Arsenal FC - Ashburton Grove

[xerces]

yea last nite.... Toure, Hleb, and the 2 wing back show great drive to push liverpool all the way.... Great Win from us... hope we can carry on that form...no more 1-1 pls...............

[Sensational]

yeaaaaaa. carn wait 4 henry 2 get his scoring form man

[ER]

First Man U, then Liverpool...next will be Chelsea's turn.

[barbell]

yeaaaaaa. carn wait 4 henry 2 get his scoring form man

He should start playing defender and put Toure in front.

[spinelli]

If i am nt wrong is @ Anfield leh, but dun worry, this defeat alr had a demoralising effect on them.....now they have developed a phobia for us :D


sorry but we are never afraid of anyone,be it juve,barca or whoever

congrates.good game

[Tool18]

sorry but we are never afraid of anyone,be it juve,barca or whoever

congrates.good game


thats very true, thats why i never write liverpool down even with a deficit scoreline, they are the number one come back kings. though i sympathize with gerrad, he always gives his best, can see from yesterday match he really trying, but it seems pool looks abit demoralized and looks abit tired leh.


anyway the gunners showed henry yesterday that they are definitely trying to not rely on him that much anymore, to take some weight off his shoulder. in the future with henry playing, he won't be the only person to look out for:) therefore, he will be able to maximize his abilities once again. maybe next time jens also can score :s13: kidding, perhaps only through a 90 min header;) :s7:

[SueDE_84]

sorry but we are never afraid of anyone,be it juve,barca or whoever

congrates.good game


dude...good game man...not suaning u or wat :D *shakes hands wit spinelli*

[SueDE_84]

yesterday's victory was superb!!!damn estatic after the final whistle was blown!the old Arsenal is back!realli loved the way they played last nite...every one played damn well esp. our defence!even Toure n Gallas r on the scoresheet!

hope tat this will realli kick start our season n put us as serious title contenders...wished tat we could see this kinda display in every game

but Pool oso put up a good fight...juz tat they r indifferent from their home games when playing away...hope tat they'll break their away jinx soon

[barbell]

i dun think Arsenal really played well. It's just that Pool played as if they were in the lower divisions.

I think Home United can beat Liverpool yesterday too

[weng]

quite true.

for gallas to score head from a corner, kind of 50/50 since arsenal heading goals are rare, and for gallas to score is somewhat expectable.

but for toure to finish like a top class striker with his through run and side slotting, thats a classic. definitely a moment in EPL to remember.

(PS: the referee leg cramp also quite memorable :s13: )

i was reading reading and nothing unusual.... until i read the last sentence and suddenly burst out laughing in a quiet office... knn... :s27: :s13:

[weng]

that was one of the best performance this season. then again, good and bad performance is just divided by a fine line. if good, their passes will always miss the opponent by 1mm and will reach the other team mate. if bad, every kick will seem to deflect off the opponent or kena intercepted.

anyway, everyone is on form. fabregas is controlling the game pace very well, but henry sometimes dilly dally too long. maybe he satisfied liao, no need to chiong whenever can counter. guess the rest no need to repeat again... all praised and worshipped by all the bros here. :D

[yourmother]

i dun think Arsenal really played well. It's just that Pool played as if they were in the lower divisions.

I think Home United can beat Liverpool yesterday too
You are right, we did not play that well, but i'll take this sort of results any day.

We did not create much chance but this is one of the match that we actually take the few chances we have.

The Flamini and Toure goal are the only clear cut chances we have and they take it, oh and Ade chance... Toure would have score that.

[Wryer]

True, very true.

Putting the results aside, a handful of players really still got to buck up. Henry, RVP, Gilberto has got to step up.

RVP: He needs to put in a lot of more effort. I don't mean raw blinded effort. I don't like the way he goes in for tackles after he is frustrated. He is not longer young, lunging into those tackles are stupid, pure stupid. And the complacency after the first goal was pissing me too. The way he gave away the freekick afer the goal.

Gilberto: He is a defensive mid, a fulcrum of our defence. So why is he putting wild swings on the ball when there are n danger. He must be calm and composed, something so impt in his position and at his age, he should know better. His distribution has been lower than average this season.

Henry: He is my BIGGEST disappointment of the season. Many people said he ran his socks off yesterday, but did anyone notice which part of the game did that happen? After the 2nd goal. He struted his stuff only after we took the lead. Is that the way a Arsenal captain should be? No i don't think so. The best captains drives his team when they are at doldrums and hitting a deadlock. You don't wait until the team takes the lead.

That being said, great results nonetheless! Toure deserves the MOM over Gallas to be honest. Oh heck, both of them were superb.

[BroadBear]

True, very true.

Putting the results aside, a handful of players really still got to buck up. Henry, RVP, Gilberto has got to step up.

RVP: He needs to put in a lot of more effort. I don't mean raw blinded effort. I don't like the way he goes in for tackles after he is frustrated. He is not longer young, lunging into those tackles are stupid, pure stupid. And the complacency after the first goal was pissing me too. The way he gave away the freekick afer the goal.

Gilberto: He is a defensive mid, a fulcrum of our defence. So why is he putting wild swings on the ball when there are n danger. He must be calm and composed, something so impt in his position and at his age, he should know better. His distribution has been lower than average this season.

Henry: He is my BIGGEST disappointment of the season. Many people said he ran his socks off yesterday, but did anyone notice which part of the game did that happen? After the 2nd goal. He struted his stuff only after we took the lead. Is that the way a Arsenal captain should be? No i don't think so. The best captains drives his team when they are at doldrums and hitting a deadlock. You don't wait until the team takes the lead.

That being said, great results nonetheless! Toure deserves the MOM over Gallas to be honest. Oh heck, both of them were superb.
LOL I would said the MOM shld go to Gallas instead, have u seen the match yesterday?? Gallas was solid for us & rescued us on certain occasions, if nt for him we would have been 2-0 early b4 the 1st goal. furthermore he scored a goal too

[tt32003]

True, very true.

Putting the results aside, a handful of players really still got to buck up. Henry, RVP, Gilberto has got to step up.

RVP: He needs to put in a lot of more effort. I don't mean raw blinded effort. I don't like the way he goes in for tackles after he is frustrated. He is not longer young, lunging into those tackles are stupid, pure stupid. And the complacency after the first goal was pissing me too. The way he gave away the freekick afer the goal.

Gilberto: He is a defensive mid, a fulcrum of our defence. So why is he putting wild swings on the ball when there are n danger. He must be calm and composed, something so impt in his position and at his age, he should know better. His distribution has been lower than average this season.

Henry: He is my BIGGEST disappointment of the season. Many people said he ran his socks off yesterday, but did anyone notice which part of the game did that happen? After the 2nd goal. He struted his stuff only after we took the lead. Is that the way a Arsenal captain should be? No i don't think so. The best captains drives his team when they are at doldrums and hitting a deadlock. You don't wait until the team takes the lead.

That being said, great results nonetheless! Toure deserves the MOM over Gallas to be honest. Oh heck, both of them were superb.

Doesn't RVP\s temperament reminds you of Berkemp ?
Maybe it's the dutch thing.

[Wryer]

LOL I would said the MOM shld go to Gallas instead, have u seen the match yesterday?? Gallas was solid for us & rescued us on certain occasions, if nt for him we would have been 2-0 early b4 the 1st goal. furthermore he scored a goal too

Yes, I watched the match yesterday, otherwise i would not be posting my views since the final whistle.

Gallas did do well on a couple of occasions, but the passion and workrate of Kolo Toure simply stood out for me.

Bergkamp don't really lash out as often as RVP. He really got to learn to control his temper. If not, we are going to have a repeat of his red card last season. Wenger will surely scream at him

[Kapish]

i think fans should really give henry a break , he has contributed far more than anybody to arsenal over the past few years. It also does not help that his 2 perfectly legitimate goals are incorrectly ruled by the referee so his confidence and drive will definitely take a dip

his dispossession of bellamy shows he even took the trouble to help out in defence and not just stay upfield and wait for counter-attack
seems like some fans are never sastified ... if you are so damn good , then why the hell are you not there on the field?

Look at his record over the past few years , and see if your comments are called for or not

[deathblade]

i think fans should really give henry a break , he has contributed far more than anybody to arsenal over the past few years. It also does not help that his 2 perfectly legitimate goals are incorrectly ruled by the referee so his confidence and drive will definitely take a dip

his dispossession of bellamy shows he even took the trouble to help out in defence and not just stay upfield and wait for counter-attack
seems like some fans are never sastified ... if you are so damn good , then why the hell are you not there on the field?

Look at his record over the past few years , and see if your comments are called for or not

Well said.. played without passion, kena from fans.. played with passion, still kena.. Cmon.. when we are 2-0 up and if Henry wanna played in a relax manner, so be it.. its called ratianing pocession.. In fact, its a great way to conserve energy and maintain the lead.

[tt32003]

Now after we pawn Pennant on his return, it's time to give similar treatment to 2 other ungrateful brats : Bently and Cashley Cow.

[Kapish]

cannot entirely blame bentley and pennant ... wenger prefer foreign imports to homegrown players , so staying at arsenal won't do both of them any good
in fact , i can say i am proud they are flourishing at their respective clubs

arsenal youth FTW :)

[Wryer]

i think fans should really give henry a break , he has contributed far more than anybody to arsenal over the past few years. It also does not help that his 2 perfectly legitimate goals are incorrectly ruled by the referee so his confidence and drive will definitely take a dip

his dispossession of bellamy shows he even took the trouble to help out in defence and not just stay upfield and wait for counter-attack
seems like some fans are never sastified ... if you are so damn good , then why the hell are you not there on the field?

Look at his record over the past few years , and see if your comments are called for or not

Well, if your comments are to go by, we should close down this forum since none of us are good enough to play in our favorite teams.

Nobody is saying Henry is a lousy player. Im not doubting his ability to score, i don't care if he scores 5 goals this season while the rest of the team chips in 10 each. You are right, his past records are immaculate. No contest.

I am doubting his ability and influence as a CAPTAIN. My definition of a captain is someone inspirational, not only when the team is on a high, but more importantly when a team is down.

The point about 'playing with passion', yes, definitely i saw that in the last game. But like i said, why only when we have taken the lead? Passion has to be shown throughout the match.

That being said, if your point isnt raised against me, i rest my case.

cheers!

[weng]

all along i don't see henry as a captain calibre. he's superb as a team player, but definitely not as a captain. when times are bad, imo he demoralises the team in fact with his not-interested-anymore anyhow-kick style.

[Kapish]

do not worry .... every arsenal fan has the right to express his/her opinions
i am just saying that when a player has a dip in form , fans should get behind him and cheer him on .. that way the player will feel motivated and get his form back

eg. shevchenko , ronaldinho last year when he also face a similar blip

i mean , don't you feel disgusted when fans boo at their own teams?
or slam their own players publicly? ... i seriously doubt THAT can motivate players
anyway, it's heartening to see henry got his engine running yesterday
i look forward to the next match , am sure he will do better :)

[Kapish]

all along i don't see henry as a captain calibre. he's superb as a team player, but definitely not as a captain. when times are bad, imo he demoralises the team in fact with his not-interested-anymore anyhow-kick style.i agree ... but with the departure of so many seniors over the past few seasons
we really lack someone with the vast match experience and influence
fabregas? lehmann? gilberto? ... would you prefer them to be captain instead?

gallas could be captain but his stay in arsenal is too brief to exert influence on the others ... so i guess obvious choice is .... henry =:p

[Wryer]

Toure!

