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.
donaldo wrote:Arshavin three assists tonight.Where are those idiots who questioned his commitment.He is a world class player
Almunia went down like an old man for their goal.Another mistake by the usless Spanish waiter.The goalkeeping position is the weakest part of the team.We need a new keeper in january
He's still a lazy *word censored* and needs to change his attitude.
donaldo wrote:Arshavin three assists tonight.Where are those idiots who questioned his commitment.He is a world class player
Hello,
Yes this is what we want to see. But again on Saturday, and the game after that and the game after that. A consistent threat on the field game after game. He can do it and that's the most frustrating part that he doesn't always.
How many times are we going to find excuses to defend almunia ? It was a toe poke, he was wrong footed etc etc but at the end of the day his reactions and positioning were shocking as yet again he was beaten at his near post The guy is nowhere near good enough to the point that I think he is actually regressing at this stage
On a more positive note diaby did ok tonight and obviously has now found his level so all we have to hope for is tubby jol to buy him for ajax and we will all be happy
Arshavin tonight was different class, set up 3 goals with his incisive passing and worked his nuts off closing down the opposition. We have enough average players lads without turning on 1 of the very few class players we have
By the way TA6 spoke evry well after the game tonight on sky and had me yearning for years gone by I also felt that cesc's words in his post match interview were spot on as he refused to follow sky's interviewer when asked about this "special team" and cesc basically told him that it will be a special team when we win something and not before then
augie wrote:How many times are we going to find excuses to defend almunia ? It was a toe poke, he was wrong footed etc etc but at the end of the day his reactions and positioning were shocking as yet again he was beaten at his near post The guy is nowhere near good enough to the point that I think he is actually regressing at this stage
On a more positive note diaby did ok tonight and obviously has now found his level so all we have to hope for is tubby jol to buy him for ajax and we will all be happy
I thought he was shit today. He doesn't and can't hold the ball up whatsoever!!!!!!!! Most of his passes today weren't anywhere near the vicinity where they should have been.
We played fantastic tonight, very proud of the lads
REBEL GOONER wrote:meant it or not, almunia wasnt expecting a shot at the time and so wasnt ready for it.which is bad for any keeper, and doesnt fill any normal gooner with confidence
the guy is a weak link in the team
we won 4-1 though if you didn't notice
of course i noticed, wish it was like this every week, my post was directed at the we are going to win the cl post before yours.
I wrote 'can' NOT 'going to'.
You shouldn't worry about Al letting in a soft goal when we are 4-0 up.
Besides we have Mannone and 2 Poles as back-up
Almunia, Song and Eboue were very disappointing for me, the rest did well. Had been worried at the start when we seemed lethargic and lacking any cutting edge but once we got the first and rode out the intial surge, it went welll
Excellent result, put out first team against Leige, secure qualification then rest players in the final game
I'm looking at the stunning save Almunia made at 2-0 and thinking that the goal was a lapse in focus with the game won and the team winding down the clock to the 'Ole' chants.
He is a great shot stopper, when he is focused, but having a bedrock keeper in your squad is something all the big clubs crave, but few actually achieve. Look at some of the recognised great keepers in history, they were always part of the spine of a great team. Jennings, Seaman, Buffon, Schmeichel, great club keepers are a rarity, and are often snapped up faster than a great striker or midfielder because once you find a great keeper, he will play in your team til kingdom come ... average retirement age for a keeper is 38 or so!
I agree that Almunia isn't a great keeper, but he is far from being a bad one. To be honest, I'm surprised that we haven't tried to poach Jaaskelainen who is an astonishingly good keeper in a mediocre team.
On Arshavin, he again showed his class tonight. His turn and pass for Nasri's goal was excellent, and his final balls for Cesc's second an Diaby's goal were perfect. A goalscorer often puts in the best final pass becasue they know where the ball needs to be for the scorer to finish it.
He isn't lazy, he does his fair share of chasing the ball when the oppo has it. But, I think he gets a bit frustrated sometimes. A few times he started runs when we had the ball coming out of defence but no pass came.
We's all like to see him banging in the goals, but he was instrumental in three last night. If anything he isn't greedy enough. One time he could have cut n side and taken a shot from just outside the box but instead crossed. I think its a better percentage for him to take a pot.
The swapping of left and right is good though because it keeps defenders on their toes.
He's still a lazy *word censored* and needs to change his attitude.
The guy is nowhere near good enough to the point that I think he is actually regressing at this stage 
