The Last-Minute Manchester United v Arsenal Preview: It’s not about points, it’s about belief

Tonight’s game against Manchester United at Old Trafford is not about the three points on offer. Just as winning it will not give us the title, losing it will not take it away.

No, tonight’s game is not about the points. It is about belief.

It is about taking the opportunity to put the bed the notion that this current crop of Arsenal footballers simply cannot hack it in the big games. It is about taking the opportunity to show our collective ability at the right time and break the psychological advantage that the this Manchester United side — inferior in quality to ours, in my humble opinion — has over us.

Is this team ready to make a statement?

Last season we outplayed Manchester United at Old Trafford and lost. Later on in the season at The Emirates Arsene Wenger’s tactical abilities were severely questioned as United destroyed us on the counter.

The Champions League semi-final the season was a similar story. After outplaying us 1-0 at Old Trafford in the first leg, a slip and a speculative free-kick was all it took for United to end our chances at The Emirates.

In fact, since Samir Nasri scored twice to beat United at The Emirates two seasons ago, they have beaten us three two out of three times in the league (drawing the other to win the 2008/09 Premiership), twice in the Champions League and once in the FA Cup. We have just a draw to show for those six encounters.

For me tonight is not about who is starting for Arsenal. It is not about Cesc Fabregas being fit or whether Wenger goes for Johan Djourou or Laurent Koscielny at the back. At the end of the day we have a team good enough to beat Manchester United at Old Trafford and it is down to whether the boys can handle the mental side of things and play to the best of their ability.

Will we see the Andrey Arshavin who tore Aston Villa apart or the one that fumbled and bumbled against Partizan Belgrade? Will we see the Theo Walcott that runs into blind corners or the one who finishes like Thierry Henry? Will we see the Laurent Koscielny who anticipates and tackles as well as anyone in the Premiership or the one who gets caught out of position? Will we see the Lukasz Fabianski that won us the game at Wolves or the one that fumbled against Newcastle?

I could go on but you get my point.

This team, whoever it is that gets the nod from our manager, is good enough to beat Manchester United. Repeat: we are good enough to beat Manchester United. What matters is that we turn up with right attitude, with the right levels of concentration and handle the mental test of the cauldron that is Old Trafford. It is a big challenge but if this group of players want to become winners then it is the sort of challenge that we need to attack with quality and intelligence. It is the sort of opportunity that we need to take.

A three-point lead at the top of the table and an immeasurable, invaluable injection of self-belief is what is on offer for our boys in tonight’s game. Will we be ready to take it?

Thoughts?

Have your say on Arsenal’s trip to Old Trafford by leaving a comment.

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Comments

  1. At some point, a young team has to clear a critical hurdle.

    We all know what the goal of a manager is: to get the most out of the players given to him. There are several aspects to this: getting the right players at the right price, building sustainability for a club, game day tactics to put your players in situations that adhere to their strengths. Wenger is one of the best at those. But is he a world-class motivator? That has always been my biggest question with him. This is just another game I fear we see Wenger’s greatest weakness, where his calm demeanor (sans his water-bottle tossing skills) inhibit his ability to harness the benefits of an emotional game.

    I hope, oh do I hope Wenger proves me wrong.

  2. You will fall to the greatest club on the planet tonight- Mighty Manchester United.Not one Arsenal player would get into this United team – we are unbeatable. When the big game comes we always win. Any big game for Arsenal they always bottle it. The gap between the two clubs is massive as it will be proved this evening. All of Arsenal players are of Ligue One standard and none are capable of threatening us.My prediction this evening is the world class Berba to score twice in the opening twenty minutes and then in the second half for Rooney to convert a penalty and Evra to finish the title pretenders’ dreams off for another season.

    Prediction:
    Man Utd 4-0 Wenger’s Training Centre

  3. @ Mighty Man Utd – Great to have you here, such wonderful input. To reply to your “not one Arsenal player would get into this United team” I give you the words of Ryan Giggs:

    “Nasri has probably been one of the best players in the Premier League this season. He has got balance and speed, can play on either wing or off the front. He is really versatile and has scored some great goals as well. He really seems to have come of age this year. Arsenal deserve a lot of credit for the way they have coped with losing a quality player like Fabregas and still carried on winning.”

