Arsenal 3-3 Norwich: Post-game thread

Our last home game of the season ended 3-3 and now our Champions League qualifications hopes have become precarious.

I’ve set up this thread for everyone to discuss the game.

Leave a comment below to let us know what you think.

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Comments

  1. Totally unprofessional showing today. Song, Verm, Ramsey, Sceszney were awful.

  2. Absolutely brutal performance when it mattered most. They don’t deserve to go to CL with this type of gutless finish. When the points matter most they fail to push hard and get the wins. RVP needs to go to a team that will surround him with others with a dedication to fight hard for a win. Wenger and his boy Ramsey have ruined this season for all gunner fans.

  3. You know de boar said vertogen is better than vet arlen. Why won’t he just stay in defense. Schessney needs competion. Responsible for two goals. Van persie missed opportunities he wouldn’t have. His head has been troubled for weeks now. Aaron Ramsey no better than sub. We have missed arteta and Walcott. We are in trouble now and theoretically can still finish 5th behind spurs nwfc.Let the clearout begin. Out park, chamack, almunia,schilacci,bendtner, arshavin, djorou,

  4. dont worry you’ll still be able to watch your team in the europa next season…..

  5. Shocking!!! Complete lack of organisation, that stops at the manager why do arsenal never set up to play differently against different sites what makes us so arrogant to assume we just need to play our game. Gervinho was a terrible buy he looks so average i have reservations about santos and metersacker aswell. Tryin to save money in transfer market has cost us big time had we had bought cahill and baines we would never had conceeded 3 goals today. Also to all those arsenal fans who say we dont need m’vila i think today proved how much a defensive midfielder is a must Song is certainly not one or else dosnt understand his role!! So dissapointed!!

  6. LET’S FACE IT!

    WE NEVER DOUBTED THE ORIGINALITY OF THE GAME OF WENGER, GOALS ARE ALWAYS HAPPENING!

    BUT BLOODY HELL FUCK OFF WENGER ! AND I HOPE YOU READ THIS FROM A LONG TIME ADMIRERS OF YOURS.

    YOUR TEAM NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEMS GOING FORWARD BUT YOU JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO TEACH YOUR TEAM HOW TO DEFEND!

    THEY ALWAYS LOOK SILLY GOING BACKWARD ! HIRE ADAMS TO TEACH THEM HOW TO BE ROCK SOLID CAUSE YOUR TEAM IS SOME FRAGILE MINDED NOT TACKLING PINKY CANDY DOLLS!!!

    SINCE CAMPBELL AND TOURé YOU JUST FEEL PAIN WHEN ARSENAL DEFENDS!

    DO SOME FUCKING SHOPPING IN DEFENSE !!!

    AFTER YOU RAISED THE LEVEL OF YOUR TEAM YOU’RE NOT MOTIVATING YOUR TROOPS TO CUT ANY ATTACK HIGH ON THE PITCH!

    LIFT UP YOUR TROOPS ONCE AND FOR ALL!

  7. The Wenegr blew our chances for played Ramsey today, Since Ramsey has been playing after Injury to Areta the Midfield had produce nothing, the manager realised this but he ignored it as usual, why Rasmey, why not OX-

    That is it, Sceszney is a shit coal- keeper, he suppose to be our second Keeper not first choice, although he is good, but not ready yet, he has ego,sometime he could be stupid, what a shame today, if Spurs wintheir two matches now, that is it, i am short of words today, We blew it, yes we blew it sad

  8. Awful defense and goal keeping. Arsenal had no clue how to play in the mid field. After taking the lead they should have brought more players back to defend in the last 10 minutes. Where is the strategy and leadership?
    Say goodbye to champion’s league next year.What was Wenger doing except complaining?
    He now says no more signings because the squad is too big. He might be confusing quantity with quality. How about getting rid of the dead woods like Chamark, Ramsey, Djouru, Park etc.?

  9. How a team who is so close to acheiving an undeserved third place can play their last home game with such carelessness is beyond me. I am sorry for those who have kept faith in a manager who cannot motivate his players enough and who cannot adapt his game-plan to counter the opponents’ tactics. It is not fair to keep Van Persie with Arsenal – he deserves a better team to play in, and should be put on the market if he wants to, then maybe we can afford a decent team manager.

  10. @ joeyk

    AND I TOTALY AGREE WITH JOEYK SAVING MONEY COSTS POINTS IN THE LEAGUE AND MENTAL STRENGTH TO THE TEAM… WITHOUT SPEAKING ABOUT EMOTIONAL ISSUES OF THE FANS.

