Arsenal Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread 2013/14

Fuzzy_Dunlop

TheCoolWay wrote: »

Flamini sorely missed. Where was Sagna / covering Sagna's position for the second goal? Gambling endlessly for the winning goal can often get punished by a counter

I generally think people are overstating Flamini's influence a little but this is very true, Sagna was nowhere to be seen and Flamini is usually excellent for slotting in when other players are out of position.

jonneymendoza

As you all know. i went to the game last night and here is my thoughts.

The atmosphere was terrific, i think our stand where clearly the loudest trying to outsing the Dortmund fans where some where actually sitting quite close to me a few steps down on the left hand side.

I was sitting in the East stand near the middle right at the top and had a great view from there. The Dortmund fans where fantastic, they was lound, cheerful and created a very colourful atmosphere.

They did not just sing and play drums, they were waving their flags, arms, and clapping in-sync. Its hard to describe but when viewed far away it looks terrific.

At one time they was waving there flags in sync in a helicopter type animation and at times held there flags across and paused every 2 seconds to the song they was singing. Absolute joy watching them.

On to the match. We started sluggish and Dortmund took control of the game for the first 20mins. Sagna at this stage of the game was a liability. He was making far to many mistakes and the team could not even string 2 passes in a row together.

We finished off the 1st half stronger, getting our passing going but Dortmunds defence was world class. we could not break them.

There goal came from a silly mistake, i forgot who but we gave the ball way soo cheaply in our own half that lead to the goal and i think this is what woke up arsenal.

second half we piled lots of pressure searching for that second goal. We looked at over commited and Dormund were reeling us in for the taking and finally they reeled us in so far on there bait, they exposed us once again and scored the winner.

Wilshere was wasted in the wings and he should have come off sooner. gnabry should have come on much early in the game to replace him as he is much more energetic .

Overal we deserved at least a point but i believe this is now the difference between us winning something and not.

If we are serious about winning something, Sagna and co CANNOT make a single mistake in a important game.

You do not want to lose cups/trophies conceding silly goals. Lose it to wonder or very worked on goals, not silly ones.

Next game i will go to is the liverpool one

emergingstar

Right onto too palace we need to see changes

I would rest, mert, Ramsey, rosicky, jack, sagna,
And possibly giroud but I would rather start him and take him off of we can

That was a high intense game last night the last thing we want is to be sluggish starting against palace

Team I would start Saturday lunchtime

Scez
Jenks verm kos Gibbs
Flamini. Atreta
Gnarby. Ozil. Cazorla
Giroud

Good enough to get a result

wonga77

whens pod back?

2ndcoming

gosplan wrote: »

We really struggled to create last night when we were denied space.

This will happen against the good teams we're about to play as well.

Goals like Wilshire's are all well and good but they're not going to happen every week.

When's Walcott back?

Tbh I don't think either of the upcoming English teams will press anywhere near as well as Dortmund did, they were ferocious without the ball last night and it made it very difficult for us to find our rhythm.

I'm not his biggest fan in slower paced games but we missed Walcott hugely last night, with Ozil feeding him they could have torn Shmelzer asunder. He's out another 2 weeks AFAIK.

emergingstar

2ndcoming wrote: »

Tbh I don't think either of the upcoming English teams will press anywhere near as well as Dortmund did, they were ferocious without the ball last night and it made it very difficult for us to find our rhythm.

I'm not his biggest fan in slower paced games but we missed Walcott hugely last night, with Ozil feeding him they could have torn Shmelzer asunder. He's out another 2 weeks AFAIK.

Walcott is massive for this team now he is gonna start every big game as he will push the defence back that extra 5/10 yards it will create that bit more space for ozil and cazorla

Awesomeness

On a posiitive Santi looked very good when he came on last night and linked up with Ozil well.

gosplan

emergingstar wrote: »

Walcott is massive for this team now he is gonna start every big game as he will push the defence back that extra 5/10 yards it will create that bit more space for ozil and cazorla

Yup. You could see last night that Dortmund handled the centre really well but at the cost of leaving space out wide. We were trying to exploit it with Sagna , Giroud and Ozil towards the end.

