[LDG]

Thank fuck for Giroud and Alexis

Crazy changes to the side. He's a liability that senile old man.

[Niall_Quinn]

He left 2 players on for 120mins on their first game back. :haha:

That's prime time bonkers.

He took Coquelin off :haha:

Straitjacket job.

Yet again, individual players have pulled WUMger's arse out of the fire after he fucked up yet again with the team selection and tactics.

He's worse than an idiot. Even an idiot could figure out if you win 8 on the bounce leave fucking well alone!

Trouble with Wenget is he thinks he knows what he's doing.

He's dangerous.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

A little harsh.

Glad we got the win in the end though. Amazing that he thought there was any situation under the sun to bring walcott on for.... wonders will never cease. Up the Arse!

Hopefully we get Villa.

[adzzzbatch]

Fucking shit! But we won!!!!!

The BBC are gutted too so it's all good now!

[Globalgunner]

The only luck we had is that Pogrevneyak is shit and the Yak is big shit. also lucky was that Sanchez forgot to pass and shot at the keeper instead. Lucky also the Schneezy decided 1 fuck-up was enough for today.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Arsenal. :bow:

[Marc Overmars]

I'm sure supporting Arsenal will be the death of me one day.

A pub performance again but fuck it, a chance to become all time record holders for the cup. Come on you Gunners!

[Gooner23]

2-1 up in extra time and Chesney is rolling out a hospital pass to Ramsey on edge of box. There surely has to be some instruction from sideline there.

Crappy performance but got there in end. Bring on the final!

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Shit performance, incredibly stressful and painful to watch, awful day for the players and awful tactics all round but WHO THE FUCK CARES? We're in the final baby.

If we win it no one's going to care about this match.


Oh yeah, one last thing ......... fuck off Szecheny you utter clown. He's gone to complete pieces ......... that hospital throw to Ramsey ........ Jesus.

Cech or Lloris please in the summer.

[Marc Overmars]

Chesney will cost us the final.

[Ollie the Optimist]

doesn't matter what wenger did today or how we played. we are in the final, thats all that matters. 90 minutes away from retaining the cup. Up the Arsenal

[Niall_Quinn]

Chesney will cost us the final.

If we play that team and those tactics either of Villa or Liverpool will tear us a new one anyway.

[Niall_Quinn]

doesn't matter what wenger did today or how we played. we are in the final, thats all that matters. 90 minutes away from retaining the cup. Up the Arsenal

It matters hugely. What's the point of going into a cup final having been thrashed in the title race by 15 points? It'll be a good day out (which is all the FA Cup is these days) if we have challenged for the title beforehand. Anything else and win, lose or draw this season will have been another bust.

Anyway the real cup we should be talking about is the CL. We should have smashed Monaco and we could have beaten Juve too. But bumbling idiot intervened again. Let's not pretend the FA Cup is any comparison.

Challenge now is to push the chavs. Which means Wenger better get his head out his arse.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

I know Wenger's set a precedent last year by keeping Fabs in goal for the final but really, the sensible decision would be to bring in Ospina. He looks like a broken man at this point and not the person you want up against Sterling, Strurridge and Coutinho.

If Ches is indeed leaving then there's no point in him benefiting from the experience of performing in the final and sharing in any potential victory.

[Niall_Quinn]

Injuries could and probably will be a factor by 30th May. But if Ospina is fit then the sane thing to do would be to start him.

Which is why ches will play.

[Injury Time]

as I predicted 2-1. :blink:
Arsene knows how to prepare for semi-finals...by doping the team and dropping in rusty players :doh: Did our squad eat dodgy lasagne, rather a strange selection.
chez needs to go smoke his shit at another club, not a brain cell there :wacko:
We Looked like we were saving energy with the tippy tappy stuff.
I really like Gabriel, Sanchez tried hard solo but Giroud again just mixes thing up and seems to give the team a lift. Özil put in a good shift, Coq was flakier than usual but subbed for Theo :blink: BFG unlucky to score, I guess we'll see him next season.
Ramsay was sulking at being on the wing or nackered or both, Gibbs was actually winning a few headers but his final ball :banghead:, Debuchy was rusty, Wenger trying to play Welbeck into form :rolleyes:
Why was Santi so deep, not one of his best.

Special mention for the ref...useless cunt. If we get a similar one in the final Gerrard will starfish his way to a hatrick via penalties <_<

Oh well on we go, I fear for the Chelsea match if Wenger tried his "smart" shit again.

[Letters]

Actually feel a bit sorry for their 'keeper.
Another nice stress-free day in the life of a Gooner...

Poor performance but in a cup run there will always be some games where you have to pub team it a bit.

End of the day we're in the Final. :scarf:

[Letters]

Btw, I really don't think any other club could be in 2nd place and in the Cup final and have fans so hostile and scathing towards the manager.

[Munchies]

Chesney will cost us the final.

Wenget will play him for the laugh

[fakeyank]

Really dont see why AW is being criticized tbh.. it was a cup semi-final and we won.. I could care less how we did it. The biggest game for me is next week when we play the cunts from West London. Beat those bitches and that'll be a display of 'bigger change' in the club than this win.

Let's go out and win this cup and hope Villa kill those cunts from Liverpool. You damn well know that if Stevie G is in the final, the refs will do whatever it takes to give the 'son of the soil' his dream farewell.

[Kano]

Szczesny has managed to master all the posturing and bravado of a top keeper but not the actual ability needed for this level. Decent but not good enough for us.

