What the trip to old trafford has taught me.......

[ABO]

Im quite adept to opinions but yesterdays result has got me thinking so much it would bve criminal to myself not to rant. First of all i echo most when i say we were an absolute disgrace yesterday. Even the players you would expect to perfrom like Gallas and Hleb were awful. However my biggest criticisms are obvious but the first one has not been spoken of enough in recent weeks. Physicality. Teams would often berate us for our lack of physical toughness (Blackburn always springing to mind). Well yesterday there was none. we let Man United bully us into submission. Players like Kolo and Gallas were literally barged out of the way and made Man United ariel threat look all the more dominating. Up front we had about as much creation as a bowl of bran flakes without milk. Why the fuck are we still playing Bendtner. Hes a joke. Eddie was drowning out there. Gilberto has finally done all he can for football and I think yesterday was the final nail i was waiting for. He held it off well enough but its time to say goodbye Gilberto. Lets hope we can send him packing with a Champions medal but dont hold your breath. I thought Hleb lacked creation and the one thing hes best at he just didnt seem to do and thats hold the ball. Eboue was just plain dog ***** as always and im sick of seeing him in an arsenal shirt. There was no point bringing on Adebayor. Im worried it may have damaged his mental game slightly by not getting a goal but if its like Tottenham it may rile him up to smash other teams.

My only mention to a player goes to Jens Lehmann who I thought had a damn good game given he had no fucking coverage whatsoever. He made some great saves and desperately tried to keep it respectable. If he had, had a howler just think what we may have walked away from. Well done Jens, you showed passion and spirit when the rest of the team just didnt seem fucking bothered. Lets hope we can prove to Milan it was a one off but you can be damn sure the Italians were watching and laughing hysterically at how porr we were. Get your act together Arsene and for once it wouldnt hurt to just say we were poor instead of hiding the facts again.

Lastly I just wanna say to every Arsenal fan who went yesterday who stayed till the end and particulary all the guys right at the back of the upper tier with me, you were amazing and a credit to the club. You people are my family and I love you guys to pieces. Its just a damn shame that barely anyone on the pitch (bar the ever passionate Flams) recognised your efforts and contributions.

word! I agree with a lot of that mate!

[Red Gunner]

Justin Hoyte is already 23 while Daniel Alves is 24 and world-class. How long will it take for Hoyte to develop into a world-class player, especially when we have Sagna at right-back. I want Hoyte to be good enough for us but looking from a cold-hearted point of view, I don't think it will happen.

[EL-Z]

Im quite adept to opinions but yesterdays result has got me thinking so much it would bve criminal to myself not to rant. First of all i echo most when i say we were an absolute disgrace yesterday. Even the players you would expect to perfrom like Gallas and Hleb were awful. However my biggest criticisms are obvious but the first one has not been spoken of enough in recent weeks. Physicality. Teams would often berate us for our lack of physical toughness (Blackburn always springing to mind). Well yesterday there was none. we let Man United bully us into submission. Players like Kolo and Gallas were literally barged out of the way and made Man United ariel threat look all the more dominating. Up front we had about as much creation as a bowl of bran flakes without milk. Why the fuck are we still playing Bendtner. Hes a joke. Eddie was drowning out there. Gilberto has finally done all he can for football and I think yesterday was the final nail i was waiting for. He held it off well enough but its time to say goodbye Gilberto. Lets hope we can send him packing with a Champions medal but dont hold your breath. I thought Hleb lacked creation and the one thing hes best at he just didnt seem to do and thats hold the ball. Eboue was just plain dog ***** as always and im sick of seeing him in an arsenal shirt. There was no point bringing on Adebayor. Im worried it may have damaged his mental game slightly by not getting a goal but if its like Tottenham it may rile him up to smash other teams.