  4. Well, Mr. Mighty Man Utd, we simply aren’t operating on the level of mutual respect our proximity in the tables dictate. I will grant you one final shred of dignity and hope you will return to this site after the match, and not sink to the level of the typical away commentator who spouts club-induced propaganda before matches and then disappears afterwards.

    See you soon.

  5. Will we see the Andrey Arshavin who tore Aston Villa apart or the one that fumbled and bumbled against Partizan Belgrade? Will we see the Theo Walcott that runs into blind corners or the one who finishes like Thierry Henry? Will we see the Laurent Koscielny who anticipates and tackles as well as anyone in the Premiership or the one who gets caught out of position? Will we see the Lukasz Fabianski that won us the game at Wolves or the one that fumbled against Newcastle?…………….WOW…touched the spot,my friend…
    aaron gordon , speakin to a united fan(logically) ,
    1st u need to dose u brain wit steriods,
    speakin to them,is like askin tom and jerry to castrate u,
    save some energy mate , u need for the game
    2-nil to the arsenal
    ps. mighty man united…fuck u

  6. Great article.

    With the top four teams separated by one point, this game certainly is the beginning of a transition period in the premier. Other than Man City (whose form will certainly be heavily scrutinzed over the next coming weeks regarding the Tevez situation) a win tonight would clear us four points ahead of Chelsea and ManU – the two greatest threats of the past and (I still believe) present. Also with Chelsea and Manchester squaring off next weekend, this result tonight could have a big impact on the standings; not just for the top four, but possibly Tottenham and (unlikely) Bolton. I am not saying the league is going to open up EVEN more, but whatever happens tonight is vital.

    Obviously, the belief of being able to perform against Big Teams runs hand in hand with a title challenge. You are very right in saying that the result tonight will not greatly affect the outcome of the season, but because of the pressure and scrutiny this Arsenal side is under, it appears that this is a must win for the purpose of winning the fans. Don’t think I’m saying this game is the final straw for me – absolutely not. However the past month has been a very jarring experience with so many nervous wins and unecessary losses. I believe a big win tonight is vital to the hearts of the fans in order to further inspire the optimism. Even if Arsenal grind out another nervous win tonight, the fact that Man U are such a rival AND have history on their side means a win will trump many of Arsenal’s style of play arguments. A grind out victory will be seen as a victory of champions against a difficult team and therefore if Arsenal continue to win a grinding style, nerves will be eased by setting a precedent that shows Arsenal are able to change and can find a style of play which works against a top side. Hopefully that’s not the way they continue to play though because my nerves can only take so much.

    More than anything, this game is a test. Actually it’s like a winter exam. The result will show how far the Gunners have come or maybe how far they will have to go.

  7. I must add that our away form has been real good. but this will be the real test of our away form at a place that doesnt lose so often. but i have huge belief in our boys that they can do it, if they stick to there way of play, especially there away form way of play. solid back four is going to be the key to our glory. we shall see what monday night will bring us. but I sure think belief will be the key lesson learnt from this if we come home with a win. come on you gunners. we are ready for a showdown.

  8. One must understand this.

    We play the best football passing and skill in the world. Manchester are a team that has been trained to run around the clock all over the pitch like formidable machine. Few might have skills. But the mind set-up is just like an army “you must do as you told” if not you go for crusification.

    Arsenal team is no longer a child attitude. All players must state their mind that all Man u players only run around like under a gun fire. So there is nothing wrong for Arsenal to match that. Infact Arsenal endures more skill…. Hence the skill should pay off Arsenal way. Arsenal must win 2-0 or 3-2.

    The Idea of Evra is simply saying we are not soldiers mainly because we do not run like him as it is his only skill.

  9. I agree that this Arsenal team is more than capable of beating united, I think they probably were last season as well. But as always the key is turning up on the day which has been Arsenals problem – whether this is due to Wenger’s motivational skills or not i dont know.
    Apparently Fabianski may be injured and Wenger might start Szczesny? That would be interesting.
    Anywho I am hoping for an entertaining game and a united win myself, though I am concerned enough that a draw would keep me happy.

  10. Arsenal players are so focused and agreed to match man u in every aspect.

    One must recognise that Manu are here just due to luck factor.. Perhaps that is their luck they have the most man u addict refree today and the most spitefull refree to Arsenal.