Wenger took a huge risk playing Debuchy for the whole 120 minutes after so long out, although at least his match fitness will be up. Kos was as solid as ever whilst Gibbs looked like a guy who hadn't played in a while.

Le Coq was solid, Caz worked hard and Ozil was off his game. Becks gave his all as always but badly needs to develop his centre forward play, which is hard when he'll struggle to get a run in this team. Out wide he's reasonably effective, a goto squad player.

And Sanchez is something else. Can be relied on to run his legs off upfront, chase back, retain the ball under pressure, bring others into an attack and consistently shoot on target. This sort of calibre of player won't stick around if we don't seriously challenge for the PL or CL.

Winning 9 (or 10?) in a row means we won't always be at the top of our game and we just done enough, forcing our luck today. We have a defeat looming sometime soon because I don't think anyone has ever won more than 12 on the spin over here. How we play against Chelsea - win, lose or draw - and how we pick ourselves up after our next defeat will hopefully prove something to a lot of us unconvinced fans.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Actually no I think this is worrying, I wouldn't mind if its a year ago and we don't really have any natural width or pace then I could understand but it was abundantly clear that a physically strong and hard working Reading side struggled against pace and yet we haul Welbeck off when bringing Giroud on and wait until extra time to bring Walcott on.
Not only that there is the lunacy of starting Debuchy despite being out for three months, and this totally arbitrary notion of having the second choice goalkeeper play the cup games no matter how horrendously out of form they clearly are.

Winning despite playing badly allows you to ignore the glaring deficiencies in performance and tactics, and to get anything against Chelsea we will need to be at our best (Man City at the Etihad best).

[Letters]

Really dont see why AW is being criticized tbh.. it was a cup semi-final and we won...

:blink: Are you all right? You're scaring me!
Playing Chesney was a mistake IMO. I'm ok with having a 'Cup Keeper' to an extent but Chesney has become a liability. There was a bit of bad luck with the goal, it did deflect, but a better 'keeper would have kept it out IMO. And on a few other occasions he punched the ball rather than catching it and looked far from convincing, I fear for us if he plays in the final.
I don't have a problem with the rest of the team, we had more than enough quality to beat Reading and while we made hard work of it it's often like that in a semi-final when the underdogs are playing the game of their lives. These sorts of games are rarely thumpings.

End of the day, we're in the final. That's all that matters.

I put less weight on the Chelsea result than you, it would be nice to beat them but the title is gone. It's out of our hands and they won't slip up, or not badly enough. We need them to lose 3 games and they've only lost 2 all season. One of those is against us or course but you know Mourinho will park the bus, he'll come for a draw and probably get one. I'd rather win the Cup final than the Chelsea game. Both would be nice, of course.

[Letters]

we haul Welbeck off when bringing Giroud on and wait until extra time to bring Walcott on.

To be fair, Giroud made an immediate impact. Ramsey should have wrapped it up in normal time. And he's in far better form than Walcott. Also, playing badly and winning is what sides who win trophies do. No team plays well every game. It wasn't a terrible performance yesterday, nor an outstanding one. We did enough though, that's all that matters in a cup.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

To be fair, Giroud made an immediate impact. Ramsey should have wrapped it up in normal time. And he's in far better form than Walcott. Also, playing badly and winning is what sides who win trophies do. No team plays well every game. It wasn't a terrible performance yesterday, nor an outstanding one. We did enough though, that's all that matters in a cup.

It's not bringing Giroud on that was the problem (I agree he did provide a positive impact when he came on) it was leaving one of many central midfielders on and making the midfield more congested and giving them time to get back when we attempted to break.
Ozil, Ramsey and Cazorla could have taken one of them off, and I disagree I think Walcott actually gave us a good attacking outlet when running against tired legs and could have been deployed earlier to just as good effect.
Talking Coquelin off was also suspect as we were finding it hard to clear our lines and got ourselves penned in for large periods of the second half of extra time.
I agree that you can win games without playing well, but I think most managers will still address why the side isn't playing well my worry with Wenger is that it doesn't matter to him whether his tactics and personnel worked if he wins despite this it doesn't matter.
Yesterday we were let off the hook in a big way, and to say we don't need to learn from this would be a fatal error, we didnt look that great against Burnley either and if we think a more talented and capable side like Chelsea won't work just as hard as Burnley and Reading than we have a big surprise coming to us.

[Niall_Quinn]

This is what a lot of fans and certainly the media just don't get. Each game is important not just for the result but also in terms of the team performance and the performance of each individual. You build a settled team, nurture the squad so you can slot one or two players in to cover injuries and suspensions. You keep winding the performance levels up a notch each game until you have a machine, like the chavs or barca or marketing.

There's a huge difference between consistency peppered with the odd loss, that can happen to any team, and randomly picking up wins and points bouncing from fixture to fixture constantly on the edge of defeat but somehow scraping through before falling off a cliff.

Top players can help you paper the cracks and disguise managerial incompetence, players like Alexis. A poor tactician and man manager like Wenger relies on these individuals to bury his own inadequacies. You see when we lose he blames the players, not his lack of tactics, cohesion or his failure to build genuine rather than random momentum and understanding between the players. He'll say we lack sharpness, or we play with a handbrake, or our energy levels dropped. He never admits his crazy team selections and subs and inappropriate tactics are the root cause.

