Tiny Tots Preview
Heading into today’s match, it is expected for a lot of bluster to emerge from the mouth’s of those lower down the league, looking to topple one of the ‘big boys’. It seems that re-signing three players has imbued a sense of confidence around Tottenham, which is fair enough given the same ebullience is evident from the Arshavin signing. A pity then that ‘Appy ‘Arry’s assertion, “it’s probably a decent time to play Arsenal” is not really applicable to Tottenham given that they have won only one league match since December 8th but then who really cares what ‘Arry thinks?
The midfield is somewhat depleted with Abou Diaby missing through suspension but probably injury as well. The list of other absentees would make any manager shudder at the thought of them being fit. Shame none of them are. Tomas Rosicky has started training with a ball for the first time in more than a year which is good news. Hopefully his recovery will be sustained.
Arsene confirmed that Andrei Arshavin will not be starting but is nonetheless included in the squad:
I will see what kind of shape he is in tomorrow to see if he will be involved in the squad or not. We are not in a hurry with him. He will be available.
Slightly contradictory, I know, but it would be a surprise if he is not on the bench, even if he is Back in the USSR , to resurrect the musical theme of Friday’s comments – try Chubby Checker’s barnstorming version of the song rather than the Beatles. More to the point, it would not be surprising if he is used should things are not going to plan. Why? Let Le Boss explain:
I believe he is talented, intelligent and motivated. When you have these things together, you always have a chance to make an impact. But you have to give him time as well. He is not fit at the moment because he had only 10 days preparation after a long break.
With that in mind, and Emmanuel Eboue‘s availability, the midfield more or less picks itself. Some have suggested that Wilshere should be given the chance to terrorise the Spurs defence but it seems too much of a high risk strategy to pursue from the start. The instructions will no doubt be to contain and hit on the break. Which would no doubt suit Emmanuel Adebayor, doubtless chomping at the bit to put his distinctly average performance against West Ham, behind him.
I would expect the team to be:
Almunia; Sagna, Gallas, Djourou, Clichy; Eboue, Denilson, Song, Nasri; van Persie, Adebayor
Three points is vital to stop a breakaway by the top four and would continue the feelgood factor following Arshavin’s signing. Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it. ’til Tomorrow.
Posted on February 8, 2009, in Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Soccer and tagged Arsenal, Football, Premier League, Soccer. Bookmark the permalink. 355 Comments.
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BIG game & time for some to step up. Hopefully Ade’s past exploits against Spurs will give him the confidence he needs.
As an aside, I recall reading that Arshavin prefers his name spelt Andrey.
It is important that we win this one, as it always is against those lot from down the road.
We should be quite solid with Song, Denilson and Eboue in the starting 11 but I worry about our creative play.
Nasri and Van Persie will have to be at their best and I hope that we are fired up for it. If we start at a good tempo then I expect us to win by one goal.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!
———–Almunia————–
Sagna–Kolo—–Djourou–Clichy
———-Song—–Denilson——
Eboue/Arsh——————Nasri
—————-RVP—————–
—————ADE——————
This is my formation for tomorrow and i think ultimately, Arshavin will start at the right competing with Walcott. Nasri will compete with Rosicky at the left and RVP in the hole and ADE/ED upfront
Has anyone seen the news of the world this morning. That ‘source’ is at it again. How many times does Fabregas and RVP have to come out and say its bull before these lazy so called reporters stop printing crap to sell papers?
our formation
Brazil’s no. 1
Chimbonda Woodgate King Ekotto
Lennon Zokora Huddlestone Bale
Keane Pavlychenko
Theyll give u lot a good kicking tonite
Might ‘give us a good kicking tonight’ but we will win at lunchtime
3-0 to us at half time. Game over. Add another 2 after the break. 5-0 to us. Expect a crisis after we finished with u. Accept the fact that u never recovered from the absolute kicking we gave u at ur scummy place. I bet u lot went all red in the arse when DaveyB did that jig in front of us at the end. Absolute class.
Credit to spurs, they always try to win this tie, so we cannot really accuse them of being anti football. That is the only positive them that i can ever bring myself to say about them.
With that I hope we give them a mighty spanking….i dont want to see another Bentley animal dance
I bet you still can’t believe you came away with a point after the battering you took from us.
We can’t.
re bentleytheflying spur.
Enjoy the last home game against arsenal for some time my friend.I trust you are looking forward next season to visiting the football mecca that is mk dons! We may have had a tough season but the comedy club that is known to all in football as Tottenham Hotspur has always kept us smiling! Up the arsenal
Oh my, Bentley the flying spur….
You are just another typical spud…..absolutely delude! Do you know the meaning of battering?and if our place is scummy, what can we call your shithole? jealousy my friend, that is how best to describe you. The Emiratesssss, one of the most valuable sport destinations in the planet.
Dont even mention that reject to us, because he is like a tiny tiny piece of hair in a monkey’s pubis, only you can notice him.
Preferabely:
Almunia
Sagna-Toure-Gallas-Clichy
Song
Eboue-Denilson-Nasri
RvP-Ade
Fabianski, Djourou, Bendtner, Ramsey, Lil Jack, AA, Gibbs, Vela.
Our next premiership game should feature Eduardo and AA.
We should win today, 2-1.
(Hope Jenas does not play)
Heh chaps & lassie,
It is pretty obvious that btfs is no more a spud,than you & I.
Not sure he/she is a gooner but it is a good wind up & he/she must be pleased with the response.
Keep it coming btfs!
No AA today I feel, possibly some time for young Jack, if we need a goal.
The possibility exists that he may even start with big nic on the left. he’s used him there before. But I’m guessing that’ll be too 4 3 3 and a little gung ho. We are after all rebuilding our season by making not losing the priority. Still, we must win as it is against them and we need to close with Chelski. Looking forward to kick off.
Doh. On the right of course I meant the right.
Strangely confident today! We have found it tough of late and Yogi’s predicted line up looks an odds-on cert, even though that is the line-up that has most difficulties in creating clear cut chances.
But Spurs play today, desperate for points, with the belief garnered from a gutsy if flukey comeback at our place that they can hurt us, that just plays right into our hands!
Van Persie and Nasri are the big game hunters this season, just fancy we may not be at our fluent best, but in the final third, with Spurs pushing the boat out, we may just rise to our clinical best.
Toying with the idea of having a little scorecast with Arshavin to grab the last. 3-1 to us and the wee Russian to take to the North London derby like a legend, a’ la Bobby Pires.
Maybe, that’s a bit too dreamy!
Consols – yep, yesterday – was New Riders of the Purple Sage; alas i fell asleep before i could gloat further..
Interesting how many old hippies on ACLF – am planning another trip to India in April (detagged!);
Head for the hills above Rishikesh.
Oh, and ARSENAL !!
If anyone’s feeling a little nervous, worry not! My son and me have a little superstitious routine, which we’ve just done (I can’t say what it is, otherwise maybe like a birthday wish it won’t work), but suffice to say on the few occassions we have used it this season, it has ended in victory. United and Chelsea included.
Don’t ask why I haven’t used it more this season!
3 points in the bag!
Thnks for posting nice and early, Yogi btw.
Hope AA is atleast on the bench, just to lift the fans, and to scare the spuds.
*******
Flint – re: btfs – you’re right; not knowing Bentley was out, not knowing kick-off time.. can relax now. Still, not exactly subtle.
Danny – is it because you only use it for the big games ?
Used too often, such rituals lose their power!
Ponyboy,
Absolutely!
To be fair, I sort of wanted to save it for a Champions League semi or final, but we’re a bit caught up in this Arshavin inspired wave of good-will.
Lalalalalaaaaaaah….lalalalalalala…..clickclickclick..
Pheeppheeppheeppheep….pheeppheeppheeppheeppheeppheeppheep….slashslashslash….
17 Gooners good and true…quifed up….leather jackets and drainpipes….winklepickers…muppet written in studs on their backs…golden arse whistles awarded for bravery….dancing in formation up Seven Sisters Road….the flick-knives are made of rubber…symbolic…but these guys are tough…very tough….some of them shove the shit back up policehorses on match days…just for fun…
These guys are cool…wanna know why…because…they are gooners….and as all gooners know….we are hip…we are cool…we are Arsenal and we rule…lalalalaaaaah…lalalaaaah….lalaaaah..
Robin Van Persie…..clickclickclick
Robin Van Persie…..clickclickclick
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
I don’t know Rishikesh Pb. I like the south very much. Madurai is an absolutely bonkers place to stay.
Chk. I was last in India about three years ago. Kerala and Tamil Nadu. I went back to Kovalum where I stayed with a bout of hepatitus in1980. Couldn’t believe how the place had changed. there was one beach bar in ’80 now the whole beach is lined with them. Do you know there was not one place to eat in Arambol in ’80? Just Pai’s the grocer. No police station then either.
That said I don’t go along with those who say the place is spoiled now. To my mind if I can get grilled fish on the beach and there are plenty of places to buy a cold beer then it’s definitly improved.
Can’t you bunch of hippies find some kind of flower power blog to post on?
Anyone watching the 5-4 thriller on espn classics?
People forget all Wenger’s sides have left the backdoor unlocked, but the attacking levels are what we need to return to.
Polizi – it’s the mix that does it for me!
Cb : Love the south too, but the heat ! That’s why the hills in April. Went up to Kedarnath back in ’83.. the one hotel had been crushed by an avalanche a few days before.. never been so cold in my life!
Ok, Pz – will stop now. Apologies all round – but really want to get to The Valley of Flowers one day..
Hey Pz, like chill man.
Don’t lay that heavy trip on us man. I can’t take that shit. Freaks me out.
Peace Bro’.
Oh, one last thing! Above Haridwar it is illegal to eat meat !! They have signs all over the place..love that!
Ever been to Puri, Consols ? (In Orissa )
Poliziano – my sincere apologies ~ just had a moment of passion! Flower power blogs are full of wankers unfortunately; Went on a dating site there once [ YogaRomance.com ] and didn’t get a single reply. Maybe i shouldn’t have banged on about the Arsenal in my Profile..
Hahaha.. Cb – first laugh of the morning…nice!