extra gravy

On reflection, not too disappointed about last night. Think we played well overall against a great team. At least we didn't do a Man City and get totally outclassed by German opposition at home

gnfnrhead

emergingstar wrote: »

Right onto too palace we need to see changes

I would rest, mert, Ramsey, rosicky, jack, sagna,
And possibly giroud but I would rather start him and take him off of we can

That was a high intense game last night the last thing we want is to be sluggish starting against palace

Team I would start Saturday lunchtime

Scez
Jenks verm kos Gibbs
Flamini. Atreta
Gnarby. Ozil. Cazorla
Giroud

Good enough to get a result

It's Crystal Palace. We dont need the two defensive minded midfielders. We only need to play both when the opposition is capable of matching or bettering us in midfield. I'd be very surprised if Palace can do that.

maximoose

Is it just me who thought Sagna was poor lastnight?

He did improve second half, but his passing and crossing was WOEFUL for the first half and he just looked very clumsy on the ball and not comfortable at all.

Can still see you beating Napoli and Marseille in the next fixtures, wouldn't write off a result against Dortmund away either.

Santi/Ozil combination looks like it could be just wonderful

Wolf Club

maximoose wrote: »

Is it just me who thought Sagna was poor lastnight?

He did improve second half, but his passing and crossing was WOEFUL for the first half and he just looked very clumsy on the ball and not comfortable at all.

I think his shortcomings in passing and crossing were exposed last night because he was used as an outlet far too often. When Walcott is back it should help but the midfield we had last night didn't have enough width to be effective on the flanks, so any time we went wide we were relying on Sagna to provide crosses and it's certainly not the best aspect of his game.

cathalio11

Fuzzy_Dunlop wrote: »

I generally think people are overstating Flamini's influence a little but this is very true, Sagna was nowhere to be seen and Flamini is usually excellent for slotting in when other players are out of position.

I agree.

People don't really notice what Flamini does (me included) but we know he's having a good effect.

But I think that when people first started praising Flamini, they felt quite cool and really exaggerated it.

I'm delighted to have him, but I don't think he's been The Messiah. He's in a position right now though that people are oblivious to his small frustrating errors which helps him.

Manzoor14

Spotted this in another thread, might be useful for anyone flying to a match through Stanstead.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=87137065&postcount=1

emergingstar

gnfnrhead wrote: »

It's Crystal Palace. We dont need the two defensive minded midfielders. We only need to play both when the opposition is capable of matching or bettering us in midfield. I'd be very surprised if Palace can do that.

None of those players played internationals last week played both push arteta up the field

Gringo180

The lads will have learned a lot from last nights game, it will give them huge confidence in that they will know that they are up there with the very best teams in Europe and they will know next time that it is imperative that we take our chances when they come and try and be more ruthless in front of goal.

Anyways onto the weekend and Crystal Palace, I would like to see us line up like this.

............................................Chesney..................................
Sagna.................Kos...........................Mert.......................Gibbs
.........................................Arteta...............................................
.....................Ramsey............................Ozil.........................
Rosicky...................................................................Cazorla
....................................Giroud..........................................

Ozil interchanging with Rosicky at times and I would give Flamini another few days rest and have him raring to go for Liverpool next weekend.

Fuzzy_Dunlop

I'd like to see Vermaelen and Nacho get a game. And maybe rest Ramsey, although we can do that for the Carling Cup too.

Marty McFly

cathalio11 wrote: »

I agree.

People don't really notice what Flamini does (me included) but we know he's having a good effect.

But I think that when people first started praising Flamini, they felt quite cool and really exaggerated it.

I'm delighted to have him, but I don't think he's been The Messiah. He's in a position right now though that people are oblivious to his small frustrating errors which helps him.

I think the reason he is getting so much praise is because for years many including myself have been crying out for a player of his mold and are just delighted to finally have someone in there doing what we have badly needed since Gilberto left.

Plus his attitude and never give up die hard approach on the pitch is always going to make him a fans favorite as fans love to see players giving everything they have and putting themselves on the line for the team.

Kerry Gooner

Marty McFly wrote: »

I think the reason he is getting so much praise is because for years many including myself have been crying out for a player of his mold and are just delighted to finally have someone in there doing what we have badly needed since Gilberto left.