Wenger loses silly games, he promotes under-performance in straightforward games, he takes stupid risks when they aren't necessary, he goes conservative when there's no threat. Basically he's a handicap we have to overcome every match and he showed that again yesterday.

A decent tactician could get so much more out of this squad and team, could take us up that step that is unreachable for Wenger.

What we needed against Burnley and Reading were two confident, efficient and progressive performances with the intent of peaking for the chav game. Instead we get shit performance #1, but it was a win so ignore it, and embarrassing and shit performance #2, ignore it again because now we are in the "Can't Win a Big Prize" Cup final. Hopefully the players can pull it together all by themselves next week, but a lot of that will depend on what team is put out.

Indeed, the title is all but gone. So there is absolutely ZERO reason not to go for after the chavs big time next week. If their goal is to park the bus we need a smart manager who can overcome that. We need to surprise them, shock them, shake them out of their comfort zone. We need Maureen and his chavs to leave that pitch thinking fuck, okay we won the title this year but we're going to have a real fight on our hands next season.

Wenger won't be thinking like that. He'll be thinking shit like a 1-0 will do no matter how we play or what message we send. He'll be thinking we're in the cup final and that's all that matters. He'll be thinking the title is gone but second isn't bad.

LOSER stuff, like that. Only losers think like that.

Yesterday there should have been continuity in the team, regardless of it being the cup, a fast tempo, respect for the opponent but homework done to find their obvious weaknesses (they are a lower league team after all) and ruthlessly exploit them. Now if the opponent battles you to a standstill, good for them. But when they are in the game because you can't be bothered to be in it, fuck that. The result can't hide that basic lack of competitiveness and drive. The manager instils none of that. Alexis embarrasses him. Alexis would manage this team much better. He knows what it takes to win. He's a winner.

Too many excuses for Wenger floating around after a decade. Fans can console themselves with the FA Cup if they like but don't expect anything more than consolation while this guy is in charge.

His substitution of Coquelin yesterday was astonishing. Absolutely stunning. No other manager would even contemplate lunacy on that scale.

[Ollie the Optimist]

One thing i found odd yesterday was the reaction by the media to the keepers mistake. It was painted as a tragedy and the worst thing that could have happened etc etc. You have to feel sorry for him and all that bollocks.


Just like they felt sorry for Szcesney when he did it v birmingham.

[Niall_Quinn]

One thing i found odd yesterday was the reaction by the media to the keepers mistake. It was painted as a tragedy and the worst thing that could have happened etc etc. You have to feel sorry for him and all that bollocks.


Just like they felt sorry for Szcesney when he did it v birmingham.

FA Cup syndrome. Little guys against the giants. I don't think it was aimed at us, they do that for any underdog.

That said, their keeper was awful. He was very lucky not to concede minutes before the second goal when he again made a howler but got away with it.

[Ollie the Optimist]

FA Cup syndrome. Little guys against the giants. I don't think it was aimed at us, they do that for any underdog.

That said, their keeper was awful. He was very lucky not to concede minutes before the second goal when he again made a howler but got away with it.

he was also lucky not to be sent off for tripping alexis early on in the game.

[Niall_Quinn]

The bitter Daily Mail, on the other hand, had Michael Hector as MOTM, narrowly edging 2 goal Alexis. :haha:

Things didn't go according to their prayers in their funny little fantasy land.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

The bitter Daily Mail, on the other hand, had Michael Hector as MOTM, narrowly edging 2 goal Alexis. :haha:

Things didn't go according to their prayers in their funny little fantasy land.

I love the Daily Mail, it stands to be about the only positive thing about a potential Labour victory....just imagine how vitriolic, self-righteous and mean spirited they would be then.

[Niall_Quinn]

I love the Daily Mail, it stands to be about the only positive thing about a potential Labour victory....just imagine how vitriolic, self-righteous and mean spirited they would be then.

Oh is that what's happening? The Blair years are forgotten already? System reset, the goldfish goes around the bowl again? Haven't been watching it. I think Martin Samuel should stand (if he can still defeat gravity). Then he could pass a law that makes the gypos too big to fail.

[Penguin]

The 'small' teams always know they have a chance against us. Look at our run last year. You'd think that after getting taken to a penalty shoot out against Wigan we might have learnt our lesson. Nope, two-nil down in 10 minutes against Hull. We get taken to extra time and just about manage to avoid penalties.

Same old shit again yesterday. Wenger doesn't know how to motivate his team, and he has about as much tactical knowledge as the Highbury squirrel.

[Marc Overmars]

That might be the only chance most of their players will ever get to play in a cup final, so you need to prepare for an onslaught it but it seems like we were just going through the motions again and only started to play when they scored. We'll never learn but cup runs are always about the result, you don't get 2nd chances to put things right and no one is going to be bothered on cup final day about how we made it.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Oh is that what's happening? The Blair years are forgotten already? System reset, the goldfish goes around the bowl again? Haven't been watching it. I think Martin Samuel should stand (if he can still defeat gravity). Then he could pass a law that makes the gypos too big to fail.

This is why i added the caveat "potential"

To be honest you do have a situation where first time voters at this election are probably too young to remember Tony Blair

On policies i am probably more with Labour than any other party, but Ed Milliband and Ed Balls are atrocious

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

But this is not the thread for which such things should be discussed....so i shall say no more

[Niall_Quinn]

That might be the only chance most of their players will ever get to play in a cup final, so you need to prepare for an onslaught it but it seems like we were just going through the motions again and only started to play when they scored. We'll never learn but cup runs are always about the result, you don't get 2nd chances to put things right and no one is going to be bothered on cup final day about how we made it.