Yup, i agree that fans should always get behind the player if they suffer blip. But im not really concerned with Henry's blip, we all know its gonna be soon before he explodes again, its just the strikers' way. What worries me is his style of captaining (sp). Thats not something we can change overnight. that said, the best thing we can do is get behind him.

As for the captaincy, i don't think anything will change after until Henry retires, which is like 4 more years. But after that, i want to see Toure take over. He is a true blue (or shud i say, red) gunner.

I only hope this is the start of the the Arsenal engine room than just a temporary hydride charge.

[Kenshin79]

henry is coming to age 30 and he is not gonna recover his fitness as fast as the past for every match.
we can see that he hardly missed any game for arsenal since he came here. but the past 2 seasons, he actually missed quite a number. his explosive style definitely puts more stress on his body - look at what happened to michael owen. the worst thing was expending your energy at the world cup...

henry usually bailed out the gunners with his goals in the past. the fact he is the top scorer and top assist in the team showed how important he is to the team. however, it also showed how weak the team was if he's not playing well.

previously, there were bergkamp and pires around for the fast sweeping attacks. however, now the team are different. henry has dropped deeper and deeper nowadays. and he is taking lesser shots at goal, instead preferring to pass to team mates. however, the team is still getting used to one another.

it seemed that henry is not a suitable captain like vieira or adams were. however, there is none as senior and influential as he is in the team. a few more years, perhaps toure and such can step up.

while henry isnt playing to his best now, for gunners, isnt it fantastic that the team is still playing above average and getting wins? the matches from everton (super goalie), CSKA (no luck) to west ham (no decisions for) are just a small blip. the team have been bailed out by the attacking prowess in the past. nowadays, every single player are doing their part to contribute to the team. it is good that the team realize that they cannot rely on Henry to be the match winner always. during last season CPL run, the team played well even if henry was not exactly in top form. every match, there were different heroes (fab, lehman, toure etc).

the captain might not be playing well nor encouraging enough. but at least, the team are progressing together rather than rely on the top man

[FLiNcHY]

i think henry played very well yesterday.

He will always be captain, whether you like it or not. He is the premier player at the club. The legend. The one all players look up to. He is the symbol of arsenal now.

And that will not change, until the day he retires, or until someone else steps up and shows he can command the entire team.

I can only think of one other candidate and that is Toure.

But toure still feels a little too young for me and doesn't give me the feeling that he is in command, or being authoritative. Although every single game he plays, he puts in rock solid, 110% commitment performances, i still feel he is not captain material.


Senderos, i think, is captain material. But i don't think he can even make into the arsenal back 4 now, with Gallas around.

Although my first choice back 4 would be Eboue, Toure, Gallas/Senderos, Clichy

Wenger should rotate between Gallas and Senderos, depending on Opposition faced. Against a team with quick nimble strikers, play Gallas. Against a team with strong aerial capabilities and Set pieces, play Senderos.

[Sensational]

i think henry played very well yesterday.

He will always be captain, whether you like it or not. He is the premier player at the club. The legend. The one all players look up to. He is the symbol of arsenal now.

And that will not change, until the day he retires, or until someone else steps up and shows he can command the entire team.

I can only think of one other candidate and that is Toure.

But toure still feels a little too young for me and doesn't give me the feeling that he is in command, or being authoritative. Although every single game he plays, he puts in rock solid, 110% commitment performances, i still feel he is not captain material.


Senderos, i think, is captain material. But i don't think he can even make into the arsenal back 4 now, with Gallas around.

Although my first choice back 4 would be Eboue, Toure, Gallas/Senderos, Clichy

Wenger should rotate between Gallas and Senderos, depending on Opposition faced. Against a team with quick nimble strikers, play Gallas. Against a team with strong aerial capabilities and Set pieces, play Senderos.

i dun realli agree wif ur pt lo. toure is the best candidate to be captain frm the way he plaes on the pitch. the team is driven by the influence of the captain. if the team members sees the captain plaeing his heart out, driving the team to push forward, i guess more or less, they wld get the influence n up their game. toure has been immense 4 the gunners and with the arrival of gallas, it would mark a strong central partnership in EPL

[xinng7]

Our back four seems to be the fastest in any team in the world? Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy.

Gallas would be the slowest among the 4 i think.

[Tool18]

Our back four seems to be the fastest in any team in the world? Eboue, Toure, Gallas, Clichy.

Gallas would be the slowest among the 4 i think.


he might not be fast, but he always makes those last ditch tackles which are crucial. most to most toure will be there for him, which is rare:D

[Kapish]

i won't say our defence is the fastest , but rather the most athletic
especially eboue , remember how he kept the ball in against liverpool
amazing stuff =:p

[Wryer]

Actually, in terms of speed, we are really the FASTEST. We all know how fast Toure, Clichy, Eboue are. Gallas is no slouch either. The nearest is prolly.. ManU? Ferdinand,Heinze,Vidic,Neville? But aerially they are so much more solid.

[Wryer]

well lets look ahead. Newcastle next to visit us. I hate playing all these teams who are in the deep shiat and struggling beat time. Everyone thought Aston Villa is going get raped by us, they didnt. Everyone thought West Ham is gonna get a wallop, again, they didnt. Argh. These teams always step up against us and flip their season.

But still hoping for a 2-0 win!

[Souljer]

Eboue has got to be the best crosser in our team right now. Everytime he crossed the ball beautifully into the Liverpool box, u can sense the disarray it caused among the pool players. Now if only Henry and Adebayor can step up their heading...

[Kapish]

my gosh ... if we cannot beat newcastle , we can really forget about the title
seriously , giveaway points man :D

[Wryer]

We better!

Adebayor is pretty gd on setpieces, and is always dangerous. But during open play, he doesnt seem to get into gd positions. Henry does sometimes get into gd position, but his timing of his jump is almost always off. But he has the raw attributes to get it right.

[Sensational]

lol.. adebayor scored frm a corner against everton lo. henry has the height n everything, juz need more trng bah

[Kapish]

hope wenger will sign a left winger soon
rvp is not meant to play there

[xerces]

like chelski luv to say an do, a win is still a win.,... i bet no one expect arsenal to win by 3 clear goals... simply amazing...........

[Mankul]

Eboue has got to be the best crosser in our team right now. Everytime he crossed the ball beautifully into the Liverpool box, u can sense the disarray it caused among the pool players. Now if only Henry and Adebayor can step up their heading...
ya Eboue's crossing is superb... superb whipping curl... and it always reach the box...

regarding the captain thing.... I feel the captain has got to be an English who come up from the Arsenal Academy.... Only an English from the youth acadamey understands the tradition and passion.... John Terry or Gerard type material..

[BroadBear]

hope wenger will sign a left winger soon
rvp is not meant to play thereyeah Ribery is the ideal candidate for tt position, robben is another gd choice as well, i reckon he muz be very frustrated to be constantly used @ a sub @ chelsea. But well even if he comes to arsenal there is no place to accommodate him, we alr have RVP, Rosicky & ljungberg for tt position
Anyway wenger alr said tt he is nt going to invest in another player during e january transfer window, haiz another show of arrogance & overconfidence on is part. atm we have a squad of great quality but we need another 2 or 3 talented players to add stability to the team, the squad lack depth in the striking & defensive departments, Toure & Eboue won't be available for us during the african nations cup n who is going to deputise for them? Djourou & Justin hoyte r still raw & nt yet the finished article. @ the front we r too reliant on Henry.
We need perhaps another 2-3 talented young players in their 20s to back up our 1st team regulars. Of cos in midfield we need wingers who crosses well to add width to the attack(Although our fullbacks r doing the job well), against teams who put 10 men behind the ball we need to abandon our passing style & e more direct, tt is where crosses & long balls from these wingers come in. We r now competing on 4 fronts- Carling cup, FA cup, CL & EPL n our current squad alone is nt enuff

[cadre80]

hope wenger will sign a left winger soon
rvp is not meant to play there
... do i smell a ribery??? :D

[Tool18]

... do i smell a ribery??? :D


edit: spurs didn't sign him, i meant spurs fighting to sign him!!! . can't rmeember his name. help me recall:)

i think its this player, not a left winger tho >.<
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=391695&cc=4716


i wont be surprised if ribery comes. wenger always pulls this trick. first say one, then like no hope. suddenly news come out , he's coming over:D

[BroadBear]

The main reason why we can't emulate Chelsea & Man U in stringing together a long winning run of 10-15 games is becos we dun have a plan B, it is always the passing game we r playing n wenger is too stubborn to change tactics.He is a worshipper of the beautiful game who rather lose beautifully than win ugly. we were easily stifled by teams who played negatively & tt is where draws & losses come in. & of cos the midfield is too lighweight, against physical teams like blackburn wenger shld replace Gilberto wif Baptista instead for the latter is more muscular & aggressive & had good attacking skills too

atm i felt like we r like darkhorses instead of genuine contenders for the title, given @ Man U & Chelsea consistent form

[Tool18]

The main reason why we can't emulate Chelsea & Man U in stringing together a long winning run of 10-15 games is becos we dun have a plan B, it is always the passing game we r playing n wenger is too stubborn to change tactics. he'd rather lose beautifully than win ugly. we were easily stifled by teams who played negatively. & of cos the midfield is too lighweight, against physical teams like blackburn wenger shld replace Gilberto wif Baptista instead for the latter is more muscular & aggressive & had good attacking skills too

atm i felt like we r like darkhorses instead of genuine contenders for the title, given @ Man U & Chelsea consistent form


thats true but don't worry, the professor sees that. just that baptista is injured now. im sure adebayor will prove a valuable player in physical games too with his height and aerial prowess (tho still inconsistent)

tho its true his stubborn, i do see the professor trying to integrate 'beautiful football' with more aerial touch to counter this problem.

and with more commitment and players running into the box, im sure this beautiful form passing we currently possess will work to perfection. but it must be cautious as fatigue might set in if the same players were played week in weekd out.

[Kapish]

it's true that with arsenal always playing total football , we cannot string up wins in a row. but it's a joy to watch , especially when a goal is the end product of their brillant and over-elaborate passing

i grew bored watching any other team in the world :s7:

[Wryer]

Im still waiting to see Baptista? When is he gonna be sidelined till?! Anyone knows?

[Kapish]

expected return date this sat

http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php

[BroadBear]

Im still waiting to see Baptista? When is he gonna be sidelined till?! Anyone knows?
Yeah i would like to know too. think his ideal position is as a strike partner for henry up front, both complement each other very well, Baptista is target man who heads well n his physical presence will be a distracting decoy to defenders
or he can be utility anchorman, esp when the team is bullied by physical teams

[Sensational]

baptista is super imba in fm 07. hope he is in real life too man.