    AND I THINK EACH TIME WENGER DIDN’T BUY A PLAYER HE WAS LOOKING AT WAS FOR 100’000’S AND NOT MILLIONS …

    WHAT A SHAMEFUL RESULT FROM A GREAT TEAM SUPPOSEDLY AND WHAT DISAPPOINTING CONFIDENCE PLACED UPON THE MANAGER.

    HE’D BETTER TAKE OUT HIS THUMB OUT OF HIS ARSE IF HE DOESN’T WANNA SEE PEOPLE LIKE ME GET FED UP TO NEVER KNOW ON WHAT YOU CAN BELIEVE IN YOUR TEAM…..

  11. Am not sure your judgements would have been the same had the ref not played a major role in the game. Clear penalty for rvp waived and a handball overlooked as well. I don’t know why when it comes to arsenal, we are always being cheated unlike other teams like man u et al. They get cheap penalties when clearer ones for arsenal are overlooked.

  12. Stop blaiming the fucking referee, the team is just not good enough, any player can leave because they aren’t special, van p wants 10 chances to score 2, I wish newcastle and spurs good luck, because they are ambitious club, fuck arse hole fc

  13. Itz simple… Rvp 2 citeh, koscielny to milan, arteta bk to everton……. The rest go T̶̲̥̅̊Ơ̴͡ hell!!!

  14. Keep the faith.Dissapointment is part of the game. I enjoyed every bit of minutes of our game today. I hope Wenger keeps Chamark in the team for next season.In arsene I truly trust.

  15. We need to step back and have some perspective here: we’re 2 points ahead of our two competitors with a game to go. Newcastle play PL favorites City who are bang on form with world class players and then go to Everton away, who have taken points at home against all top 7 teams (Newcastle and AFC excluded). And spurs play a relegation threatened team tomorrow with a point to prove away and so i think that they will drop points at Villa Park tomorrow. So, should we win at WBA, we should all but seal CL qualification for next season: Chelsea will most likely not beat Bayern and so top 4 should be enough. On to the game: the worst defending i have seen all season, TV5 went AWOL for all 3 goals and was shocking, but he still is a world class defender and no-one can doubt that. The same for szczesny: terrible today, abysmal goalkeeping but behind hart he is the best goalkeeper in the league: de gea is average (he has a great defense in front of him so he naturally keeps clean sheets a lot), Cech is past it after his tragedy. I thought Chamberlain, Gervinho and Chamakh were fantastic today and if gibbs had shown composure we would’ve had 2 more goals. Norwich outplayed us 1st half and had a clear pen but we did likewise 2nd and had 2 blatant penalties. It was also one of those days where the ball just didn’t break for us and we were desperately unlucky to draw.
    Anyway. i hope Wenger starts the XI that ended the match today vs WBA, as we were extremely positive. Coquelin is one lovely little player and Chamakh needs games: i think in the end his quality will show through. Anyway, for our last game, let’s get behind our team and show the passion that’s become synonymous with our fantastic away support this season. I agree 100% with Opus: in Arsene I trust. Keep the faith.

  16. Also, for the summer, massive changes to the squad need to be made: i say we sell Park (who’s nonexistent), Bendtner, Almunia, Squillaci, Diaby (i say this with a heavy heart but he just gets injured too much and takes up space in our squad), Denilson, Arshavin, Benayoun, Vela (who i love but Wenger seems to have given up on), Walcott and Song (both controversial, but we can get great money from both transfers with both having 1 year left on contract). Then with these funds we buy M’vila and Hazard (wonderful players who will replace Walcott and Song), Kagawa, Vertonghen and blend them with our talented youth players of Henderson, Afobe, Campbell, Lansbury, Coquelin and Miquel. Then i am confident we will challenge for the league again, with Arteta, Wilshere and Sagna coming back we will be strong contenders and hopefully have silverware next season. COYG

  17. some of you people are pathetic… calling for everyone’s head and practically wishing for RVP to leave!? come one guys. we are 2 points up, at least one of the teams playing tomorrow will likely drop points, and both easily could. i certainly hope chelsea lose in the CL at this point. while i understand everyone’s frustration, having not sealed up 3rd a while ago (i’m pretty disappointed as well… barking at the tele at times), we’re not out yet. i’m certainly not ready to toss out wenger yet. i’ve about had it with ramsey this year, and cursed his name today a few times, but this is only one year back after a tragic injury. hopefully the pre-shawcrossed ramsey returns.

    and now sagna out with a broken leg? i guess it’s lucky there’s only one game to go, but come on. i’ll be happy when this season is over (and we’re in 3rd). what a long season it’s been.

    just breath people, and settle down. typing in all caps and calling for wholesale changes is not going to produce a better side for next year.

