Zagreb away match thread

[augie]

Hey steve o, I said that I USED to think that finishing 3rd was a nightmare scenario but now I dont give a flying fcuk

[Bradywasking]

Did you all know that Arsenal have won 76 Champions League games which is a record for a club that has not won the trophy.. And we have the absolute cheek to moan about tonight's result instead of celebrating that fine Champions League record. It is up there with the consecutive years trophy and the calendar year cup.

Do we have a virtual trophy cabinet at the bowl to keep all these many trophies in?

Congratulations to Arsene Wenger who last night became the first manager to lose 50 Champions League Games..

[Bradywasking]

This form David Ornstein

Reports coming out from Arsenal that there was a fight in the dressing room with Giroud ending up with a black eye #bbcsportsday

Fucking hell.

It was over hair gel, apparently Giroud used his early departure to sample some of the other player's hair products. Voices were raised which caused Gibbs to break down with an ear injury. Arteta missed the row as he was still on oxygen after walking from the pitch. Wenger blameed everyone in the world for the row but insisted "it showed the speeeeeret in the squad "

[northbank123]

Used to really enjoy CL games years ago, would look forward to it all day. Forgot the match was even on until it had started yesterday. I'll watch the games against Bayern with a bit of interest (to see just how far off the pace we are) and likewise the knockout rounds but really what does it fucking matter how we get on in Zagreb?

Disgraceful performance and result but hardly a 'new low' for us. The same old problems with personnel, the same old performance issues, the same old lack of tactics and the same old sheer arrogance. We will more likely than not still qualify and then be outclassed over 180 minutes of embarrassment in the last 16; frankly who cares?

If we don't qualify for the knockouts people will be proclaiming for the 100th time that this is a real turning point and that the pressure is now really on Wenger. Bollocks. Kroenke might splutter his morning coffee over the newspaper but the vast legion of fans who find a new excuse for Wenger every time will come out with shit like "it's the first time in X years we haven't made the knockouts" or proclaim that he will definitely have learned from his mistake in this transfer window (sound familiar).

Still, special mention to that pampered French prick up front. Literally no other club on the planet would pay him half as much as we do, and how he has been a guaranteed starter in the lone striker role for 3 years at our club is beyond comprehension. People must be fucking blind if they can't see that.

[DB10GOONER]

This form David Ornstein

Reports coming out from Arsenal that there was a fight in the dressing room with Giroud ending up with a black eye #bbcsportsday

Fucking hell.

Excellent news if true. When you consider the bunch of pussies in that squad, then I can only think of Gabriel with the stones to do this. Debu-shit? Nope. Theo? LOL. Coquelin? Heh. Gibbs? Too busy ducking. Has to be Gabriel.
Shame he didn't land that wrinkly inept c*** with one.

Wow! There's a surprise!! We win against the Orcs, not a post from low brow fuckwit ItchyBaba. We lose a game, and the mong is all over it!!

Anyway, shit wiped from shoe, onto the game.

We were appalling. That's it. Thank you.



If the story about Giroudzema getting a slap is true then fuck yeah well done whoever dished it out. To get sent off the way he did and let his team mates and our travelling support down is a disgrace.

Only good spot for me was Feo Feo took his goal really well. Did everything right. Ran at the nearest post, opened his body up and placed far corner.

Um... that's about it really. Oh, Sanchez ran around a lot. Well done.

[DB10GOONER]

This form David Ornstein

Reports coming out from Arsenal that there was a fight in the dressing room with Giroud ending up with a black eye #bbcsportsday

Fucking hell.

It was over hair gel, apparently Giroud used his early departure to sample some of the other player's hair products. Voices were raised which caused Gibbs to break down with an ear injury. Arteta missed the row as he was still on oxygen after walking from the pitch. Wenger blameed everyone in the world for the row but insisted "it showed the speeeeeret in the squad "

Fantastic.