The 17 dancers are followed by 17 girls and boys riding quad bikes…..these youngsters are the future of the club….lead by Father Patrick O’Leary retired Bishop of of Archway a very wise old man and ardent gooner who has looked after the poor in Archway and the Highbury area for many years ….clickclickclick…we call this group of youngsters the New Riders of the Purple Sage, for obvious reasons….clickclickclick
No, never been to Orissa. I did get as far north as you can go, or could go given the geopolitics of the region, to Kashmir. That really was something else. Stayed on a farm on a lake out in the sticks. Wonderful.
I have little sympathy for the ‘alternative’ scene today. Too many very limited intellects who think that tree hugging is a sign of superior minds. All very superior and creaming themselves now that global warmimg is the issue of respectability. they can’t wait for us all to die. They all hate Arsenal or any other manifestation of sport. I suspect that you thrive with people who are a bit sharper Pb.
To be fair they would have very little sympathy for me either! Too many strong opinions, although to quote Churchill “..weakly held”
There is a creeping obsession with the New Riders of the Purple Sage on this site. A very healthy sign.
Come on you Reds!
…and then we have the 17 old fellas started going to Highbury in the 30s…it is rumoured that these guys are very tough indeed…..it is said that they used to arrive at the stadium before a match and wouldn’t leave until after the final whistle……and stood for the whole game….seems unlikely doesn’t it…clickclickclick…but true…..no why?….well it is because they are gooners…and even though they are old…they are still….hip…and they are still cool and they are still Arsenal…and they still rule….lalalalaaaaah…lalalaaaah…lalaaah…
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
….why 17?…you say…..symbolic…..one for every player on match day….18…minus one to represent our constant injury problem…..these are real supporters…..they represent us in supporting the best club in the world…..the true home of football and we should not let them or the players down or the manager down…..so lets get on the blog sites…..get on the phone-ins…contact the press and media…and tell them all to go f*ck themselves…..and if you can get to the game…..give it your all becuase you are a f*cking star gooners…and today it is a great day to be a gooner…..
My Dad would have been one of those Frank.
Oh, hang on I thought that they would have been 17 years old in the ’30′s. Doh!
If they are old fellows going to day then my Dad can’t be one of them. A shame. I would love to go to The NHOF with my Dad again. Although that would actually be the first time, the previous occasions being to the OHOF, but you get my point.
Poliziano,
Where’s your spirit? you need to mellow out a bit!!
has anyone been to sri lanka??? was thinking of taking the misses next year but is there still a civil war out there?? i knew a couple of sri lankens and they couldnt go back becuase they just kept getting robbed..by the police! sounds nice though!
Yogi;
Agree with you that might be the line up..though i think toure will get call ahead of djourou..
unfortunately thats is miserable midfiled creativity wise..i think rvp will drop in midfiled and we will play 4-5-1…
i would have replaced eboue with rvp and put bend with ade…go for the kill..song and denilson wud have provided enough cover for defence…but fortunately or unfortunately…wenger doesnt listen to me
I think wenger would like to leave arshavin on the bench today if he could. All part of the blending in process isnt it. Arsh has never experienced prem football before to my knowledge and wenger knows its best to let the player get a feel for the game first, this is a mistake many managers make by throwing knew players straight in.
Anway. It would be nice to return to winning ways agaisnt the Spuds.I believe that this one will be a cracker as all the North london Derbys are. both teams are going to score and defences are almost rendered defunct as the brakes come off. Passions ride high in this one and the only thing that could spoil it is red cards, gutless referring an Darren Bent diving in the box after tackle. Robbie Keane is foaming at the mouth to prove he is indeed worth £20million. However I have a good feeling about this on because last season Ade stole the show on his own but with RVP in the Side the Spuds will be worried. We need to win this one, Go on the Gunners. 3-1 to Arsenal. RVP,Ade and Bendtner to score. Spurs will score first. The ususally do.
Sorry, DukeGoonem. My spirit evaporates whenever I hear New Riders of the Purple Sage mentioned. I hate music. Devil’s wine, as far as I’m concerned. It wreaks havoc with my nerves.
I don’t mind discussion of India and the east, although I’ve never been there myself.
I personally won’t play jermain genius from the start. Harry will play Tom the tank and Zokora to kick ur pansy midfield munckins to oblivion first. Once genius is on, well… he will beat that cheap average spanish keeper of yours with a 20 yard smasher again. Don’t say i didnt warn u lot. We will win 5-0 and play u off the park.
Have you seen this video of Tom the Tank:
BTFS,
You are such a gooner!! not even a spud will call that jenas a genius.
Here’s another video, this time of Huddlestone and Michael Dawson having a sing-along with the Spurs faithful:
I’ve been to Puri PonyBody. I have a work friend from there. Did you go to the Jagganath temple ? Also, the most unbelieveable beach I have ever seen.
I can see that you really hate music Pz.
Are you sure they were Spuds? They looked a bit too bright to me.
It’s a shame that the truth is out about BentleyTheFlyingTwat. He just wasn’t subtle enough. I mean, the name gives it away. Any sentence with Bentley and Flying in it is clearly nonsense unless it includes the additional words cliff and off.
COME ON ARSENAL!!!
Polizi -
If that is your kind of music – all becomes clear. You are a Mozart man, i feel; tho’ with you… would love to sneak into your house and check out your CD collection.
Well, no, i’d ring the doorbell first, naturally.
New Riders of the Red and White Sage ?
Muppet ! What a man…
Went round the temple, but wasn’t allowed in, due to my caste status being rather low..
The beach though – that is one (or was) paradise.. not a single person there except some fishermen. Ever go down to Madras/Chennai and stop off at Waltair ?? The freakiest town i’ve ever been!
No Ponyboy, they only let you into the temple if you are Hindu. Yes, just a few fishermen, I remember it well. I’ve not been to Madras/Chennai… no.. I’ll ask my friends about Waltair.
The best news. Eduardo on the bench. How good will it be to see him.
Eduardo !!! Thanks Steww.
Dunno about you lot, but I’m nervous.
Lose today, and we are 6 and 8 points behind Chelski and Villa respectively, with 13 games to go.
I’m still annoyed about Lpool jamming another win last night. Pompeys defending was pathetic.
And when oh when are Villa gonna drop some points ? This really is some run they are on.
At least Villa play Chelski next weekend, so one of them is guaranteed to drop points.
Can’t see Arshavin playing at all today. And I’m a little worried about a Nasri/Song/Denilson/Eboue midfield.
My vibes aren’t good today, I sense the inevitable Robbie Keane goal and us chasing after them with Bendy coming on for Eboue at some stage.
Ade due a performance.
Hope my vibes are proven wrong.
COME ON ARSENAL.
Arshavin on the bench as well.
Not a great midfield Matty,
but the bench is a bit special!
hmmm
Eddy on the bench. Excellent.. anybody got a reliable free-stream ( sorry, ask this every time, but they keep changing).
Matty –
Positive thoughts = Positive outcomes.
Eduardo!! I’m so happy for him.
BentleyTheFlyingTwat,
Is Cudicini “Brazil’s no. 1″?
You don’t even know your own team.
Can’t wait for a RVP free-kick to fly past Cudicini who is years past his prime.
Yep. Like Madras and know the area a bit. Waltair doesn’t ring a bell though.
Keep the faith people. I have very good feelings about this afternoon.
Welcome back Eduardo. That’s the best midfield that we can put out at the moment and I think it’s pretty good. I mean, who have the tots got?
Arsene looks and sounds very confident and happy.
Consols –
In Waltair, the Rickshaw driver stopped and told us to get out and push the thing up a hill…and alot of people were dressed in black and looked like they wanted to kill us. We got straight back on the next train.
Eddy and AA on the bench! It’s feeling good!
Ponyboy:
http://fusefry.com/42.html
http://myfreetv.no-ip.org/page.php?16
http://www.free-tv.tk/
Come. On. Arsenal.
Can someone tell me why sky won’t let me kill the commentators and watch full screen with just crowd noise? Used to be able to and is by far the best way to watch.
Free streams anyone ! Appreciate almost everyone is already watching – begging here!
5 live otherwise…
Sorry ponyboy – I looked but can’t find any in usual places.
I’ve just got abs infomercials.
Thanks for looking steww.. accepting 5 live.
can someone give some link for match..this p2p isnt showing.plssssssssssssssss
http://www.iraqgoals.com/en/ch4.html
Unlucky Eboue – fantastic RVP
thx poliziano
Eboue our best player so far!!!!
yes, big thanks, PZ !!! Cheers – and Eboue almost scored!
is eboue mental
our passing is poor
Shit
Looks like Ade’s done his hamstring. Arshavin to warm up?
is it arshavin who is warming up..i am smiling already
Poor old Modric hah ha ha
Swearwords must be accompanied by an explanation, pls. thnks.
that was coming..that bugger just wont stop talking…it can only happen with arsenal though
Shocking. Have to say he talked himself into the first booking
Whatever Eboue did that lad is a f*cking liability
Sorry Big Al I swore when ade went down. Hit enter b4 finishing sentence.
Oh, he kicked him. Crap.
the tv replay showed Eboue kicking out at Modric. That lad is just shocking. Grow up!!!
No, I was just kidding, Steww. I have the stream from hell – must be at least 2 mins behind!
What is up with Eboue?!?!
guy behaves like a clown!
well he isnt the first player to kick out is he, but it was stupid.
You just had that feeling after the first goal that he should’ve sat down, too hyper!
duke, he was already on a yellow and that for runnin his mouth, just kept talking crap! though I have seen rooney curse out refs with no penalty. we will still win!
you tried Iraq goals big al?
They seem all puff and bluster. We can still beat ‘em.
Wish we’d bought Palacios instead of giving him to Steve Bruce. He’s an absolute monster.
Iraqgoals died on me, PaulN. Have adthe for now, and keep refreshing Iraq, but nothing yet. Cheers though.
I get the feeling that was not the last controversial decision of the match but what might be key is would any of those go our way?
Holy shit I thought Eboue was doing well adding incision into our attacks but the way he got sent off was just pure stupidity. What the hell was he thinking??
I still feel we can win this game. Come on Gunners!!!
Wow, we only took one shot!
