Munich away match thread

[northbank123]

See there are a few singling Ramsey out again - not one midfield player could keep the ball tonight and they all wasted possession regularly.

As brilliant as we were we simply didn't have another gear - it says something when Gervinho actually injects a bit of pace when he comes on.

Rosicky was fucking awful, the ball bounced off him all night long. I didn't actually think Ramsey was that dreadful but in possession he rarely does anything except slow the ball down. Arteta was much better second half (fucking braindead fouling aside) but looked too slow and was caught several times. Feo was peripheral although imo we didn't use him properly. Cazorla struggled to have much of an impact from the wide position because of the lack of support - had he been moved into the middle and Rosicky hauled off then we might have seen us actually keep the ball and create some space like for the first goal.

Giroud's movement and touch just isn't good enough for any striker at this level, never mind one whose game surely must be based on holding the ball up and aerial prowess.

All this just goes to show what a great effort it was to go and beat Bayern Munich 2-0 in their own backyard - what's our excuse for the rest of the season???

[northbank123]

Yes a glorious failure tonight again but fucking proud of the support and the boys done well and jenks quiailty tonight bags of pride son take a bow

Robben just said, that they did not understandstand why they played that bad, so the so called experts, who said bayern played with the handbrake.....stupid exp

But then again Robben is a massive *word censored*.

[Nos89]

Overall, we won when no one gave us a chance. Apart from rosicky it was the strongest team available. My only question would be why Chamberlain isn't starting in place of Wilshere? He was immense against AC Milan and Utd in the middle last season.

Didn't get the result but we drew on aggregate and went out on away goals. Also, we won in Munich for the first time which considering they are 20 points clear at the top of bundesliga is an outstanding result.

[dPmunky]

Overall, we won when no one gave us a chance. Apart from rosicky it was the strongest team available. My only question would be why Chamberlain isn't starting in place of Wilshere? He was immense against AC Milan and Utd in the middle last season.

Didn't get the result but we drew on aggregate and went out on away goals. Also, we won in Munich for the first time which considering they are 20 points clear at the top of bundesliga is an outstanding result.

i also would have like to have seen ox in to start on the right with walcott in the middle, giroud on the bench should be his default starting position for a while, he's a bit cold lately...


oh...and how has no one mentioned putting in gervinho...... wenger out!

[augie]

Manny without wishing to get in some long winded fight about it, most people are p****d off because it's glorious failure once again, the team turns up only when it's almost mission impossible. Why couldn't they have done this 2 weeks ago the we would be in the hat on friday.

It's the same sh*t every year. We want them to turn up from the start to the end of the season. If the crap performances were one offs then we would be ahead of dross like the one man team that is the scum and the chavs.

No one remembers nearly men and we have been nearly men for too long and it's become acceptable. This club is better than that and it might be time for someone who can instill in the players that glorious failure is still FAILURE.

Best you fuck off to bed before your mummy finds you. You're a moron of the highest order. If you despise the team that much why not fuck off to the team you like? Shut up you dick.

Where or how does topgoon's comments deserve that response ? He isn't being abusive or aggressive and was merely stating that our players need to turn up when they are needed instead of showing up putting in a gallant effort when it is too late to matter. I don't understand where you get that crap about despising the team from a post like that

On a personal level I only actually seen the 2nd half but it did look to me that it wasn't a good game and both sides looked quite poor. The fact that this valiant effort will be held up as a defence for wenger and the players does piss me off big time but we did win a game that I felt we would lose by 2 or 3 goals so I suppose that is good. I am pleased for the traveling Gooners - shelling out a small fortune these days is commendable but when you are told 24 hours before the game that your club has sent their best player off to Dubai on holidays and is resting players like chesney, sagna and poldi then it must feel like a kick in the balls, so for their sakes I am glad that the result will have made it enjoyable for them

[Romford_Pele]

Look at the poll at he top of this thread. At the end of the day anyone that voted was wrong. We weren't great but ill take that going in to the last 10 games of the season 7 points behind the scum any day. Things are shit and it could have got even more embarrassing tonight but there was some fight and we kept a clean sheet.

I just don't want to finish behind the scum. I hate Wenger I hate what's happend but it's not changing and finishing behind the scum won't change that.

It could have been worse. Alot worse.... But it wasn't. And Wenger the c**t is not going nowhere. So lets hope we put in a little bit of poke until the end of the season. I really don't want us to be the next Liverpool.

[samflitt]

Thought the boys did us proud tonight. Everyone was exceptional just didn't quite have enough to get over the line. If I am going to be critical I think Arteta was very stupid with needless fouls and a wasted free kick. Flappyhanksi has to keep his place for Swansea look solid and the whole back line was assertive especially with Vermaelen out the team Koscielny stepped up and put a huge performance in.

Proud of the boys tonight even though it was bitter sweet!

[bunch]

This result is agonisingly similar to last seasons CL exit. A massive 1st leg deficit almost overturned. What does it tell me? That this team can only play when the pressure is off. Bayern, like Milan, were not as hard edged mentally because they thought they had done the job in the 1st leg. We were able to take advantage to some extent. I think if we'd gone 2-0 up before half time or early in the second half Bayern would have come back. Until the 86th minute they had a 2 goal cushion, they only had to hold on for 4 minutes.

Its the same as when we play the big teams in the league. Its Rabbits in the headlights, 2 goals down and then, (pressure off, the game is lost) we start to play.

And we suffer badly the other way round too. 2 , 3. or 4 (St James's Park) goals up we switch off so badly that we let teams back in. Then the voice in the head is saying "Fuuuccckk, I though we had this won, we're gonna fuck it up" and then we go ahead and fuck it up. And this season has shown that against lesser opposition we are capable of turning off even before the lead is established.