[augie]

Have to say that I do think that the lambasting of giroud is a bit OTT - the 2nd yellow was when he was slightly slow getting to the ball (no change there then) but it was hardly a petulant nasty yellow. The first yellow was for dissent over a ridiculous free being given against him - of course no player should argue with a referee over a decision but it happens frequently in every game, and if he hadn't of picked up a 2nd yellow there wouldn't be any real complaints about it. Personally I would rather slate the guy for his failing to convert the chances that continue to come his way

Without wishing to sound arrogant, Zagreb are the type of team that we should be beating even if we had two players sent off - girouds red seems to be totally deflecting the focus away from the rest of the players whose attitude stank the place out of it again last night Of course when le cock makes that many changes to his starting team, it does send out an air of arrogance to the players, but they should still be more tuned in than that. A few years ago in craven cottage the team turned in the most lazy uninterested performance I had seen from an Arsenal team for a long, long time, and that night I knew that the manager was totally incapable of motivating his players anymore - yes professional pride and massive wages should motivate them somewhat, but the manager should always be in the background ready to unleash a verbal rocket when his players don't seem focused, and the reality is that he is either incapable of doing so or the players just don't listen to him anymore. We had a starting team last night which contained 6 or 7 full internationals, and they should be well able to beat a team that hasn't won a home game in the group stages of the champs league since 1999 - girouds dismissal shouldn't be used to deflect from that

[Redarmy]

Have to say that I do think that the lambasting of giroud is a bit OTT - the 2nd yellow was when he was slightly slow getting to the ball (no change there then) but it was hardly a petulant nasty yellow. The first yellow was for dissent over a ridiculous free being given against him - of course no player should argue with a referee over a decision but it happens frequently in every game, and if he hadn't of picked up a 2nd yellow there wouldn't be any real complaints about it. Personally I would rather slate the guy for his failing to convert the chances that continue to come his way

Without wishing to sound arrogant, Zagreb are the type of team that we should be beating even if we had two players sent off - girouds red seems to be totally deflecting the focus away from the rest of the players whose attitude stank the place out of it again last night Of course when le cock makes that many changes to his starting team, it does send out an air of arrogance to the players, but they should still be more tuned in than that. A few years ago in craven cottage the team turned in the most lazy uninterested performance I had seen from an Arsenal team for a long, long time, and that night I knew that the manager was totally incapable of motivating his players anymore - yes professional pride and massive wages should motivate them somewhat, but the manager should always be in the background ready to unleash a verbal rocket when his players don't seem focused, and the reality is that he is either incapable of doing so or the players just don't listen to him anymore. We had a starting team last night which contained 6 or 7 full internationals, and they should be well able to beat a team that hasn't won a home game in the group stages of the champs league since 1999 - girouds dismissal shouldn't be used to deflect from that

Stating the obvious mate....as for explaining team changes with the explanation that they are internationals is a Wenger type rubbish comment.....messi and Bendtner are both internationals FFS
He has totally fucking lost it, team selection, underestimating opponents, No tactics whatsoever.....how he went into that game last night with the team set up like that is criminal....Zagreb must have been laughing there bollox off

[rodders999]

For those, like me, who were predicting this to be the breakout season of the Ox, well we've been well and truly quietened 4 weeks into the season. Abysmal again last night and a complete liability with his defensive duties. Asleep for the goal and again when they pinballed the ball off the post a few times at the start of the second half, coupled with his calamity against west ham it's clear to see he's not progressing and stagnating by not being coached properly by Wenger.