Big Al, its working great for me, try again.
We did have palacios!! wenger brought him over on trial but didnt fancy him so recomended him to bruce!
true gack, he was pretty dangerous. I think he was a little too up for this match and needed to settle a bit. I guess he is well settled now damn it!
HT : I am seething. After last week v West Ham I posted that I thought Eboue had some kind of mental breakdown on the pitch before he came off after 20 mins. This week we can all see it very clearly. He is MENTAL. He is a liability. That should be the end of his Arsenal career, he was asking to be sent off from the moment his goal was disallowed he lost the plot.
I’ve had it – the effort levels being turned on and off whenever it suits him, the feigning injury, the diving, the cheating, the miraculous recoveries when he gets injured and comes off, I’ve just had enough.
Ade as well – he wandered around on his heels for 35 mins before his injury. Clichy runs the length of the pitch to chase down a lost cause and ends up crossing the ball on a plate, and ‘cos he can’t be arsed to look lively he gets there too late. Indicative of his whole attitude for weeks now. Not Too Bothered.
Song and Denilson are getting a chasing in the middle. This will make Howards day if we are not careful.
My bad vibes are stratospheric. Please prove me wrong, but I jsut can’t see it today.
Big HT team talk from AW needed.
Our only hope is RVP.
Please Arsenal, Do it.
Why on earth does Arsene persist with Eboue ?
Whatever happens, we won’t have Ade / Eboue for a few weeks. I’m grateful for that at least.
Eboue really let the team down with his whatever the f**** you wanna call it. I was happy to see him put in a good performance today, but his kick at Modric was too childish. *********. ********.
Even though we don’t have a right midfielder, due to injuries, I’d be glad he won’t be involved in the next three games.
Ade’s gone too. We need to shuffle the team all over again, for the coming weeks. Great!!
Only a moment of genius from RVP/Bendtner/ Nari might get us the three points today. Let’s see if Wenger brings on Arshavin or Eduardo.
Eboue was playing well, and that goal should have stood. Can’t defend what happened after that though.
I think the fact why Wenger persists with Eboue is he sees the potential that Eboue can make good runs and can get the ball past defenders.
But unfortunately potential is all Eboue has, I guess. Hard to see someone as immatured as him improving and proving his critics wrong.
What the f*ck was Eboue thinking. He was actually having one of his better games for us – his goal should have stood.
He’ll only miss one game though won’t he? 2nd yellow not a straight red.
At least we have 3 players he front of him now.
COME ON THE ARSE!!
Apart from Eboue saga..we didnt do anything much in the match..it really bothers me..how ordinary we have been playing for how long..even those wins we got..were from ordinary performances..
Matty,
I think it is wrong of you to single out ade..i saw him clearing some dangerous balls in our box..also the guy was chasing ball when he got injured…he doesnt deserve that kind of disrespect
Crossing….
crossing is the problem.
doesn’t bother me adc, we got a lot of 2nd choice players doing their best to fill in, they’re holding their own and gaining valuable experience. It’ll all come good.
I am not hating on Ade as he can be great but he does look disinterested, his effort is nothing like last year!
we cross and no ones in the box!
aaargh – so close. Song has done well today.
Make that very well.
Song has been outstanding.
good young player
Actually we must be mistaken. People here have told us so often that he isn’t good enough so he can’t be bossing this like he seems to be.
Poor Clichy! More injuries for us
Great save Almunia
Almunia has had a pretty good game today!
F*cking legends!!!
All of them.
Ah well. We have certainly sorted our defensive frailty. Now to start being more creative.
No CL next year its looking like now.
Eboue cost us a couple of points. Drop him to the reserves.
Gallas & Toure seem to be developing a partnership again
Duke – you think we won’t win it this season then?
Good performance….Bad result.
spurs are shite, if we had 11 men we would have won today no problems, they cant pass for shite.
played great but two points gone again!
Song is an excellent player!
Almunia, MOTM
Dear Howard,
Please remind us all how shit Almunia is.
Or just f*ck off.
Played bravely. Pround of each and every one of them except Eboue offcourse. Denilson, Song and Nasri were outstanding. Man of the match, surely Song. Really growing into the DM role.
DukeGoonem – well yes, that’s why I said “instead of giving him to Steve Bruce”. We never had him contracted, we chose not to buy him.
We’re just not keeping possession enough to build up any sort of momentum.
Another 0-0…. another disappointing results. The Spuds must be gloating now.
Ateeb – he’ll only be banned for one game, it was a 2nd yellow card.
And after today, anyone that doesn’t understand that Eboué’s problem is not skill but mental related is just blind.
We will be in the CL Duke!
Sorry to say it agsn but that sending off was so stupid! How does Eboue think he will get the fans to back him consistently if he plays the fool?
My Sunday is kind of spoilt by the result today.
To make it worse Villa wins yet another game last night.
I think we’ll finish top four.
gackt13 – they won’t be gloating to do so little against 10 men for so long and at home.
Funny how he changed. He was really good when he started out at right back. Once he knows the position is his he started to go mental. I mean Eboue, of course.
NEN – I think I agree, but I’d rather focus on the positives of a committed and passionate performance. They didn’t look a man short did they? Proud of every one of them.
steww… I think they’re actually happy they got a draw…
Getting a draw against us is a massively positive result for them.
Almunia – yeah, MOTM imho; but Song – he was a star out there.
How many more injuries ??
Clichy – saved a goal.. but Bent, how thick is HIS head ?
Strange game – almost the opposite of the 4-4 in some ways.
that’s true mate
Second half we did very well, all things considered.
Song really improved and won his battle with Palacios in the 2nd 45.
I have enjoyed watching Denilson grow this year, but today he looked like a boy amongst men.
Almunia looked very confident throughout, and did well against Modric at the end.
The attitude of the team in the second half was excellent. Can’t fault any of them at all for effort, and we could have won it in the last 10 mins.
I stand 100pct behind my previous comments about Eboue and Ade.
I fear for Eboue the next time he steps out at The Emirates.
And Ade defending corners etc is all very good, but he does not make the runs he made last season, he is not as sharp as he was, I’m not going to be dissuaded from my view that he hasn’t been mentally there for us this season.
We looked better with Bendy and 10 than with Ade and 11.
If Wenger – and I am one of his biggest supporters – picks Eboue to start the next time he is available, then he will lose some respect from me.
And yes, the Spuds really are shite.
One last comment, North London derbys are great for neutrals aren’t they ? Less incident in the recent 3 merseyside derbys added up than in one half of that game.
LIONSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!
WHAT A DISPLAY?!!!! With 10 men in an away game (and a good goal not given), we defended like lions and had a couple of good chances on the other end.
ARSENALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!
11 on 11, I say a win and we may have gotten a chance to see Arshavin.
Non Edible Nacho:
I disagree he loses the ball too often, and has an awful ball in the final third. With theo out, we don’t have much options. And with Arshavin’s arrival, and the return of the injured players, he’d be third in the picking order behind Theo and Arshavin.
I ztill think we are in the title race and that we played with a big heart today. We zhowed alot of zpirit.
I didnt zee the incident with Manu, but Im being told that he was ztretching the leg to catch ze ball and not that little birdly fella from Crotzia. He was going for ze ball.
It is unfortunate that we will be without Manu because of ze suspension.
Some of you lot need to think a bit harder about what you are saying.
Eboue was the best player on the pitch prior to his sending off. He had a legitimate goal disallowed and, not being the sharpest tool in the shed, held a gudge against the referee. Yes, he was daft but it was still a very soft sending off. Remember that Chelsea full back whose name escapes me? And Rooney? he would be off every game if he was treated the same way as Eboue was today.
Thia game was made for ‘Arry. No tactics to worry about, a player with a point to prove, then a disallowed goal, our big striker off and a sending off. They never looked like winning in the second half and we could still have pinched it.
Bloody heroes the lot of them. You, Arsenal fans, will watch Arsenal again next week. What have those poor, sad tw*ts at Wet Fart Lane got to look forward to?
I would be crazy if I defend Eboue from now on, at some point you have to run out of excuses for him.
Modric conned him into getting sent off, even the referee conned him into the first booking. How stupid can you be?
I have to say, the worst of the worst youngster we have would be better than Eboue. At least they may not get sent off so stupidly.
As much as I wanted him to succeed when he signed on a few years ago, I hope he will be off loaded in the summer and I wish him all the best of luck.
===
Apart from that, and under these kind of circumstance, I think we would’ve won if we were 11, and I think we definitely would’ve won even with 10 men if we had one of our better players.
A point is better than losing to the scums, not so great for the table standing but at least we didn’t lose or concede and we can continue the run.
Off to get some sleep.
gudge = grudge.
Well its over for us..7 points off aston villa and 5 off chelsea…13 matches to go out of which 3 agst big 4..
lets get ready for life in uefa cup..nothing catastrophic though…bayern and milan have been there in last few seasons..but never expected us to not qualify under wenger leadership..
am sure lot of ppl here will come back with positivity..saying we have lot of time to go blah blah..all said and done we are underdog for 4th position
with chelsea we might have more of chance than villa..cause we can win game agst them and reduce the gap to 2..but then i wud still give them healthy advantage over us..
Ade’s injury could be a blessing given his current form or lack thereof. I hope Eduardo is ready.
I think, G4E, that you, Paul N and Matty might see things a bit differently in the morning.
Eboue’s goal should have stood, and it would have prevented his subsequent lunacy if it had done.
Sheesh!
Bob, he did play well but he trampled his own crop, makaing how well he “was” playing irrelevant.
I doubt it Bob.
I think Eboue is good but he should have known to keep his butt quiet for the rest of the match.
Agree with Cb about ‘ Mad Manu’ – he could have just been told to calm down. And he scored!
But he is too desperate at times – and how do you deal with that ? Keep playing him, or drop him and lose his confidence ?
Anyway, a fine display from the 10 – and played like a team – not a bunch of individuals.
The boyz, played great, that I will not take from them.
We’ll do it. That game tells us a lot about the fight we have in this team. Defensively we’re looking sound. Our attacking play will definitely improve from next weekend onwards.
