Arsenal v Olympiakos

[REB]

I too fall for it too but ffs its every match thread waits till we concede,miss a chance,lose then comes on to post a comment but never makes posts when we are doing well/winning/or after scoring,tbh a sure sign of a coward.US Martin was the same always posted his board stuff on match threads after we had a bad result but never actually talking about the match.Its endless and i apologise for reacting to him but it has become 2nd nature that i have to comment about this fool.

ok i have had enough and couldnt even post last night due to babatunde acting the bollocks with shit about arsenal . we all have our moments when we like to have a bitch and a moan about players but we still like to see us win and can put our hands up and say im sorry if we make a bad call on a player , well all except for baba who has become to much of a struggle for me to even read his posts so bye bye baba ya wum, banned.

[SteveO 35]

OK - lets start with all the positives. 6 points from 2 games and top of the group. 4 points against Schalke will see us through in the double header. Carl Jenkinson is slowly developing into a very accomplished full back and whilst that's been happening and rightly attracting the plaudits, Kieran Gibbs is developing into the best left back in the country. He was my man of the match again last night and I think the lad has hardly put a foot wrong all season - by far and away our most consistent performer. Podolski continues to show excellent movement, works solidly for the team and will always be more than comfortable tucking away the half chances when they come his way. Mannone didn't drop any clangers. Gump looked decent when he came on and definitely helped to put Olympiakos back on the back foot for the last 20 minutes. The Forehead somehow managed to score with his 20 yard scuffed daisy-cutter

Negatives - Koscielny and Vermaelen were like a bad joke. The former was incredibly lucky that his ridiculous first half lunge only brought a yellow card and he got himself into that position after an awful attempt to control the ball. Do that away from home against one of the bigger guns and we'll be down to 10 men. His timing throughout the game was all over the place. TV5 seems to think that becoming captain means he has to play in every position on the field except for his own. What the fuck were the pair of them doing for the Greeks' goal ?

The Ox was absolutely shit - is he suffering from a virus or something? Jesus, he gave the ball away almost every time he got it and it didn't seem if anything came off. Gervinho, whilst somehow managing to score a goal again, is not a centre forward. His reading of the offside trap is about as accomplished as Adebayor's and I still think his lack of physical presence and natural instinct will count against us over the course of a season.

At least Arsene rewarded all of those that did turn up with Bambi, sorry Giroud's, 10 minute comedy cameo at the end. Just enough time to marvel at the Carl Leaburn like finishing ability, the swift movement of John Carew and the happy go lucky demeanour of Jimmy Flloyd Hasselbaink (sadly without the rapier shot). Oh yeah, I forgot, he won a flick on. I saw Niall Quinn do that once

[LDB]

We need Per back desperately. Not really bothered who makes way, flip a coin tbh. I doubt it will happen though because Wenger has had it in his mind since last season that Vermaelen/Koscielny is his number 1 pairing and I imagine the stubborn old goat will ignore all evidence to the contrary for a good couple of years yet.

Jenkinson and Gibbs were our two stand-out performers and for our full backs to stand out kind of shows you how flat the rest of the team were.

Podolski does look a little tired but tbh I think he's just one of those players who does his job quietly for most of the game then pops up with a goal. The opposite of Gervinho if you like (last few games accepted).

[augie]

Am loving the fact that so many are now saying that mertesacker should be centre back with one of the others alongside him but when I said that in the summer I was widely lambasted on here. Am not usually one to gloat but I made the point at that time that good centre back partnerships is about balance and not necessarily about picking the best two players and for me kos and tv5 both want to do the same job which is why it aint working. For me tv5 should be the one to make way - he is too gung ho positionally, much like song was before his departure ( ) and again the time comes first imo not any individual intent on blazing up the pitch on some sort of individual crusade Btw unlike most of you I am not so quick to believe the bug issue - the bfg got a very raw deal on sunday and germans being confident and outspoken like they are, I could easily see the guy having a serious word in wenger's ear after watching the defence performance v the chavs and maybe a disagreement resulted in him being left out last night

[DB10GOONER]

Am loving the fact that so many are now saying that mertesacker should be centre back with one of the others alongside him but when I said that in the summer I was widely lambasted on here. Am not usually one to gloat but I made the point at that time that good centre back partnerships is about balance and not necessarily about picking the best two players and for me kos and tv5 both want to do the same job which is why it aint working. For me tv5 should be the one to make way - he is too gung ho positionally, much like song was before his departure ( ) and again the time comes first imo not any individual intent on blazing up the pitch on some sort of individual crusade Btw unlike most of you I am not so quick to believe the bug issue - the bfg got a very raw deal on sunday and germans being confident and outspoken like they are, I could easily see the guy having a serious word in wenger's ear after watching the defence performance v the chavs and maybe a disagreement resulted in him being left out last night

Fantastic.

augie, mate - every second post starts with something along the lines of "When I predicted this last year everybody slated me..."

[SteveO 35]

Am loving the fact that so many are now saying that mertesacker should be centre back with one of the others alongside him but when I said that in the summer I was widely lambasted on here. Am not usually one to gloat but I made the point at that time that good centre back partnerships is about balance and not necessarily about picking the best two players and for me kos and tv5 both want to do the same job which is why it aint working. For me tv5 should be the one to make way - he is too gung ho positionally, much like song was before his departure ( ) and again the time comes first imo not any individual intent on blazing up the pitch on some sort of individual crusade Btw unlike most of you I am not so quick to believe the bug issue - the bfg got a very raw deal on sunday and germans being confident and outspoken like they are, I could easily see the guy having a serious word in wenger's ear after watching the defence performance v the chavs and maybe a disagreement resulted in him being left out last night

Fantastic.

augie, mate - every second post starts with something along the lines of "When I predicted this last year everybody slated me..."

