Toffees (A) - Top 4 Trophy, Six Pointer Match Thread

[remigardeshair]

Can see us losing this - They have probably the two best and in form full backs in the premiership and if our previous away performances of late are anything to go by (ie leaving huge gaping holes behind Gibbs and Sagna because they are the only two players who get picked that offer width and and pace) they will have a field day down the flanks.

Could be depressing viewing.

[topcat]

Top 4 and CL, I will be one happy man.

Well said.

People completely take it completely for granted because its we've had CL football for 16 years. I understand its not a trophy but I find it incredible that few gooners seem proud of our record of qualifying for the champions league.

Teams are DESPEARTE to have what we have

It's not that people take it for granted, it's that we don't care

We have always been told that we have to be playing champs league football to entice top players to sign for us and to keep the top players we have in the club, but we are consistently losing our best players and ozil aside, I cannot remember when we last signed a top player so the importance of the champs league is an exaggerated myth imo.
The champs league is, and always will be about money - it allows the top clubs who are regulars in it, to earn money that will always keep them ahead of their rivals in their domestic leagues which will of course ensure that they can qualify the next year and the year after etc etc. In our situation though, it allows the club the market the club as a big club with sponsors and allows them to charge top tier prices to fans, without actually investing the money generated. In all seriousness, 17 consecutive years of champs league football, should have us a million miles ahead of the likes of everton, the victims and the scum down the road even allowing for the building of the stadium - we have probably earned approx. £400m in champs league revenue during that time that the toffees and swamp dwellers haven't had so again I have to say that qualifying for the champs league is all about the balance sheets for our board and I have no interest in wanting their share prices to remain high or whatever. If I could be assured in the morning that we wouldn't be stuck in Europa league next season, then I would pray for a finish outside the top 4 and if it accelerates changes within the club then so much the better.

All that being said, I will be surprised if we don't finish 4th when you compare the remaining fixtures for both clubs. Of course if they beat us sunday then momentum will be with them and momentum can be a big factor at times. As for this game I dunno what to expect but if I had to guess then I will say that we will get at least a draw

Btw, would you think that the victims, manure or the chavs would be DESPEARTE to swap our recent 16 years with their equivalent seasons ?

Oh dear just noticed my typing

Anyway forget about the money from getting into the CL, I've been taking the p1ss out of spurs and liverpool fans for years now that we play champions league football and they rarely ever do. So my pride as a gooner would be shattered seeing us play on a Thursday night.. The sound of no champions league football isn't that bad but when it actually comes to it and we're playing on a Thursday night it'll be terrible! Having said that I'd still rather it than no European football at all.. If you don't care whether we get into the champions league that's up to you but i think its a bit sad that gooners think like that.

[OneBardGooner]

MArtinez will have out-tactic'd wenger after the last game...and will tell his players to follow his plan and have fun raping us all over the pitch.



MARTINEZ THERE'S ONLY ONE MARTINEZ!

(Next Arsenal Manager...unless the barcawhores or r.madrid nab him first!)

[King Henry]

This will be a tough game but hopefully we can take confidence from the FA Cup game. We know they will look to press us so hopefully we are able to retain the ball well, keep the game close then score later in the game as they tire. Would probably start both Flamini and Arteta and go with Rosicky, Cazorla and Chamberlain ahead of them.

[gp543]

Ramsey back for this one.

[mcdowell42]

http://news.arseblog.com/2014/04/ramsey ... rton-trip/

[DB10GOONER]

Ramsey back for this one.

He won't be. On the bench at most I'd reckon. And if he does play? He's going to be SERIOUSLY not match fit. No impact on this game from him whatsoever.

But it is good to see him on the way back. That's of course if our medical team don't fuck the pooch and re-injure him.

[DB10GOONER]

http://news.arseblog.com/2014/04/ramsey ... rton-trip/

"He’s been badly missed and just last week Arsene Wenger revealed he’d had a set-back so his return is something of a surprise, but a very welcome one all the same."

That's Ramsey on an 18 month lay-off then.

[northbank123]

I'd be lying if I pretended that I'd been thinking about this game much. In a way I'm dreading the Wigan game but I also can't get it out of my head and can't wait to see us playing at Wemberrley again.

[Perryashburtongroves]

1-1 or 2-2 I reckon.

[spendsum4uckingmoney]

A real must not lose.

[Bradywasking]

MOTD 2 will be fun on Sunday night, especially if both Mersey clubs win. MOTD are tweeting today asking if Everton can get and if the deserve Champions League Football... In my naive ignorance I thought the point of a league over 38 games and nine months was you finish where you deserve to finish. Everton can clinch fourth and if they do then they will thoroughly deserve it but not until then. Although I imagine MOTD would support North Korea if it was detrimental to Arsenal is it too much to ask for impartiality. MOTD 2 pundits Sunday night will be Hansen, Lawrenson, Owen, Fowler, Bishop Of Liverpool and Mayor of Liverpool.

[augie]

[SteveO 35]

The hysteria over CL qualification never ceases to amaze me. I echo all of the points that Augie raised earlier. Perhaps its because I lived without Arsenal being involved in the old European Cup for all but 1 year in the first 20+ years of following the club, that being without it doesn't bother me. As far as I'm concerned its a bloated competition that only becomes interesting at the phase when all of the also ran clubs like us have been knocked out. If we start using the CL to reinvest in the squad rather than line the pockets of our 67% shareholder I might be bothered again.

4th place will see us facing a two legged play off (unwelcome), a boring six match group stage over 3 months (unwelcome), before a 2 leg defeat to a side with genuine ambition of winning it (unwelcome).

Look at the stadia during the Group stage - people all over Europe are bored with its format. Its so obviously designed to include as many big clubs as possible and the day they stretched it out to the top 3-4 teams in each of Europe's big leagues was the day they devalued it. Gazprom. Heineken blah blah blah.....send us the £25m a year for qualifying in the Group and we'll use it buy property, increase the size of the commercial team, pay bonuses to the staff and repay the stadium debt ready to sell a debt free entity in a couple of years time. The stuff that fans dreams are made of eh?

I want us to finish as high as possible because I'm a supporter of the team, not because some pricks in UEFA redrew the qualifying criteria for their elite competition a few years ago.

Anyway, the bowl worshippers prayers will be answered because we will finish in our usual 4th spot above Everton

[LeftfootlegendGooner]

Will be a close game, score draw looks favourite but Everton could nick it then again we could well get the win, so to summarise, it's anyone's game