This team has serious mental strength issues. And its all down to the manager, which is why you can talk all you want about summer spending, massive transfer funds etc, but until we change the manager you can have the best players in the world but we will still fail.

[MK Gould]

Sad that for the 2nd season running a stunning second leg has almost (but not quite) turned around an abysmal performance in the first. .... Thought bayern were incredibly poor tonight. I put that down to complacency. So near yet so far.

The bayern fans were the same. Friendly as anything but stunned into silence in the ground. If it wasn't for those shite clapper things they were given I'd have forgotten they were there!

[northbank123]

This result is agonisingly similar to last seasons CL exit. A massive 1st leg deficit almost overturned. What does it tell me? That this team can only play when the pressure is off. Bayern, like Milan, were not as hard edged mentally because they thought they had done the job in the 1st leg. We were able to take advantage to some extent. I think if we'd gone 2-0 up before half time or early in the second half Bayern would have come back. Until the 86th minute they had a 2 goal cushion, they only had to hold on for 4 minutes.

Its the same as when we play the big teams in the league. Its Rabbits in the headlights, 2 goals down and then, (pressure off, the game is lost) we start to play.

And we suffer badly the other way round too. 2 , 3. or 4 (St James's Park) goals up we switch off so badly that we let teams back in. Then the voice in the head is saying "Fuuuccckk, I though we had this won, we're gonna fuck it up" and then we go ahead and fuck it up. And this season has shown that against lesser opposition we are capable of turning off even before the lead is established.

This team has serious mental strength issues. And its all down to the manager, which is why you can talk all you want about summer spending, massive transfer funds etc, but until we change the manager you can have the best players in the world but we will still fail.

Completely agree - as you say our long list of nearly comebacks after gifting 2-goal leads to Liverpool, Spurs, United and Citeh this season alone (alongside Bayern in the first leg in our glorious 5-minute revival before they scored a 3rd) show this. Our woeful record in knockout competition where we have one real scalp in 7 seasons also proves this.

I don't think Bayern were really the same case as Milan though. Yeah they were poor tonight, and not all of this was attributable to our resolute and organised approach. But AC Milan last year were genuinely a bang average side who we made look like world-beaters out there. Bayern are a very good side who may well go on to win the competition and who merely had an off day that was well exploited by us.

Taking this result on its own tonight and it really was a great effort - going out there when everyone expected us to get a dicking with our best player and our best defender missing and reducing a team packed full of ability and experience to being cheating bastards. Whatever the circumstances going and winning in Munich and giving them a right fright deserves tremendous credit.

[MK Gould]

Sad that for the 2nd season running a stunning second leg has almost (but not quite) turned around an abysmal performance in the first. .... Thought bayern were incredibly poor tonight. I put that down to complacency. So near yet so far.

The bayern fans were the same. Friendly as anything but stunned into silence in the ground. If it wasn't for those shite clapper things they were given I'd have forgotten they were there!

[QuartzGooner]

Telling for me that when we attacked with pace we scored (Giroud's goal).

Cazorla is wasted wide left, much better central.

Ramsey showed he can play a role in the squad, I would never select him to start but he is making a reasonable fist of a deep all round midfielder and "gets stuck in", though as others mention his passing must improve.

Jenkinson showed heart.
Flappy showed mental strength.

[Herd]

Nothing like a win to get everyone bickering ,and it is a sad and sorry state that even a win cannot generate any positives from the negative people on here .

I'm pleased the team, showed some gumption for a change the defense played well ,Im very pleased with Jenkinsons progress. Bayern looked a shadow of the team they were in the UK but then again all three goals we shipped to them there were very poor defending.
It shows that as bad as we are with some defensive coaching, a small variation in tactics paying attention to the opposition and going 442 now and again , and 3/4 players of genuine quality we can be amongst the best again .

However if as I suspect (No Proof DB) Wenger rested Wilshere and dropped Podolski altogether then I'm baffled.
I say rested Wilshere because the boy is in Dubai sunning his arse ,If he was injured to the point where he would be missing several games surely he would be back in London Colney having treatment ?
I can see that Wenger doesn't want him to burn out but having a month off at the peak of your season is Odd in the extreme.
As for Podolski I think they have had a row and he will be off at the end of the season,I dont buy the injury bit !

[bunch]

Nothing like a win to get everyone bickering ,and it is a sad and sorry state that even a win cannot generate any positives from the negative people on here .

But it wasn't a win. They were celebrating at the end of the game, not us. We made it close, but we lost. As it always seems to be these days against strong teams.

[augie]

Some of the papers today are speaking of "wenger's hero's" - for those that belive that only good can come from last night maybe headlines like this will make you think differently

As I said last night, I didnt see the whole game so I cant rightfully comment on how good or bad individual performances were - I do 100% believe that we seen a lazy performance by bayern who believed that the tie was already over from the first leg, but even still I cant help wondering if we played wilshere and podolski last night would we still be in the competition this morning Of course on the flip side of that if we had of had our strongest possible 11 on the pitch, would we have seen a better more agressive attitude from bayern ?

The more I watch Arsenal these days the more questions I have - (1) is podolski's career with us done and dusted ? (2) does wenger no longer trust cazorla in the middle for big games ? (3) is chesney's stint with us as number 1 choice over for the foreseeable future ? (4) is tv5 no longer considered as first choice centre back ? (5) has the confidence/mental strength of these players gone to the point that they need to be all but beaten in a game before they can play with any confidence or freedom ?