They'll be bothered if we play the same way though.

[Letters]

One thing i found odd yesterday was the reaction by the media to the keepers mistake. It was painted as a tragedy and the worst thing that could have happened etc etc. You have to feel sorry for him and all that bollocks.


Just like they felt sorry for Szcesney when he did it v birmingham.

It's not quite the same. It's probably the biggest game of that Reading keeper's career and that mistake will haunt him. I do feel for him. But not too much :d

[Master Splinter]

Debuchy, Gibbs, Sanchez and Welbeck were really poor. Especially in the first half.

Gibbs improved and Sanchez obviously got the goals, but even the players who had decent games (Coquelin, Ozil, Cazorla) had sloppy moments and the passing was erratic.

No surprise that WUMger replacing three of our most consistent and impactful players ruined our momentum.

Still, despite us actually losing according to Lineker and his pathetic little cronies at the Beeb, we hit the woodwork three times, Federici made four good saves (and one shit one just before the winner) and we should have won by about three clear goals if not for the lack of composure from Ramsey, Ozil and Cazorla in the final third.

Chelsea are on the verge of winning the League on the back of several errors from goalkeepers. But genius Mourinho of course.

Compared to other teams in the Cup this year, we've cruised through while they've scraped over the line like drunkards or been well and truly knocked out by actual pub teams. And aren't these games always close at the end of this competition, whoever the opposition? Wigan won it FFS.

It was Reading's best game ever and we were laboured, but we won. WUMger is a problem, but as long as you overcome these heroic, plucky opponents and the cheating ref, it's fine as long as it keeps some momentum going.

The ref was fucking terrible by the way. Poor Reading and the two offside calls. What about the one against Giroud? And why was Sanchez allowed to be hacked in half? And why did he allow play to continue as one of their cloggers raked Ozil's ankle right in front him? Poor Reading though.

Actually fuck Reading tbf. And the BBC. And Stevie G. And your mum.

We're in the final and we're going to break a few records by winning it again.

Sanchez :bow:.

Ozil :bow:.

Coquelin :bow:.

Wenger :bow:.

Arsenal :bow:.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Other thoughts on reflection. Apologies for the tl;dr.


- I certainly agree with Atkinson being awful. They got away with perpetual fouling and roughhouse tactics with no punishment which meant they had license to keep on doing it. It was really quite annoying and the one where Ozil gets hacked from behind only be told by Atkinson to get up was particularly egregious.

- Even though Welbeck had a shocker up top and bringing on Giroud was the correct move, personally I think he should have stayed on the pitch but gone out wide with Ramsey (who was terrible) coming off.

- Speaking of Ramsey, I'm not sure playing him out wide against teams set out to defend is the correct move. It'd worked against Liverpool who only had three at the back but against a team like Reading it seems like a poor move. He doesn't have the pace nor natural flair to get behind the Fullback.

- Speaking of Welbeck, he really needs to work on his centre forward play. His last two outings in that position have been very poor (I know he scored against Utd but apart from that he was bad). At the moment it's not even a contest between him and Giroud and if we want to challenge next year we need two top quality viable options in that position.

- Starting both Debauchy and Gibbs was clearly a wrong move. Only one of them (probably Gibbs) should have started with the other on the bench as first defensive sub. I don't think Wenger planned on Debauchy playing 120 mins but BFG's injury forced his hand. He looked spent by the end and that nearly cost us.

- Gabriel needs to bulk up and be more confident in his passing.

- Coquelin had a decent game but his passing looks ropey as fuck. For all the shit Arteta gets (most of it rightfully) he has a fantastic ability to start attacks with quality passing. There were too many times yesterday where Coquelin got the ball and had no clue what to do with it, albeit in the face of some excellent Reading pressure.

- The more I reflect on it the more angry I get with Szechny. You can bet that a top keeper like Lloris or De Gea would have save that and we would have scrapped to a 1 - 0 win instead of going through the pain of extra time. Just fuck off.

- If you haven't heard Steve Clarke's post match interview have a listen to it. I was all aboard the "applauding the plucky underdogs and wishing them well" train but after that ....... Complete tosser who implies that the ref was the difference. Fuck off, we had the clearest chances out of the game and had Gabriel and Rambo had their shooting boots on we would have ended it without the need of extra time.

[AFC Leveller]

Other thoughts on reflection. Apologies for the tl;dr.


- I certainly agree with Atkinson being awful. They got away with perpetual fouling and roughhouse tactics with no punishment which meant they had license to keep on doing it. It was really quite annoying and the one where Ozil gets hacked from behind only be told by Atkinson to get up was particularly egregious.

- Even though Welbeck had a shocker up top and bringing on Giroud was the correct move, personally I think he should have stayed on the pitch but gone out wide with Ramsey (who was terrible) coming off.

- Speaking of Ramsey, I'm not sure playing him out wide against teams set out to defend is the correct move. It'd worked against Liverpool who only had three at the back but against a team like Reading it seems like a poor move. He doesn't have the pace nor natural flair to get behind the Fullback.

- Speaking of Welbeck, he really needs to work on his centre forward play. His last two outings in that position have been very poor (I know he scored against Utd but apart from that he was bad). At the moment it's not even a contest between him and Giroud and if we want to challenge next year we need two top quality viable options in that position.