[Sensational]

expected return date this sat

http://www.physioroom.com/news/english_premier_league/epl_injury_table.php

i tink is return 2 training bah. then stil need time 2 let him plae reserve games, get back his fitness? mebbe another 2 more wks b4 full action

[Wryer]

damn, i can't wait to see him play man. Really wanna see what he can offer to arsenal.

[Kenshin79]

actually wat wenger said is true, no real need to get players in Jan.
the squad is actually quite strong.
with baptista, diaby, lauren, senderos coming back, it is like having new players.
unless there are serious spates of injuries, getting new players in Jan will disrupt the flow.
or, if there are really outstanding players available for the right fee, then wenger will buy

[deathblade]

We have a left winger already.. He's Theo Walcott.

[LittleFox]

cannot entirely blame bentley and pennant ... wenger prefer foreign imports to homegrown players , so staying at arsenal won't do both of them any good
in fact , i can say i am proud they are flourishing at their respective clubs

arsenal youth FTW :)
i would say both of them arent good enuff for us :o

[LittleFox]

Well, if your comments are to go by, we should close down this forum since none of us are good enough to play in our favorite teams.

Nobody is saying Henry is a lousy player. Im not doubting his ability to score, i don't care if he scores 5 goals this season while the rest of the team chips in 10 each. You are right, his past records are immaculate. No contest.

I am doubting his ability and influence as a CAPTAIN. My definition of a captain is someone inspirational, not only when the team is on a high, but more importantly when a team is down.

The point about 'playing with passion', yes, definitely i saw that in the last game. But like i said, why only when we have taken the lead? Passion has to be shown throughout the match.

That being said, if your point isnt raised against me, i rest my case.

cheers!
I agreed on tt, Henry is my all time fav player, no doubt abt it, but he is not a not a natural born leader

[Tool18]

We have a left winger already.. He's Theo Walcott.


he will be there for 2-4 years? after that :D

[Wryer]

i would say both of them arent good enuff for us :o

Sentiments alike. Pennant and Bentley was simply not good enough, would you drop hleb or rosicky for either of them? I wont.

[deathblade]

he will be there for 2-4 years? after that :D

After that i feed him with chang shen bu lao pills.

[tt32003]

Looks like the Brazilian that we should pay more attention to is Denilson and not Baptista.
The boy has just been called up to the Brazilian squad that will face Switzerland.
Dunga may be learning something from the professor.
If a player can play for BRAZIL when he is 18 years old he must be GOOD.

[LiteMan]

i guess we are alright...since we got more players coming back from injury...

We just need to learn how to play "hard" and not crumble when up against negative football...

[Wryer]

Well, i think for the first time in many years, we do have a 'hard' team.

Lehmann

Lauren Toure Senderos Gallas

Hleb Diaby Gilberto Rosicky

Adebayor Baptista

Pretty hard isnt it? Maybe except Helb. But im sure we can match Bolton with this team, espcially the backline

[Kapish]

eh why you leave out fabregas .. i think he is pretty tough as well

[tt32003]

Well, i think for the first time in many years, we do have a 'hard' team.

Lehmann

Lauren Toure Senderos Gallas

Hleb Diaby Gilberto Rosicky

Adebayor Baptista

Pretty hard isnt it? Maybe except Helb. But im sure we can match Bolton with this team, espcially the backline

What about Denilson ?
If a guy like Dunga thinks that he can cover for Gilberto, he is hard enough.

[BroadBear]

Well, i think for the first time in many years, we do have a 'hard' team.

Lehmann

Lauren Toure Senderos Gallas

Hleb Diaby Gilberto Rosicky

Adebayor Baptista

Pretty hard isnt it? Maybe except Helb. But im sure we can match Bolton with this team, espcially the backline
Rosicky isn't tt hard either, he is a bit too lightweight but he make up for tt with his silky skills & creativity

[xinng7]

Helb and Rosicky are a little lightweight but they seems to be unfazed to challange the bigger players. Whenever they are being tackled or push around they seems to get up pretty quick and chase back the ball.

Unlike Reyes who seems like he suffers a career injury whenever he's being tackled. Used to feel worried whenever he goes down. haaa...

In case everyone forgets, Reyes is still an Arsenal player. Though there's a 0% of him coming back. :P

[Wryer]

For me Rosicky is considered a very hard player because of the way he plays. I love the way he tracks players and jumps in during tackles. That doggedness is what makes players 'hard'. Not just the physical size.

[yourmother]

Rosicky is a tough lad. Just look at how fast he settle in, he's a ball winner, his tackling are way underrate. And he can hold off physical defenders quite well too.

To me Helb is still a bit shy to get stuck in.

The true real test to see if we can finally overcome these physical teams is Bolton. The confident we can get from it if we beat them convincing is way more than defeating manure and Pool.

[deathblade]

Well, i think for the first time in many years, we do have a 'hard' team.

Lehmann

Lauren Toure Senderos Gallas

Hleb Diaby Gilberto Rosicky

Adebayor Baptista

Pretty hard isnt it? Maybe except Helb. But im sure we can match Bolton with this team, espcially the backline

Dun place too much hope on Diaby yet. Broken ankle, with all the ligamental damage aint easy to fix. He may never be the same promisin lad again..

[BroadBear]

Dun place too much hope on Diaby yet. Broken ankle, with all the ligamental damage aint easy to fix. He may never be the same promisin lad again..
Dun jump toconclusion too early yet, players tt Wenger had bought had bought will eventually come good wif time, his eye for talent was precise to a flaw n he had transform players to something outta nth

[Wryer]

Sure, the risk is always there. But the fact that he is still young gives him the edge from recovering from such injuries.

[cadre80]

i still think the bloody sunderland (is it?) defender who tackled Diaby should have been suspended for a whole season without pay or something... Grr...

[xinng7]

Baptista is back in the squad for this weekend match. Gliberto will miss the match due to personal reasons. I guess the CMs will be Fabregas and Flamini.

[Tool18]

Baptista is back in the squad for this weekend match. Gliberto will miss the match due to personal reasons. I guess the CMs will be Fabregas and Flamini.


yep denilson replaced gilbeto for the brazil friendly also just 2 days ago. he quoted as having some personal issues


Arsenal midfielder Gilberto has been replaced by his Arsenal colleague Denilson for Brazil's friendly against Switzerland today.

Denilson, who is only 18 years of age and joined Arsenal in the summer, was called up by Brazil coach Carlos Caetano Bledorn Verri (Dunga), after Gilberto had called in to say that he had family issues to resolve.

Denilson has yet to make a league appearence this season for Arsenal, but is highly regarded by manager Arsène Wenger.


http://www.arsenal-mania.com/news/3103223/Gilberto-replaced-by-Denilson.html

guess its time for him to rest and settle his stuff, before he comes back full force. May God Bless him.

[Wryer]

Hope Gilberto is fine. Nice of the club to release him to settle his 'personal matter'. Flamini is not really a disciplined DM, i would like to Denilson actually, tho i know it won't happen. Good to know Baptista is back!
Maybe he can partner Cesc along with Flamini.

[BroadBear]

why nt play 4-2-3-1??Denilson/Flamini as the hardman, Fabregas as the deep-lying playmaker wif Hleb & RVP/Walcott on the flanks. Henry as a deep striker operating in the hole behind adebayor

Oh ya btw is Rosicky back from injury?

[deathblade]

Dun jump toconclusion too early yet, players tt Wenger had bought had bought will eventually come good wif time, his eye for talent was precise to a flaw n he had transform players to something outta nth

That wasnt a conslusion. Thats a reminder. :s8:

I didnt doubt Wenger. I said its not easy to recover from injury like that. Even if you are Maradonna, you cant play if your body can't perform the way your mind wants it to. Remember Van Basten? :s8:

You should learn to read b4 posting.

[LiteMan]

We will have an interesting line-up against Newcastle for sure, this week...hope everything goes well with Gilberto

[Sensational]

baptista is back lo!!!!!!! cool

[deathblade]

Flamini..

This kid reminds me of parlour.. non stop running. What he lacks in skills, he makes up with commitment. Like Parlour, he can play in various position. He is an invaluable utility player!

[Wryer]

Yup, Wenger never fails to have a utility player around. Its really important. Like the sixth man of NBA. We had.. parlour, Grimandi, den now flamini!

Great to see Baptista back. I agree we may see a very interesting formation this coming match.. But, why the fark is Starhub not telecasting it?! DAMN!

[Mankul]

Looks like the Brazilian that we should pay more attention to is Denilson and not Baptista.
The boy has just been called up to the Brazilian squad that will face Switzerland.
Dunga may be learning something from the professor.
If a player can play for BRAZIL when he is 18 years old he must be GOOD.
I'm drooling...

[BroadBear]

Yup, Wenger never fails to have a utility player around. Its really important. Like the sixth man of NBA. We had.. parlour, Grimandi, den now flamini!

Great to see Baptista back. I agree we may see a very interesting formation this coming match.. But, why the fark is Starhub not telecasting it?! DAMN!
no worries bro, lotsa p2p programs will be broadcasting the match
here is the link
http://www.football4less.com/schedules/schedules_18112006.html

[BroadBear]

lol lady luck is on our side tis time, Newcastle were heavily plaqued by injuries @ the back, their key defenders Babayaro , Stephen carr & Bramble(though tt guy is crap) were out for e match, turkish midfielder Emre Belozoglu is out. The transfer rumours of Luque to Barca is set to cause unrest to the whole team.
but we muz nv underestimate them, in damien duff, parker, butt, dyer, Zogbia & Solano, they have 1 of the best midfields in the league tt could trouble any opposition defence. The key battle will lies in midfield & tis is the area tt we muz take control of to outplay them

[Wryer]

thanks for the link bro! Which provider is the best ah? Sometimes i just can't get connected to it.

[BroadBear]

thanks for the link bro! Which provider is the best ah? Sometimes i just can't get connected to it.currently i m using sopcast & ppmate. quite satisfied wif both programs, esp sopcast, there is hardly any connection probs @ all. ppmate is quite smooth, but the bufferring will take a long time & occasionally there will be connection probs.
in terms of stability i would say sopcast is better
I have tried downloading others like Pcast & Ppstream but just couldn't start the programs, imo sopcast & ppmate is sufficient

However DON'T every dl tvants for tis program is infected wif spyware!! even though it broadcast most of the matches available. if u open the tvants program the GUI will start to replicate itself multiple times on ur screen- sign of something malicious

[Wryer]

w00t. Okay, thanks for your advice man. Will use SopCast then!

[Wryer]

I refreshed the football schedule page, and it seems that suddenly only left PPmate and another 2! rrr..

[felagund]

I refreshed the football schedule page, and it seems that suddenly only left PPmate and another 2! rrr..whens our match starting?

[BroadBear]

I refreshed the football schedule page, and it seems that suddenly only left PPmate and another 2! rrr..
lol no choice then u gotta dl ppmate then & tune in to the caifu sports channel to watch

[Wryer]

Should be 1055 singapore time.