My only mention to a player goes to Jens Lehmann who I thought had a damn good game given he had no fucking coverage whatsoever. He made some great saves and desperately tried to keep it respectable. If he had, had a howler just think what we may have walked away from. Well done Jens, you showed passion and spirit when the rest of the team just didnt seem fucking bothered. Lets hope we can prove to Milan it was a one off but you can be damn sure the Italians were watching and laughing hysterically at how porr we were. Get your act together Arsene and for once it wouldnt hurt to just say we were poor instead of hiding the facts again.

Lastly I just wanna say to every Arsenal fan who went yesterday who stayed till the end and particulary all the guys right at the back of the upper tier with me, you were amazing and a credit to the club. You people are my family and I love you guys to pieces. Its just a damn shame that barely anyone on the pitch (bar the ever passionate Flams) recognised your efforts and contributions.

word! I agree with a lot of that mate!

thanks. looking back at that post would like to say although Im Armand Traore's biggest fan, Yes im the lunatic who spent money having him printed on my third kit, he just isnt good enough atm but is one of our few reserve players who has a chance to mature and develop whereas Hoyte tbh, how much longer can you give him and the same goes to Bendtner. Its that age old reason of do you want to wait 5 years for a 'potentially' amazing team or see Wenger bring in the already 'proven' amazing players for quciker reward. I still believe we should not have let Ribery slip and I think our midfield when stretched shows we need a player like him particulary when Super Tom is injured half the time

[tomkingsbury]

Last August I was begging for signings and in January I was even worse but it is not the lack of signings that is eating away at me of late but more about the lack of quality in the current squad. This is a point I touched upon earlier in the season and is even more evident as the season goes on cos we just do not have the back up needed when injuries and suspensions hit. In August I argued that 2 or 3 quality experienced signings could make a huge difference but now we appear to have so many holes in the squad that even abramovich doesnt have enough money to fill them.

There is a saying in life that sometimes you reap what you sow and this is what has happened here - wenger decided to skimp on the squad and hope to be successful with a quality 13 or so but has been exposed coverwise as he has been last season and the season before :

i feel the board and wenger may ahve the opinion that AW is capable of keeping arsenal in the top4 until the highbury flats are sold, and till then money is tight. I think our team has passed all expectations even in Wenger's eyes as this early stage - he may ahve seen this coming next season, but challenging this season could have be seen as an overachievement.

I also feel that wenger doesnt want to bring in big names as it might wreck the harmony of the squad - this group of lads will hopefully grow, mature and develop together and by bringing in players who are ready-made, wneger is not only undermining himself, but also the players. This inturn makes it extremely frustrating as a supporter because we can see areas that need strengthening and players we dislike and ones potentially available and better that we'd like to see in a red and white shirt. on the flipside wenger works with this group of lads week in week out and knows how to get the best out of people. AS much as eboue may be a disgrace on the pitch, and a potential scapegoat for not only yesterday's performance but any bad result, he is a model professional off the pitch.

Wenger hates losing and this result prob will have hurt him the most, but his amazing belief in the players means i'm backing him as much as i'd like to see alot of the fringe and squad players go.

Also, you lot defending hoyte, what the..... this season he has been awful, and last year whilst being consistently average on the right, sagna is twice the player he is and many teams exposed the weakened side of our formation (our right side) last season, hence the more defensive eboue in right midfield, and sagan at rb. For more, hoyte has only looked championship quality this season at best.

Finally, i dont think the clubs in a melt-down or at a crisis period, but we certainly can't compete on more than two fronts in a season with the lack of depth currently. The signs are promising, lets just hope saturday teaches a few of our players that they still are a long way off quality arsenal demands.

[samstrange]

Let me just add sumthing slightly off the subject.

I bought a pie, costing me £2.20. Asked for a fork and they didnt have any, i mean how the fuck can u eat a steaming hot steak and kidney pie without a fork, or at least a spoon (or perhaps a spork )

I then asked for my money back cus i was clueless on how to eat it and they wouldnt give me a refund, yes its ony £2.20, but i feel fucking robbed!

[I Hate Hleb]

Let me just add sumthing slightly off the subject.

