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.
Tonight was not good it must be said but over the 2 ties I think most gooners would take 4 points from Marseille.
It showed how much RVP carries the attack and if the club has ANY ambition anymore they will move heaven and earth to make him stay.
If we end up arsing it up against Dortmund and have to go to OLympiakos needing something then I can understand the angst.
Wengerball wrote:If we end up arsing it up against Dortmund and have to go to OLympiakos needing something then I can understand the angst.
Until then Im quite happy with our CL situation.
I'm happy with the CL situation too, but thought tonight's performance was total garbage. I honestly can't think of one player that played well.
At one stage, our attacking option was Mertesacker playing a long ball up to Jenkinson, which pretty much says it all.
I thought Walcott was particularly atrocious. Every time he was in a position to get an attack going, or make a cross, he failed. I honestly don't get why everyone regards him so highly. He's fucking useless.
Wengerball wrote:If we end up arsing it up against Dortmund and have to go to OLympiakos needing something then I can understand the angst.
Until then Im quite happy with our CL situation.
I'm happy with the CL situation too, but thought tonight's performance was total garbage. I honestly can't think of one player that played well.
At one stage, our attacking option was Mertesacker playing a long ball up to Jenkinson, which pretty much says it all.
I thought Walcott was particularly atrocious. Every time he was in a position to get an attack going, or make a cross, he failed. I honestly don't get why everyone regards him so highly. He's fucking useless.
Dont get me wrong I agree that we were dire I just think its best to leave the worrying until the shit looks like hitting the fan. If we beat Dortmund its all academic. If we have to go to Greece and get something then we are leaving ourselves open to the whims of fate (like last year)
Wengerball wrote:If we end up arsing it up against Dortmund and have to go to OLympiakos needing something then I can understand the angst.
Until then Im quite happy with our CL situation.
I'm happy with the CL situation too, but thought tonight's performance was total garbage. I honestly can't think of one player that played well.
At one stage, our attacking option was Mertesacker playing a long ball up to Jenkinson, which pretty much says it all.
I thought Walcott was particularly atrocious. Every time he was in a position to get an attack going, or make a cross, he failed. I honestly don't get why everyone regards him so highly. He's fucking useless.
Dont get me wrong I agree that we were dire I just think its best to leave the worrying until the shit looks like hitting the fan. If we beat Dortmund its all academic. If we have to go to Greece and get something then we are leaving ourselves open to the whims of fate (like last year)
I'm not worrying, merely reviewing the performance.
Anything other than winning the group, and yet again Wenger will be made to look the clueless indolent comedian he truly is. His arrogance is staggering and leaving RVP out was indicative of a deluded jester who thinks he has so much quality options that he can afford to rotate, and still win matches. He is then surprised when he witnesses sterile garbage like we saw tonight....
Irish Gooner wrote:Usual performance from this average side. A handful of top quality surrounded by averageness, and no leaders this is what you get.
Many of the summer transfers look like poor buys, compared to similar players on the market.
Santos is an upgrade definitely.
Mertesacker looks average, we could have found a better English CB or PL CL back like Samba.
Park looks the marketing purchase he truely is.
Arteta has been the big disappointment. For 10 million anyway he just looks like another Denilson.
Wenger isnt making much mistakes in resting Van Persie, its the fact he has just bought aload of average players means we get average results.
Mertesacker was excellent tonight alongside TV.
Park clearly needs more time to gel with his team mates, he was outstanding against Bolton against the much hyped Gary Cahill.
With Arteta we knew what we were getting - an midtable midfield to fill the gaps left by Cesc and that other *word censored*.
We are still top of the group so not a bad result all things considered. If Wenger doesn't fuck about we should have too much for Dortmund.
A below average display, but not disastrous, and eight points from our first four games is OK.
We did create chances, but failed to put them away.
Walcott was not as bad as has been said, in fact he had a good shot and got a good pass onto the head of Ramsey.
Ramsey is frustratingly close to being a second striker, but he lacks the quick shot!
Very hard to judge Arteta when Park was our attacker. Am sure the Korean is a marketing buy as much as he is a footballer, though cannot write him off after what was effectively was only his first major game for the club.