[DB10GOONER]

Have to say that I do think that the lambasting of giroud is a bit OTT - the 2nd yellow was when he was slightly slow getting to the ball (no change there then) but it was hardly a petulant nasty yellow. The first yellow was for dissent over a ridiculous free being given against him - of course no player should argue with a referee over a decision but it happens frequently in every game, and if he hadn't of picked up a 2nd yellow there wouldn't be any real complaints about it. Personally I would rather slate the guy for his failing to convert the chances that continue to come his way

Without wishing to sound arrogant, Zagreb are the type of team that we should be beating even if we had two players sent off - girouds red seems to be totally deflecting the focus away from the rest of the players whose attitude stank the place out of it again last night Of course when le cock makes that many changes to his starting team, it does send out an air of arrogance to the players, but they should still be more tuned in than that. A few years ago in craven cottage the team turned in the most lazy uninterested performance I had seen from an Arsenal team for a long, long time, and that night I knew that the manager was totally incapable of motivating his players anymore - yes professional pride and massive wages should motivate them somewhat, but the manager should always be in the background ready to unleash a verbal rocket when his players don't seem focused, and the reality is that he is either incapable of doing so or the players just don't listen to him anymore. We had a starting team last night which contained 6 or 7 full internationals, and they should be well able to beat a team that hasn't won a home game in the group stages of the champs league since 1999 - girouds dismissal shouldn't be used to deflect from that

I agree that Giroudzema getting sent off is not the sole (or even the biggest) issue about last night. We were shite all over the place. But I agree with those lambasting him for his selfish and petulant behaviour. He had been moaning at what was a very obviously overly-officious arsehole of a ref non-stop. That ref was looking for an excuse to give him the second yellow. Giroudzema is in a slump form wise and is now at the frustrated pissed off at the world stage of a striker's slump. Last night his head was gone. He should have been subbed. My 10 year old son said it after the first booking, "He's getting sent off in a minute isn't he, dad?" Yet Arsene could not see it and take the proper action of just getting the fucking idiot off the pitch before he got us down to 10 men.

Strangely, after fucking up the selection at the start, Arsene then actually got it bang on with reverting to 3 at the back and throwing on all 3 subs and just having a go at them as we had nothing to lose at that point. I'm guessing the team medic told him to do it!

[DB10GOONER]

For those, like me, who were predicting this to be the breakout season of the Ox, well we've been well and truly quietened 4 weeks into the season. Abysmal again last night and a complete liability with his defensive duties. Asleep for the goal and again when they pinballed the ball off the post a few times at the start of the second half, coupled with his calamity against west ham it's clear to see he's not progressing and stagnating by not being coached properly by Wenger.

Agree 100%. It's all potential with the Ox but he very rarely delivers anything on the pitch. Even when he has a go and runs at a couple of defenders he very rarely has any end product, whether it be a shot on target or a decent cross. I can't help but feel a better coach/manager would get more out of him and develop him quicker.

[Kvltman]

This is from football365.com. Apologies for the cut & paste but it simply sums up exactly how I (and I'm guessing a lot of others!) feel...

“I knew since I [found out] our schedule that I have a squad of 20 players, all experienced and every decision I make is very difficult,” said Wenger in pre-match press conference. “It is quite easy to change two or three players, more than it was in years before because they are all at a very good level.”

Ah, here we are again. So lovely too see you, take a seat. You’re right, this event is a little earlier than normal this year, but go with it.

Any Arsenal supporters filing out of the Stadion Maksimir on Wednesday night would be forgiven for shouting “f**k cohesion” at the empty stadium, continuing the fine tradition of football supporters screaming obscenities at inanimate objects. If this was Arsenal’s first step along the road to Champions League success, they tripped over their own lace and smashed their face on the gravel.

Arsenal are not losers because their Champions League campaign is in tatters (because it obviously isn’t), but due to the message this defeat sends out. If Arsene Wenger’s decision not to buy a single outfield player (the only club in Europe’s top five leagues, remember) was because he thought he had adequate cover in vital positions, he was wrong.

Individually, this squad is good enough. If all are fit and all are gelling together they are among the most capable sides in Europe. But that status quo is so rare that it barely bears mentioning. It’s something we’ve said before, and will no doubt say again: If this is the performance of the team which well be needed through the cold winter months, a title challenge looks a laughable prospect.

