We need more foreigners.
Mass suicide, anyone?
Arsenal vs Sevilla
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Cesc is God
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I Hate Hleb
- Posts: 18632
- Joined: Wed May 16, 2007 3:36 pm
- Location: London
BEFORE I'M ACCUSED OF GOING OVER-BOARD AFTER ONE DEFEAT, OR EVEN OF BEING DISLOYAL 
, THIS IS MY HONEST ASSESSMENT OF THE GAME THIS EVENING AND CERTAIN PLAYERS IN GENERAL.
WELL, WHERE SHOULD I START?
ALMUNIA - NEVER FELT HE WAS GOOD ENOUGH BUT WANTED TO GIVE HIM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. ALTHOUGH HE WASN'T PARTICULARLY TO BLAME FOR ANY OF THE GOALS, HIS REACTIONS WERE SLOW FOR BOTH THEIR FIRST AND SECOND GOALS, AND HE DIDN'T GIVE HIMSELF A CHANCE WITH THE PENALTY BY COMMITTING TOO EARLY. ALMUNIA HARDLY EVER COMES FOR CROSSES AND HIS DISTRIBUTION IS NOT GREAT. I FEEL NERVOUS ANY TIME A BALL IS PLAYED OVER THE TOP OF OUR CENTRE-HALFS BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHETHER HE WILL COME RUSHING OUT LIKE A HEAD-LESS CHICKEN, OR FREEZE ON HIS 6 YARD LINE UNSURE OF WHAT TO DO.
TRAORE - TOUGH NIGHT FOR THE YOUNGSTER WHICH WASN'T MADE ANY EASIER BY THE LACK OF DEFENSIVE HELP OFFERED TO HIM BY DE SILVA. GOOD GOING FORWARD BUT DEFINATELY NEEDS TO IMPROVE THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF HIS GAME. WILL GET BETTER IN TIME.
HOYTE - FELT HE HAD A RELATIVELY GOOD GAME - THE STAMP EXCLUDED - BUT, LIKE TRAORE, WASN'T HELPED BY HIS MATE IN MIDFIELD, EBOUE.
KOLO - WAS GOOD AGAIN BUT THE TASK OF PARTNERING SENDEROS AND MAKING UP FOR ALL HIS MISTAKES PROVED TOO MUCH EVEN FOR HIM THIS EVENING.
SENDEROS - THERE IS AT LEAST ONE BIG MISTAKE IN HIM EVERYTIME HE PLAYS, AND IT'S DOWN TO GOOD FORTUNE WHETHER WE GET AWAY WITH IT OR NOT. HASN'T PROGRESSED AS WE WOULD HAVE WANTED AND WOULD DEFINATELY BE FOURTH CHOICE IN MY LIST OF CENTRE-BACKS AT THE CLUB. VERY, VERY POOR THIS EVENING.
GILBERTO - DEFINATELY RUSTY TONIGHT AND NEVER GAVE THE SAME DEFENSIVE RE-ASSURANCE HE NORMALLY DOES. PARTLY TO BLAME FOR THEIR FIRST AND ALMOST GAVE AWAY A SECOND A FEW MINUTES LATER WITH A SLACK PASS AROUND OUR PENALTY BOX. PROBABLY OFF IN JANUARY.
CESC - VERY QUIET AND NOT AS INFLUENCIAL AS NORMAL
DENILSON - BATTLED HARD DEFENSIVELY BUT CONTRIBUTED LITTLE GOING FORWARD. LIKE CESC AND GILBERTO, NOWHERE NEAR HIS BEST AND A SECOND CONSECUTIVE BELOW PAR PERFORMANCE
EDUARD - TOOK HIS GOAL WELL AND HAD A COUPLE OF OTHER HALF-CHANCES. HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT GETTING THE BEST OUT OF HIM WIDE LEFT AND IN MY OPINION IS AN 18 YARD BOX PLAYER, RATHER THAN SOMEONE WHO BEATS HIS OPPONENT OR LINKS THE PLAY UP. INEXPLICABLE, WENGER KEPT HIM WIDE EVEN WHEN WE WERE CHASING THE GAME AND ROSICKY AND THEO CAME ON. ALTHOUGH I THINK HE MIGHT STRUGGLE, BECAUSE OF HIS LACK OF PACE, TO BE THE REAL DEAL THAT HIS GOAL RECORD SUGGESTS, WE WON'T KNOW IF EDUARDO'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR US UNTIL HE GETS A RUN OF GAMES IN THE CENTRE FORWARD POSITION.