- Starting both Debauchy and Gibbs was clearly a wrong move. Only one of them (probably Gibbs) should have started with the other on the bench as first defensive sub. I don't think Wenger planned on Debauchy playing 120 mins but BFG's injury forced his hand. He looked spent by the end and that nearly cost us.

- Gabriel needs to bulk up and be more confident in his passing.

- Coquelin had a decent game but his passing looks ropey as fuck. For all the shit Arteta gets (most of it rightfully) he has a fantastic ability to start attacks with quality passing. There were too many times yesterday where Coquelin got the ball and had no clue what to do with it, albeit in the face of some excellent Reading pressure.

- The more I reflect on it the more angry I get with Szechny. You can bet that a top keeper like Lloris or De Gea would have save that and we would have scrapped to a 1 - 0 win instead of going through the pain of extra time. Just fuck off.

- If you haven't heard Steve Clarke's post match interview have a listen to it. I was all aboard the "applauding the plucky underdogs and wishing them well" train but after that ....... Complete tosser who implies that the ref was the difference. Fuck off, we had the clearest chances out of the game and had Gabriel and Rambo had their shooting boots on we would have ended it without the need of extra time.

Bitter Chelsea cunt who looks like he hasnt showered in years.

[fakeyank]

:blink: Are you all right? You're scaring me!

:lol:

I am not going to criticize him when we won a cup semi-final. Sure, we couldve done better but there is a time and place for that and its not after a win in cup semi-final!!

[Letters]

I'm not angry WITH Chesney, but he does not inspire confidence. The deflection did him no favours for the goal but a top keeper would save that. If Wenger plays him in the final (quite likely) and he makes a mistake which costs us (entirely possible) then Wenger wants a punch.

[LDG]

Bitter Chelsea cunt who looks like he hasnt showered in years.

If you look at the space between those up turned eyebrows and the down turned mouth, you can clearly make out the shape of an x-wing from star wars.

[cricketsi]

If you look at the space between those up turned eyebrows and the down turned mouth, you can clearly make out the shape of an x-wing from star wars.

Between having an alcoholic for a manager and a junkie up front, they did quite well to push us as hard as they did.

[Niall_Quinn]

Merts injury was also picked up in what should have been a red card studs up assault. And Kos was deliberately smacked in the face. But we've had this all year. According to the refs it's fine to foul Arsenal. But it is imperative to book Arsenal players for a first offence. This is normal.

[mr_brighterside]

disappointing performance but a win is a win. doesn't fill with confidence for remainder of season.

[Heisenberg]

I hope Ospina plays in the final.

[Xhaka Can’t]

I hope I win the Euromillions on Tuesday.

[Letters]

:lol:

Chesney vs BenTekkers.


Us :rose:

[Niall_Quinn]

I hope I win the Euromillions on Tuesday.

Will you lend me a fiver if you win it?

[Xhaka Can’t]

Will you lend me a fiver if you win it?

As long as I win more than £3.20

[fakeyank]

I hope I win the Euromillions on Tuesday.

Looks like my next match to the Emirates is going to be on the house! :)

[Gooner23]

Has anyone laughed at Liverpool and Stevie Me yet?

[Letters]

Has anyone laughed at Liverpool and Stevie Me yet?

Only to myself, but there are a couple of Liverpool fans at work to lol at
:dance:

[LDG]

Has anyone laughed at Liverpool and Stevie Me yet?

Yes. For quite a few years now.

[GP]

Does anyone remember the time he told all his team mates not to slip, and then he slipped?

lmao.

[Marc Overmars]

I don't know many Liverpool fans so I don't find their plight as amusing as I would with other rivals. I'm just enjoying the meltdown of the pretentious fans over on RAWK who believed they were on the cusp of something great. :lol:

[GP]

I don't know many Liverpool fans so I don't find their plight as amusing as I would with other rivals. I'm just enjoying the meltdown of the pretentious fans over on RAWK who believed they were on the cusp of something great. :lol:

To be fair, Liverpool did have something really good happening.

But they sold him to Barcelona.

[LDG]

I think it was fairly obvious to most that once Suarez was bye-byes and that lipstick wearing, quilted jacket numpty bought half of Southampton, they were going to "slip" away a little.

I mean come on. Last season they played about 4 games all season, so were relatively fresh most of the year, especially when Suarez had plenty of rest time for biting people.

[LDG]

To be fair, Liverpool did have something really good happening.

But they sold him to Barcelona.

Or what he said.

[Marc Overmars]

Remember when Alexis apparently chose us because of London and nothing else?

That was funny.

[LDG]

They'll be in for Walcott in the summer.

Oh noes.

[Dein-machine]

Awful performance - the 4-1 against Liverpool was an acceptance to the rule, even though we still contrived to let them back into the game by turning off second half, the past few months have seen the pattern of us defending leads against weaker opposition & getting away with it. This pattern is now embedded in this team, we will only try to attack when level or behind. Forget 2nd place & a cup final its not what I want to see as a gooner, its not what I pay big money for & I'm pretty sure its not what the likes of Ozil & Sanchez signed up for.
Yesterdays decisions.
Playing Debauchy when not match fit
If playing Debauchy who isn't pacy & known for attacking runs, we needed Theo to add pace to the right hand side. Ramsey & Sanchez both naturally cut inside which makes it easy to defend in numbers - too congested.
If Wumger wants to continue with Ramsey on the right then we need Bellerin running beyond to give us width.
Playing Welbeck when Giroud has hit form - I'm not a big Giroud fan but he did more in his first 5 minutes than Welbeck did all game.
Gibbs has never improved, he is West Ham, Newcastle, Spuds quality - not Arsenal quality. His first thought when receiving the ball is to go back to his centre backs even when he has space to exploit. Final ball is woeful.
Taking Coq off

Our manager is getting away with it this year, he's decision making is getting worse & he has given up on his principle of quality attacking football in order to pub out results. It what Chelsea did to win the Champions league & Di Mateo got sacked coz Red Rom was sick of the football. I left Wembley embarrassed on Saturday.