Yeah, i using the caifu channel. Already tuned in.. *kiasu*

[BroadBear]

u managed to tune in ah? wah lao eh i cant tune into to the channel leh? the bufferring status kept returning to 1% after increasing wtf

[Wryer]

Rumours is that Baptista could play in this match, possibly start. Excited to see him, he hasnt got a proper debut yet. From the 20 odd minutes we've seen, he is the real deal.

[BroadBear]

hahaz finally managed to tune in to the channel, thank god!!

[xerces]

whos watching the 130 delay telecast? or u guys watching the "live" one?

[BroadBear]

whos watching the 130 delay telecast? or u guys watching the "live" one?
I am watching the live one on ppmate, no pt watching delayed telecast, the excitement is no longer there

[BroadBear]

wtf my connection to the ppmate server is lost leh. this f***ing program can't be trusted

[sugarkittyx]

eh sorry i saw wrongly. the realplayer one is really really bad quality.

[Sensational]

fk la the buffering sux la

[dle4e_2005]

Any other channel to watch?
i cant stand the Chinese commenter.

[sugarkittyx]

i wish there is a way to shut off that commentator's voice.

[Sensational]

WTF HENRY ON THE BENCH?

[sugarkittyx]

maybe because of the friendly midweek wenger feels he shouldnt play the full 90 mins :/

[sugarkittyx]

eh i thought van persie had to miss this match cos of his yellow card?
**** WTF NEWCASTLE.

[dle4e_2005]

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dyer scored!!
Why eboue did not do anything to stop him??

[Sensational]

damn la................. newcastle score

[Sensational]

wa lan eh!!!! 10 man behind the ball again

[sugarkittyx]

i'm getting irritated with the commentator.
he and his低级错误

[Sensational]

WAH VAN PERSIE!!!!!!!!!! nearly la

[Sensational]

wah scott parker fking hand ball la. PENALTY

[sugarkittyx]

yah i cant believe he missed that!

[BroadBear]

Ya shld be a penalty just now, the referee muz be cock-eyed, the shot by by hleb hit parker arm b4 flying over the bar. Wtf. As for the 1st goal Eboue is @ fault, he shld have pumped the ball to safety instead he let dyer had the freedom & space to shoot

[BroadBear]

guys be optimistic, we will see a comeback victory in the 2nd half

[yourmother]

how the hell did all the opposition do this.. one shot one on target one goal... we got 10 over shot all go flying straight to keeper or over the bar.

[deathblade]

how the hell did all the opposition do this.. one shot one on target one goal... we got 10 over shot all go flying straight to keeper or over the bar.


Not the 1st time it happened. We are really damn sway.. Lets see if we have the character to overcome this.

[xerces]

Pcast no lag sia watch till shiok shiok..........yea i shut off the commendator voice and replace wif me music lolz....arsenal need to penetrate more....

[xerces]

i'm getting irritated with the commentator.
he and his低级错误haha shut his voice la... mute it!!!

[Sensational]

gogogogog. 2nd half let's pwn them.

[Sensational]

wtf. run time erorr? knn

[sugarkittyx]

yes i've shut off his voice. but i just gt disconnected. yet again.

[BroadBear]

damn suay lah, shay given on form today, denied us twice

[dle4e_2005]

Here comes Walcott!!

[Xtnega]

wtf. run time erorr? knn
same
keep getting runtime

[dle4e_2005]

GOAL!!!!!!!!
KING HENRY!!!

[sugarkittyx]

YES! YES! YES!

[cadre80]

before henry scored on ppmate... channel 23 showed Arsenal 1-1 newcastle... heh

[LiteMan]

Was it a goal? thanks goodness!!!

[dle4e_2005]

Why Cesc always dont pass to Walcott??

[deathblade]

1 more goal for us and no more goal for Newcastle.. thats all i want for Xmas..

[LiteMan]

Soccernet gamecast super-slow at showing the score...is it half-time now?

[sugarkittyx]

i dont want to accept the fact that we just drew newcastle.

[cadre80]

sux... 1-1 drab... :(

baptista sux... (as wat i always believed)...

[yourmother]

we maintain the proud record of having only 2 score line at emirate.. 1-1 or 3-0.

this time it's 1-1

[deathblade]

Another 2 pts lost. Our chance for the EPL this season is very very bleak. Whats the point of beating the big teams if we keep dropping pts to the small ones. .. Sigh..

[BroadBear]

haiz seems like we r fated to have only 2 results @ the Emirates 3-0 or 1-1 n tonight is the latter, it could have been the former had it nt been the heroic of given
Another case where we dominated but had no luck, does lady luck have a feud wif us?

[Xtnega]

why cant given be sidelined for just one more match zzz

[LiteMan]

****, there is some problem with my soccernet gamecast...freaking draw with the Magpies...

[Cameltoe]

Another frustrating result. Newcastle 1 shot, 1 goal. :(

[yourmother]

sux... 1-1 drab... :(

baptista sux... (as wat i always believed)...
i only manage to watch from the time they score.. but from wad i see bap did quite well, considering he just came back from an injury and i dont think he has enough games to settle down yet. He is really strong and i believe when fully fit and settled he will be the one that will really add muscles to our midfield.

[cadre80]

WTF is wrong with THEM!!!

better than Man U n liverpool, but not good enuff for newcastle, man city and west ham...

[cadre80]

i only manage to watch from the time they score.. but from wad i see bap did quite well, considering he just came back from an injury and i dont think he has enough games to settle down yet. He is really strong and i believe when fully fit and settled he will be the one that will really add muscles to our midfield.
he was OK... but his passing was... atrocious...

sometimes, when there's no danger, i felt he should bring the ball forward, but instead he passed into the opponent's box, where there were like... 12 newcastle players in there???

[xerces]

Another 2 pts lost. Our chance for the EPL this season is very very bleak. Whats the point of beating the big teams if we keep dropping pts to the small ones. .. Sigh..Yea its really Ironic that we n beat Man Utd, Liverpool and lose to Charlton and the likes of Newcastle.... thier defending was quite horrible... if not for thier keeper who knows what happen....

[yourmother]

he was OK... but his passing was... atrocious...

sometimes, when there's no danger, i felt he should bring the ball forward, but instead he passed into the opponent's box, where there are like... 12 newcastle players in there???
i though he was the only one being direct and run at the defenders.. he was alway looking to bring the ball forward.

[cadre80]

i though he was the only one being direct and run at the defenders.. he was alway looking to bring the ball forward.
but i didn't remember him getting past them tho... :P

[xerces]

dun think Arsenal can get the Title.... this yr realistically.... but if we suddenly wake up and emulate the form in 1997 where we go 16 matches unbeaten.... and many clean sheet... maybe we can still make it.

[LiteMan]

We have not lost to Charlton yet...didn't we? We only lost by one goal to Man City

[yourmother]

this has alway being the tread..

every opposition that played against us:
- one shot one on target one goal
- all their keepers have the game of the life and pull of save of the season against us

watch how newcastle will just lie there and get rape by manure, pool, chelsea.

[Wryer]

Very poor display. We keep saying we don't have the luck. But think of it, the 'shots' we rained are either off or its just some deflections.

Baptista was poor, Flamini should be one watching the running man when they scored the goal. Over complacency. I don't expect us to win the title, but surely we must be up there.

Im very disappointed with Adebayor, for all his physique and endeavor, he is like a headless chicken. A man his height doesnt have the proper awareness to position himself for crosses is a waste. His first touch is atrocious.

Poor performance. It wasnt Given who was great, he only saved 1 or 2 real shots. The rest was comfortable. It was arsenal that was piss poor.

[Ronaldo_7]

wonderful fk by Henry

[BroadBear]

despite the fact tt we drop 2 pts there r still many positive attributes to be drawn frm the match, we have shown tt we nt only can attack by passing thru the middle but we can be direct as well, Fabregas was running the engine rm well but he needs to improve on his finishing, hleb was troubling defences wif his mazy dribbling n he had shown nt only can he cut in to the middle he oso can cross well from the byeline when the situation calls for it. Henry was full of running & enthusiasm which was something we didn't see in previous matches.
It is good to see the team being more direct capitalising on the strength & height of adebayor as a target man(where he had a couple of headers on goal). We have shown tt we r now better able to deal wif teams who put 10 men behind he ball. Just tt we had no luck

[cadre80]

We have not lost to Charlton yet...didn't we? We only lost by one goal to Man City
arsenal has a knack of losing to clubs in the bottom 3...

maybe they will... a good game to put money on actually... big payout...!!!

sigh

[AndreFLo]

As pointed out by a bro in this thread

It seems like everytime we whack a team by 3 goals, the next match will be a 1-1 draw...

[yourmother]

Very poor display. We keep saying we don't have the luck. But think of it, the 'shots' we rained are either off or its just some deflections.

Baptista was poor, Flamini should be one watching the running man when they scored the goal. Over complacency. I don't expect us to win the title, but surely we must be up there.

Im very disappointed with Adebayor, for all his physique and endeavor, he is like a headless chicken. A man his height doesnt have the proper awareness to position himself for crosses is a waste. His first touch is atrocious.

Poor performance. It wasnt Given who was great, he only saved 1 or 2 real shots. The rest was comfortable. It was arsenal that was piss poor.
we are indeed quite unlucky.. hit post.. hit defenders.. save by given, who deserve a lot more credit.

[cadre80]

Very poor display. We keep saying we don't have the luck. But think of it, the 'shots' we rained are either off or its just some deflections.

Baptista was poor, Flamini should be one watching the running man when they scored the goal. Over complacency. I don't expect us to win the title, but surely we must be up there.

Im very disappointed with Adebayor, for all his physique and endeavor, he is like a headless chicken. A man his height doesnt have the proper awareness to position himself for crosses is a waste. His first touch is atrocious.

Poor performance. It wasnt Given who was great, he only saved 1 or 2 real shots. The rest was comfortable. It was arsenal that was piss poor.
agree abt baptista... definitely agree abt adebayor!!!

i was wondering... maybe aliadiere would've done a better job... with his speed, as well as henry n walcott...

[yourmother]

just think back.. after man city.. everton.. west ham all these teams get a result from us the next game they just get raped by whoever their opposition is.

Let face it, every team up their game by 1000000 times against us.

[cadre80]

just think back.. after man city.. everton.. west ham all these teams get a result from us the next game they just get raped by whoever their opposition is.

Let face it, every team up their game by 1000000 times against us.
this leaves me thinking... are the teams really 1000000x better against arsenal???

or is it because arsenal's shooting isn't powerful/accurate enuff, and the passing play makes them LOOK as if they're 1000000x better?


btw their crossing was HORRIBLE... even Gary neville can cross better than any single one of them...

anyway, i dun understand this. theoretically, to get in high crosses, u need good headers of the ball, like (rip) sol cambell. currently, there's nobody to cross to, so i dun understand why they still try to cross. WORSE, they almost always cross too high...