    Though, the bookies favour them, though they have their supporter as refree and no major injuries, Arsenal will prevail. This is a mind setting game. If Arsenal win the mind setting, it does not matter if we lose the game. We will be champions this year.

  11. Well wenger and some of you arsenal fans can make excuses as much as you want by saying “this is just another game”, the facts don’t lies Our record against the big guns is absolutely atrocious.
    No longer can this team becalled young they are men and they need to start to produce the goods full stop.
    Arsene wenger has put all his pebbles in this pot of young players and they will make him or break him. Based on what he has said the trend looks set to continue because in modern football the weaknesses and strengths of the opposition is a must know by those who dare for success. No longer can you turn up and hope natural ability alone will succeed, football has gone more tactical and mental wenger of all should know this.
    Shockingly MAU have almost beaten us the same way every year so no need to change we are the ones to make the adjustment to counter the MAU winning machine, say as you want MAU can fail to win the league for 3 more years because they have won it so much for us not so 3 times in 14 years not so good at all it’s FACTS.
    For me tonight Arsenal should go with the team that has been most consistent that means leaving vanpercy on the bench and don’t try to facilitate him in this team bring him on let chamaka continue to do what has done all season give nasri and arshivn the roving role and demand son to stay at home and most of all pray for our defense.
    We don’t have to win but we must not LOOSE fill stop.
    If we get our tactics right and play the right personnel then am sure we won’t loose
    wenger its time to set the record straight in these big games we all say arsenal are a big club and we boast of financial stability now lets show it on the pitch because there will always be teams who have money and will never go bankrupt SO if were hoping for that to happen so we can win everything pls wake up fans the world don’t work like that.
    Arsenal i love you with all my heart please make me proud and fix mau
    By the way the only way to shut up evra is by beating them 2nite……………

  12. the bastards left out Berba & thus will go for a 4-5-1 with Shrek upfront. They plan to make life difficult for us by packing the midfield.
    I guess they will look for that early goal & then try to catch us on the break.
    If Arsene really learnt from that suicidal game plan which led to the 3-0 home thumping, then we stand a big chance to win this one. Come on you Gunners!

  13. Regardless of which Fabianski we see tonight, I am afraid that M. Wenger believes that he has solved the ‘keeper problem. He hasn’t. At his best (so far), Fabianski is a long way short of world class. So far this season, Arsènal have lost five points through goalkeeping errors (Almunia 3, Fabianski 2). Last season, the Gunners lost more points through ‘keeper mistakes than separated them from Chelsea. There is abundance of excellent ‘keepers in the EPL, To challenge for the title, Arsènal need just one.

  14. Some of your best work Andy, I’ve nothing more to add to that; you’ve summed the situation up beautifully. Now COME ON YOU ARSENAL!

  15. Main man Clichy does it again. Poor deflection and handball (though that was a bit harsh).
    Arshavin was poor poor poor. He needs to head to the bench.

    On a positive note, I thought that the team defended very well. United tried hard to catch us on the counter attack and they failed to do so.

    I know that some folks will lose their minds about this loss, but, strangely enough, I don’t feel too bad about it. Clearly, I want for Arsenal to win, but just a 1-0 defeat at OT pretty much without TV, RV, and Fab, I don’t think it’s too bad.

    I think the problem today is that we gave the ball away too much, in large part due to Arshavin and Song giving the ball away. The squad looked a lot more dangerous with Theo. I hope that he has earned his starting spot.

  16. Well beaten. I’m not sure we can blame anyone for this. We conceded a slightly unfortunate/silly goal, but they had other chances too. We on the other hand failed to create much at all. Chamakh should probably have scored the one that Van Der Sar spilled, but apart from that there wasn’t much else. Part of that stems from the style we play where if the last ball had gone thru we would have one on ones. But I don’t think we gave a good account of ourselves. Didn’t play like we can. Arshavin was really disappointing. Time to play Walcott from now. Sigh….

  17. the defensive unit performed much better than expected. I guess we lost the game in the middle of the park. We lacked creativity & couldn’t hold onto our passing game. We needed Cesc badly from the start (Rosicky wasn’t up to the task).
    As for Arshavin? Woeful. Very frustrating to watch this guy nowadays. He was supposed to be taken of at HT.