[LDG]

Awful performance - the 4-1 against Liverpool was an acceptance to the rule, even though we still contrived to let them back into the game by turning off second half, the past few months have seen the pattern of us defending leads against weaker opposition & getting away with it. This pattern is now embedded in this team, we will only try to attack when level or behind. Forget 2nd place & a cup final its not what I want to see as a gooner, its not what I pay big money for & I'm pretty sure its not what the likes of Ozil & Sanchez signed up for.
Yesterdays decisions.
Playing Debauchy when not match fit
If playing Debauchy who isn't pacy & known for attacking runs, we needed Theo to add pace to the right hand side. Ramsey & Sanchez both naturally cut inside which makes it easy to defend in numbers - too congested.
If Wumger wants to continue with Ramsey on the right then we need Bellerin running beyond to give us width.
Playing Welbeck when Giroud has hit form - I'm not a big Giroud fan but he did more in his first 5 minutes than Welbeck did all game.
Gibbs has never improved, he is West Ham, Newcastle, Spuds quality - not Arsenal quality. His first thought when receiving the ball is to go back to his centre backs even when he has space to exploit. Final ball is woeful.
Taking Coq off

Our manager is getting away with it this year, he's decision making is getting worse & he has given up on his principle of quality attacking football in order to pub out results. It what Chelsea did to win the Champions league & Di Mateo got sacked coz Red Rom was sick of the football. I left Wembley embarrassed on Saturday.

Still, it's sunny out.

[Letters]

I don't know many Liverpool fans so I don't find their plight as amusing as I would with other rivals. I'm just enjoying the meltdown of the pretentious fans over on RAWK who believed they were on the cusp of something great. :lol:

Nine :haha:

His butler will be getting a sound thrashing right now.

[Letters]

Still, it's sunny out.

And we're 2nd.
And in the Cup Final.
:cool:

[Power n Glory]

Yet to watch the game. I'll catch the highlights. But it just sounds like another game where the pressure affected our performance.

I hope we avoid the same crazy jitters that has us 2 down in last years final. We've got to get a grip on this.

[Dein-machine]

Yet to watch the game. I'll catch the highlights. But it just sounds like another game where the pressure affected our performance.

I hope we avoid the same crazy jitters that has us 2 down in last years final. We've got to get a grip on this.

What "pressure" - we were playing Reading.

[Power n Glory]

What "pressure" - we were playing Reading.

Pressure of the occasion. We lost to Birmingham in a League Cup final once. Drew one of the weaker teams in the CL and we buckled. It's just one of those things we never quite get a handle on.

[LDG]

I don't think it was pressure this time.

I think we were too relaxed if anything. We didn't prepare for Reading dominating the 50/50 balls. It's obvious to you and I, but if it's an FA Cup Semi-Final, whoever you are playing, you should expect them to be 100mph. We should have been the same....

Debuchy starting was a horrendous choice. I can understand Gibbs, and to a degree, Chesney. But when we should have been looking to smash them with pace, the team selection was poor....

...but for me, not respecting Reading, and assuming we'd walk it is the worst thing.

[Letters]

What "pressure" - we were playing Reading.

In a cup semi-final.

[Power n Glory]

I don't think it was pressure this time.

I think we were too relaxed if anything. We didn't prepare for Reading dominating the 50/50 balls. It's obvious to you and I, but if it's an FA Cup Semi-Final, whoever you are playing, you should expect them to be 100mph. We should have been the same....

Debuchy starting was a horrendous choice. I can understand Gibbs, and to a degree, Chesney. But when we should have been looking to smash them with pace, the team selection was poor....

...but for me, not respecting Reading, and assuming we'd walk it is the worst thing.

I’ll have to watch the game but with this team it’s hard to suss the problem when we play like this. Pressure vs being blasé about the opponent – it’s hard to differentiate. If we pull out the same performance against Chelsea next week, I can imagine some saying we choked on the big stage and it was the pressure. But against a team like Reading we assume they’re not focused and overconfident, which seems out of character for this particular team. Same performance but a different assessment based on the opposition. But you’re right about our preparation. Maybe it was just the wrong tactics and we didn’t know they’d be physical. That’s something Wenger and the coaching staff need to look into.

[Letters]

I don't actually think there's much pressure on the Chelsea game. They're going to be champions. Clearly. We might give them a bloody nose but we needed them to drop points against QPR and/or Utd and they didn't. If we were 5 points behind or fewer and a win would put real pressure on them or even see us overtake them then yes, that is a pressure situation. As it is I don't think either team are under huge amounts of pressure. The only pressure on us I guess is trying to maintain 2nd position but that's a pressure in every game.

On Saturday...these games are almost never thumpings. The underdogs always play above themselves. We maybe took them a bit too lightly, we did seem to be playing within ourselves.

[Niall_Quinn]

Has anyone laughed at Liverpool and Stevie Me yet?