Eduardo’s playing for Croatia this week, Arshavin gets a week of training before the replay next weekend and we have winnable league fixtures all the way through to mid-April.
Such a shame we couldn’t keep 11 players on the pitch, we would have won that game easily. But taking the positives out of the game, not losing is important in terms of maintaining momentum and building the character of this young team. So well done 10 vs 11. We’ve improved defensively and once our creative players are back we will improve offensively too.
i’m sorry consolbob, he is indefensible now. his rap sheet is a mile long. he was having a decent game, but he got a red mist and we could all see what was going to happen. it was like watching a car crash in slow motion.
i am not exaggerating, i think he has a mental problem.
he is not a professional.
I more or less agree with Consolsbob and Ponyboy. A lot of people are too prim when it comes to the misdemeanours of football players. I don’t think the sum of Eboue’s offenses warranted a red card. He seems to get too stressed. His nerves are wound up to a high tension, and this makes him a bit crazy at times. Perhaps some of you hippies could take him with you to India in the summer. Some yoga might benefit him.
Big Al,
Our winnable fixtures give us most misery..
Our boys did the best they could..We had a goal disallowed and a player sent off harshly. we did the best we could…
By end of march..we will be above Villa and Chelsea…Just wait and watch.
Gackt13.What were you expecting. We played with 10 men and our backs to the wall for the last 2 thirds of the game and really I think the team held their own and nearly stole the win. Denilson and Song really worked their socks off to even get the ball against Spurs midfield. And special mention to Almunia an the back for for keeping a clean sheet. As for Eboue that was he best thing to happen to him.He is was brilliant and an idiot in equal measure. A 3 game suspension will give him food for thought. With 11 players I think the result could have been even better. Well done the Gooners all the same. 45 more points to play for. So not over yet.
How could you and why would you Paul?
I am not Eboue’s biggest fan but the boy really took it to the spuds today. It’s pointless expecting him to become any brighter than he is. In that he is no different than many, many footballers.
Why should he think he would get sent off for two acts of stupidity when we see acts of malice and anger committed every week in the prem., often by the same players, and they get away with it?
The FA are pathetic.
Arsenal fans who are using this episode to tip ordure on his head and suggest that he will be booed at the NHOF because of giving his heart for this club are sad.
Every mention of professionalism on here is a heap of sh*t. Do professionals not have mental problems? Eboue just plays football for a living. That’s all his or any other player’s professionalism amounts to.
Cbob,
I wish I can come here a year from now and apologize to Eboue for my comment, and losing faith in him. I doubt it.
Remember Mad Jens? He was a great goal keeper, but his shenanigans made the whole team nervous and lost us some points in the process. I remember his last minute neck jerk on Keane which cost us a penalty and two points.
I think Eboue is doing the same. What good can come of this if you can’t control yourself, and put the benefit of the team first?
Not so, adc.
Perhaps that was true earlier in the season, but we haven’t lost in 11 now. With the extra creativity of Arshavin and the movement of Eduardo, we’ll be able to take care of those matches. Then we have Theo and Cesc back in a matter of weeks to help us when the big games come.
I’m still very confident. Perhaps more so after today, which was a derby – and they’ve always been tight.
We finish top 4. OR we don’t finish top 4 but win CL…Anything could happen..keep the faith gooners. Just be proud of our players. And..Just imagine how shit Spurs are in.
Think about what he actually did G4E.
Argued with the ref, although the TV really didn’t show it, but there was no real anger or bad language that I could see. How many players do that every match?
Then he flicked a leg at Modric after he had barged him in the back. Yes, both technically bookable offenses. How many times would the same player get booked for both these offences in one match?
I’ll say it again, Rooney would never finish a match.
If that had been Robin, and it could have been, would you still say the same things?
I dont understand….eboue seem to really lost his mental stability..he has reacted in weird ways during last 10 or so games..psycologically he hasnt been up there after he was booed at emirates…but he never rectified his attitude…he thought the best way to come back is to show criticism doesnt bother him..which inturn leads to more disaster..
he alone was chatting so much today more than combined of 21 players..also, referee didnt give him staright second yellow..only after he persisted with his hugs of modric did referee lose his patience…i dont thk referee noticed that he kicked him…though it was soft dismissal…which cud never happen to manu player
what frustrates me is..y didnt wenger talk to him regarding his attitude during last few months..
Consolbob, If the players know that the referees come down hard on us, Eboue shouldv’t shut the **** up. I agree with Matty, it was really like seeing a car crash in slow motion. After the first yellow, I knew he’d mess up. He should have been more more careful, but he was acting like a clown. You saw his kick at Modric? Any referee would give a yellow for that, according to the rule books.
And agree with G4E, really difficult to defend him anymore. We’ve seen great players with talents, but if he is not there mentally than there is no point having him around. I’d keep him as cover for Sagna. We lost 3 points, because of his immaturity. He should have beenn smart enough to realize how short we are in the RM, and how important he is to the team at the moment.
Thats what u get with cheap foreign imports. U get a player with crap as brains. We are going on a run now. Top 4 beckons. Palacios motm. Keano- legend.
Consolbob,
Eboue is not Rooney, and none of our players would ever get any carrot from the refs. Keeping this in mind, they should act accordingly. No point whining, that Rooney wouldn’t have been given a red. There is little room that FA allows us, I agree that they are bias and have always been. But knowing that they are biased, why did Eboue give them any chance to get booked?
I’m sure Wenger has talked to Eboue about his attitude, but one cannot just go to a supermarket and buy a new psyche.
was keane playing today? oh yes he missed a sitter
poliziano
i doubt wenger spoke to him..cause he just keeps doing same stuff every game…and if wenger must have seen his non inclination towards improvement..he shud have dropped him to teach him a lesson..
either wenger didnt talk to him or wenger was helpless to play him..inspite of however bad he was…both scenarios are not good for mgr
Crossing and injuries are our bane this season. We don’t prevent crosses well in defence and we dont cross well in attack. Especially Clichy, Sagna and Nasri.
I agree Eboue was hot-heated and irresponsible in getting 2 bookings like that, but Matty, let’s keep the criticism in perspective. RVP was sent off for recklessly pushing over Sorenson, which resulted in a 3 match ban. I don’t recall him being ripped to pieces in the same fashion.
Try putting yourself in Eboue’s shoes – he has been ruthlessly hounded by some sections of the fanbase all season. He scores a perfectly good goal against our local rivals, which could have gone a long way to winning some of them over, but the goal is disallowed for no good reason. Are you telling me there is no chance that such a scenario could have led to a momentary lapse of judgement, especially given how pumped up he was for this game? I even remember Gilberto who was coolness personified lost his rag and got himself sent off against Blackburn for a petulant kick out at Robbie Savage. So it can happen to anyone. And just to remind you that our new player can sometimes be taken over by the red mist too.
Oh, this is too much from the media. The BBC’s match report doesn’t even MENTION our wrongly disallowed goal, only acknowledging that Eboue was “an early threat”.
Ateeb
You saw his kick at Modric? Any referee would give a yellow for that, according to the rule books.
i dont think referee booked him for kicking..i dont thk he even noticed it…he first booked modric…and after eboue continued with his antiques like consoling modric..constantly chatting..hugging..did referee book him…referee wud have been happy to know later that he kicked him..else he wud have got some bashing from wenger
adc,
Are you human? You seem to have no knowledge of what it is to be human.
Does anyone really think that Eboue’s transgressions today came after cool reflection? Did he think kicking Modric was playing the percentages?
We had 10 heroes on the pitch today and one THICK C**T. Eboue is as thick as shit.If you get booked you are walking a tightrope so you keep away from troube.
And Wenger comes out and says “HE DIDNT SEE IT” even though the incident happened 10 yards away from him
Another 2 pts dropped another game with out a goal there is a patent forming.We are relying too much on RVP scoring
Agree was just trying to put things in perspective that, even though the referee missed the blatant foul, and Eboue got lucky, he should have moved on rather than acting like a clown. No excuses for his red card to be honest.
Eboue deserved the red card. The first yellow was harsh, and unmerited since he only uttered one word to get booked.
But he knew he was on a yellow and should never have kicked out.
Good sense as usual from Passenal.
As for whining about Rooney, Ateeb. Don’t think I did. Just pointed out that worse behaviour than Eboue’s goes unpunished very week.
My point is that, seeing this, week in, week out, why would Eboue imagine that he would get sent off for a little petulance?
Haven’t heard much from you adc for a while now. Haven’t heard much today either.
I see now!
I didn’t know that it was a bookable offence to hug a spud. Now I know that, of course, Eboue should have been sent off.
Pillock.
Colsolbob,
“My point is that, seeing this, week in, week out, why would Eboue imagine that he would get sent off for a little petulance?”
I have no answer to that question. If you’re on a yellow, you better be at your best behavior. And Eboue clearly wasn’t.
lol. Consolbob, it seemed he was mocking rather than hugging.
Poliziano, that is the problem with many fans, they somehow think that because these young men play football and get paid lots of money, they are no longer human beings and therefore should never make any mistakes.
The Eboue goal was disallowed because Adebayor fouled Woodgate and Arsenal legend Alan Smith said it was the right decision.
Why didnt Wenger gamble in the last 15mins as the Spuds were there for the taking and a draw was not good enough for us.What was the point in having AA and Eduardo on the bench
7pts behind Villa
I don’t think it is too much for us to ask that our players have a “professional” outlook – which includes not kicking opposing players – when you are on a yellow or not.
Anyone here who thinks it’s OK to kick out at someone is wrong. It’s not an opnion, we are all allowed opinions, but kicking opponents is wrong – fact.
RVP got a lot of sh1t about his midemeanour at Stoke – it was immature and stupid. But he is not a serial offender. And he has made up for it since he came back from his ban in spades, he has been superb.
This is generally a less one-eyed blog than most other places – rational people with reasoned opinions, and it’s not unusual that my view can change when I read different opinions to my own initial ones.
But anyone trying to say that Eboue was not a deserved recipient of two yellows today needs to think about what they are saying.
Any Rooney comparisons are a red herring.
Eboue cost us 2 points today, and could have cost us 3.
For me today was the straw that broke this particular camels back – and I think the vast majority of proper Arsenal supporters feel the same way now.