I bought a pie, costing me £2.20. Asked for a fork and they didnt have any, i mean how the fuck can u eat a steaming hot steak and kidney pie without a fork, or at least a spoon (or perhaps a spork )

I then asked for my money back cus i was clueless on how to eat it and they wouldnt give me a refund, yes its ony £2.20, but i feel fucking robbed!

I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE STARTED BY PLACING THE PIE IN MY MOUTH AND LOCKING MY TEETH!!

[stearmaster]

Let me just add sumthing slightly off the subject.

I bought a pie, costing me £2.20. Asked for a fork and they didnt have any, i mean how the fuck can u eat a steaming hot steak and kidney pie without a fork, or at least a spoon (or perhaps a spork )

I then asked for my money back cus i was clueless on how to eat it and they wouldnt give me a refund, yes its ony £2.20, but i feel fucking robbed!

HAHA! i got a pie at the an arsenal game and right at the top of the top tier i got to my seat and dropped my folk, i thought fuck that i aint goin to get another one, so i had to eat it it without a folk, jus dont drop the pie

[Red Gunner]

Let me just add sumthing slightly off the subject.

I bought a pie, costing me £2.20. Asked for a fork and they didnt have any, i mean how the fuck can u eat a steaming hot steak and kidney pie without a fork, or at least a spoon (or perhaps a spork )

I then asked for my money back cus i was clueless on how to eat it and they wouldnt give me a refund, yes its ony £2.20, but i feel fucking robbed!

I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE STARTED BY PLACING THE PIE IN MY MOUTH AND LOCKING MY TEETH!!

I hope you do the same thing to Poyet's knob if you get the opportunity

[I Hate Hleb]

YOU STUMP UP THE £1 MILLION AND I'LL 'STUMP UP'
POYET'S SAUSAGE - SO TO SPEAK!!

[samstrange]

Let me just add sumthing slightly off the subject.

I bought a pie, costing me £2.20. Asked for a fork and they didnt have any, i mean how the fuck can u eat a steaming hot steak and kidney pie without a fork, or at least a spoon (or perhaps a spork )

I then asked for my money back cus i was clueless on how to eat it and they wouldnt give me a refund, yes its ony £2.20, but i feel fucking robbed!

I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE STARTED BY PLACING THE PIE IN MY MOUTH AND LOCKING MY TEETH!!

Easier said than done with a steaming steak and kidney

[EL-Z]

this thread has become slightly homoerotic to say the least lmao

[I Hate Hleb]

YOU AIN'T HEARD NOTHING YET!! MY NEXT REPLY TO SAMSTRANGE WAS SERIOUSLY GOING TO BE " WELL, BLOW ON IT THEN!!"

[Red Gunner]

YOU AIN'T HEARD NOTHING YET!! MY NEXT REPLY TO SAMSTRANGE WAS SERIOUSLY GOING TO BE " WELL, BLOW ON IT THEN!!"

And mine was going to be "swallow everything that comes out of it"

[samstrange]

It was steak and kidney!

Dunno what sort of pies you boys have haha

[QuartzGooner]

HOYTE - he's ok as cover, has pace and can tackle but lack of regular games means he has positional lapses.

EBOUE - Sell him. Offers very little and has poor disciplinary record.

GILBERTO - model professional who was outstanding during difficult 2006-2007 season, as a leader he drove the team on when Henry was missing. Now he is in Boxing terms "shot". Legs have gone. Have to sell him in summer.

TRAORE - two years away from ready, prefer to see him as left wing not left back as lacks positional sense but has pace power and can tackle. Needs to go on loan next season.

BENDTNER - good player but seems unsettled and a disruptive influence. Would happily sell him, with a transfer fee that can rise on future appearances/goals etc so we can reap rewards when he is a success elsewhere, which I feel he will be..

DIARRA - he wanted to leave. He was an unsettling influence, he kept moaning to other players how he disliked the club. We had no option but to get rid of a player like that.