  18. MAN! this game made freakin furious! we did well to hold, but an overall the offense was very bad. I think it wasn’t a good idea to bring Cesc in. He wasn’t ready. But that’s the gamble I guess. Man but how much I despise evra! What an a** h****! Who gives him the right to talk about our team that way!? there will be justice I’m sure!

  19. “Aaron Gordon December 13, 2010 at 5:58 pm
    Well, Mr. Mighty Man Utd, we simply aren’t operating on the level of mutual respect our proximity in the tables dictate. I will grant you one final shred of dignity and hope you will return to this site after the match, and not sink to the level of the typical away commentator who spouts club-induced propaganda before matches and then disappears afterwards.

    See you soon.”

    So where are you now Mr Aaron Gordon????

    Im sooooo interested to hear your Arsenal bullshit excuses for losing YET AGAIN to Utd, even a half-hearted Utd side strolled to a win against your ‘We play pretty football’ team that only ever seem to play their ‘beautiful’ football against the little teams! Lol

    How many times have we got to put your little biy scout team in their place till you learn that its the same shit different year for you lot.

    “Where r ya” “Where are ya”

    “Top of the league”

  20. @LAGunner
    yes, Arshavin was horrible! he falls and just lie there…that’s so annoying. He should put on the side for a little while. He doesn’t deliver and that’s very annoying especially when we know how good he can be. he so unstable.

  21. “MTY December 13, 2010 at 11:21 pm
    Andy, pls remove this stupid comment (#22 above)”

    Arrrrh, stop crying MTY….you should be used to this result!

    Stop trying to convince yourself that Arsenal have what it takes it win the PL, your teams done absolutely nothing different this year….u smash the poor LITTLE teams & get mugged off by the REAL teams and its no different this year.

    Just like your pathetic manager who is making you lot look even more pathetic by claiming the OT pitch blah blah was to blame for Arsenal playin shit! Its soooo funnu to listen to excuses like that!

  22. I don’t know where to start. We looked lazy, slow and downright scared. Clichy days of as one of the best wingbacks seems likes eons ago. Nani skinned him on that cross to Park (MOTD in my opinion). He just seems to get poorer and poorer as the season progresses. AA23 seemed to have his mind on Russia 2018 as opposed to the game. Uninspired and lethargic. Nasri tried and tried with all his might but didn’t have a supporting cast that wanted the ball. Too much standing around waiting for the ball to magically come to them. We lack desire in a big way. For all our talk to “leave it on the pitch” and such we show up against the top teams and simply expect to our superior skill to take care of it. I saw next to no closing down of their middies. Players getting disposed and throwing their hands up in disgust. I’m sorry I’m so frustrated, one of the lone good points of the game was the young pole in net (I’m not going to even attempt to spell his name). Some distribution to be left desired but overall pretty solid with one exceptional save. Let this be a lesson of the mettle that is needed to win championships. Manure has it, chelski had it, and it deeply saddens me to say this but sp*rs look like they want it. Come on you gunners, lets do this.

  23. That was just awful.
    Andy was right in saying that the league would not be decided by this games outcome alone but he looked for belief….where was it? where was the direction? where was the penetration? where was the desire?
    I wouldnt even say we were found out again because we wernt- everyone knows our weakness, we wernt found out we were EXPOSED again!
    Wenger just doesnt learn, Nani destroyed Clichy at the emirates last year when Nasri didnt help out and tonight there wasnt one time in the game when Arshavin was between Nani and our goal, yet when Arsha went forward the lazy Nani could defend for his team, NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
    A bad Utd team could afford to leave Berbatov and Hernandez on the bench and still cruise because its like Iv always said when you lot come on talking bout possession- once they scored it was over cos they knew we couldnt hurt them. We had one decent effort that VdS somehow managed to spill.
    And as for that defence………….SHOCKING….they cant even clear the ball properly, Sagna and Clichy were dirt hoofing and heading the ball 80 feet in the air and only 6ft forward, Koscielny was at fault for the goal running 30yards out of position to win, actually lose a header in midfield and Squillachi was just himself, tying himself up in knots, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT HIS INABILITY TO CLEAR A CROSS???? Nani shoul have scored in the first half after his ‘lay up’.
    Its just so disheartening at this stage to witness the same old crap, and its not that their not good enough its that they cant match these big sides for strength and character.
    Song- shocking passing and control
    Nasri- anonymous
    Rosicky- CAPTAIN, are you serious where was he?
    Wilshere- alone in midfield at least he tried and cared enough to show a bit of fight against fletcher
    Arshavin- his lying down on the ground while the opposition attack is almost annoying as Wengers posturing in the dug out
    Chamakh- just awful tonight, never tackled Ferdinand or Vidic.
    When you play these guys who know how to win and you want to win on their patch the first thing you have to do is match THEIR desire and will to win………we could play till next year and this particular Arsenal side would still be short in that department.
    As a fan Im sick to the teeth of putting on the jersey, goin down to the local in a room of 100 utd fans to 4 arsenal and not even having a bit of fight to show for it after listening to the same old mindless generic tripe they spout about ‘football- according to alex’…………Wenger doesnt get these guys up for the fight, I challenge anyone who doesnt agree with me to explain to me what the gameplan was tonight, where was our goalthreat going to come from
    This fucking team build you up and let you down