[BroadBear]

to sum up a bad week for them Man U & Chelsea had won both their games, now we have fallen further behind them in the title race
It seems like realistically we r now darkhorses instead of genuine contenders for the title. Wenger muz mould the team into a consistent outfit asap n stop the habit of blowing hot & cold. The team muz treat every remaining games like a cup final frm now on & of cos arrest the prob of complacency
of cos we need some help fro lady luck as well

[ceLsius]

Seriously in your minds, u guys really think Arsenal can post a threat as genuine EPL contenders? Pardon me, but consistencies is the key. :s22:

[cadre80]

Seriously in your minds, u guys really think Arsenal can post a threat as genuine EPL contenders? Pardon me, but consistencies is the key. :s22:
go pardon urself... cos nobody welcomes u here. sorry. :)

[BroadBear]

have u guys noticed tt we played well as a short-passing team but nt as a long-passing team?? Henry & gang can string short passes well but their long passes were unaccurate, most of the time they either hit opposition players or went outta play. tis is another vital prob tt wenger shld arrest, for against team who put 10 men behind the ball we need a beckham type of players who can string beautiful long passes or cross the ball into space for speedy players like henry or walcott to run into, atm the short passes tt we r playing dun work well against negative teams.
Of cos the vast expanse of the emirates don't help us @ all

[ceLsius]

go pardon urself... cos nobody welcomes u here. sorry. :)

You gotta face the reality or regardless of what. Win Liverpool by a 3 goal margin but manage only a draw by off-form newcastle. :s22:

[cadre80]

have u guys noticed tt we played well as a short-passing team but nt as a long-passing team?? Henry & gang can string short passes well but their long passes were unaccurate, most of the time they either hit opposition players or went outta play. tis is another vital prob tt wenger shld arrest, for against team who put 10 men behind the ball we need a beckham type of players who can string beautiful long passes or cross the ball into space for speedy players like henry or walcott to run into, atm the short passes tt we r playing dun work well against negative teams.
Of cos the vast expanse of the emirates don't help us @ all
hmm... so does that mean arsenal should get beckham during the jan transfer window?

i don't mind him at arsenal... heh... :P

[yourmother]

Seriously in your minds, u guys really think Arsenal can post a threat as genuine EPL contenders? Pardon me, but consistencies is the key. :s22:
It's ok we will just do it the hard way. To beat the rest of the big four home and away. Two down one to go.

[cadre80]

You gotta face the reality or regardless of what. Win Liverpool by a 3 goal margin but manage only a draw by off-form newcastle. :s22:
err... i wasn't dreaming that arsenal won in the first place...

btw, OT... but batista now on TV... i always preferred him to baptista...

[BroadBear]

for the past few games i've oso realised tt we look too careless in possession, the midfield is too lightweight & players like Fabregas, Flamini & Hleb just dun have the strength to shield off challenges &
hold up the ball, resulting in the ball getting lost frequently as a result. the strength & physique of the Newcastle players put us in the shade
we definitely missed the physical presence of vieira , the addition of Baptista doesn't help @ all for he yet to adapt to the pace of the game

[rx8]

i think the problem is a lack of striker with good position n heading ability. tonnes of crosses came in, but nobody able to make use of it.

[Tool18]

this has alway being the tread..

every opposition that played against us:
- one shot one on target one goal
- all their keepers have the game of the life and pull of save of the season against us

watch how newcastle will just lie there and get rape by manure, pool, chelsea.


and we always equalize through freekicks wtf?

[ER]

Will baptista end up as a flop?

[Mankul]

I think.... we played really well...

And Adeboyor... i think we need him more.... although he should improve on his heading...

lol... people now doubting Baptista...

[deathblade]

You gotta face the reality or regardless of what. Win Liverpool by a 3 goal margin but manage only a draw by off-form newcastle. :s22:
You gotta face the reality or regardless of what. U are not welcome here. Besides, had it not been for Roman's $, you prob would have been supporting us or Man U.

[Sensational]

come on la. baptista juz started his 1st game since his injury. he is nt god lo, gif him sum time 2 get used 2 the english game. the passing movement of arsenal n i believe he will be nt bad. he was god like at sevilla lo, hope he is the same here as in fm07

[Kiwi8]

I think for yesterday's match, u can't really blame much on the Arsenal players. Shay Given was back for Newcastle United, and I feel that he was the main factor in keeping Arsenal at bay with near-impossible saves. We all know that when Shay Given is in form, all teams are not guaranteed to put goals past him.

[BroadBear]

Honestly speaking perhaps i think we shld start to adopt a shoot-on-sight policy against negative teams but the prob is ttt we hardly had any gd finishers who can execute those piledriver accurately from a distance. the only 1 tt i can name is Rosicky
it doesn't help tt arsenal die die wanna pass the ball into the net instead of trying their luck from a distance, teams easily stifled us by putting 10 men behind e ball

[martinweng]

i guess the chinese commentators are true, its either arsenal win 3-0 at emirates stadium or draw 1-1.:s13:

[LiteMan]

As we see, Arsenal just needs to play direct a bit more...knowing when to play beautiful passing games to run rings around the opposition and when to switch to quick direct moves to kill off the game.

[Kilrach]

To be fair, we (NUFC) made you guys look good. Roeder's tactics were to get everyone back and defend deep, allowing Arsenal players to easily run into the box. If we pushed our formation further out, it would've been harder imo. Not to mention because we're defending deep, we can't really counter attack or attack with only Dyer/Martins up front and support for them would arrive late or in yesterday's case, not even there. The rest of the 9 players were in our half.

EDIT: Ooh and I personally thought the ref was biased. Seriously, Fabregas' challenge on Moore is a definite straight-up sent off. He was a lucky kid to remain on the pitch. Next, N'Zogbia fouls and got a yellow. 10 mins later, Henry fouled Bramble the exact manner (and from behind) and got away without a card.

[sandyph]

Seriously in your minds, u guys really think Arsenal can post a threat as genuine EPL contenders? Pardon me, but consistencies is the key. :s22:
oh, i thought dirty russian money is the key :D

[Jermaine84]

relax la guys. reason why Arsenal win aginst big team cos the big team played open football where space can be used. while small team play ultra def. arsenal muz come up with something to counter tis prob. i watched the highlights. mani of arsenal's shots were either hit pole or jus wide. if we lucky we might win by 4-1. pls dun write off baptista off too early. he come from la lige where u guys shd know players from there hard to adapt to epl. somemore its his handful of games onli. hes not used to the epl games n Arsenals style. in la lige dun tink got anything would play 10men behind ball tactic. give him time. btw anyone can play mi wat formation arsenal played yesterday ?? n wat postion baptista played ??

[RSKeisuke]

Honestly speaking perhaps i think we shld start to adopt a shoot-on-sight policy against negative teams but the prob is ttt we hardly had any gd finishers who can execute those piledriver accurately from a distance. the only 1 tt i can name is Rosicky
it doesn't help tt arsenal die die wanna pass the ball into the net instead of trying their luck from a distance, teams easily stifled us by putting 10 men behind e ball

rosicky won't dare to fire his tomahawks cos henry "the bigger than club" captain wants to play stylish football.. rosicky will get f**ked by him..

[BroadBear]

relax la guys. reason why Arsenal win aginst big team cos the big team played open football where space can be used. while small team play ultra def. arsenal muz come up with something to counter tis prob. i watched the highlights. mani of arsenal's shots were either hit pole or jus wide. if we lucky we might win by 4-1. pls dun write off baptista off too early. he come from la lige where u guys shd know players from there hard to adapt to epl. somemore its his handful of games onli. hes not used to the epl games n Arsenals style. in la lige dun tink got anything would play 10men behind ball tactic. give him time. btw anyone can play mi wat formation arsenal played yesterday ?? n wat postion baptista played ??Think they play a 4-5-1 formation wif adebayor as a lone striker & Baptista as a deep striker operating in the hole behind him. nt too sure. henry came on i the 2nd half & they revert back to the unorthodox 4-4-2, wif flamini as the hardman

[BroadBear]

rosicky won't dare to fire his tomahawks cos henry "the bigger than club" captain wants to play stylish football.. rosicky will get f**ked by him..stylish football wif no results, is tt wad Henry wants???

the success of the team is judged by the trophies they won nt by how gd they entertain the fans.
yes we may be remembered in history for our stylish attacking play but it is time arsenal learn to win ugly. the standard of the game is plummetting & defences r getting tighter, we can nv emulate the 03/04 & 01/02 teams who won the title by playing stylish, attractive football.

[Swat]

To be fair, we (NUFC) made you guys look good. Roeder's tactics were to get everyone back and defend deep, allowing Arsenal players to easily run into the box. If we pushed our formation further out, it would've been harder imo. Not to mention because we're defending deep, we can't really counter attack or attack with only Dyer/Martins up front and support for them would arrive late or in yesterday's case, not even there. The rest of the 9 players were in our half.

EDIT: Ooh and I personally thought the ref was biased. Seriously, Fabregas' challenge on Moore is a definite straight-up sent off. He was a lucky kid to remain on the pitch. Next, N'Zogbia fouls and got a yellow. 10 mins later, Henry fouled Bramble the exact manner (and from behind) and got away without a card.

Stop kidding yourself please. If newcastle dared to play open football, you think you will still draw? You are kidding seriously if you think your team is capable of a result against us if you decide to open up and play football. If your team had pushed further up there would be more width and space for passing into, and that leads to more chances and spaces for our players to run into.

Thats just too bad you think the ref was biased.

Anyway without given saving your asses on so many critical chances yesterday, i seriously doubt the score line would remain the same.

[BroadBear]

To be fair, we (NUFC) made you guys look good. Roeder's tactics were to get everyone back and defend deep, allowing Arsenal players to easily run into the box. If we pushed our formation further out, it would've been harder imo. Not to mention because we're defending deep, we can't really counter attack or attack with only Dyer/Martins up front and support for them would arrive late or in yesterday's case, not even there. The rest of the 9 players were in our half.

EDIT: Ooh and I personally thought the ref was biased. Seriously, Fabregas' challenge on Moore is a definite straight-up sent off. He was a lucky kid to remain on the pitch. Next, N'Zogbia fouls and got a yellow. 10 mins later, Henry fouled Bramble the exact manner (and from behind) and got away without a card.
hey friend u think the referee was only biased against ur team? to be frank arsenal were oso on the receiving end of the referee controversial decisions, hleb shot in the 1st half touched parker hand & tt shld be a penalty for handball but the referee misjudged the situation & wave play on

[Sensational]

To be fair, we (NUFC) made you guys look good. Roeder's tactics were to get everyone back and defend deep, allowing Arsenal players to easily run into the box. If we pushed our formation further out, it would've been harder imo. Not to mention because we're defending deep, we can't really counter attack or attack with only Dyer/Martins up front and support for them would arrive late or in yesterday's case, not even there. The rest of the 9 players were in our half.

EDIT: Ooh and I personally thought the ref was biased. Seriously, Fabregas' challenge on Moore is a definite straight-up sent off. He was a lucky kid to remain on the pitch. Next, N'Zogbia fouls and got a yellow. 10 mins later, Henry fouled Bramble the exact manner (and from behind) and got away without a card.

LOL............... nice logic there lo. i seriously dun tink newcastle made arsenal look gd. they juz plae lyk other ultra-defensive team, score 1 goal n defend all the way. ref was biased. true 2 a certain extent but we also gt some wrong decision.

[Wryer]

Newcastle made Arsenal look good?! What?

