Southampton home game thread

[DB10GOONER]

ok I was there last night.

it was the first league match that I have attended this season due to apathy, friends who i usually go with apathy and just the knowledge that deep down we are not really very good.

without going into detail of the game I came away with 2 feelings
1) we are always going to struggle until we buy a top class striker - RVP has not been replaced and it is coming up to what 4 years now? there is not much point in having Sanchez and Ozil if there is no one who can get on the end of their crosses. we need a regular goal scorer, which we always used to have in the past. I am not just thinking Ian Wright, Thiery Henry. They were exceptional but what about an Alan Smith type goal poacher? when we won the league in 89 and 91 he was scoring a lot more regularly than Giroud is doing.

I know this has been pointed out before, but it is still relevant to the argument; Smudge played in a system with 2 strikers, mate. Smudge would have struggled like Giroud does in our current system as a lone striker.

I do agree we need a better striker than Giroud if we want to win the PL. But I also think if we played a better system than the shit 4-5-1 and had two strikers we would get better return out of Giroud.

I have said the same in the past, but it does not help when giroud keeps drifting out to the wings - for me it is like he is hiding away (either from the physical centre backs or from the responsibility/pressure of being the main striker) on the wings and it suggests a woeful lack of character in my eyes

I dunno, augie. He never seems to shirk a challenge tbh. He always shows for the useless high ball we lob at him and he wins the majority of those headers (the fact the ball then mostly falls to no one is another issue altogether!) and he bravely finished a goal a few weeks back leaving his ankle in there where he got nailed by the keeper - actually he's scored a good few where he was going near post with a CH and/or keeper in close attendance, risking getting nailed. So I don't think it's cowardice from physical CH's tbh. Maybe he is hiding from the responsibility/pressure (and I'd agree that is an unacceptable lack of character - if true) or maybe it's just frustration and he is trying to get more of the ball to feet. Also, when Ozil is not playing Giroud seems to fall back deeper and drift wider to get the ball as there really is no one else in our midfield at present that can make those type of Ozil passes.

[officepest]

It's surely one of the saddest/funniest sights in football: Giroud playing wide left.

Makes Billy Big Bollocks look like Geroge Best.

[DB10GOONER]

It's surely one of the saddest/funniest sights in football: Giroud playing wide left.

Makes Billy Big Bollocks look like Geroge Best.

[OneBardGooner]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35479226


He actually admits to being 'Guilty' in that case the crunt should walk away

When asked "Could anything have been done differently tonight to win the game?"

He says "Yes, Finish better"

But it is because of his team selection - including who the striker is- that the striker/s were not able to 'finish better'.....in other words his persistence with using Giroud (and occasionally Walcott) as our main striker that has cost us the games....


He is a fraud, failing season after season after season but will not do the honourable thing and walk away.

And steve bould is as guilty as wenger - he gets his £1.2 million a year for sitting there saying and doing Nothing.

[OneBardGooner]

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football ... outhampton

Arsene Wenger and Ronald Koeman involved in furious bust-up after Emirates stalemate

ARSENE WENGER was involved in an angry tunnel bust-up with Ronald Koeman after blaming "poor finishing" for putting another dent in Arsenal's title hopes.


The Gunners boss was furious after a goalless draw left his side with just three points from a possible 12 and he confronted referee Lee Mason and blamed him for making a series of bad calls during the stalemate.

Witnesses heard Wenger say: "It's always the same with you," before rival manager Koeman weighed into the argument by facing up to his opposite number and claiming: "No, it's always the same with you."

The Dutchman's mood would not have been helped after he had seen Wenger complaining to officials on the touchline throughout Arsenal's defeat at Southampton on Boxing Day.

Although the smile was back on his face when asked about the display from his goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

"Not one team in one and a half years managing Southampton create what Arsenal created," he said.

- - - - - - -


"Normally it is more difficult for opponents to create those chances against us. We didn't create well - we fight and showed unbelievable spirit but it was not good enough.

"You need to be lucky and have a goalkeeper saving everything. We needed a goalkeeper who was magic - and he was magic tonight. It is a dream for Southampton.

"He was nine months out and maybe we had to force a little bit his coming back. He is one of the best in the Premier League - and maybe one of the best in Europe."

Forster's most impressive trick appears to have been making Arsenal's title hopes completely disappear.

That said, while the England international's spell-binding display kept Arsenal at bay for 90 minutes plus six more of injury time, it is now five hours in total since the Gunners last scored a Premier League goal.