Plus his attitude and never give up die hard approach on the pitch is always going to make him a fans favorite as fans love to see players giving everything they have and putting themselves on the line for the team.

Flamini like Giberto is not fully appreciated until they miss a game, a bit like the oil a high performance car needs to operate at its best

jonneymendoza

extra gravy wrote: »

On reflection, not too disappointed about last night. Think we played well overall against a great team. At least we didn't do a Man City and get totally outclassed by German opposition at home

i think i said in another thread or forum that if we was playing Bayern munic instead of city the other week, we would have matched them and probably just lost but city got destroyed.

Arsenal at this current form i dont think anyone would or can humilate us. That is how well we are playing.

I hope we continue this form when we face united as we are due to put 8 past them

DenMan

Holloway gone as Palace boss!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24643421

Marty McFly

DenMan wrote: »

Holloway gone as Palace boss!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24643421

Ah fcuk. I hate playing teams right after a manager leaves, every player gives there all trying to prove themselves to the new manager trying to prove the last manager wrong etc never a good time to play a team.

Should still beat them though.

Maire2009

Hiya guys - back from my long weekend.

Saturday was a joy to be at - the goals were something else, plus I was in the North Bank and there was a great rendition of North Bank/East Stand going on especially while Flamini was getting medical attention.

As for last night, the result was a pity, we had no need to push forward for a win, but Wenger has seen that and hopefully we'll learn from it. I was at the Clock End right over the Dortmund fans and they never stopped from start to finish, a hard bunch to try and out-sing. Personally, though, I was not happy to see bunches of Dortmund fans in Arsenal sections. How did they get the tickets and so many in together? There was nearly trouble where I was because a Dortmund fan who had the brains enough not to wear the colours didn't have the brains to shut up when they went 1-0 up. Nothing against their fans at all, but there is an away section for a reason.

Mr.Micro

I would have settled for a draw last night, and I am sure Wenger would have as well. We were totally on top in the second half and one error cost us. Was disappointed to say the least. I thought Arteta was great, also Cazorla when he came on, but Ozil, Rambo, Wilshere were disappointing. I could not help feeling that Flamini would have made the difference if he had been fit.

liam7831

Should we bring back Vela, he defo playin well enough, would be interesting against united tonight

Drexel

Was this common knowledge ?

Carlos Vela just confirmed that Arsenal do have a buy back clause for him!

Always liked him and he's turned into a decent player. He didnt seem too gone on the idea of coming back. He said Arsenal are good now and so am I so it doesnt make sense. Which is fair enough I suppose!

liam7831

I knew it

AdamD

jonny666 wrote: »

Was this common knowledge ?

Carlos Vela just confirmed that Arsenal do have a buy back clause for him!

Always liked him and he's turned into a decent player. He didnt seem too gone on the idea of coming back. He said Arsenal are good now and so am I so it doesnt make sense. Which is fair enough I suppose!

I actually said this during the summer, I think its quite low (5-6m) too, he was in the la liga team of the season last year I think.

tayto lover

Always liked Vela and wouldn't mind seeing him back.
He didn't always get a fair shout at Arsenal in my opinion.

Alfred Borden

Hero

gnfnrhead

Vela is better suited to Spain rather than England.

Drexel

AdamD wrote: »

I actually said this during the summer, I think its quite low (5-6m) too, he was in the la liga team of the season last year I think.

Watching the Utd match here and he kinda looks a bit overweight

Drexel

gnfnrhead wrote: »

Vela is better suited to Spain rather than England.

Ya he pretty much said so in the interview.

efb

Holloway gone from Palace. Damn

FearDark

Maire2009 wrote: »

Hiya guys - back from my long weekend.

Saturday was a joy to be at - the goals were something else, plus I was in the North Bank and there was a great rendition of North Bank/East Stand going on especially while Flamini was getting medical attention.

As for last night, the result was a pity, we had no need to push forward for a win, but Wenger has seen that and hopefully we'll learn from it. I was at the Clock End right over the Dortmund fans and they never stopped from start to finish, a hard bunch to try and out-sing. Personally, though, I was not happy to see bunches of Dortmund fans in Arsenal sections. How did they get the tickets and so many in together? There was nearly trouble where I was because a Dortmund fan who had the brains enough not to wear the colours didn't have the brains to shut up when they went 1-0 up. Nothing against their fans at all, but there is an away section for a reason.

