As we're unlikely to see terraces again at football, this is the virtual equivalent where you can chat to your hearts content about all football matters and, obviously, Arsenal in particular. This forum encourages all Gooners to visit and contribute so please keep it respectful, clean and topical.
goonersid wrote:I honestly don't think a win tonight will be of any great benefit. With the current spate of injuries we are already having to call on players from what would be considered our "carling cup side".
So I can't see what good a squad stretching and potentially morale crushing two-legged semi-final against either Villa the Mancs or heaven forbid the Chavs would do. The latter of which could easily end in a aggregate score running into double figures.
I hope the team play well tonight and if they can bow out with a decent performance, then it might be better in the long run. I am not saying I hope they lose, but it is more a measure of my dislike for this pointless competition.
I would say it would be of great benefit - because we would win rather than lose, and stay in the compitition!
Plus, more game time for the youngsters and fringe players like Merida, Wilshire etc to show what they can do.
Pressure is off us tonight, cant wait to watch the young lads have a right go!
He 'rests' him for Sunderland until Diaby got injured.
He took him off for second half against Chelsea when he is our most physical midfielder and leaves on the lightweight Denilson.
He can't be resting him if he plans to include him tonight and he cant have fallen out with him if he's just signed a new deal. Is he just in love with Denilson who is still unproven and not fully fit?! Or is he trying to get the first team to cope with Song's ACN absence?
And why is Nasri automatically first team when Rosicky is not?
Anyway, I'm off to Manchester in an hour for Round 2 of swearing at Greedycunt. Praying its not extra time and snowing.
Or, Senderos is injured / going and Song is the only one who can play CB?
I think we are in a rare position tonight where we go there as underdogs!!
pressure all on shity and that c*** Hughes!!
Our team isnt any weaker from back to midfield than against Liverpool last round exception being we had nik and eddy up top last time!!! this time Watt and Vela seems a lot weaker and lightweight!!
The key for me is keeping it tight early, if we concede early i think its goodnight but the longer it goes at 0-0 the crowd will get restless and spaces should open up for our pace!!
Fingers crossed the boys get a result and somebody empties greedyc*nt
ambarron wrote:I think we are in a rare position tonight where we go there as underdogs!!
pressure all on shity and that c*** Hughes!!
Our team isnt any weaker from back to midfield than against Liverpool last round exception being we had nik and eddy up top last time!!! this time Watt and Vela seems a lot weaker and lightweight!!
The key for me is keeping it tight early, if we concede early i think its goodnight but the longer it goes at 0-0 the crowd will get restless and spaces should open up for our pace!!
Fingers crossed the boys get a result and somebody empties greedyc*nt
This competition is all but meaningless and the only plus from it is the blooding of some of our more promising players. That said we are in a mess at the moment so personally I would have slightly compromised our youth team policy for tonight cos -
(a) Eduardo did not look capable of playing the centre forward role last sunday. He clearly needs more games to get him accustomed to the position and from that regard tonight would have been ideal. The possible downside of this decision would be if eduardo got injured and left us missing yet another striker but I would suggest that eduardo as he was last sunday is fcuk all use to us so the potential gain would outweight the potential negative.
(b) Like it or not denilson is going to be a prt of wengers plans. He has just returned from a long injury and I would suggest that he really needs games to sharpen his performances. His ability to retain possession (even with 5yd passes) will be crucial tonight especially with so many kids in the team and I think that denilson would relish taking on the responsibility of guiding the kids along. He is not everybodies cup of tea but I would play him tonight.