So on a night when five of the top six in the table were victorious, the north London side's failure to win for the fourth time in a row stuck out like a sore thumb.

True, it was mainly down to the thumb, fingers, feet and body of the England goalkeeper, who was in the way of most of the 10 shots on target Arsenal rained on his goal.

But with Leicester now five points in front of them, New Year's Day leaders Arsenal now lie worryingly in fourth place with only another five points separating them from newly-rampant Manchester United in fifth.

Wenger acknowledged the performance of Forster, but on a night when Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny all had gilt-edged chances, he admitted his players only had themselves to blame.

"It is frustrating because we had a good performance especially in second half," he said.

"We created 10 goal chances but we came out with no goal.

"The performance we wanted was there, but we cannot be happy with finishing our chances. That is the most disappointing thing, some players missed chances that usually they take.

"Our finishing is very bad at the moment. We have not scored a goal in three games and we didn't take our chances. Our finishing was poor.

"Leicester won their game, now I am sure everyone will take them seriously and they will be under pressure.

"But we have to win our football game because you are dreaming if you think you will catch the others if you don't win your own game."

[SPARKSY]

http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football ... outhampton

Arsene Wenger and Ronald Koeman involved in furious bust-up after Emirates stalemate

ARSENE WENGER was involved in an angry tunnel bust-up with Ronald Koeman after blaming "poor finishing" for putting another dent in Arsenal's title hopes.


The Gunners boss was furious after a goalless draw left his side with just three points from a possible 12 and he confronted referee Lee Mason and blamed him for making a series of bad calls during the stalemate.

Witnesses heard Wenger say: "It's always the same with you," before rival manager Koeman weighed into the argument by facing up to his opposite number and claiming: "No, it's always the same with you."

The Dutchman's mood would not have been helped after he had seen Wenger complaining to officials on the touchline throughout Arsenal's defeat at Southampton on Boxing Day.

Although the smile was back on his face when asked about the display from his goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

"Not one team in one and a half years managing Southampton create what Arsenal created," he said.

- - - - - - -


"Normally it is more difficult for opponents to create those chances against us. We didn't create well - we fight and showed unbelievable spirit but it was not good enough.

"You need to be lucky and have a goalkeeper saving everything. We needed a goalkeeper who was magic - and he was magic tonight. It is a dream for Southampton.

"He was nine months out and maybe we had to force a little bit his coming back. He is one of the best in the Premier League - and maybe one of the best in Europe."

Forster's most impressive trick appears to have been making Arsenal's title hopes completely disappear.

That said, while the England international's spell-binding display kept Arsenal at bay for 90 minutes plus six more of injury time, it is now five hours in total since the Gunners last scored a Premier League goal.

So on a night when five of the top six in the table were victorious, the north London side's failure to win for the fourth time in a row stuck out like a sore thumb.

True, it was mainly down to the thumb, fingers, feet and body of the England goalkeeper, who was in the way of most of the 10 shots on target Arsenal rained on his goal.

But with Leicester now five points in front of them, New Year's Day leaders Arsenal now lie worryingly in fourth place with only another five points separating them from newly-rampant Manchester United in fifth.

Wenger acknowledged the performance of Forster, but on a night when Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny all had gilt-edged chances, he admitted his players only had themselves to blame.

"It is frustrating because we had a good performance especially in second half," he said.

"We created 10 goal chances but we came out with no goal.

"The performance we wanted was there, but we cannot be happy with finishing our chances. That is the most disappointing thing, some players missed chances that usually they take.

"Our finishing is very bad at the moment. We have not scored a goal in three games and we didn't take our chances. Our finishing was poor.

"Leicester won their game, now I am sure everyone will take them seriously and they will be under pressure.

"But we have to win our football game because you are dreaming if you think you will catch the others if you don't win your own game."

When you look at our remaining away games, it tells you everything about where we will finish in the league.
What is it? 1 win our last 6 aways??
Does anyone see us getting 3 points at Spurs, United, City or West Ham. Chuck Everton in to that and we wont be picking up many more points on our travels.
I think 5th is a more realistic finish for us.

[arseofacrow]

It's surely one of the saddest/funniest sights in football: Giroud playing wide left.

Makes Billy Big Bollocks look like Geroge Best.

Better that than the sight of balls bouncing off him all the time.

Still, he's super top quality and I realise there's no alternative.

[arseofacrow]

Double trouble.