This has been a fortnight so utterly Arsenal that it may as well be christened Thierry Gunnersaurus Adams-Chapman. A silent deadline day was followed by serious injury to Danny Welbeck and another to Jack Wilshere, both suffering setbacks in their recoveries from existing knocks. On both occasions Wenger issued a ‘let’s wait and see’ message but, within days, three months was issued as the hopeful estimate for both. Then, on the first occasion Wenger was permitted to display Arsenal’s strength in depth, they fell woefully short.

Each one of Arsenal’s changes fell short in their bid to impress. Mathieu Debuchy has regressed badly from his Newcastle days, Mikel Arteta offered a dire impression of a holding midfielder and David Ospina looked like a rusty reserve goalkeeper. Olivier Giroud went one step further, missing a presentable chance before being sent off for two yellow cards even before half-time. To add a red bow to a night soaked in pure Arsenal, their inability to defend set pieces again reared its ugly head.

Unexpected failure is hard to take, but there is nothing as frustrating as predictable, and avoidable, downfall. Take one step back, respond impressively, fall short of top spot, get knocked out in the last-16 – it’s Arsenal’s Champions League Groundhog Season. Supporters used to worry that they would never achieve European glory with Wenger in charge. Now even the quarter-finals seem a distant dream.

Wenger this week aimed to curb expectation on Arsenal’s chances in this competition, urging realism through the poetic insistence that “We are not dreamers”. Here’s a list of clubs to have reached the last eight since Arsenal did: Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham, Schalke, Internazionale, APOEL Nicosia, Marseille, Benfica, Milan, Malaga, Dortmund, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid, Porto and Monaco. In this competition, Arsenal have not just been overtaken by the best, but the rest too. And that’s not a dream.

The manager will stress that this is just one defeat, neither catastrophic nor indicative of a terminal decline. Wenger is right on that point, but there now follows a run of games which will truly test Arsenal’s credentials, and put their summer inaction into a more relevant context. Chelsea (a), Spurs (a), Leicester (a), Olympiacos (h), Manchester United (h). Gulp.

[Dodgyknee71]

and there you have it 2 posters who have never been to the arsenal and if they did it was obviously only when we were winning... I've met some *word censored* in my time but you two are the biggest pair ever....

Wankers

Ummm,... I know both have gone to a fair number of matches just from reading a bit on here.

Anyway guess you are happy to continue with the s**t last night

Have stated many times I'm not happy, BUT how the fuck does me giving up my ticket solve this problem? And more to the point WHY should I? Because we lost a game last night? Because we may lose a few games a season?

Unless I'm going senile along with the fraudulent one I'm sure I've seen us lose many a game in the past. And I'm sure I'll see us lose many more .....

So basically no I'm not happy, I also think wenger should of left a few years back and you wanna know something else I'm also glad he didn't spend a penny in the transfer window because any player he would of brought would probably end up being ruined, with his shit tactics and coaching methods, I also am pissed off with paying the highest prices etc etc, I also don't pay in a bean more than I have too when attending matches which makes me feel a little bit better, no merchandise, programmes, food, drink ..nothing not a single bean

But to be told it season ticket holders fault that we play shit is frankly quite absurd

[Dodgyknee71]

and there you have it 2 posters who have never been to the arsenal and if they did it was obviously only when we were winning... I've met some *word censored* in my time but you two are the biggest pair ever....

Wankers

Ummm,... I know both have gone to a fair number of matches just from reading a bit on here.

Anyway guess you are happy to continue with the s**t last night

Have stated many times I'm not happy, BUT how the fuck does me giving up my ticket solve this problem? And more to the point WHY should I? Because we lost a game last night? Because we may lose a few games a season?

Unless I'm going senile along with the fraudulent one I'm sure I've seen us lose many a game in the past. And I'm sure I'll see us lose many more .....