I’m not suggesting a barrage of abuse when he plays at The Emirates, but there will be some groans, no doubt about that.
Disgrace.
Aneta, what exactly do you expect Wenger to say? The media are just waiting for a chance to leap on us, so I agree with him. Don’t give them the ammunition.
Well said Matty.
Matty,
Eboue didnt deserve two yellows today.He deserved a straight red for the petulant kick though.
hi , can anyone tell me how toure/gallas played?
Their partnershhip has kept two clean sheets in the last two games just wanted to know if that was down to good defensive display or toothless opposition attack…
Another 0-0 another 2pts dropped.We are now 5pts adrift of 4th place and on current form we wont get in the top 4.And when all our players our fit it may be too late
How can Wenger honestly said he didnt see the Eboue sending off?We all saw it Arsene and he desserved it.
I think there are more people on this site than I would hope who are delighted to have another pop at Eboue. Carry on, play the media’s game.
No one is saying that they were not both bookable offences, unless as some clowns are suggesting, he was booked for touching up Modric.
Most referees, most times would not book most players twice in those circumstances. Eboue was unlucky.
As for you, WANKER, make your own mind up. Don’t listen for truth or wisdom from a SKY commentator.
I agree with Consolbob, Eboue was playing tremendously before he got sent off. He looked really good but does he seriously expect not to get sent off for kicking out at an opponent? Especially when he’s already on a yellow? Does he not understand how the game is called? One moment of lunacy turned the game into hoping for a draw. He is paid enough to know better, as is Van Persie and anyone else. Yes, even Rory DeLap. You are a professional footballer and this is a derby for god’s sake. Keep your head in the game! We need the points! Eboue’s selfish act cost the team big. He is maddening sometimes!
2 points dropped today, again. I’m getting tired of seeing this. Time is starting to get short.
Kicking the opposition is against the rules of football. Nobody doubts that. Nor does anybody doubt that Eboue kicked Modric.
The talk of professionalism, as I said before, is a heap of sh*t. Fact. Nothing is more common in football than for one player to kick another. It’s best to do it, though, in a more subtle way.
Passenal
I expect Wenger to tell the truth and not look stupid by saying he didnt see it.I want him to come out and critcise Eboue for letting his teamates down by his stupidity.What Eboue did today cannot be defended
Atrocious display by Song, Denilson, Toure and Gallas. With a center backbone consisting of the above mentioned we don’t stand a chance to make the top 4.
Well im not hanging eboue out to dry. He is not the first and wont be the last player to get sent off for kicking, anyone who has played the game competetivly knows in the heat of the moment one can lose their head. im just glad he was playing well because i know he is a good player.
consolsbob
Why are you defending Eboue?His behaviour was disgraceful today.This was a game we had to win yet we had to play the last hour with 10 men.His actions were like a naughty school boy.I donnt want to see him ever pull on an Arsenal shirt ever again
aneta, you must be dreaming if you think that is really going to happen and how on earth does that help anything? If you ask me, the one mistake Arsene made was after the CL final when he said he would talk to Eboue about how he ‘won’ that free kick that nearly won us the game. Ever since then it has been open season on Eboue by his own fans as well as the media. If we had won that game through Eboue taking a tumble no Arsenal fan would have complained, but suddenly he was a pariah and everything he did was under the microscope. Arsene is too smart to give the media what they want. He will talk to Eboue in private the way a good boss should. He does not need to ream players out in public for the benefit of people like you who want to see blood. Did you expect the same when it was RVP earlier in the season? And don’t tell me yes, because I will tell you, you are a liar.
If you expect Wenger to criticise his own players, Aneta, then you haven’t been watching for the last 12 years. It is not his job to give the media cheap shots at our club.
Good Grief. A player sent off, two players off injured, a disallowed goal, a point away in a local derby and still people complain.
Worse, a scapegoat has to be found on which to vent their ‘outrage’. Step forward Eboue and, why, hiding behind him that foolish looking figure must be none other than Arsene Wenger.
Give us a break.
pls can any one tell me how toure/gallas played i didnt see the match
Whine, whine, moan, moan….
I will defend any Arsenal player who I see playing his heart out. That is my role as an Arsenal supporter.
I will point out inconsistent officials and inconsitent punishment. That is my role as a football supporter.
I will argue with those who I think are wrong because I am an argumentative s*d.
I think the defence played well. They more or less prevented Spurs from getting any chances, except when they were caught on the break at the end.
The one positive thing that could have come out of this game was the overdue end of Eboue’s Arsenal career.
This won’t happen though as is too busy trying to prove that he can turn shite into gold with Eboue. There is no way that AW does not see what many saw years ago so the only conclusion is that he ignores it.
Eboue is utterly brainless in so many ways. He cannot make footballing decisions, keeps on at the referee even when he wasn’t going to book him or Sagna and then takes out Modric with the least subtle kick imaginable.
My only gripe is that he didn’t get sent off for a straight red as this would have spared us yet more embarrassment for 3 games instead of the 1 for 2 yellows.
As Matty said, at least we won’t have to suffer Adepaymemoreandmore in the near future. I think Ade was glad he got injured so that he could get his 80k a week without the inconvenience of having to train and pretend to give a f*** when he is on the pitch. I am certainly looking forward to some games without his lazy, disinterested, smug mug on the pitch.
Apparently RvP wants parity with Ade. Is that a joke? If Arsenal were stupid enough to pay Ade 80k a week then RvP is worth what Citeh offered Kaka.
Totally agree consolsbob – I’ll leave it to the media and opposition fans to slate our players. I have no problem admitting when they are in the wrong, but I won’t go over the top in pulling them to pieces. It is also not one rule for the players I like best and another for the rest.
positives =
1.songs brilliant performance
2.eboues suspension allowing arshavin to definately play
3.kolo and gallas performance together
4.gibbs debut …he looked solid
5.arshavins first preimer leauge experience
6.eduardos return
negatives =
1.adebayors injury
2.glichys injury
in the end it felt like a victory and i am confident we can kick on from here !
I was going to suggest earlier that some fans would be pleased to see Adebayor injured; but I changed my mind when I imagined how angry they would get.
I still have a lot to learn about football fans.
I FUKIN HATE MAN UTD
where the hell is frank
You are just a miserable b*stard AIC.
No Arsenal fan would wish a sending off on one of our players.
No Arsenal fan would wish an injury on one of our players.
No football fan would criticise Wenger so crassly.
What does that make you AIC?
I disagree with your number 2 positive Arslan, as I would rather have all our players available. Arshavin will play, but he might not be ready for 90 minutes yet, so not having Eboue as a sub for the right midfield role could hurt us, although fortunately it’s for one game only.
Consols,
It makes me someone who can see that rubbish like Eboue is part of why we are languishing in the table, or hadn’t you noticed?
Wenger is in danger of jepoardising what he has built here.
How many times before Eboue is dropped? Sometimes the decision needs to happen in an indirect way. I honestly believe that now Ade and Eboue are unavailable we will improve. Why can you not see how sh1t they have been and how having effectively 9 men in many games is costing us.
On a brighter I though Almunia was excellent today and by far our best player.
Well done Manuel you were great today.
Franks probably outside the hotspurs arms singin some arsenal songs.
That Carlton Cole looks a good player. And can someone fukin score against them manc cu*ts
Consols,
So why does AW persist with Eboue?
Dear Mr Wenger
A 35 year old scored for the league leaders today.Yes while you were picking that thick idiot Eboue a player who is older than Robert Pires a player you let go at 32 was scoring for the champions elect.Fergie knows Wenger you dont
RVP
Please don’t mention Pires being let go for nothing again.
The worst decision of Wenger’s managerial career.
Why don’t you email him and ask him AIC?
I imagine AIC that he thought that he was the best option available to him given the state of our injury list. He might also see something valuable in him.
He runs hard, is direct and brings something different to a team struggling to make many chances at the moment.
He probably thought that a strong player with defensive instincts would give more freedom to allow us to play two upfront. Later, if things had gone according to plan then he might have given Arshavin a run.
Things didn’t go to plan. Ade’s injury badly affected the balance of the side. No one to lead the line you see. That is not Bendtner’s game nor RVP’s.
Mind you, I know absolutely nothing about football.
Unlike you, Fergie and RVP is God apparently.
AIC:
Do you really think that if Rosicky, or Theo had been fit, Wenger would have continued with Eboue? How difficult is it for you to understand that Eboue is an important squad player?
Consols,
I agree that RvP and Bendtner don’t lead the line but this season, nor does Ade. That’s always been a problem since Eduardo got injured – Ade as the only centre forward. Last year he revelled in it and had a great season. This year he doesn’t give a f***. I am not glad that he is injured, just glad that he won’t be playing.
Eboue is only in the squad due to a lack of available quality in midfield. He is and will never be good enough. His running on the ball is good but his crossing and especially shooting are not. Having said that, I thought he was unlucky with his “goal” today.
I think that committing a foul that cost the team a goal is Ade’s biggest contribution to a game in a while.
Ateeb,
He is not just a squad player he’s virtually a first teamer and we wonder why we are struggling to finish in the top 4.
If he played a few games a season it wouldn’t be too bad but he plays too much, like last year.
I don’t want to slag off our players but Eboue seems damned and I can’t help wondering what he actually brings to the team. Can anyone really claim that he is an effective member of the team?
I’ve tried to be patient with him, I’ve appreciated the improvements he has made this year, but he is truly not first team material. I don’t think we should sell him, he is a decent man and he will play any role without complaining, which makes him an asset. Thank God (not his son ) that our top players are coming back.
I never want to see him as first choice again (without a visit to Paul McKenna). With AA, TR or TW available we would not be in this situation and he would not have to suffer these indignities, which I also believe are due to mental not technical deficiencies.
I’m thankful, however, for the clean sheet and good defensive performance which gives us a platform for the return of more creative players.
A defeat would have been catastrophic.
I don’t think he did commit a foul AIC. I think the ref wrongly blew for a push by Eboue.
Defensively it was a good performance. We didn’t create a huge amount but we looked more solid than we have done in a while.
gallas man of the match in my opinion,eboue lost us 2 pts because he is thick
consols,
I thought that the ref signalled a push but saw nothing on the replay so I then assumed that Ad fouled Woodgate.