  24. Bottom line, big disappointment, AGAIN. I’ve been watching Arsenal for the last 5 years (and well before), but regarding the recent past, we come up short every year. This year will be no differnet.

    These fans that say they’re not disappointed by this win are not realistic about our chances this year.

    For example: from LAGunner – “I know that some folks will lose their minds about this loss, but, strangely enough, I don’t feel too bad about it. Clearly, I want for Arsenal to win, but just a 1-0 defeat at OT pretty much without TV, RV, and Fab, I don’t think it’s too bad.”

    This quote exemplifies the mind set of our fans. Nobody expects us to win the league. A fan that believed we would win the league would see this loss as a major disappointment. So open your eyes jack wagons! The writing is on the wall, we’ll be fighting for 3rd, 4th, or 5th. Get used to looking at Wenger’s bitter beer face.

  25. @Morgan

    I am still very confident that our team will win the league. I am confident, in part, because I know that the season runs from September to May and NOT September to December. Also, the conventional wisdom is that the achilles heal of this team is that we are not good in defense. United and Chelsea over the last few seasons have scored many goals against this squad. Therefore, I am pleased that the team put up a pretty stout performance. There were individual lapses to be sure (I want Gibbs in the starting XI), but we defended well as a team.

    It is possible to feel somewhat positive about a team’s performance despite a loss. The offensive issues will work themselves out, given the offensive talent in the squad. If the team can continue to defend well as a team, then yes, Arsenal will have something to say about the Championship in May.

  26. Still a 100% furious to have given the right to MU to laugh at us! I’m tired as well of being laughed at by other fans from other teams. this is really annoying! I mean there are so many problems in this team, but why doesn’t Wenger do something drastic for once! it’s time to hit on the table and do something proactive! If u don’t play well stay on the bench! player that give the ball away shouldn’t be on the pitch! I have a really hard time with this loss! we can be better, we are better then this! I hope it will wake them up! if this year we don’t win anything, Cesc will be gone for sure and then…what will Wenger do? I’m tired of the excuses! TIRED! this is year is our best chance to beat anyone, but we aren’t doing it! damn!

  27. We shall not win any thye premiership in wengers regime. Its very clear now. I am afraid Chelsea will complete a double against us at Emirates. Apart from Chamaks attempt after a spill by Vds what else did he do. This guy is crap and unreliable as a center forward for arsenal.What the hell was Wenger thinking by leaving a big game player like Persie on the bench and starting this fool. I highly rate Bendtner than Chamak for a starting place at any time. We got the most yellow cards, we got only one shot on target which was saved well against Uniteds 15, They could even afford missing a penalty.We just have a buch of foolish ageing midfielders like their manager who cant think. How do you continue playing a passing game in box on a well organised defense like United instead of attempting a shot. Arsenal resorted to this in the remaining 10 minutes. This shows you that Wenger is the problem. tactically dwarfed and the players seem to have followed soot.Mediocre teams have performed well than arsenal at Old trafford.The return legs at the Emirates for the 2 title challengers are now a must win but i must say they are more scaring than playing away from home basing on the recent performances. In short apart from finishing in the top four we shall not wi the title. I know Chelsea could play out a draw with united and arsenal wins to draw on points next week but it has failed to beat any of its title challengers. Chamak should just be benched fro Bendtner but coach just cant see this. Our old strikers can do the job better than this radderless Chamak. Evra was very right in what he said.