Of course. That's what rival fans are supposed to do. But the shit in the media this morning is out of order. One minute they are building players into super heroes, next they are following them around town calling them losers. The media stinks to high heaven. They do it because they assume that's what the fans want, as if they are part of our culture. They aren't, they are hateful outsiders taking a free ride on the game.

Why did we really "hate" Gerrard, as fans? For the same reasons we "hated" Roy Keane or any of the leaders of our bitter rivals, players who could take away the things we wanted. It was good rivalry, it made the blood stir and boil. They hated Veiria in return. But we wouldn't have changed any of it or got rid of any of them. They are what made the game.

The media doesn't understand stuff like this. They have a shallow and transient association with the game and the fans and all their grubby headlines reflect the fact. Fuckers.

I actually think it's a shame Gerrard didn't get one more run out at Wembley in a cup final. Especially against us. Could have been a spectacular game, the sort of game that makes you scared and excited at the same time. Villa is a bit meh by comparison.

I didn't like Stevie Me's starfish routine but I grudgingly admit he was a hell of a player in his prime, the engine of the team. I don't feel sorry for him, he's got a tidy amount stashed and he's off on another adventure of the type we don't get a sniff off in our humdrum existences. But I'm not going to write off what he put back into the game, like the shitty media are doing this morning so they can sell a few more chip wrappers and emergency shit wipes.

I'll say it if nobody else will, good luck to Gerrard. I enjoyed the fact he was part of the game.

That Nistlerooy bloke though. I actually did hate that cunt. Real hate I mean. What a fucking tosser he was.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger's reason for playing Debuchy for 120 mins.


Bellerin has played recently with some ankle problems and Debuchy was back so I thought it was a good moment to do it. Debuchy had cramps just before the end of the game but I couldn’t change him, but he is a French international and must be capable of playing in a semi-final against Reading.

Okay. But why change the other fullback too? You know Debuchy is a risk, why are you doubling up the risk?

[Letters]

I always quite liked Stevie G actually, he didn't sell out and join a club where he'd have won more medals, he was a great player.
I wouldn't have begrudged him one last hurrah, but not against us <_<

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Remember when Alexis apparently chose us because of London and nothing else?

That was funny.

It was just so irritating to hear that all summer from them. :lol:

Despite the fact they've finished 6th -8th for most of the years pre last year's title challenge and the fact they haven't consistently finished in the CL for ages they seriously thought it was just the "London factor" which swayed Alexis's decision to come here. Not that we're a bigger and more attractive club than them now.

Sigh, there's no reasoning with most of them tbh and the sane ones like Cibbles are a minority these days.

Speaking of club attractiveness for players, at the moment I rank it as follows:

Chelsea
Arsenal/Man Utd
Man City
Liverpool/Spurs

Pre Fergie retiring Utd would have been comfortably ahead of us, but losing him and also their car crash of last season has pushed them down whilst we've also simultaneously improved considerably with our new financial muscle and bringing in world class players like Ozil and Alexis whilst also discarding our previous image of being a "selling club".

Man City are still generally viewed as a billionaire's plaything and haven't shed that imagine to the same extent that Chelsea have now. With FFP coming into effect and them supposedly not being able to offer the same astronomical wages they did in the past I think they'll really suffer to attract players now. Don't think you'll see Nasri/Adebayor/Sagna situations happen again now unless something major changes in either of our plights.

[LDG]

I always quite liked Stevie G actually, he didn't sell out and join a club where he'd have won more medals, he was a great player.
I wouldn't have begrudged him one last hurrah, but not against us <_<

"I've always had a soft spot for Adebayor"

And Gerrard makes it into Letters' top all time favourites that nobody else likes (us being Gooners and all). So far

1. Teddy Sherringham
2. Stevie G
3. John Terry
4. Samir Nasri
5. Ashley Cole


10.Hitler



I've never liked Gerrard. Tosser who hits people in clubs and gets away with it. Horrible scum.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

I always quite liked Stevie G actually, he didn't sell out and join a club where he'd have won more medals, he was a great player.
I wouldn't have begrudged him one last hurrah, but not against us <_<

The only reason he didn't sell out if you remember was that he got death threats from Liverpool fans and other shady characters in the Liverpool area when he looked set to join Chelsea (around 2005 iirc) which made him do that hilarious u-turn!!!!! It was no Matt Le Tisser thing Letters.

[Letters]

Teddy :bow:


Balls to the lot of youse :p

[Niall_Quinn]

Tosser who hits people in clubs and gets away with it. Horrible scum.

:lol: behave

Some oily little tick in a nightclub giving it large by mouthing off at somebody with a name. Thinks he's protected. Gets punched in the gob.

You'd do the same and so would I.

It was fun slagging Stevie at the time, it's what's fans do to put pressure on a rival and it's all fair game.

Reminds me of the wanker Cantona kicked in the mush. Secretly we were all glad he kicked the cunt, weren't we? Publicly we were shouting ban him forever.

[Niall_Quinn]

The only reason he didn't sell out if you remember was that he got death threats from Liverpool fans and other shady characters in the Liverpool area when he looked set to join Chelsea (around 2005 iirc) which made him do that hilarious u-turn!!!!! It was no Matt Le Tisser thing Letters.

That's what I said the other day, same as Rooney. Their loyalty is second grade, but second grade is about fifty grades above the norm these days. It's the best you can hope for. Sad but true.

There are no more players like Adams and Le Tiss. Game has changed. For the worse.