Either way I thought it was the wrong decision.
Ateeb,
They know. They just act dumb.
AIC,
Ade didn’t foul anyone. It wasn’t a foul.
There were some positives from today but, with the midfield we had today someoe needs to tell Wenger that we aren’t good enough. What is Pat Rice’s job?
Well the dooom & gloom begins..But I’m quite positive. It’s going to be miminum 3rd place at end of march..above chelsea and Villa…we have easier set of games, and I think we will do well..Our defense looks good..Almunia got a grip…with top players to return..it’s the way up..Or you guys might whine and rave for all I care…
As gooners you should know know….we are hip…we are cool…we are Arsenal and we rule…lalalalaaaaah…lalalaaaah….lalaaaah..
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
I agree with Gary McAllister….Arsenal were superb in the second half…..very few teams with 10 men for most of the game at WHL would not only have prevented the Spuds from scoring…but went for the throat at the same time and very nearly pulled it off…..thats what Arsenal did…unlucky lads…..they had to use all of their subs…we didn’t…Alex Song was magnificent in the second half…so was Denilson…covered so much ground…engines you see…big engines….RvP was defending, playing creative midfield and attacking all at the same time…team player you see…..Nic rose to the challenge….defense were co-hesive….Almunia was calm….serene…he was loving it….Nasri started to understand the importance of the battle….a little more toughness to accompany his elegance…Kieran is going to be a big, big star one day……looking forward to the next seven league games…it will all look very different after that….
Oh and I bumped into some Spuds on Seven Sisters Road on the way back….had a quiet word with them about jeering a blood soaked Gael Clichy as he walked off the pitch…well I was quiet anyway….felt sorry for them really…only 14 of them….
Song took great responsibility in second half…The kid will improve…Not many fans appreciate his resolve and comeback after the disgraceful booing he recieved in the fulham game..SHAMEFUL fans…Lion hearted…No wonder he plays for the Lions Indomptables..
Allez Song.
Nous chantons une chanson pour vous
Pour votre…parce que voussssss
vous-êtes alex song..vous-êtes le lion indomptable Allez Song..
Jamie and what is the point of Pat Rice telling him that, when we all know that the midfield was a makeshift one due to injuries and suspensions? They did the best they could under the circumstances and should be given credit for that rather than continuously focussing on the negative.
AIC
thank you for sharing with us your expansive knowlege of football and football management.
It is a such a great loss for the football world that you are currently in the wrong job.
AW must have felt that he didn’t have a choice but to play Eboue at RM yet again, but before sending out 11 players, some of them were only there because of lack of options resulting from lengthy injuries to so many first-teamers, he should have consulted you and borrowed your wisdom.
On behalf of AW I’d like to say sorry to you to have disappointed you yet again.
““For the first yellow card I did not say anything bad.
“I was in front of the ball and I was talking with Almunia [following a foul]. After that I said [to the referee] you have to whistle before and he said OK. I came back to take my place and then he called me and gave me a yellow card. I don’t really understand why.”
——————
He’s african.. He is a young kid..He is just 25…He is not petulant..And he is trying to win over the shameful fans who want to boo him gleefully..idiots..
I’m angry as hell that he is vilified yet again…You c*nts will w**k over gerrard, terry or fat shrek do it…English sp*r*t..know what? F*****g bullshit!
The refs and English FA – epitome of double standards…Fuck the whole lot of them…
Tough,
We shouldn’t have to resort to rubbish like Eboue, no matter how many injuries we have.
““For the first yellow card I did not say anything bad.
“I was in front of the ball and I was talking with Almunia [following a foul]. After that I said [to the referee] you have to whistle before and he said OK. I came back to take my place and then he called me and gave me a yellow card. I don’t really understand why.”
——————
He’s african.. He is a young kid..He is just 25…He is not petulant like Manchester united players..No where close..He isn’t a whinny c**T like Crisitano gayboy..He dives, YES..But he is not spiteful..And he is trying to win over the shameful fans who want to boo him gleefully..idiots..
I’m angry as hell that he is vilified yet again…You c*nts will w**k over gerrard, terry or fat shrek do it…English sp*r*t..know what? F*****g bullshit!
The refs and English FA – epitome of double standards…F*ck the whole lot of them…
Ha, ha TC – you are so wise!
Passenal
Because Gallas has tried, and Song (decent) Denilson (not good enough) and Eboue (deecnt right back) are not up to scratch. Fabregas, Rosicky and Nasri are good enough but we need a commanding central midfielder. We all know it but Arsene goes and buys a similar player in Arshavin. Why?
I’ve just been grating horseradish and that caused me less pain than some of the absolute boll*cks that I’ve had to read on here tonight.
The spuds certainly showed their class while Clichy was pouring blood from his head. The thought occurred while watching that, did I have contempt for them before I ever saw the spuds or did that come through watching them.? Chicken and egg syndrome.
Poured myself a pint of cider from the barrel. Feeling better.
““For the first yellow card I did not say anything bad.
“I was in front of the ball and I was talking with Almunia [following a foul]. After that I said [to the referee] you have to whistle before and he said OK. I came back to take my place and then he called me and gave me a yellow card. I don’t really understand why.”
——————
He’s african.. He is a young kid..He is just 25…He is not petulant..And he is trying to win over the shameful fans who want to boo him gleefully..id*ots..
I’m angry as hell that he is vilified yet again…You c*nts will w**k over gerrard, terry or fat shrek do it…English sp*r*t..know what? F*****g bullsh*t!
The refs and English FA – epitome of double standards…F**k the whole lot of them…
Will it pass through now? I’m f-ing pissed about posts going through moderation..GEt it sorted, YW..
I’ve had it with rational argument.
P*ss off Jamie.
“Redknapp slams Wenger’s assessment”
—————–
Up yours, Media, press and ‘Arry f*ck-face..
Last time they did it with Martin O’w*nker and Tony P*nkass…
Couldn’t he comprehend the fact that we had a CLEAR goal DISALLOWED?
The whole world is Blinkered….
“Adebayor injury blow hits Arsenal”
———-
I read this a bit differently.
“Ade’s injury makes way for Eduardo return”
Pat Rice = yes-man, surely you know that Jamie?
AW on Eboue’s red card…
“I believe that the first yellow card was very harsh. You have players who make 15 fouls in the game but don’t get a yellow card. What he did was clumsy but the first yellow card was very hard. The second one, I haven’t seen. They have told me that he has retaliated, if he has retaliated then he deserves a yellow and a red card. It doesn’t matter who saw it. If someone saw it for real then he deserves to be sent off.
We deal with our problems internally. The newspapers never help us to sort out problems out. If he has retaliated today then we’ll see. I want to first see it before I assess the situation. It was impossible to see what happened because the ball had gone.”
crafty bison that is an insult to Pat Rice and completely out of order. If anything you are Jamie’s yes man.
TC
Both Ramsey and Wilshire are both better options than Eboue.The guy is shit
The Greedybayor injury means Eduardo can play upfront with God.
Almunia played well today but Gallas was man of the match
Naaaah…Alex Song was joint man of the match with RvP……
Why do you keep spouting press headlines, ffs…?
…sorry…ffs, Fbf
God had an off-day today. As Woody allen said, “If it turns out that there is a God, I don’t think that he’s evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever.” Proved yet again. The world is a cruel place. Random and absurd.
(RVP is God. But not the god I refer here. He had an off-day today offensively, although he was involved in a couple of good moves. He will be BACK though. For real. Not some creationist bullsh*t).
…oh f*** off, FbF…he most certainly did not have an off day…..did you watch the game…?
“Why do you keep spouting press headlines, ffs…”
—————-
As you say sir.. I say no more…Or spout no more..
Oh,
AW is one lucky man – now there is another one who knows better about the quality and readiness of the player than him who spends everyday on the training ground with the players. All AW needs to do is contact you and get the answer. Ramsey had a blinder against Cardiff, so he must have been a better option than Eboue, since spuds are poorer than Cardiff and the atmosphere at the sh*te hart lane is so amiable.
he most certainly did not have an off day…..did you watch the game…?
——–
As a matter of fact, I did. I’m not suggesting he didn’t play for the team. He did.
FbF,
RVP was absolutely amazing today, playing with his heart and soul. He was everywhere, defending, in the middle of the park, upfront trying to create for Bendtner. We just had Bendtner and RVP upfront, and managed a good shot on goal from bendtner. RVP is without question the best forward playing in the PL right now. Off day? Who created for him? He was trying his best, and he did a brilliant job today. We wouldn’t have come off with a point with a complete team performance.
“RVP is without question the best forward playing in the PL right now. Off day? Who created for him? He was trying his best, and he did a brilliant job today. We wouldn’t have come off with a point with a complete team performance.”
I said RVP had an off-day “offensively”. In the sense, he worked for the team. But a couple of times, he didn’t use the ball well. Considering he is a stunning player, you expect great things. But I’m a realist. We had 10 men today, and he had to fight hard for the team defensively..
Last 4 games 3 0-0″s.We are so reliant on RVP to produce a piece of match winning magic.And he doesnt do it we have nothing else.The midfield creates nothing
Last week and today were both must win games yet we picked up just 2pts.Would it really have done any harm to bring AA one for the last 15mins
As for Eboue i have always said he should never ever play for our club.The guy is a brainless idiot.
Wonder if Wenger still thinks we can win the league!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t know why the club bother paying AW so much money when there are dozens of armchair managers out there who could do a better job for a lot less. That would really helps us to pay off the stadium debt quicker! Not to mention all the useless players they would sell and the unbalanced teams full of their favourite players that they would put out.
FBF, it would have been difficult for RVP to be at his most effective up front with only 10 men – he had to help out in midfield and contribute defensively to keep the clean sheet. I don’t think it’s fair to criticize individual’s when the whole team stepped up and kept us in the game. He also gave the pass for that good chance for Nik at the end as well.