There are high hopes for the injured Afobe down the line, but with Chamakh so far from being effective and Park a Carling Cup level player we surely must buy a speedy goalscorer in January, because without Van Persie we will struggle for fourth place in the domestic league.
he's not tiniting dumdum...you're quick to run off when we win and spring back all of a sudden when the stciks are down
Hold on Hold on Knobby..... You were the one who went missing for a few days after our 8-2 loss to a former rival team. So you are as bad if not worse than Babatunde as at least he posts his views on here, you on the other hand post other peoples that you vaguely agree with :awnker:
As for the game it was shit and typical of the current Champions League format which allows games like this to happen for the sake of making extra cash
he's not tiniting dumdum...you're quick to run off when we win and spring back all of a sudden when the stciks are down
Hold on Hold on Knobby..... You were the one who went missing for a few days after our 8-2 loss to a former rival team. So you are as bad if not worse than Babatunde as at least he posts his views on here, you on the other hand post other peoples that you vaguely agree with :awnker:
As for the game it was shit and typical of the current Champions League format which allows games like this to happen for the sake of making extra cash
Babatunde wrote:Anything other than winning the group, and yet again Wenger will be made to look the clueless indolent comedian he truly is. His arrogance is staggering and leaving RVP out was indicative of a deluded jester who thinks he has so much quality options that he can afford to rotate, and still win matches. He is then surprised when he witnesses sterile garbage like we saw tonight....
QuartzGooner wrote:A below average display, but not disastrous, and eight points from our first four games is OK.
We did create chances, but failed to put them away.
Walcott was not as bad as has been said, in fact he had a good shot and got a good pass onto the head of Ramsey.
Ramsey is frustratingly close to being a second striker, but he lacks the quick shot!
Very hard to judge Arteta when Park was our attacker. Am sure the Korean is a marketing buy as much as he is a footballer, though cannot write him off after what was effectively was only his first major game for the club.
There are high hopes for the injured Afobe down the line, but with Chamakh so far from being effective and Park a Carling Cup level player we surely must buy a speedy goalscorer in January, because without Van Persie we will struggle for fourth place in the domestic league.
QuartzGooner wrote:A below average display, but not disastrous, and eight points from our first four games is OK.
We did create chances, but failed to put them away.
Walcott was not as bad as has been said, in fact he had a good shot and got a good pass onto the head of Ramsey.
Ramsey is frustratingly close to being a second striker, but he lacks the quick shot!
Very hard to judge Arteta when Park was our attacker. Am sure the Korean is a marketing buy as much as he is a footballer, though cannot write him off after what was effectively was only his first major game for the club.
There are high hopes for the injured Afobe down the line, but with Chamakh so far from being effective and Park a Carling Cup level player we surely must buy a speedy goalscorer in January, because without Van Persie we will struggle for fourth place in the domestic league.
I agree with Quartz's sentiments that an 8 point return from the first 4 games is not bad overall. United, City and Chelsea have all had a tricky time of it in the Group stages, so I think breezing through with 12 points from 4 is wishful thinking these days. I also think all of our group games have been pretty well matched so there are no easy games in our particular group, whereas Milan and Barca have the pleasure of BATE and Plzen, the Mancs have Galati and Basel etc.
I think the downside, and my biggest criticism of modern day Wenger, is that it is games like this that highlight the one-dimensional tactical approach and we set ourselves up in exactly the same way whether its Chelsea or Barca away, or Marseille or Swansea at home. In the second half as Marseille became more comfortable the laboured build up and isolated striker started to look and feel like those awful end of season affairs at home to Blackburn, Sunderland and Villa where the need to leave two strikers up top was patently obvious. Too many times yesterday Park was either incapable of holding the ball up or was crowded out by the Marseille defence.
If we're going to make serious inroads into the league top 4 and the CL knockouts we desperately need a striker with great movement to open teams up.....and they don't all cost £20m+ either. Demba Ba and Javier Hernandez have proved that £6m can go a long way if spent wisely.
Failing that, and as much as I'm not convinced by his potential, he will simply have to try Walcott out through the middle with RvP. Why did we stick so rigidly to the lone striker last night. If he wanted to just get Park off, then he could have paired either Gervinho and RvP, and Walcott and RvP through the centre. The extra movement and pace might just have stretched Marseille in the last 20 mins. As it is, I think we played into their hands a bit
Still - much better defensively again. For all Marseille's second half efforts they barely registered a goalbound effort
when I go and watch a CL match at home I expect us to WIN.
Wenger got it so tactically wrong last night it was unbelieveable.
the momentum from Saturday was already lost as soon as it was announced that RVP would start on the bench.
also if he is going to play Park then at least play your best creative player who will give him some service - Arshavin, as he did last week in the CC. Not as if he was tired from Saturday was it??
Walcott also runs out of puff after about an hour so it was a waste of time bringing on RVP then if you are not going to put Arshavin on as well.
Still don't understand the criticism of Santos, Jenkinson meanwhile lost lots of balls and is a fucking liability, get Koscielny in there sharpish.