Stapleton, there's another fucker I hate. Splitter.

[LDG]

:lol: behave

Some oily little tick in a nightclub giving it large by mouthing off at somebody with a name. Thinks he's protected. Gets punched in the gob.

You'd do the same and so would I.

It was fun slagging Stevie at the time, it's what's fans do to put pressure on a rival and it's all fair game.

Reminds me of the wanker Cantona kicked in the mush. Secretly we were all glad he kicked the cunt, weren't we? Publicly we were shouting ban him forever.

The Cantona one was brilliant! I'll give you that.

[Niall_Quinn]

The Cantona one was brilliant! I'll give you that.


Simmons was charged with using threatening behaviour towards Cantona and, on being found guilty, vaulted a table and attacked the prosecuting counsel. It took six officers to drag him away. “I think maybe it’s like a dream for some, you know sometimes to kick these kind of people,” Cantona told the BBC in 2011. “So I did it for them. So they are happy. It’s a kind of freedom for them.” - http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/jan/23/eric-cantona-manchester-united-crystal-palace-kung-fu-kick

:haha:


“I don’t care about being some sort of superior person,” Cantona has said. “I just wanted to do whatever I wanted to do. If I want to kick a fan, I do it. I am not a role model. I think the more you see, the more you realise life is a circus.”

:haha: :haha:

[fakeyank]

The only reason I ever liked Gerrard was because of his assists to Thierry Henry. I disliked him the day he came out with his shitty autobiography of how footballers dive and then he goes about flopping around like a dolphin on steroids! Not to forget the ugly studs up challenges he makes in the name of being a 'GHEL'. I'm glad the douche bag is not getting to win a trophy or even a final appearance in his last season. Hope LA Galaxy fire his ass after a season!

[Master Splinter]

Yeah, N_Q has lost it.

Gerrard is just a big a piece of scum as Terry and Rooney.

Absolute cheat in every respect on the pitch. And the sort of hypocritical cunt who has the gall to accuse others of cheating and is never vilified by his mates and cronies for his excessive cuntery in the footballing world.

Like Carragher, he is part of the filthy Scouse mafia and has talked shit about foreign teammates like the dirty rat he is.

He goes to clubs and bingo halls and viciously attacks innocent people because he knows being famous, and more importantly part of the Scouse mafia, he will get away with murder.

He's an utter thug on the pitch too and recently tried to end Herrera's career with a disgusting stamp.

He's one of the most selfish, vainglorious and greedy players ever. Completely detrimental to his team when he goes for shots from improbable angles and distances just to ensure he'll be the hero when the team needs their supposed captain to show some composure.

He's a Phil Collins fan.

A detestable fellow.

And do not forget as well he is a Phil Collins fan.

[Letters]

He's a Phil Collins fan.
Is he?

Hmm, well that has made me Think Twice.


:patrice:

[LDG]

Is he?

Hmm, well that has made me Think Twice.


:patrice:

Twat

[Niall_Quinn]

And do not forget as well he is a Phil Collins fan.

That's just a rumour and has never been proven. Anyone could spread shit about people being Phil Collin's fans. Wouldn't make it true.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Looks like my next match to the Emirates is going to be on the house! :)

In New Orleans

[Xhaka Can’t]

"I've always had a soft spot for Adebayor"

And Gerrard makes it into Letters' top all time favourites that nobody else likes (us being Gooners and all). So far

1. Teddy Sherringham
2. Stevie G
3. John Terry
4. Samir Nasri
5. Ashley Cole


10.Hitler



I've never liked Gerrard. Tosser who hits people in clubs and gets away with it. Horrible scum.

:gp: Entitled piece of shit.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Yeah, N_Q has lost it.

Gerrard is just a big a piece of scum as Terry and Rooney.

Absolute cheat in every respect on the pitch. And the sort of hypocritical cunt who has the gall to accuse others of cheating and is never vilified by his mates and cronies for his excessive cuntery in the footballing world.

Like Carragher, he is part of the filthy Scouse mafia and has talked shit about foreign teammates like the dirty rat he is.

He goes to clubs and bingo halls and viciously attacks innocent people because he knows being famous, and more importantly part of the Scouse mafia, he will get away with murder.

He's an utter thug on the pitch too and recently tried to end Herrera's career with a disgusting stamp.

He's one of the most selfish, vainglorious and greedy players ever. Completely detrimental to his team when he goes for shots from improbable angles and distances just to ensure he'll be the hero when the team needs their supposed captain to show some composure.

He's a Phil Collins fan.

A detestable fellow.

And do not forget as well he is a Phil Collins fan.

But other than that, he's a twat.

[LDG]

:haha:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before but I don't like Stevie Me.

Bye.

In fact.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Think NQ must be dating and in love with Gerard's sister or something...

[Niall_Quinn]

Come off it. Facing Liverpool and Gerrard at Wembley is a much bigger game than pubbing it out with Villa. There's a rivalry and a back story to the former (and how much sweeter if we win), the latter is a non-event against some outfit from the Midlands. Besides, we have that Owen travesty to repay.

Wenger will take Villa much more lightly than if we were facing Liverpool. Villa will be the tougher game as a result, for all the wrong reasons.

Plus, you could roll Gerrard in with Rooney and add a sprinkling of Maureen and John Terry on top and the result would be nowhere near as toxic as the turd pile of media hacks that are stuck to the game.

[GP]

Phil Collins? Dirty fuckin mustard tiger!