  28. Our biggest unbecoming is CLICHY n the left flank, we soak in goals from that side all the time. All he does is track back, prolly some day he will do it to net.. Is we has a right n left Sagna, we wud be top of the table.
    All the same, the gap is gettin thinner, we cud get something from such a game soon, hopefully..

  29. @ shambogunner i dont understand what game you were watching if there was anything right abt our team yesterday was our defense, kos was superb against rooney who even exchanged jerseys with him and even got a handshake and so was his distribution of the ball from defense, it was our offense which couldnt do anything against a very good defense. And Morgan what LAGunner said is true the season is till MAY, if next week chelsea beat utd would you say utd season is over? No right very critical gunner fans i must say, every team does get beaten sometimes just accept it..

  30. Their goal actually showed why Djourou should be playing. I thought this even while watching the match. Just as soon as Koscielny missed the header that if it were Djourou there, the threat wouldn’t materialise in the first place, and then the cross was deflected in and Park looped it into the goal.

    Clichy is so hard to criticise completely. He gives it everything he has, and does some things exceptionally well. But just when you think that he’s done well, he does something stupid. Like when he won the ball of Nani and then immediately gave it away. Time to bench him and Arshavin. Cesc wasn’t ready. He brought nothing to our game. Poor Samir was just marked out of the game. We didn’t show any intensity, though we did look calmer in our defensive organisation. The right balance hasn’t been found yet. It’s either too gung ho, or no attacking threat.

  31. @ delano

    Any Arsenal fan that feels Evra was right deserves all the humiliation and pain that he gets in my opinion.

  32. As far as this loss is concerned, I feel more disappointed than frustrated or angry. That’s because we deservedly lost this game. That hasn’t always been the case in big games. I thought we played very well against Chelsea, and even last year at Old Trafford. Those results had me tearing my hair out. Yesterday, I just had to admit that we were beaten by a better team on the day.

  33. I would urge all REAL gooners not to reply to Mighty ManUtd’s message and come on Andrew get the messsage removed this is our blog.

  34. @shard i must respect the tactics the coach employed. You cant blame him. They paid off against Man city. But why the hell on earth dont these boys shoot the ball in the vicinity of the box. It is mediocre middle teams we have managed to penetrate by our passing game but not any top four team.U cant ask chamak to do that.How often do we score from headed balls. If the conversion rate is one out of ten crosses from chamak why not bring on Bendtner who can do the same and can even shoot. The coach and chamak are just costing us with his blind belief. I am wondering what happened to clichy. He can never close his man early enough. United has always beaten us from his wing and it seems the weakest wing the top teams utilise to beat us.Our only saviour will be Gibs. Why wasnt Arshavin helping out, what did Rosicky do on the pitch yesterday. I saw nothing. Its only the young keeper and Wilsher and may be a helpless Nasri who had any passion.How on earth do you blame the pitch after having one shot on target and getting the most yellow cards.What is worrying is that United even at their worst can win comfortably against arsenal what of when they pick up form. The trophy will be way gone.Ramsey should immediately replace Rosicky in January and Bendtner should get back his spot immediately from this Chamak mediocre.

  35. So we proved Evra right eh? This team is so unbelievably spineless it’s embarassing.

    Wenger is clueless. He has ran out of ideas and i for one wouldnt mind if he left. We need people with new ideas, people who can take us forward. Im tired of being stuck in one place and going through the same crap season in season out. It has to stop.

  36. @ANNE

    I hope by that, you don’t have comment #37 in mind …. because it is a genuine question that REQUIRES a genuine answer. AND it is very much within the context and in the spirit of the overall message in this post.

    DO YOU NOW HAVE THE BELIEF?