[yourmother]

Newcastle made Arsenal look good.. That something new..

[BroadBear]

wtf in fact they made us look bad in attack by stopping our penetrations!

[LittleFox]

I think we are out of the title race, thanks for the support....

we should put in more focus in champions league now....

and b4 the yr ends, get a tight grip on the thrid spot.

i believe our team is still too young

lack some maturity

:o

[LittleFox]

btw, i just wanna add, to win the epl again, we need some luck from the refs, i have seen too many times tt a clear cut penalty denied and wrongly called off-side on T.Henry

[Wryer]

Yup, we are prolly too young for the title race. To be honest, as a Arsenal fan for so many years, winning the title is secondary. I always love it when i watch them winning matches in style. And when they do it consistently, tadah, they win the title.

We have a really young squad and really, it takes time. I just wanna see the free flowing arsenal team win!

Its just sucks when they made me so happy last week, and deliver this type of twat results.

I really hope they don't slip up against Hamburg. We need to win this one to ensure qualification. Porto at home is not easy.

[Kilrach]

LOL............... nice logic there lo. i seriously dun tink newcastle made arsenal look gd. they juz plae lyk other ultra-defensive team, score 1 goal n defend all the way. ref was biased. true 2 a certain extent but we also gt some wrong decision.

Don't you get the logic? It's precisely because we played ultra defensive that's why Arsenal has more opportunities to get near the box without any resistance, and worse still we were defending VERY DEEP.

[Kilrach]

hey friend u think the referee was only biased against ur team? to be frank arsenal were oso on the receiving end of the referee controversial decisions, hleb shot in the 1st half touched parker hand & tt shld be a penalty for handball but the referee misjudged the situation & wave play on

Only that one decision you came up with? I'm sorry but that was unintentional and I'm not saying that because I'm with NUFC. Commentators, fans, players; none of them were making strong appeals.

My hard-line example on other hand exudes biasness on the ref's part. Anyway it's not a matter of misjudgment (if indeed it was as per your example). It was simply "consistency". Two fouls committed in similar fashion is definitely comparable. The fact that NUFC got a booking and not Arsenal showed biasness to be blunt. To put it nicely, he was "inconsistent".

[Kilrach]

Stop kidding yourself please. If newcastle dared to play open football, you think you will still draw? You are kidding seriously if you think your team is capable of a result against us if you decide to open up and play football. If your team had pushed further up there would be more width and space for passing into, and that leads to more chances and spaces for our players to run into.

Thats just too bad you think the ref was biased.

Anyway without given saving your asses on so many critical chances yesterday, i seriously doubt the score line would remain the same.

For all your blustering arrogance, you certainly gave your team more credit than they deserved. True, their set-up play was fantastic but shots on goal were horrible. To be honest, the shots at Given were straight at him (granted he was well positioned & punched away shots neatly).

I'd bet you thought you could have won us 3-0 at least right? That's what the ESPN commentators thought too. Guess what? We got the draw and it had to take Henry's sheer class to procure the point. Don't imply to me as if your team is the alpha club of the world. Anyway if you didn't read my post carefully, I said "pushed out further", not "open up and play" which you quoted me incorrectly. That's a huge difference. Pushing out further means not to defend too deep while maintaining the same compact formation. You think Arsenal can pull off more long range shots if we pushed out further? I don't think so. We could also counterattack much more efficiently with more players on the other half.

I'm sorry that you were this arrogant. I didn't think Arsenal fans were, I hope you're just the black sheep of the crop. For the record, my initial post was not meant to rub it into the fans' faces. I just felt we deserved much more credit than you guys were showing. Pardon me if I suggested otherwise but your arrogance was totally uncalled for.

Just so you know, Arsenal is still my 2nd favourite team.

[BroadBear]

For all your blustering arrogance, you certainly gave your team more credit than they deserved. True, their set-up play was fantastic but shots on goal were horrible. To be honest, the shots at Given were straight at him (granted he was well positioned & punched away shots neatly).

I'd bet you thought you could have won us 3-0 at least right? That's what the ESPN commentators thought too. Guess what? We got the draw and it had to take Henry's sheer class to procure the point. Don't imply to me as if your team is the alpha club of the world. Anyway if you didn't read my post carefully, I said "pushed out further", not "open up and play" which you quoted me incorrectly. That's a huge difference. Pushing out further means not to defend too deep while maintaining the same compact formation. You think Arsenal can pull off more long range shots if we pushed out further? I don't think so. We could also counterattack much more efficiently with more players on the other half.

I'm sorry that you were this arrogant. I didn't think Arsenal fans were, I hope you're just the black sheep of the crop. For the record, my initial post was not meant to rub it into the fans' faces. I just felt we deserved much more credit than you guys were showing. Pardon me if I suggested otherwise but your arrogance was totally uncalled for.

Just so you know, Arsenal is still my 2nd favourite team.
oh so tt means newcastle is ur favourite team?? i dun see why NUFC deserve such a huge fan base in sg(they have the 4th largest fan base wif a forum opened @ HWZ) when wad they have is only an overrated bunch of players who can't perform @ the highest lvl
sad to see tt a team once touted as title contenders has now plunged to relegation quagmire.

[Wryer]

Kilrach, lets not get into another rubbish debate of 'arsenal lost it more than newcastle drew it'. Its a senseless argument that will lead to nowhere. You are in an arsenal thread, which most naturally have more pro-arsenal comments. No?

[Kenshin79]

kilrach, while arsenal didnt play exactly very well and newcastle played perhaps their seaon's best match, you have to admit that it was shay given who saved your team time and again.
what crap argument you can come up with, newcastle played deep so arsenal could keep attacking them and make the gunners look good offensively? if newcastle didnt play so deep, the gunners would have ripped apart your defence with tons of thru-pass and surely a few of them would left your goalie, no matter how good he is, to concede.

newcastle have been lucky to have given as the goalie all these while.
otherwise, newcastle might have been relegated before already.
Shut up, get out from this arsenal thread, and go back to your newcastle thread and bask in your once-in-a-while glory and celebrate all you want like you won a cup final.
dun you understand that ya in the gunners' fans thread? stop making a nuisance of yourself

[Kilrach]

oh so tt means newcastle is ur favourite team?? i dun see why NUFC deserve such a huge fan base in sg(they have the 4th largest fan base wif a forum opened @ HWZ) when wad they have is only an overrated bunch of players who can't perform @ the highest lvl
sad to see tt a team once touted as title contenders has now plunged to relegation quagmire.

I can tell you it wasn't an overnight thing that I'm a fan. As far as I know, they have the most passionate fans around in huge numbers (just in England alone). The players' quality leaves much to be desired but that's another story. And being a fan since its glory days I can't help but feel sad that the team in languishing at the wrong end of the table. We'll just have to see where it takes us from here :)

[Kilrach]

Kilrach, lets not get into another rubbish debate of 'arsenal lost it more than newcastle drew it'. Its a senseless argument that will lead to nowhere. You are in an arsenal thread, which most naturally have more pro-arsenal comments. No?

Clearly, I wasn't driving in that direction. More so when I announced that I have much love for Arsenal and utmost respect for the team. So I wasn't trying to be spiteful or anything

[Kilrach]

kilrach, while arsenal didnt play exactly very well and newcastle played perhaps their seaon's best match, you have to admit that it was shay given who saved your team time and again.
what crap argument you can come up with, newcastle played deep so arsenal could keep attacking them and make the gunners look good offensively? if newcastle didnt play so deep, the gunners would have ripped apart your defence with tons of thru-pass and surely a few of them would left your goalie, no matter how good he is, to concede.

newcastle have been lucky to have given as the goalie all these while.
otherwise, newcastle might have been relegated before already.
Shut up, get out from this arsenal thread, and go back to your newcastle thread and bask in your once-in-a-while glory and celebrate all you want like you won a cup final.
dun you understand that ya in the gunners' fans thread? stop making a nuisance of yourself

Formations are very flexible. You didn't have to take it so literally that the WHOLE entire team have to push forward. Maybe changing to a 4-1-3-2 formation playing just below the center of the park. I don't know. I'm not the manager here. I was posted what I thought could have made our game better and further denied Arsenal. Personally, we were playing TOO DEEP (for the umpteenth time) for our own good. Look at the number of shots we allowed Arsenal to take. We could have counterattacked more efficiently and pressured the midfielders more rather than just letting stroll into the last third of our side. If you still fail to see my point, I got nothing more to say.

I don't understand why people have to take it so negatively. I just came in to make my point; to have a discussion as FELLOW FOOTBALL FANS and this is the shut-out I get?. I didn't come into this thread just to intentionally MOCK or SPITE you guys and get flamed (which I clearly didn't). I'm not stupid and that wasn't my intention anyway nor was it implied in my posts.

And I'm making a nuisance of myself? I mean, I gotta be strictly an Arsenal fan to participate in this thread? Is this some kind of a law I'm oblivious to? What gives you the right to make me shut up and "go back"?

ASSUMING I'm an Arsenal fan and I made the comments that I did? I seriously don't think I would've gotten the treatment I didn't deserve.

Lastly, don't speak as tho Arsenal are entitled to win every match.

EDIT: Ooh and take a look at the Newcastle boards. We weren't celebrating like we won the cup or anything. We thought it was a great result and moved on. Most of the time we were discussing how good Arsenal were. I think I speak for most of the NUFC fans that we value team performances more so than results.

[aqf]

oh so tt means newcastle is ur favourite team?? i dun see why NUFC deserve such a huge fan base in sg(they have the 4th largest fan base wif a forum opened @ HWZ) when wad they have is only an overrated bunch of players who can't perform @ the highest lvl
sad to see tt a team once touted as title contenders has now plunged to relegation quagmire.
Whats wrong with having the 4th largest largest fan base? U nuisance bear should go to the zoo instead of watching football. :s27:

[yourmother]

The bottom line is Given saved your ass time and times again. Without him you would have lost even if you defend deep.

Dont kid yourself about the whole 'Newcastle lost it then Arsenal won it'. You have seem how teams come to Emirate and played football and get ripped apart. Reading, Man u, Liverpool etc.

No offence, I honestly dont believe you have even much quality than Reading at moment.

[BroadBear]

Whats wrong with having the 4th largest largest fan base? U nuisance bear should go to the zoo instead of watching football. :s27:
oh but i think the zoo is more suitable for an uncivilised human like u

[Wryer]

Formations are very flexible. You didn't have to take it so literally that the WHOLE entire team have to push forward. Maybe changing to a 4-1-3-2 formation playing just below the center of the park. I don't know. I'm not the manager here. I was posted what I thought could have made our game better and further denied Arsenal. Personally, we were playing TOO DEEP (for the umpteenth time) for our own good. Look at the number of shots we allowed Arsenal to take. We could have counterattacked more efficiently and pressured the midfielders more rather than just letting stroll into the last third of our side. If you still fail to see my point, I got nothing more to say.

I don't understand why people have to take it so negatively. I just came in to make my point; to have a discussion as FELLOW FOOTBALL FANS and this is the shut-out I get?. I didn't come into this thread just to intentionally MOCK or SPITE you guys and get flamed (which I clearly didn't). I'm not stupid and that wasn't my intention anyway nor was it implied in my posts.