“Wonder if Wenger still thinks we can win the league”
—————-
Why do you care? If he says we will win the league, you’re going to patronize him… FFS…
“I don’t know why the club bother paying AW so much money when there are dozens of armchair managers out there who could do a better job for a lot less. That would really helps us to pay off the stadium debt quicker! Not to mention all the useless players they would sell and the unbalanced teams full of their favourite players that they would put out.”
———
LOL.
Btw I realize it’s a bit too much to expect RVP to wreck the opposition all by himself. You are right.
I don’t know why we bother to pay Eboue any money when there are plenty of other players playing in the Sunday league that would do a better job for far less.
Barca are playing like our Invincible side. Good counter attack by Henry and a goal for Eto’o. then he would add another one to make it 2-0.
Frank,
How can you talk to your biggest fan like that.
Wow,
Everyone’s an expert after the event eh, well some of you never change! The team picked itself today, end of! No point going on about Eboue, he was stupid, simple, he also was the only viable option at right midfield today, so what do you do?
See some are taking dropped points as another chance to slag off Adebayor! What’s new?
Anyone else we can throw in here and blame too. So far we got Eboue, Adebayor and Wenger, we can surely get a few more in! What about Denilson and Song?
The result was not what we wanted and I am not so certain the red card cost us the points, as frankly we were not over threatening with ten men.
I would give credt to Spurs who lifted their game as is the norm for this Carling cup team and credit also to Alex Song!
That was a world class performance son, make no mistake, over run in midfield he was composed, perceptive and energetic. Well done!
If you only want to be negative, fine, what’s new! I saw a misfiring Arsenal side, who have settled their defensive frailties, only to see an awful injury list, afflicting key goal makers and one special goal taker cruelly blunt their attacking prowess.
I saw a Denilson, who grows with every game, combative and industrious coping admirably in midfield shorn of a player and experience.
Certain players have had to grow up without their illustrious colleagues for company, they have done!
I saw guts and tenacity aplenty, a growing likelihood that it would be the side with ten men who would grab the points.
When Fab, comes back, when Walcott’s pace is an option again, when Arshavin makes his entry, I see a very good side indeed. When a team is growing, we would all agree a solid foundation is the place to start, well the stable core is almost there! The frills will return, if Wenger guarantees one thing and he guarantees a few, it is that his sides can create!
The formula is almost complete, stop complaining and falling into the tabloid trap that is being set, to stop a great manager from building yet another great side, with less financial investment than ever!
If some of you morons drive him out, it will be absolutely unforgiveable!
Oh! Cruel Dukegoonem! It does not care if we are hurt. It does not care if Frank swears! Not like Frank. Frank cares. Frank knows. Yes, precious..
I think we are stuck in 5th position for the season. We still have to go to Anfield and Old Trafford. To catch Aston Villa, they need to lose 3 games more than us in the last 13. I can’t see that happening.
Don’t forget Everton are just a few points behind us and may catch us. If that happens, we may need to play the Intertoto Cup!
I can’t believe I just type these but these are true facts. Our standards have dropped so much since those Invincible Days.
The formula is almost complete, stop complaining and falling into the tabloid trap that is being set, to stop a great manager from building yet another great side, with less financial investment than ever!
If some of you morons drive him out, it will be absolutely unforgiveable!
———–
Succinctly put. Oh we need to drive out the morons. Yes we ought to…
Hear, hear Danny, very well said! The solid defensive foundation is there, the attacking flair is on it’s way back and the understudies have kept us from falling too far off the pace.
Why is everyone asusming that we have to topple Aston Villa?
As far as I see, Chelsea seem more vulnerable than Villa.
And not to forget, that Livpool’s squad is quite stretched at the moment. How long can Benetiz rely on Torres to come on and make a differece?
We will finish in the top 4. There’s no question. We have an excellent team, Arshavin coming in, Eduardo coming back… what’s there not to be excited about? We’ll win at Anfield.
Agree Ateeb!
Consols/ Passenal/ Polizi + the Usual Suspects – Like trying to hold back the tide..it was a great performance and Manu SCORED !!
Think how much that must have meant to him. Massive !! He’d have been cheered off the field if we’d got that goal (and won). And now he’s got to get all that stick again. Well, all those people who say he’s thick/stupid or not professional, blame yourselves for messing with his head.
Reminiscent of Beckham in 98 – now, can we all move on please, children ? Thankyou.
Sometimes I have to dip in for a deep gulp of positivity.
Song and Nasri joint men of the match
It was always going to be difficult for RVP to shine as brightly as he normally does with only 10 men.
Nice one Danny! Took me so long to write, you snuck in ahead and said it all.
It is true that Chelsea seem more vulnerable than Villa. But we are more vulnerable than Chelsea at the moment!
Ah forget the c**ts who have given up already on top 4 place. How is Villa guaranteed to finish above us with only 7 points left. I’m sorry that is a load of dump*beep*ery.. And yeah, Chelsea are on a low. I expect Liverpool to hand the title over to Utd by end of march…
“But we are more vulnerable than Chelsea at the moment!”
——–
Unbeaten in 11 games. Lots of draws – YES. But let’s wait till end of March, and see our position in the table..
Indeed the team has been hanging in there in extreme adversity.
Anyway,
it was great to see Gallas and Song putting in such great performances. Some section of fans and the media are going into overdrive in praising Palacios, but I don’t think he was any better than Song.
Just watched a re-run of the game (yes i’m sad). Without the stress of it being live, i came to the following conclusions :
1. It was wrong to disallow our goal. The ref certainly signalled a push – and there wasn’t one.
2. For his first yellow, the ref told Eboue to go away 3 times. A very cheap yellow, but he was almost on a mission to get in the way of the ref from the moment his “goal” was disallowed.
3. Palacios bossed the midfield in the first half. I wasn’t aware how physical he is, not having seen much of him before.
4. Song bossed the midfield in the second half. He really grew and put in a calm and measured, but increasingly pwerful, performance. Best I have seen him play.
5. Almunia was quality. He looks totally in control. Great save in first half with a parry away from the oncoming striker, great punching, kicking, and came out very well v Modric at the end.
6. Gallas and Toure are getting a lot of plaudits, but for me they still look an uneven pairing. Toure was pushed around more than you would hope, and Gallas lost his man twice when goals could have easily followed.
7. For 30 mins of the first half Clichy and Sagna were both all over the place. But they both got better, and Clichy probably ran more than any other player on the field. Both are low on confidence when it comes to crossing.
8. Bendy did well when he came on, but he really isn’t effective with his back to goal is he. In the absence of Ade through injury (even with a suspect attitude) we don’t really have a player up front to hold the ball up.
9. Denilson had a shocker. I thought he struggled when I saw it live, but have a look at a re-run – he is muscled off the ball on many occasions, misplaced passes more often than finding his team mate, and got the wrong side of his man multiple times as the game passed him by. But – his effort was 100pct, and he didn’t hide. One bad game, that’s all.
10. RVP – worked his nuts off.
http://www.daylife.com/photo/08d1fRre5i2XF/arsenal
“As Matty said, at least we won’t have to suffer Adepaymemoreandmore in the near future.”
Is this Gunnerblog’s comment’s section? I thought I had entered ACLF!
Toughcookie,
What a duo!!!
It’s a shame about our goal. Big hug for eboue. It’s been a tough season for him so far.
Now it’s a pleasure to read again.. for a while ACLF had turned into the other place..
*****
Frank : The jeering of Gael.. disgusting, but our fans would have done it to Keane.. the spuds only ever play well twice a season; it was a freak of a game, but there were heroes all over the pitch; Billy G (remember him ?) had a great game; Almunia – brilliant.. came for every cross that mattered.
AW – “I didn’t see it” : Some people forget how clever this man is, and how witty. And Gibbs! You almost forgot Gael wasn’t there.
Way more positives than the one minor negative of Mad Manu caring too much.
Love, Peace and Understanding, as Polizi says, kneeling by his bed each night.
The only fans I am interested in, Dukegoonem, are Arsenal fans…and the ones that interest me the most are the ones that drip negativity …just whinge and whine their way through the season…..this team will finish the season in the top two and with silverware…..we have 13 games left and the last 8 will be astonishing….the Premiership will see a side the like of which it has not seen in the Premiership in a long time….and the signs are all their to see…if you have eyes…..
their=there or maybe theirs
Great pic Tough Cookie.. and look who’s wearing the hat!
…the fact that Arsenal fans would do it to Keane is not the point, Ponyboy….Gael is an Arsenal player….
Matty,
Disagree on point 9, muscled off a couple of times but I think you’ll find he muscled in his fair share too.
Agree point 6 7 and 8.
Was a little disappointed with Clichy early doors, Lennon seems to have a little hold over him and he looked very vulnerable first 30 minutes, but for one cracking tackle on Modric, risky though it was, it may have started from his error mind.
Also Sagna, is not exactly brimming with confidence either, could on occassion have been more decisive to tackle. Both came on as the game went on as we wrestled control from them.
Agree Gallas and Toure are still not quite right, although second half they composed themselves better and looked much more like a partnership unintimidated by the situation!
That and the Eboue red card are the only negatives for me!
Song and Denilson, were amazing in grabbing back the midfield, less a man, second half! They were two of the most criticised but they simply refused to buckle, untill in the end, they were dictating terms against the odds!
Great performce lads!
They don’t have eyes Frank, just whiny little mouths!
And Arshavin looks quite emotional – maybe he’s thinking “I’m finally here!”.
http://www.daylife.com/photo/02xt4WhaF3dWl/arsenal
Playing with 10 men and keeping clean sheet would give a LOT of confidence to our team…
No he is impressed with the LOUDEST away fans in the world!!! YES!
As for waht Master says..”we have 13 games left and the last 8 will be astonishing….the Premiership will see a side the like of which it has not seen in the Premiership in a long time….and the signs are all their to see…if you have eyes…..”
http://edjop.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/obama_yes_we_can1.jpg
Fair point Frank.
Tough cookie – thanks again !
What a first game for Andrey to watch live!
And it’s Villa v Chelski next week.
Agree that we have as much chance of catching the russian shite as we do Villa.
Danny – I think they were all so fired up and trying too hard in the beginning, but once they settled down their superior quality enabled them to take control.
Passenal,
Totally agree. Another player we missed, when we wanted a grip early on…Diaby!