Yes, clearly Augie has developed the same writing style as Alan Partridge did in 'Bouncing Back'. He should start signing off every post with 'needless to say I had the last laugh'



Clearly Mertesacker's 3 good games have outweighed the 20 or so awful ones from last season. I think Augie might actually be Patrick Barclay in disguise

[DB10GOONER]

Am loving the fact that so many are now saying that mertesacker should be centre back with one of the others alongside him but when I said that in the summer I was widely lambasted on here. Am not usually one to gloat but I made the point at that time that good centre back partnerships is about balance and not necessarily about picking the best two players and for me kos and tv5 both want to do the same job which is why it aint working. For me tv5 should be the one to make way - he is too gung ho positionally, much like song was before his departure ( ) and again the time comes first imo not any individual intent on blazing up the pitch on some sort of individual crusade Btw unlike most of you I am not so quick to believe the bug issue - the bfg got a very raw deal on sunday and germans being confident and outspoken like they are, I could easily see the guy having a serious word in wenger's ear after watching the defence performance v the chavs and maybe a disagreement resulted in him being left out last night

Fantastic.

augie, mate - every second post starts with something along the lines of "When I predicted this last year everybody slated me..."

Yes, clearly Augie has developed the same writing style as Alan Partridge did in 'Bouncing Back'. He should start signing off every post with 'needless to say I had the last laugh'



Clearly Mertesacker's 3 good games have outweighed the 20 or so awful ones from last season. I think Augie might actually be Patrick Barclay in disguise

[flash gunner]

augie has always been a Mertesacker fan ever since he was spotted in that pub on Holloway Road

[DB10GOONER]

A good result from an average performance I thought. MOTM was Jenko. TBH he still worries me as a defender but last night he was mostly very good. He gives 100% every game and I feel will improve the defensive aspects of his game with experience. REALLY want this guy to be a legend at The Arsenal.

The Ox was very poor. Looked off his game. As did Tommy V. And what the fuck he was doing charging up the pitch at 2-1 in the dying minutes is beyond me. Time and place, Tommy. Time and place.

Arteta was solid, did what he needed to do but also fired a couple of “Denilsons” straight into touch 5 yards behind his intended target. Indicitive of general nervousness in the team last night. Coquelin was very sloppy but was always looking to make amends for his stray passes and put in a lot of work. Looked like a cramp or slight calf strain right at the end so that’s him out for the rest of the season...

What can you say about the Clingon? He is muck for huge parts of a game but he is scoring goals. If he keeps scoring then I feel we can carry his other faults. The legend IWWW had games like that too. Not a touch for 89 minutes aqnd then popped up with a winner.

Geroud can’t buy a goal at the moment but I still think he will come good and chip in with 15+ PL goals this season if he gets the games. His positioning and runs off the ball are all solid. His flick on for Ramsey’s goal was very good under pressure.

Shockingly, Ramsey’s finish was quality.

We were ropey. But a win is a win and I’d take winning whilst playing not so good ahead of tippy tappy beautiful football that then ends in a draw or a 1-0 loss any day.

[Bradywasking]

Wasn't a good performance, full backs apart and Santi it was somewhere between pedestrian and careless. The first ten minutes it seemed we could score early and often but it went so flat after that . Gervinho's goal was a surprise and theirs wasn't. Second half was a bit better without being over convincing. Gervinho did look a bit more of a team player and Podolski showed fleeting quality. Again I thought the Ox was poor, seems to lack energy . Central defence was awful again. There seems to be no communication there. TV bombs up the pitch in a senseless careless fashion. Kos looks a shadow of last season. Yet both had decent moments but not enough and not as a pair.
I think Giroud proves a point in that when he came on last night and on Saturday it showed that we need to play with a proper striker presence in the side. OK Giroud himself may not be the answer, thought he was a bit unlucky twice last night, but just by being in those positions he proves we need someone in those positions. I don't like this roving striker system in Gervinho or Podolski. Charlie Nicholas was drooling about it after the game. Yeah Gervinho is getting goals and his second half effort was a big improvement but I don't think he is good enough for a team that says it want's to challenge. All in all a win was vital and we got it. Qualification in our hands so that's most important thing.
Finally how annoying is Niall Quinn ? He just never shuts up. Nothing to say but saying it too loud.

[SteveO 35]

Finally how annoying is Niall Quinn ? He just never shuts up. Nothing to say but saying it too loud.

He did alright with that flick on for Ramsey's goal, but yes I admit he is fucking annoying

[Bradywasking]

[quote="Demun210"]Man City have a feature on their website where they show the goings on in the tunnel before and after the game (half time too), and after the game Wenger was waiting in the tunnel for the team and saying well done etc...but he was most pleased with Jenkinson and made it clear how impressed he was with his performance and it was good to see.

Did you see the reaction of Clichey before the game when Wenger blanked him in the tunnel. Could be heard saying to his team-mates " it was only nine years"

[littlefire]

OK - lets start with all the positives. etc

The only issue I personally have with this excellent summation is regarding John Carew. In his heyday he was a goalscoring menace and deceptively quick for a big bloke - not things you could say right now about Hey Jude...

[SteveO 35]

OK - lets start with all the positives. etc

The only issue I personally have with this excellent summation is regarding John Carew. In his heyday he was a goalscoring menace and deceptively quick for a big bloke - not things you could say right now about Hey Jude...

Very true mate. I was thinking more of the mid-30s version of John Carew that turned up at West Ham and had all the mobility of an injured tortoise. Happy for alternative suggestions !

[DB10GOONER]

Did you see the reaction of Clichey before the game when Wenger blanked him in the tunnel. Could be heard saying to his team-mates " it was only nine years"

Fuck him.