And I'm making a nuisance of myself? I mean, I gotta be strictly an Arsenal fan to participate in this thread? Is this some kind of a law I'm oblivious to? What gives you the right to make me shut up and "go back"?

ASSUMING I'm an Arsenal fan and I made the comments that I did? I seriously don't think I would've gotten the treatment I didn't deserve.

Lastly, don't speak as tho Arsenal are entitled to win every match.

EDIT: Ooh and take a look at the Newcastle boards. We weren't celebrating like we won the cup or anything. We thought it was a great result and moved on. Most of the time we were discussing how good Arsenal were. I think I speak for most of the NUFC fans that we value team performances more so than results.

If NUFC dared to push further up (by whatever metres u have in mind), Arsenal would have pick passes behind Bramble and Moore. Even a amatuer boss like Roeder knows that. Its not as if we are saying Arsenal is the best teaam or kinda bull crap. We all know Arsenal's style of play and every EPL manager play the same game when they come to Emirates or even when they play us at home. Just look at the draws and wins that Arsenal has. When Arsenal won, its always when the opposing tried to win, they had the win in mind. They attacked. And undoubtly, they lost. Why? Because you don't play a high line against a passing team like Arsenal.

So your theory of NUFC should push out 'further by another 1.25metres' because they were playing 'too deep' simply don't hold water.

We did'nt say Arsenal is entitled to win every match. Who did? You assumed. As i've said before, this is an Arsenal thread, and comments are pro-Arsenal. Im sure all of us masturbate in our own room and privacy, no one does it in your FELLOW FRIEND's room right? Why? Its rude and ugly.

I know where you are coming from, you are angered by the pre-match hype about Arsenal going to thrash Newcastle, and now you have gotten a draw (kudos to your team shutting down Arsenal and lading a sucker punch), you want to demonstrate to us that you didnt lose. Deny? Fine.

You know what? All these started when you implied that 'NUFC made Arsenal look good by defending deeply'. Its simply a warped statement.

[aqf]

oh but i think the zoo is more suitable for an uncivilised human like u
GROW UP!!!Kid..

[Kilrach]

If NUFC dared to push further up (by whatever metres u have in mind), Arsenal would have pick passes behind Bramble and Moore. Even a amatuer boss like Roeder knows that. Its not as if we are saying Arsenal is the best teaam or kinda bull crap. We all know Arsenal's style of play and every EPL manager play the same game when they come to Emirates or even when they play us at home. Just look at the draws and wins that Arsenal has. When Arsenal won, its always when the opposing tried to win, they had the win in mind. They attacked. And undoubtly, they lost. Why? Because you don't play a high line against a passing team like Arsenal.

So your theory of NUFC should push out 'further by another 1.25metres' because they were playing 'too deep' simply don't hold water.

I'm sorry if you fail to see my logic. I don't wish to repeat myself over and over. For the umpteenth time, formations are very flexible. What I said was just a general guide. There obviously must be more in-depth coordination in that. It's the manager's job, not mine. Look at your team's shots. Most were blasted high and wide or straight at Given. And no, not all teams play the same way like us against Arsenal (i.e. top team in EPL and CL)l. Don't generalise or ASSUME.


We did'nt say Arsenal is entitled to win every match. Who did? You assumed. As i've said before, this is an Arsenal thread, and comments are pro-Arsenal. Im sure all of us masturbate in our own room and privacy, no one does it in your FELLOW FRIEND's room right? Why? Its rude and ugly.

I saw this coming from a mile away. Please read my post again. My exact words were "don't speak as tho Arsenal are entitled to win every match". The trouble with people nowadays is they can't read, so they assume what others is trying to say. So in this case it is you who assume, not me.

Just for the benefit of your blindness and/or stupidity, I meant that some of you guys IMPLIED as if Arsenal are entitled to win every match BECAUSE of the attitude and tone portrayed. Granted this being a pro-Arsenal fan thread, but this is a forum nonetheless.

That being said, you DO know what is the meaning of a FORUM (i.e. it's not private & you don't own this thread) don't you? Therefore, your analogy provided was stupid and incoherent.


I know where you are coming from, you are angered by the pre-match hype about Arsenal going to thrash Newcastle, and now you have gotten a draw (kudos to your team shutting down Arsenal and lading a sucker punch), you want to demonstrate to us that you didnt lose. Deny? Fine.

What pre-match hype are you talking about? If indeed I was angered like you ASSUMED myself to be, I would've gloated it in the NUFC thread and mocking Arsenal. But I didn't, we didn't. Again, re-read my post. We're discussing how good Arsenal were for most of the time. Please visit our thread for more details.

You know what? All these started when you implied that 'NUFC made Arsenal look good by defending deeply'. Its simply a warped statement.

Why is it warped? Just cause i'm an NUFC fan? It's the truth. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Defending deeper means more chances of pots on goal for the opponent. Simple logic.

P.S Look at the no. of times you ASSUMED. I rest my case.

[Kilrach]

The bottom line is Given saved your ass time and times again. Without him you would have lost even if you defend deep.

Dont kid yourself about the whole 'Newcastle lost it then Arsenal won it'. You have seem how teams come to Emirate and played football and get ripped apart. Reading, Man u, Liverpool etc.

No offence, I honestly dont believe you have even much quality than Reading at moment.

Comparing quality is not the issue here.

Like I mentioned previously, shots at us were either blasted wide or straight at Given. Don't give your team too much credit. The only 2 great saves I recalled were the almost point-blank shot by Fabregas (lacking quality in finishing) and the curling shot by Henry which Given punched out.

Granted, there were a couple of near misses which I thought Arsenal were unlucky. I give credit where credit's due. But I don't see my fairness being reciprocated.

[BroadBear]

GROW UP!!!Kid..
wake up babe! work on your own faults b4 pinpointing others. u FAILURE

[Wryer]

I'm sorry if you fail to see my logic. I don't wish to repeat myself over and over. For the umpteenth time, formations are very flexible. What I said was just a general guide. There obviously must be more in-depth coordination in that. It's the manager's job, not mine. Look at your team's shots. Most were blasted high and wide or straight at Given. And no, not all teams play the same way like us against Arsenal (i.e. top team in EPL and CL)l. Don't generalise or ASSUME.

I saw this coming from a mile away. Please read my post again. My exact words were "don't speak as tho Arsenal are entitled to win every match". The trouble with people nowadays is they can't read, so they assume what others is trying to say. So in this case it is you who assume, not me.

Just for the benefit of your blindness and/or stupidity, I meant that some of you guys IMPLIED as if Arsenal are entitled to win every match BECAUSE of the attitude and tone portrayed. Granted this being a pro-Arsenal fan thread, but this is a forum nonetheless.

That being said, you DO know what is the meaning of a FORUM (i.e. it's not private & you don't own this thread) don't you? Therefore, your analogy provided was stupid and incoherent.

What pre-match hype are you talking about? If indeed I was angered like you ASSUMED myself to be, I would've gloated it in the NUFC thread and mocking Arsenal. But I didn't, we didn't. Again, re-read my post. We're discussing how good Arsenal were for most of the time. Please visit our thread for more details.

Why is it warped? Just cause i'm an NUFC fan? It's the truth. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. Defending deeper means more chances of pots on goal for the opponent. Simple logic.

P.S Look at the no. of times you ASSUMED. I rest my case.

Don't be sorry that i don't see your logic, i just don't agree with your logic. If i understand your logic, you said that Arsenal rained shots that were off or straight at Given, is that more of a Arsenal ineptness or Given's divine power? So credit should be Given for his divine ability to direct shots to him? Okay fine, lets not go back into the stupid tactical debate, i agree we are no managers.

This IS an Arsenal thread, place where Gooners talk about Arsenal, which supporters thread do you see thinking that their team will definitely lose? Go to the Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea forum, do you them cursing their team? Sure, this is a public forum that i and u included don't have control. But what we are talking about here is basic courtesy and netiquette. Anyway, don't resort to insults like 'blind', 'stupid'. You can hold a discussion without these derogrative remarks.

No matter what, this pointless discussion has to end somehow. i don't wish to use comments like 'get out' kind of rubbish. i'm sorry but the only way this roundabout discussion end is us stop debating on this issue. You may carry on with your fellow fans in your own thread. I think you understand where im coming from.

[Kilrach]

Don't be sorry that i don't see your logic, i just don't agree with your logic. If i understand your logic, you said that Arsenal rained shots that were off or straight at Given, is that more of a Arsenal ineptness or Given's divine power? So credit should be Given for his divine ability to direct shots to him? Okay fine, lets not go back into the stupid tactical debate, i agree we are no managers.

Notice that in all my posts I didn't actually give Given credit at all. I would say it's Arsenal's lack of finishing quality. And my logic wasn't whether Given was god or Arsenal sucked. More players upfront means more pressure on opponent's midfielders = harder to get just outside of the box and get trigger happy. It's just common sense. The manager's job is how to balance it up the depth so on and so forth.


This IS an Arsenal thread, place where Gooners talk about Arsenal, which supporters thread do you see thinking that their team will definitely lose? Go to the Man U, Liverpool, Chelsea forum, do you them cursing their team? Sure, this is a public forum that i and u included don't have control. But what we are talking about here is basic courtesy and netiquette. Anyway, don't resort to insults like 'blind', 'stupid'. You can hold a discussion without these derogrative remarks.

I apologise if I've offended you. But you've gotta admit it was your fellow Arsenal comrades who started this first. My initial posts weren't spiteful at you guys at all. I was just making my point. Simple as that. And guess what? I got attacked indiscriminately; being labelled as a "nuisance", asked to "shut up and go back". So who's the real bad guy now?

No matter what, this pointless discussion has to end somehow. i don't wish to use comments like 'get out' kind of rubbish. i'm sorry but the only way this roundabout discussion end is us stop debating on this issue. You may carry on with your fellow fans in your own thread. I think you understand where im coming from.

If that's how you want to conclude it's fine with me. At least I've made my point.

[Wryer]

Notice that in all my posts I didn't actually give Given credit at all. I would say it's Arsenal's lack of finishing quality. And my logic wasn't whether Given was god or Arsenal sucked. More players upfront means more pressure on opponent's midfielders = harder to get just outside of the box and get trigger happy. It's just common sense. The manager's job is how to balance it up the depth so on and so forth.

I apologise if I've offended you. But you've gotta admit it was your fellow Arsenal comrades who started this first. My initial posts weren't spiteful at you guys at all. I was just making my point. Simple as that. And guess what? I got attacked indiscriminately; being labelled as a "nuisance", asked to "shut up and go back". So who's the real bad guy now?

If that's how you want to conclude it's fine with me. At least I've made my point.

I accept your apology. There is nothing much i can do about the posts of other people. I just hope you understand there is other people from different walks of life. They simply respond differently. Name calling is never a good way to start a discussion and i acknowledge your view of being attacked verbally and i personally don't like it at all.

Yes, this shall be the end of this topic. Its going nowhere.

:)

Cheers!
May the exuberant St James' Park return. They are deafening.