Yeah but how did your date go?

jonneymendoza

Maire2009 wrote: »

Hiya guys - back from my long weekend.

Saturday was a joy to be at - the goals were something else, plus I was in the North Bank and there was a great rendition of North Bank/East Stand going on especially while Flamini was getting medical attention.

As for last night, the result was a pity, we had no need to push forward for a win, but Wenger has seen that and hopefully we'll learn from it. I was at the Clock End right over the Dortmund fans and they never stopped from start to finish, a hard bunch to try and out-sing. Personally, though, I was not happy to see bunches of Dortmund fans in Arsenal sections. How did they get the tickets and so many in together? There was nearly trouble where I was because a Dortmund fan who had the brains enough not to wear the colours didn't have the brains to shut up when they went 1-0 up. Nothing against their fans at all, but there is an away section for a reason.

wow you must have sit close to me! I was quite close to those sets of away fans in our East stand, J block to be exact.

Whilst exiting the stands one our fans started swearing at them.

Corcs001

jonneymendoza wrote: »

Whilst exiting the stands one our fans started swearing at them.

I remember my first game at the Emirates was a 2-3 loss to West Brom I think, one of the fans in front of me started throwing coins at the away fans. One coin hit the ceiling and hit another Arsenal fan. Scumbag.

EuropeanSon

EuropeanSon wrote: »

We were much better than Dortmund tonight, especially when Cazorla came on. What game were you watching?

We might have been but lack still that real cutting edge that they have as the scoreline would suggest.

bad2dabone

Dortmund are, at the very least, in the top-5 of teams in Europe. Probably even top-3.
Losing to them in a tight match isn’t really that big a deal. With hindsight, settling for the 1-1 would have been a smart move.

anyhow on to palace now, i'm really looking forward to it, hope to see some rotation, and maybe a first league goal in over 2 years for the Last Samurai.

bad2dabone

bad2dabone wrote: »

Dortmund are, at the very least, in the top-5 of teams in Europe. Probably even top-3.
Losing to them in a tight match isn’t really that big a deal. With hindsight, settling for the 1-1 would have been a smart move.

anyhow on to palace now, i'm really looking forward to it, hope to see some rotation, and maybe a first league goal in over 2 years for the Last Samurai.

Rumours Tony Puke is getting the job at Palace

bad2dabone

d'aawwwww i hate that guy.

And i didn't mind Palace, now by extension I'll have to dislike them.

They're going down no matter what though.

Paleface

Whoever has the longest throw-in of the Palace squad can expect to find themselves as the first name on the team sheet every weekend so.

What are the odds on Ryan Shawcross moving to Palace in January?!

EuropeanSon

[Deleted User] wrote: »

We might have been but lack still that real cutting edge that they have as the scoreline would suggest.

We lost a game we should've won because of some mistakes and simple bad luck. It happens.

The best team doesn't always win.

tayto lover

bad2dabone wrote: »

d'aawwwww i hate that guy.

And i didn't mind Palace, now by extension I'll have to dislike them.

They're going down no matter what though.

I often went to Palace games when Arsenal were away up north. Brother lived about half a mile from Selhurst park. They always played nice football.

Awesomeness

Do we know yet if any of Theo Poldi or the OX will be fit to make a return against the Chelsea in the cup?

WoollyRedHat

Sorry but this is extremely important, what type of jacket is Giroud wearing?
I must have it!

tayto lover

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Sorry but this is extremely important, what type of jacket is Giroud wearing?
I must have it!

Looks like Theo's, a bit tight for him.

shano_88

Lets hope we ****ing hammer Palace on Saturday and get back to the winning ways in style.

batistuta9

Awesomeness wrote: »

Do we know yet if any of Theo Poldi or the OX will be fit to make a return against the Chelsea in the cup?

yeah, no

before last w'kend:
walcott was about 2 weeks away, wenger more or less ruled him out until L'pool
sanogo mid november
podolski end november
chamberlain december

check the main site thursday or friday & its usually updated
http://www.arsenal.com/team-news

shano_88

Zealalam is back in full training according to twitter. Be nice to see him get some game time vs Chelsea.