So basically no I'm not happy, I also think wenger should of left a few years back and you wanna know something else I'm also glad he didn't spend a penny in the transfer window because any player he would of brought would probably end up being ruined, with his shit tactics and coaching methods, I also am pissed off with paying the highest prices etc etc, I also don't pay in a bean more than I have too when attending matches which makes me feel a little bit better, no merchandise, programmes, food, drink ..nothing not a single bean

But to be told it season ticket holders fault that we play shit is frankly quite absurd

[DB10GOONER]

This is from football365.com. Apologies for the cut & paste but it simply sums up exactly how I (and I'm guessing a lot of others!) feel...

“I knew since I [found out] our schedule that I have a squad of 20 players, all experienced and every decision I make is very difficult,” said Wenger in pre-match press conference. “It is quite easy to change two or three players, more than it was in years before because they are all at a very good level.”

Ah, here we are again. So lovely too see you, take a seat. You’re right, this event is a little earlier than normal this year, but go with it.

Any Arsenal supporters filing out of the Stadion Maksimir on Wednesday night would be forgiven for shouting “f**k cohesion” at the empty stadium, continuing the fine tradition of football supporters screaming obscenities at inanimate objects. If this was Arsenal’s first step along the road to Champions League success, they tripped over their own lace and smashed their face on the gravel.

Arsenal are not losers because their Champions League campaign is in tatters (because it obviously isn’t), but due to the message this defeat sends out. If Arsene Wenger’s decision not to buy a single outfield player (the only club in Europe’s top five leagues, remember) was because he thought he had adequate cover in vital positions, he was wrong.

Individually, this squad is good enough. If all are fit and all are gelling together they are among the most capable sides in Europe. But that status quo is so rare that it barely bears mentioning. It’s something we’ve said before, and will no doubt say again: If this is the performance of the team which well be needed through the cold winter months, a title challenge looks a laughable prospect.

This has been a fortnight so utterly Arsenal that it may as well be christened Thierry Gunnersaurus Adams-Chapman. A silent deadline day was followed by serious injury to Danny Welbeck and another to Jack Wilshere, both suffering setbacks in their recoveries from existing knocks. On both occasions Wenger issued a ‘let’s wait and see’ message but, within days, three months was issued as the hopeful estimate for both. Then, on the first occasion Wenger was permitted to display Arsenal’s strength in depth, they fell woefully short.

Each one of Arsenal’s changes fell short in their bid to impress. Mathieu Debuchy has regressed badly from his Newcastle days, Mikel Arteta offered a dire impression of a holding midfielder and David Ospina looked like a rusty reserve goalkeeper. Olivier Giroud went one step further, missing a presentable chance before being sent off for two yellow cards even before half-time. To add a red bow to a night soaked in pure Arsenal, their inability to defend set pieces again reared its ugly head.

Unexpected failure is hard to take, but there is nothing as frustrating as predictable, and avoidable, downfall. Take one step back, respond impressively, fall short of top spot, get knocked out in the last-16 – it’s Arsenal’s Champions League Groundhog Season. Supporters used to worry that they would never achieve European glory with Wenger in charge. Now even the quarter-finals seem a distant dream.

Wenger this week aimed to curb expectation on Arsenal’s chances in this competition, urging realism through the poetic insistence that “We are not dreamers”. Here’s a list of clubs to have reached the last eight since Arsenal did: Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham, Schalke, Internazionale, APOEL Nicosia, Marseille, Benfica, Milan, Malaga, Dortmund, Galatasaray, Atletico Madrid, Porto and Monaco. In this competition, Arsenal have not just been overtaken by the best, but the rest too. And that’s not a dream.

The manager will stress that this is just one defeat, neither catastrophic nor indicative of a terminal decline. Wenger is right on that point, but there now follows a run of games which will truly test Arsenal’s credentials, and put their summer inaction into a more relevant context. Chelsea (a), Spurs (a), Leicester (a), Olympiacos (h), Manchester United (h). Gulp.

Not having a pop at you mate but to be honest whichever gobshite wrote that article could have come on here and copied almost every statement, insult and comment from multiple posts. Nothing new, nothing original, nothing insightful. It's all been said before - on here.