  37. I expected we lose this game, but still I am frustrated, because it could very well have been 3-0 for Man U. I would say that Clichy killed the game for us, he was awful last night, but what concernes me the most is that we only got one clear shot at goal. Now, every time we play against the true title contenders we lose, Chelsea and Man Utd were all over us in the last years, and they still are, we had one proof last night, we will have another on 27. And yes, we probably could win the EPL, but I want to be proud of that, to go out loud and say “Arsenal is number one, look, they beat Chelsea, Man U, and hell, everyone else”. I’m really tired of losing these big games, I’m tired of that feeling of going to the dentist that Andy was talking about, I’m tired of losing games at home and… arrrgh, the frustration! I hope one thing though: I hope we draw Barcelona or Real Madrid in UCL, let’s fight the best and really know where we stand and maybe, just maybe, we’ll see some changes being made to this team.

  38. Cant believe people here sayin Chamakh is poor, his work rate is better than Bentdner or Van Persie…he is the best striker available to Arsenal this season support him..

  39. Aman, LAGunner,

    What team have you been watching over the last few years? If you two really believe we’re going to win the title you’re both mad. Talk about May all you want, but dropped points are dropped points. Regardless of ManU v Chelsea result, please enlighten me, what makes you believe this team can win the title? I know we all love Arsenal, but come correct, this team doesn’t have what it takes, never has.

  40. @ Mofaz if you are a true fan of arsenal better believe that Chamak is just a dummy up front.It is an insult to our established strikers to say he has so far been our best striker. Imagine the decisive moments he has had to put off the game and just un instinctively ignored balls in the box pretending he was not aware of the ball towrads him. He didnt take the few chances we had at the bridge we lost, against Spurs he judged himself to be off side while at goal Toten ham won the game.Against United i dont remember him having threatened any United defender in the air where he is prolific i hear. The chance he got to send the game into an equaliser was easily blocked by Vidic. He couldnt slice off his marker like we have seen Nasri do to put the ball in. He never shoots at goal and the whole team is to blame here.I insist we need Persie leading the attack together with Bendtner or Chamak.We are forgetting Carlos Vela that kid can drive the ball on the wing better than Arshavin is doing for us currently. Its high time we benched this ageing Russian seems exhausted and cant help out Clichy at all and neither threaten at the other end.The truth remains Wenger is still fooling himself by believing Chamak is good enough.

  41. 48 hours have passed and I am just barely coming out of depression. The only thing worse than losing to Manure would be losing my wonderful wife. We must go on. The fact is that the league is better balanced this season than it has ever been. That said, we could easily lose to long throws and set pieces from Stoke, but, if we win, which we should, and Chelski finally come out of their rut, we’ll be top again!? Manure have struggled mightily and should have lost a couple so far, and they will drop points. It’s a long hard slog to May. Criticism of Clichy is much too harsh. Nani is as good as the diver, and Clichy had little help. The pk call was more than harsh! The ball hit his forearm as he was going to ground. Even pudlian Mcmanaman, said as much and he will never be accused of liking the Arse. The goal was a fluke, but we showed little going forward. Despite all the foreplay about winning, I think the goal was a draw(which is okay) I honestly think that was Manure’s goal as well, both teams concentrating on defense. They slipped one in, we did little. No credit to us, certainly, but a lucky ball doesn’t make a whole season. Quite honestly, no team is all that good this season(except Barca) We’re almost halfway home and well placed in all competitions. We could draw Barca or the Galacticos and go out early. We could lose to Leeds(as Manure did last year) in FA. We could even win the Careless Cup and be abused for it. I still love this team, and I still think Arshavin and Rosicky have many contributions coming. Gooners forever!

  42. @ Mofaz if you are a true fan of arsenal better believe that Chamak is just a dummy up front.It is an insult to our established strikers to say he has so far been our best striker. Imagine the decisive moments he has had to put off the game and just un instinctively ignored balls in the box pretending he was not aware of the ball towrads him. He didnt take the few chances we had at the bridge we lost, against Spurs he judged himself to be off side while at goal Toten ham won the game.Against United i dont remember him having threatened any United defender in the air where he is prolific i hear. The chance he got to send the game into an equaliser was easily blocked by Vidic. He couldnt slice off his marker like we have seen Nasri do to put the ball in. He never shoots at goal and the whole team is to blame here.I insist we need Persie leading the attack together with Bendtner or Chamak.We are forgetting Carlos Vela that kid can drive the ball on the wing better than Arshavin is doing for us currently. Its high time we benched this ageing Russian seems exhausted and cant help out Clichy at all and neither threaten at the other end.The truth remains Wenger is still fooling himself by believing Chamak is good enough.

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