EBOUE - I'M GOING TO LEAVE THIS ONE FOR FEAR OF LOSING IT TOTALLY. SUFFICE TO SAY THAT MOST OTHER PEOPLE HAVE COVERED HIS MANY FAULTS SUFFICIENTLY ENOUGH FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO BITE MY TONGUE THIS TIME. GREAT BACK-FLICK TO HELP SET UP OUR GOAL BUT THEREAFTER SHOWED A VERY POOR ATTITUDE, AND GAVE HOYTE NO HELP WHATSOEVER DEFENSIVELY.
BENDTNER - HAD AN EXCELLANT GAME IN VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES AND WAS MY MAN OF THE MATCH. HELD THE BALL UP WELL AT TIMES BUT WASN'T HELPED MUCH BY THE LACK OF FORWARD RUNNERS FROM THE MIDFIELD. BRILLIANT CROSS FOR OUR GOAL AND PROVED ONCE AGAIN THAT HE IS A VIABLE OPTION AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO ADE, AND IS A VALUABLE MEMBER OF THE SQUAD.
ROSICKY - HAD LITTLE IMPACT IN CESC'S POSITION AFTER COMING ON, BUT I BLAME WENGER FOR NOT STICKING HIM WIDE LEFT AND EDUARDO IN THE MIDDLE. I STILL LOVE HIM THOUGH!!
THEO - NOT REALLY GIVEN ENOUGH TIME TO DO ANYTHING.
OVERALL, I FELT SEVILLE WERE THE BETTER TEAM TONIGHT - CERTAINLY AFTER GETTING THE EQUALISER - AND DESERVED TO WIN THE MATCH. WENGER MADE SOME MISTAKES IN SELECTION AND TACTICS BUT, AS ALWAYS, GAMES ARE DICTATED BY GOALS. HAD WE AVOIDED CONCEDING SUCH A SLOPPY 1ST GOAL, BEEN GIVEN A PENALTY WHEN EBOUSE WAS BLOCKED, OR EVEN STUCK AWAY THE CHANCE EDUARDO HAD LATE IN THE FIRST HALF. THINGS MIGHT HAVE TURNED OUT DIFFERENT.
THERE YOU GO, THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF THE RESULT. ONE LAST THING, WE SHOULDN'T FORGET THAT SEVILLE ARE A VERY GOOD SIDE AND WILL GIVE WHOEVER THEY FACE IN THE KNOCK-OUT STAGES A VERY TOUGH MATCH.
OH, AND THE OFFICIALS WERE TRUELY SHOCKING!!
, THIS IS MY HONEST ASSESSMENT OF THE GAME THIS EVENING AND CERTAIN PLAYERS IN GENERAL.WELL, WHERE SHOULD I START?
ALMUNIA - NEVER FELT HE WAS GOOD ENOUGH BUT WANTED TO GIVE HIM THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT. ALTHOUGH HE WASN'T PARTICULARLY TO BLAME FOR ANY OF THE GOALS, HIS REACTIONS WERE SLOW FOR BOTH THEIR FIRST AND SECOND GOALS, AND HE DIDN'T GIVE HIMSELF A CHANCE WITH THE PENALTY BY COMMITTING TOO EARLY. ALMUNIA HARDLY EVER COMES FOR CROSSES AND HIS DISTRIBUTION IS NOT GREAT. I FEEL NERVOUS ANY TIME A BALL IS PLAYED OVER THE TOP OF OUR CENTRE-HALFS BECAUSE YOU NEVER KNOW WHETHER HE WILL COME RUSHING OUT LIKE A HEAD-LESS CHICKEN, OR FREEZE ON HIS 6 YARD LINE UNSURE OF WHAT TO DO.
TRAORE - TOUGH NIGHT FOR THE YOUNGSTER WHICH WASN'T MADE ANY EASIER BY THE LACK OF DEFENSIVE HELP OFFERED TO HIM BY DE SILVA. GOOD GOING FORWARD BUT DEFINATELY NEEDS TO IMPROVE THE DEFENSIVE SIDE OF HIS GAME. WILL GET BETTER IN TIME.
HOYTE - FELT HE HAD A RELATIVELY GOOD GAME - THE STAMP EXCLUDED - BUT, LIKE TRAORE, WASN'T HELPED BY HIS MATE IN MIDFIELD, EBOUE.
KOLO - WAS GOOD AGAIN BUT THE TASK OF PARTNERING SENDEROS AND MAKING UP FOR ALL HIS MISTAKES PROVED TOO MUCH EVEN FOR HIM THIS EVENING.