[Kilrach]

Thanks for your support :)

As I mentioned earlier, Arsenal is my 2nd fav team and I sincerely hope they can win the ECL!

[Wryer]

Cheers mate.

Arsenal have a real tough game coming up against hamburg. They must win this game! If you look at the schedule, the next 4 weeks is super tough for Arsenal. Spurs, Chelsea and Bolton iirc. And the Porto game is sandwiched in between. If we win Hamburg, they will have the decent break before the EPL rock and roll. The only consolation is Hamburg is already eliminated, and i think they are also unable to get 3rd already, so they may not concentrate.

Its a must win.

And by the way, Im sure some immature people will come in later and start replying to our debate preceding this. Do your new friend here a favour (yours truly), just ignore them.

Cheer.

[Kilrach]

Cheers mate.

Arsenal have a real tough game coming up against hamburg. They must win this game! If you look at the schedule, the next 4 weeks is super tough for Arsenal. Spurs, Chelsea and Bolton iirc. And the Porto game is sandwiched in between. If we win Hamburg, they will have the decent break before the EPL rock and roll. The only consolation is Hamburg is already eliminated, and i think they are also unable to get 3rd already, so they may not concentrate.

Its a must win.

And by the way, Im sure some immature people will come in later and start replying to our debate preceding this. Do your new friend here a favour (yours truly), just ignore them.

Cheer.

I was planning to ignore them anyway as per our last posts :s22:
Your closure = my closure and that's good enough for me :)

Personally, I don't think Hamburg would be much trouble considering their only noteworthy player is Van Der Vaart AFAIK. The only qualm I have is Arsenal's finishing. Otherwise, they can very much be compared to Barca in terms of flair and offensive abilities.

EDIT: I just hope it wouldn't turn out to be another CSKA affair (i.e. loads of attack but no goals).

[Wryer]

Bah, anything could happen with Arsenal nowadays.

Seriously, i don't remember them being outplayed at all this season. Its always suckerpunches that knocks us out. Villa, Man C, Newcastle, Boro, CSKA. Perhaps the only time where we got threatened was against CSKA. Sucks to drop points like that. I believe Arsenal's defence can cope with skilful players like VDV. Its those big powerful fast and direct forwards that are dangerous.

Damn. They better win.

[BroadBear]

Bah, anything could happen with Arsenal nowadays.

Seriously, i don't remember them being outplayed at all this season. Its always suckerpunches that knocks us out. Villa, Man C, Newcastle, Boro, CSKA. Perhaps the only time where we got threatened was against CSKA. Sucks to drop points like that. I believe Arsenal's defence can cope with skilful players like VDV. Its those big powerful fast and direct forwards that are dangerous.

Damn. They better win.Personally i'd rather they win the UEFA CL than the EPL for tt is still considered the most coveted prize in club futball tt the big boys in europe r vying for, even though it is considered an easier tournament(this is subjective to the opposition) than a league competition whereby e games r played on a one-off basis & u can rely on luck alone to advance thru.
The irony of the european cup is tt e winners r crowned european champions whereby u r top club in europe, theoretically speaking even if u r nt the champion of ur domestic league the european cup had alr given u tt status in name(since the participants of CL comes frm european league). tt is wad contradicts the reality of futball. In a nutshell, the CL is more of a lottery where a combination of qualty+luck comes into play whereas a league competition requires consistency.
for tt y i rather arsenal win the CL, tt so tt they r crown the champions of england in name->european champions :D which of cos gives us someting to boast abt.....just kidding
anyway it is a pity tt a great player like henry had so far failed to win the CL, hope to see him win it wif Arsenal soon. May tis yr be our yr

[SueDE_84]

kaoz...juz found out tat Gallas injured his thigh during training...hope we wun falter against Hamburg cos its a must win game for us

n btw look wat football365.com wrote:

Arsenal Suffer Gallas Blow

More bad news for Arsenal ahead of tomorrow night's crunch Champs League tie against Hamburg with William Gallas ruled out because of a thigh injury. The defender suffered the injury during shooting practice in training. No wonder they're so poor at it. But it looks as if Robin Van Persie, Freddie Ljungberg and Gilberto Silva should be available.

yeah football editor giving such comments :s8: wat makes him better than the lads?

[BroadBear]

dun worry we have Senderos, a more than capable replacement for Gallas. Afterall he had CL experience under his belt, having helped Arsenal kept a record 10 clean sheets on the way to last season's final.

[Tool18]

1-1 3-0 1-1 3-0 , which will it be against hamburg?:D though i don't see the same rare 0-0 as against CSKA moskow.

[SueDE_84]

1-1 3-0 1-1 3-0 , which will it be against hamburg?:D though i don't see the same rare 0-0 as against CSKA moskow.

hopefully it'll be the 3-0 scoreline...so tat Arsenal at least would hav some momentum going into their tough 4 weeks ahead

[BroadBear]

wad abt 4-1? an addition of both scorelines lol

[yourmother]

Great.. talk about luck.

[Wryer]

Thats where squad depth comes in. Luckily i think we are pretty 'deep' in the centre back positions. Djourou or Senderos are good enough to step up.

[LiteMan]

I came in a little too late...but nice to see that our little "war" has settled down. I am all for honest discussion...football is the beautiful game...

Ok back to the Hamburg match...when is the match? Tue morn or Wed morn? argh...i am working night shift these days...

[LiteMan]

I think we can have as defenders, Eboue, Toure, Senderos/ Djourou, Glichy

For midfield, i predict the grouping of Fabregas, Hleb, Baptista, Gilberto, Flamini

With Henry as forward...Baptista may play as a support striker

[Sensational]

ai ya. dun care la, juz a win can le. starfug finally showing sia, 3.30am on starsports

[cadre80]

ai ya. dun care la, juz a win can le. starfug finally showing sia, 3.30am on starsports

FINALLY they show it live... and i have a paper 5 hrs after kickoff... :(

hope baptista improves... he has the physical stuff to do it... now all that's left is the mental part... btw he can shoot from distance too, like rosicky and henry... (and pires... *sob*)

i still miss pires... :(

[Ragemage]

If u notice, normally its Pires who scored maj of the kio sai type of goals.

[xerces]

ai ya. dun care la, juz a win can le. starfug finally showing sia, 3.30am on starsportsyea later watching wahaha.... think can see a trashing... i expect 4-0 no less....:D

[xerces]

Thats where squad depth comes in. Luckily i think we are pretty 'deep' in the centre back positions. Djourou or Senderos are good enough to step up.Great i always wanted to see Senderos Back in ACTION!!!!

[Wryer]

I dare not predict already. Lost count of times we expect to beat the team, but go back empty handed. No longer important just to play well, but to win. For arsenal, Playing well not equivalent to winning a game liao.

[BroadBear]

I dare not predict already. Lost count of times we expect to beat the team, but go back empty handed. No longer important just to play well, but to win. For arsenal, Playing well not equivalent to winning a game liao.ya dun wish to see them becoming a team of all flair but no results.

winning shld be the primary aim & entertaining shld be of secondary importance now, hope Wenger realise tt . afterall ppl dun judge the success of a team based on e style of football they play but the trophies they won. once we match the ruthless efficiency of Chelsea & the consistency of Man U we will be more thana force to be reckoned wif

[Wryer]

Very true, the only consolation we can get is this team is only gonna get better, because its real young. Read somewhere that the outfield team that played against NUFC was 23yo, average. Thats pretty amazing.

[Sensational]

i waking up 2 watch the match. so arsenal dun disappoint!!!!

[Wryer]

so quiet before a match? Can't be leh.

Gotta win this to calm some nerves, and inject some confidence into the team.

[Wryer]

Great, now we have a real sticky mathematical situation. All 3 teams can end up with 11 pts and head to head comes in.

[LiteMan]

Great, now we have a real sticky mathematical situation. All 3 teams can end up with 11 pts and head to head comes in.



Argh, we are down by one goal already.

[Wryer]

I've got no complains abt the goal. Brilliant individual magic. But what the hell were the defence doing? They seem to be helping opponent train for 'one shot one kill'. Why are we forever so generous? Bring on Baptista, his style will suit this game perfectly.

If after watching this first half, there are stiill doubters abt Toure being captain, i've got nthg to say.

[Wryer]

Excellent. Theo for Ljungberg for the next match. Sad to say freddie has lost the ability to beat the player. And the goal Baptista scored is the type he has come here to score. Deep runs, aerial ability.

[Kenshin79]

it is always a case of getting the new players and new style & tactics to blend in.
in the past, arsenal can afford to develop gradually.
but chelsea has raised the bar so high that teams vying for the league champions cannot drop much points

[Kenshin79]

next match against bolton?
hopefully, this time the gunners can match the physical tactics by such team.
most importantly, the team will finally learn from this match and gain the never-say-die mentality to overcome all odds, such as come from behind to win

[Xtnega]

good work by theo walcott, kinda funny how he doesnt celebrate much when he provided the cross for baptista's header, just jog back like no big deal lidat :P

[Kenshin79]

maybe when he score his first goal for the gunners, then he would wheel away in celebration

[LiteMan]

Baptista scored? oh well, that is something....victory...this is a good comeback win!

[ER]

Baptista scored his first goal for arsenal.

[tt32003]

Is this the first time we came from behing after half time to win at the Emirates ?
Hopefully this will set the trend for things to come.
Now must make sure don't lose to Porto next match then qualify liao.

[ER]

Is this the first time we came from behing after half time to win at the Emirates ?
Hopefully this will set the trend for things to come.
Now must make sure don't lose to Porto next match then qualify liao.

Yup. The last few minutes really exciting with the introduction of Theo and Baptista.

[BroadBear]

Great win!! Now we just need a draw wif porto to advance, provided CSKA thrash the whipping boys by some incredible rugby scorelines...
but if we lose then god bless us, just had to pray tt Hamburg break their losing streak against porto

[Kiwi8]

Great win!! Now we just need a draw wif porto to advance, provided CSKA thrash the whipping boys by some incredible rugby scorelines...
but if we lose then god bless us, just had to pray tt Hamburg break their losing streak against porto
No need lah... Results against Hamburg will be ignored if the three clubs of Arsenal, Porto and CSKA are tied on 11 points. Even if CSKA wins Hamburg 1000-0 it will also not be taken into account.

[BroadBear]

No need lah... Results against Hamburg will be ignored if the three clubs of Arsenal, Porto and CSKA are tied on 11 points. Even if CSKA wins Hamburg 1000-0 it will also not be taken into account.
oh tt means the head-to-head record will be taken into account instead of goal diff??
tt means we just need to draw porto since we had a superior head-to-head record against Porto

[Kiwi8]

oh tt means the head-to-head record will be taken into account instead of goal diff??
tt means we just need to draw porto since we had a superior head-to-head record against Porto
No... even if u take head-to-head record it'll still not be conclusive. Each club has a better record than the other. Arsenal > Porto. Porto > CSKA. CSKA > Arsenal, so no conclusion here. What remains is the goal difference in the matches amongst the 3 teams (ignore all Hamburg matches). Right now, Arsenal has +1, Porto +0, CSKA -1. So Arsenal and Porto will be ranked first and second accordingly.