In the absence of any reasons of why swiss phil is not in the squad you have to question how far down the pecking list he has now gone Personally I would much rather senderos be our centre back tonight than any of the alternatives and I do think that he would serious efforts to "break up" a certain togolese *word censored* From the first team down we lack physicality and phil could certainly provide that tonight
augie wrote:
In the absence of any reasons of why swiss phil is not in the squad you have to question how far down the pecking list he has now gone Personally I would much rather senderos be our centre back tonight than any of the alternatives and I do think that he would serious efforts to "break up" a certain togolese c**t From the first team down we lack physicality and phil could certainly provide that tonight
Maybe Ade is the reason Phil is not in the squad, perhaps Wenger saw Ade destroy him in training and knows he can't deal with him and doesn't want to risk Ade humiliating him..
augie wrote:
In the absence of any reasons of why swiss phil is not in the squad you have to question how far down the pecking list he has now gone Personally I would much rather senderos be our centre back tonight than any of the alternatives and I do think that he would serious efforts to "break up" a certain togolese c**t From the first team down we lack physicality and phil could certainly provide that tonight
18 mths ago Wenger decided rightly IMO that Senderos was never going to be good enough.So he packed him off to Milan.But instead of packing him off in the summer he has keep him at the club.He has not looked like starting a game and is behind this is how bad Wenger rates him Silvestre
Senderos is like too many other players in our squad Diaby Eboue Bendtner and Denilson.Plain average
this must be the 1st time, that im actually glad eboue is included in an arsenal squad. he should have been in the carling cup squad all along, as hes no where near good enough for the 1st team squad. i seriously hope he writes himself and adebayor off, in 1 of his stuppid attempts to tackle a player talk about killing 2 birds with 1 stone
Walcott should be in this squad - because he needs to learn how to play bloody football that doesnt involve running into people or crossing it to the opposition!!
Eboue offers more to the first team than Walcott ever has, and it wont be long before Rammo and Jacko are pushing him either along with Fran.
goonersid wrote:I honestly don't think a win tonight will be of any great benefit. With the current spate of injuries we are already having to call on players from what would be considered our "carling cup side".
So I can't see what good a squad stretching and potentially morale crushing two-legged semi-final against either Villa the Mancs or heaven forbid the Chavs would do. The latter of which could easily end in a aggregate score running into double figures.
I hope the team play well tonight and if they can bow out with a decent performance, then it might be better in the long run. I am not saying I hope they lose, but it is more a measure of my dislike for this pointless competition.
I would bloody well hope, we give the MANC a damn good run tonight, at least we have nothing to lose on our part.
goonersid wrote:I honestly don't think a win tonight will be of any great benefit. With the current spate of injuries we are already having to call on players from what would be considered our "carling cup side".
So I can't see what good a squad stretching and potentially morale crushing two-legged semi-final against either Villa the Mancs or heaven forbid the Chavs would do. The latter of which could easily end in a aggregate score running into double figures.
I hope the team play well tonight and if they can bow out with a decent performance, then it might be better in the long run. I am not saying I hope they lose, but it is more a measure of my dislike for this pointless competition.
I would bloody well hope, we give the MANC a damn good run tonight, at least we have nothing to lose on our part.
Bergkamp10
I think both yourself and BDB are missing my point, and that is a win tonight will incur a diificult 2 legged semi-final in a pointless competition. At a time when we are already reavaged by injuries.
Games in which the likes of Eduardo and Vela and Traore will have to play and avoid injury, as they will also need to be available for subsequent prem and clge games.
It's a shit competition. I agree it useful for bleeding younger players who are not required to play week in and week out, however that is a luxury we no longer have, unlike 5 or 6 seasons ago, when we had a sufficient squad to cope with 3 or 4 injuries to key players.
I'm in the not caring camp and can see the logic of not wanting a 2 leg semi just we are coming up to our toughest 5/6 weeks of the season. look at the endo Jan beginning of Feb and crap yourself!
As somebody else said, the best result would be Eboue breaking Adebuywhore's leg.
Personally I would much rather senderos be our centre back tonight than any of the alternatives and I do think that he would serious efforts to "break up" a certain togolese *word censored* 
From the first team down we lack physicality and phil could certainly provide that tonight 