SENDEROS - THERE IS AT LEAST ONE BIG MISTAKE IN HIM EVERYTIME HE PLAYS, AND IT'S DOWN TO GOOD FORTUNE WHETHER WE GET AWAY WITH IT OR NOT. HASN'T PROGRESSED AS WE WOULD HAVE WANTED AND WOULD DEFINATELY BE FOURTH CHOICE IN MY LIST OF CENTRE-BACKS AT THE CLUB. VERY, VERY POOR THIS EVENING.
GILBERTO - DEFINATELY RUSTY TONIGHT AND NEVER GAVE THE SAME DEFENSIVE RE-ASSURANCE HE NORMALLY DOES. PARTLY TO BLAME FOR THEIR FIRST AND ALMOST GAVE AWAY A SECOND A FEW MINUTES LATER WITH A SLACK PASS AROUND OUR PENALTY BOX. PROBABLY OFF IN JANUARY.
CESC - VERY QUIET AND NOT AS INFLUENCIAL AS NORMAL
DENILSON - BATTLED HARD DEFENSIVELY BUT CONTRIBUTED LITTLE GOING FORWARD. LIKE CESC AND GILBERTO, NOWHERE NEAR HIS BEST AND A SECOND CONSECUTIVE BELOW PAR PERFORMANCE
EDUARD - TOOK HIS GOAL WELL AND HAD A COUPLE OF OTHER HALF-CHANCES. HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT GETTING THE BEST OUT OF HIM WIDE LEFT AND IN MY OPINION IS AN 18 YARD BOX PLAYER, RATHER THAN SOMEONE WHO BEATS HIS OPPONENT OR LINKS THE PLAY UP. INEXPLICABLE, WENGER KEPT HIM WIDE EVEN WHEN WE WERE CHASING THE GAME AND ROSICKY AND THEO CAME ON. ALTHOUGH I THINK HE MIGHT STRUGGLE, BECAUSE OF HIS LACK OF PACE, TO BE THE REAL DEAL THAT HIS GOAL RECORD SUGGESTS, WE WON'T KNOW IF EDUARDO'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR US UNTIL HE GETS A RUN OF GAMES IN THE CENTRE FORWARD POSITION.
EBOUE - I'M GOING TO LEAVE THIS ONE FOR FEAR OF LOSING IT TOTALLY. SUFFICE TO SAY THAT MOST OTHER PEOPLE HAVE COVERED HIS MANY FAULTS SUFFICIENTLY ENOUGH FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO BITE MY TONGUE THIS TIME. GREAT BACK-FLICK TO HELP SET UP OUR GOAL BUT THEREAFTER SHOWED A VERY POOR ATTITUDE, AND GAVE HOYTE NO HELP WHATSOEVER DEFENSIVELY.
BENDTNER - HAD AN EXCELLANT GAME IN VERY DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES AND WAS MY MAN OF THE MATCH. HELD THE BALL UP WELL AT TIMES BUT WASN'T HELPED MUCH BY THE LACK OF FORWARD RUNNERS FROM THE MIDFIELD. BRILLIANT CROSS FOR OUR GOAL AND PROVED ONCE AGAIN THAT HE IS A VIABLE OPTION AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO ADE, AND IS A VALUABLE MEMBER OF THE SQUAD.
ROSICKY - HAD LITTLE IMPACT IN CESC'S POSITION AFTER COMING ON, BUT I BLAME WENGER FOR NOT STICKING HIM WIDE LEFT AND EDUARDO IN THE MIDDLE. I STILL LOVE HIM THOUGH!!
THEO - NOT REALLY GIVEN ENOUGH TIME TO DO ANYTHING.
OVERALL, I FELT SEVILLE WERE THE BETTER TEAM TONIGHT - CERTAINLY AFTER GETTING THE EQUALISER - AND DESERVED TO WIN THE MATCH. WENGER MADE SOME MISTAKES IN SELECTION AND TACTICS BUT, AS ALWAYS, GAMES ARE DICTATED BY GOALS. HAD WE AVOIDED CONCEDING SUCH A SLOPPY 1ST GOAL, BEEN GIVEN A PENALTY WHEN EBOUSE WAS BLOCKED, OR EVEN STUCK AWAY THE CHANCE EDUARDO HAD LATE IN THE FIRST HALF. THINGS MIGHT HAVE TURNED OUT DIFFERENT.