And by the way, morons!
Who is our widely considered best player??
Fabregas, that’s who!
Teams tend to miss their best players!
No games now till a week Monday.
By then Arshavin and Eduardo will be ready for some kind of action!
A run of home games, away from the limelight we could manuveure ourselves into contention for some silverware!
Imagine how today’s team would have torn Spurs apart with Fabregas Man-ing the engine room!
We will come good,
People have short memories, did not Pires, Henry, Bergkamp and Vieira manage to finish 20 odd points behind United?????
We have no divine right, but we do have a legend to guide us back to greatness!
Perspective Danny, that’s what so many lack!
Why did the ref disallowed our goal there was nothing wrong with it. Everything went against us today lost Ade and the idiot Eboue. Hopefully our fortunes will change soon. We need players back our midfield is deseperatly in need of some creativity.
@le gunner
I’m sure if eboue was wearing a villa shirt, the goal would’ve been given!
The lads dug deep today & with a little luck might have pinched it late on.
Song was immense but everyone got stuck in – a real team performance.
The exception to that needs some help in my opinion – Does Big Tone`s `Sporting Chance` assist with retarded footballers ?
Encouraging performance today. It was our early season form that was suspect, but today at least, we were able to defend when it counted. The last hour before dawn is the darkest, so we just have to hope that when our first choice midfield comes back, with Arshavin and Eduardo, that we can start to turn the draws into wins.
“We deal with our problems internally. The newspapers never help us to sort our problems out.” – Arsene Wenger
For those who want to know why Arsene does not criticize his players in public.
Isn’t Chelsea vs Villa next week in the cup?
Why does Song play better when we are down to 10 men? I think it was the Liverpool game where in the second half he was superb.
Villa v Chelski is the lunchtime KO in the EPL next Saturday.
So we can get to The Emirates early for a couple of pints and watch it on the telly there.
Will be interesting to see who the fans cheer for, unfortunately they can’t both lose.
Perhaps a draw is the best we can hope for, with Young pulling a hamstring, Agbonlahor tearing a calf, Drogba tripping over his bottom lip, and Lampard breaking his leg falling over his wallet.
Marc,
This is at the moment true, he seems to revel in the responsibility.
He was amazing as the game got tougher today!
ignore me i’m going all Eboue on myself.
Villa / Chelski is Saturday week.
next weekend is the cup as Marc correctly says, but Villa are away to Everton.
Matty – Cheers for the info. With regards to the result if you take the long term view it would be better for Villa to win. Chelsea are already having to tighten the purse strings with Abramovich not willing to subsidise the club as before, if Chelsea lose CL football it might push them over the edge.
Great post Danny, I just disagree that you say we wouldn’t have won with 11 players on the field. I think we would’ve won with 11 and the irony is that Eboue himself reached the goal line and scored, even if we say it was a 50-50 decision, we did score.
The scums were crap apart from the first 10 minutes when any home team will have the push of the home fans. We shut them up until the sending off and we were pushed on the back foot until the last 10 minutes of the game when we pushed on to try to steal the 3 points.
I think the team as a whole should be recommended for not breaking down, and standing up to be counted in difficult circumstances.
===
In my earlier comment after the game I said “the worst of the worst youngster would’ve been better than Eboue”
That’s just what I think, it’s not based on any facts or knowledge of management or the stats of those players. The reason I’m bringing this up is because I’m just sick of people who are blaming Wenger for playing Eboue, who else was he going to play?
Yes of course Wilshere and Ramsey are technically better than Eboue, but I’m %100 happy they didn’t play, because if they were selected and played bad, they will be slated by the media and the fans alike.
Thank God Wenger is there to protect us from some stupid armchair management, and some crazy thoughts.
===
Although I hate to see Ade stretched, it is just convenient isn’t it? Just in time for Eduardo & AA to play and time for Ade to have the rest he needs after last season.
Things will definitely get better, not that it was so bad, but because the good news is….most of our good players are not far off from the come back.
F*ck the Spuds, they still couldn’t beat us with 10 men, and with a young midfield. It must be so embarrassing and shameful to be a Spud.
G4E,
I’m not saying we definitely would not have won with eleven, believe we probably would have. Simply saying we had not created much! This is because of the personnel we have missing, as I said they are all goal makers or takers.
It is not easy with ten men, when you are missing some of your better technical players!
What irks is that some fans are only proud of the team when they win 4-0s and win silverware at a canter.
That is a shame, you should be able to be proud of effort, heart, defiance in the face of adversity and young players coping under the utmost pressure.
Song and Denilson, simply refused to wilt today, Gooners should be immensely proud of them.
The glory will come!
By the way, I also do not particularly enjoy a game against Spurs when they have the lionshare of possession, but under testing circumstances we came through a serious examination.
Well done to Spurs for giving us one, but I maintain with a couple of our injured technical players available or just Fabregas, we would have torn them apart, even down to ten men.
Danny –
Fair point. Even though they were crap, they gave it everything. How they must hate us!
MOTD 2 coming up.. another dose of amazing punditry in store.
Danny – Agree re: pride in the team. We have more quality missing in 4 players than the spud’s have possessed in the last ten years or so.
My first reaction to Ade injury was Christ not again but if reports are correct he should only be out 3 weeks or so. The cup game next week is winnable as are the following two league games. With Eduardo and Arshavin able to compete in some of / all of these games, Theo due back at the end of the month and Cesc making good progress we should start to have a few options as we go into March and April.
I can understand fans not showing pride in teams like Bolton and even the spud’s but we are Arsenal.
Right here’s whats going to happen:
Next 7 games = 21 points followed by a draw at Anfield.
By that time both Chelski and Veelah will have dropped points regularly and the Mancs will have beaten them both. Mancs will be out of sight but we will then be able to beat Boro and Pompey before beating the Chavs at home.
I won’t even mind if the Mancs win the title by getting a draw at home to us! We will then cement second place at home against Stoke following some stunning displays by Walcott, Fab, RvP, Eduardo and Arshavin et al.
Oh and I almost forget….once the league is over we will win both finals!!
Nanooka No No! – Can you give me next weeks lottery numbers as well?
This evening t lost a rare and precious lamp I got from my Great Gran and I am absolutely furious. I was listening to 606, and the fook*r Spoony was talking utter tosh about Wenger, having a go at Wenger for saying Eboue’s red card was justified, and for discovering Palacios. Having a go at Song despite the boy playing a great game.
I was so distracted I knocked the lamp over. Man, am I just angry!!
Ole Gunner – Jesus those arseholes have spent years criticising Wenger for not condemning players for getting sent off.
Consolbob
one day you wil realis two things.
1. we aren’t good enough
2. you are a c**t
Marc,
The guy just seemed deranged tonight. I normally don’t listen to the BBC. I was reading some reports. He just made some incredibly dim statements and my lamp suffered for it. Fook the Beeb.
The one that got me was criticising Wenger for discovering Palacios at a trial, and recognising how good he was and doing Steve Bruce a favour by recommending him. Somehow, in the minds of the neanderthals who call themseles football pundits, that’s somehow a strike against Wenger. What’s wrong with these people?
Ole Gunner – They’re morons. They do not notice that when we play teams managed by Steve Bruce we may get a difficult game, but it is a fair game. They unlike many others do not just try to kick us off the pitch.
They should pray for Wenger to spread the gospel not slag him off for doing it.
So, TA is fired, because Torres scores a late goal. Should have seen it, when the board gave him their (s)backing. Lot of wankers about.
Jamie – unnecessary and puerile. Cb is cool.
Jamie,
May I present you withyouthe official ACLF “C**t of the Day ” prize…
F**k Off to Le Grove you W****r
Jamie.. what sort of a name is that?
Marc, now that is a good name not a w****r name.
You will win this week with a Lucky Dip
Trust me, I know
Nanooka No No! – Are we still talking about a lottery ticket?
Oh Yes
Just make sure you let the W****r D&G merchants buy theirs first!
Jayyyyyyyyyymeeeeeee has no chance!
The people on this site are self righteous and pompous w**Kers. It’s like living in North Korea, disent from the party line is not allowed. Nobody will tell the Emperor he has no clothes on. I love Wenger,but he needs to accept some mistakes and rectify them before we can move on. Denilson is not the f***ing answer, he was shoved off the ball by Modric. Diaby and Song can’t play at a higher level consistently. 5 years in transiton and we’re not making much progress. Facts dear boy. Nanooka, you are a prize c**t, supporing a team doesn’tmean you have to deny the reality
Nanooka
I’m sorry, I’ve just realised you are right. We are moving forward. Gissa job!
“The people on this site are self righteous and pompous w**Kers.”
Are you not also on this site?
If we are such wa*kers on this blog why do you bother coming here Jamie?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7878084.stm
He didn’t whine about losing ihs best players. I’m sorry this is a load of sh*t to sack him..No one else going to come there and change them overnight. When Distin, James, Campbell and rest keep making these mistakes, how are they going to stay up? Big tone’s interview is quite positive. And I think Pompy will go down without him..
Jamie : you’re making yourself look like a twat. Holding an opposing opinion to your own does not automatically make that person a c***.
I’ve slept on it, and whilst I am feeling more positive about yesterdays performance (and result), I’m still fuming about Eboue. To err is human, as I think Consolbob has been saying, but to err consistently is unacceptable.
And on Tony Adams : he has come out of this well. He took a poisoned chalice. He got on with it. Pompey’s performances lately were not bad at all, he was undone by stipid individual mistakes.
He will be back, and better for it.
And the next month or so is HUGE, we have to make the most of the relatively easy fixture list coming up.
Eboue for captain. We can still challenge for the title, but only if Eboue plays every game
Is that funny, Arse 21 ?
Villas next few games…
Home – Away
21/02 v Chelsea (H)
01/03 v Stoke (H)
04/03 v Man. City (A)
15/03 v Tottenham (H)
22/03 v Liverpool (A)
Our next few games..
Home – Away
21/02 v Sunderland (H)
28/02 v Fulham (H)
03/03 v West Brom (A)
14/03 v Blackburn (H)
21/03 v Newcastle (A)
who said we are not finishing fourth again???
hmmmmm i though so..