THERE YOU GO, THOSE ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE MATCH IN THE IMMEDIATE AFTERMATH OF THE RESULT. ONE LAST THING, WE SHOULDN'T FORGET THAT SEVILLE ARE A VERY GOOD SIDE AND WILL GIVE WHOEVER THEY FACE IN THE KNOCK-OUT STAGES A VERY TOUGH MATCH.
OH, AND THE OFFICIALS WERE TRUELY SHOCKING!!
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Charlie! Charlie!
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- Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2007 4:22 pm
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We imploded, once Sevilla equalised we looked lost at the back, unable to do anything in midfield and offered little going forward. Toure, Gilberto and Cesc were unable to drive on the team and we were just plain poor. We must bounce back from it and Arsene has got to have a look at himself, taken a gamble that couldn't come off I can understand but his refusal to leave could get him into a lot of trouble, I fear a touchline ban and I wouldn't blame UEFA for doing that. First girl was individual errors and nobody there to stop the scorer, second was very bad marking, third was individual errors, our defence should have done better.
Almunia: What did he offer today? Made one good save, never seemed to come for crosses, unable to sort out the defence and conceded three. Felt he could have done better for the first, a power effort that wasn't that well placed, second not much he can do once the header is won though why nobody on the post? Third, well kneeling down has never been a way to stop a penalty and it looked ridiculous, he might as well have vacated his goal. Lucky not to concede again when he palmed the ball to Kanoute who fired wide but what summed up his problems was a missed chance. Cross in yet again from the Arsenal left and Sevilla striker at near post shows great leap to get to it before the defence but his header goes narrowly wide, Almunia had been caught out completely by the guy getting to it and that few seconds delay before he scrambled across, might have had it covered but he should be ready for anything once a ball is hit into the box.
Hoyte- Lucky not to be sent off but solid as usual, we can rely on him against most teams. Glad he got a game but why was he taken off?
Traore- Very talented player but still a youngster, exposed by lack of cover and struggled all evening. Positioning could be a lot better. Second goal, fouled the winger to give away the setpiece, third came from a cross down his side, still I have high hopes for him in the future.
Toure- Made a superb saving tackle in the first half and performed well, tried to cover in second goal and unlucky to give away penalty for third, thought he struggled a bit in the air.
Big Phil- He tends to need a run of games to find his form anyway, that it was his first since coming back from injury only made it worse. Huge miskick for the first, otherwise not responsible for the goals but thought he was too eager to come across to help Traore out when he would have been better placed going to defend the near post from the incoming crosses. Hopefully the matchfitness will help him for when we need him in the coming months, nightmare may be too harsh but certainly a bad game but that is understandable. Ball struck his chest from what I could see.
Sagna- Why did he come on? Didn't have much chance of salvaging the situation.
Eboue- His attempts at acting are annoying but he played well today, one of our biggest threats going forward in the second half, great pass for first goal, unlucky not to get a penalty, one of the little good in the game was his performance. Needs to perform like this more often.
Dudu- Took his goal well and probably should have scored another rather then allow Palop to push it aside but for every good thing, he did five bad. His passing was sometimes sloppy and as a winger, he failed badly in helping his fullback out. Once the game was getting away from us, he vanished, would like to see him start up front more.
Cesc- Worried about his injury, seemed quiet and just wonder if it was troubling him.
Gilberto- Possibly rusty might have been better to put the ball out for a corner rather then hook it upfield for the first goal and then sloppy pass soon after. Failed to calm the defence and seemed to go missing when we could have used him covering the defence, he will have been disappointed not to have taken his chance to show what he can, Diarra must be ahead of him now.
Denilson- Bad tackling was the only notable feature of his game last night.
Mozart- Unable to make much headway, one little dribble in own half was all he was able to offer.
Big Dane- Two CL performances and he seems to have faded in both as the team lost control, does he not offer us an option to play ball forward too during that time or just unlucky? Performed well when we did have the ball, made good runs, hit in a few good balls, showed some good passing but once we lost control, he struggled to make an impact but not his fault. Good player who should be pleased with his performance.
Walcott: Offered pace but couldn't open things up.
Almunia: What did he offer today? Made one good save, never seemed to come for crosses, unable to sort out the defence and conceded three. Felt he could have done better for the first, a power effort that wasn't that well placed, second not much he can do once the header is won though why nobody on the post? Third, well kneeling down has never been a way to stop a penalty and it looked ridiculous, he might as well have vacated his goal. Lucky not to concede again when he palmed the ball to Kanoute who fired wide but what summed up his problems was a missed chance. Cross in yet again from the Arsenal left and Sevilla striker at near post shows great leap to get to it before the defence but his header goes narrowly wide, Almunia had been caught out completely by the guy getting to it and that few seconds delay before he scrambled across, might have had it covered but he should be ready for anything once a ball is hit into the box.
Hoyte- Lucky not to be sent off but solid as usual, we can rely on him against most teams. Glad he got a game but why was he taken off?
Traore- Very talented player but still a youngster, exposed by lack of cover and struggled all evening. Positioning could be a lot better. Second goal, fouled the winger to give away the setpiece, third came from a cross down his side, still I have high hopes for him in the future.
Toure- Made a superb saving tackle in the first half and performed well, tried to cover in second goal and unlucky to give away penalty for third, thought he struggled a bit in the air.
Big Phil- He tends to need a run of games to find his form anyway, that it was his first since coming back from injury only made it worse. Huge miskick for the first, otherwise not responsible for the goals but thought he was too eager to come across to help Traore out when he would have been better placed going to defend the near post from the incoming crosses. Hopefully the matchfitness will help him for when we need him in the coming months, nightmare may be too harsh but certainly a bad game but that is understandable. Ball struck his chest from what I could see.
Sagna- Why did he come on? Didn't have much chance of salvaging the situation.
Eboue- His attempts at acting are annoying but he played well today, one of our biggest threats going forward in the second half, great pass for first goal, unlucky not to get a penalty, one of the little good in the game was his performance. Needs to perform like this more often.
Dudu- Took his goal well and probably should have scored another rather then allow Palop to push it aside but for every good thing, he did five bad. His passing was sometimes sloppy and as a winger, he failed badly in helping his fullback out. Once the game was getting away from us, he vanished, would like to see him start up front more.
Cesc- Worried about his injury, seemed quiet and just wonder if it was troubling him.
Gilberto- Possibly rusty might have been better to put the ball out for a corner rather then hook it upfield for the first goal and then sloppy pass soon after. Failed to calm the defence and seemed to go missing when we could have used him covering the defence, he will have been disappointed not to have taken his chance to show what he can, Diarra must be ahead of him now.
Denilson- Bad tackling was the only notable feature of his game last night.
Mozart- Unable to make much headway, one little dribble in own half was all he was able to offer.
Big Dane- Two CL performances and he seems to have faded in both as the team lost control, does he not offer us an option to play ball forward too during that time or just unlucky? Performed well when we did have the ball, made good runs, hit in a few good balls, showed some good passing but once we lost control, he struggled to make an impact but not his fault. Good player who should be pleased with his performance.
Walcott: Offered pace but couldn't open things up.
I know that we have a hectic run of big big games coming up but why oh why would le boss put out such a weakened team ? I can understand him leaving out 1 or 2 but only toure,cesc,almunia & eboue are what you could call regulars and the latter 2 are nowhere near good enough anyway . Now we have to hope that seville drop points in their last game (some hope) so that we can reclaim top spot thus avoiding the so called big guns in the 1/4 finals. Wenger screwed up big time after all that talk about wanting to finish top
. Now we have to hope that seville drop points in their last game (some hope) so that we can reclaim top spot thus avoiding the so called big guns in the 1/4 finals. Wenger screwed up big time after all that talk about wanting to finish top-
highburyJD
- Posts: 4982
- Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:36 pm
- Location: Highbury
agree with most of the above
except the slagging of Ebuoe - I thought he was one of our best players
cre8d the 1st with the backheel - had a stonewall pen turned down
was our most potent attacking threat
swiss tony was very slack but worth mentioning gilberto had an easy chance2 kick that out4 a corner
poor game for silva
bendtner played well when we where on top but needs a partner
as the game progressed he had one defender touch tight and a 2nd just off
with som1 running beyond he'd have a lot more space
he and ebuoue where the big upsides
cesc looking injured and pretty much every1 else playing poorly (hoyte solid but lucky not2 c red) the big downside
except the slagging of Ebuoe - I thought he was one of our best players
cre8d the 1st with the backheel - had a stonewall pen turned down
was our most potent attacking threat
swiss tony was very slack but worth mentioning gilberto had an easy chance2 kick that out4 a corner
poor game for silva
bendtner played well when we where on top but needs a partner
as the game progressed he had one defender touch tight and a 2nd just off
with som1 running beyond he'd have a lot more space
he and ebuoue where the big upsides
cesc looking injured and pretty much every1 else playing poorly (hoyte solid but lucky not2 c red) the big downside
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highburyJD
- Posts: 4982
- Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 6:36 pm
- Location: Highbury