  18. Another performance to add to the dozens in the memory of times when the team lacked the motivation and performance level to get the result.
    They cant be arsed to fight against AC Milan in CL in San Siro, a game any pro should be chomping at the bit for, and they cant play to their level against the Swanseas, Qprs, Wigans or Norwiches….its been going on so long nowI really cant believe that we are put through this season after season.
    As anyone knows I think Wenger has alot to answer for, but then I look at players like Song, assists aside, Gervinho, Chamakh, Ramsey, Walcott, Diaby and Djourou , they just cant perform under pressure and seem to approach EVERY single game like its a jumper for goalposts game outside their house with there mates, wheres the emotion boiling over? Have you ever seen any semblance of character from the above compared to that of a Rooney, Van Persie or a Vidic??????
    The lads I mentioned above could be on a beach in the bahamas smoked off their heads and their approach to a PL game wouldnt be as laidback…no intensity, no desire or will to win….I often wonder how their day goes after these repeated displays of inadequacy at iis their JOB…do they go home in their benz to their mansion and pan out in the gamesroom or mini movie theatre??? Or do they actually feel ill like we do.after watching such dire lack of urgency and commitment..it is no fluke that quite often you only see their true abilities with ten mins left…they think their entitled to win before a ball is kicked in earnest… s

  19. Agree with ClockenderSA’s first comment about maintaining some perspective and those who commented that the team is completely lacking in the spirit to fight for the coveted 3rd place.

    Chelsea has got four key players out of the CL final and unless Bayern Munich self-destructs at home like Arsenal (which is not likely considering the prize at stake), then we could assume that 4th spot is not vacated for the defending champion. Newcastle should drop points at home against Man City who are targeting the title.The blip is that the Spuds would likely win against a piss-poor Villa side tomorrow and reclaim 3rd spot. So, the best position to hope for is 4th place now.

    Still, all the players knew what was at stake and to dish out an abysmal 1st half performance against Norwich today shows that the side is either arrogant or ignorant or both. After the first goal by Benayoun, the team completely shut off and allowed their opponents too much room to maneuver and insult their defending. Also, what happened to the Arsenal’s heroics against Spuds and at Stamford Bridge earlier this season?

    Having said that, I’m quite mentally-prepared for the team to be placed 5th and play in the Europa League, now that qualification for CL is out of their hands. No matter what, I’d continue to support the Arsenal.

  20. I don’t care what ppl think about Wenger and the players excusive of Ramsey.In Arsene again I truly trust.

  21. Big changes are needed whether we qualify for the CL or not. The moment the pressure is on we can’t compete and its ALL the time season after season. Even if we do qualify what are the chances that we will go on and challenge in the CL? I have been watching Song for a while now, he seems like a player who doesn’t give a shit, as long as he gets an assist he’s happy. We need a defensive midfielder that actually defends. Why not park the bus with 10 minutes to go in a crucial match? That last goal was awful not just for the defense but the whole team. There should have been at least 7 players behind the ball at that stage.

    I’m disappointed for now but my biggest worry is that we have been here too often and I see us doing the same next season.

  22. Artur,
    Listen to yourself my friend.
    You are firstly asking another team to do a favour for us when Chelsea have already shown that in any one game of football anything can happen, you are hoping that a weakened Chelsea team are beat by Munich so that we can claim 4th, which isnt even automatic its a qualifier…when the truth is that managerless West Brom could beat us on the final day, or Newcastle could win their last two games.
    You are gambling on other teams doing a job for us that we had the power to do ourselves. Whenever this team needs to go get a win the buckle, its been that way since Utd came and spanked us at the Emirates in CL in what should have been a monumental night for the club.
    The sooner we stand up and start getting what we need instead of waiting for someone to do us a favour the better….its weak.

  23. This is not a blip. This is how we play.
    In Arsene we trust?
    We will be very lucky to play in the Champions League next year.
    Now please tell me that I’m out of line, that the football was supremely enjoyable and that this is how a top-flight team should be run.

  24. Wengers press conference sums it all up. We have a manager who hasn’t got a clue.

  25. the bitter fact is that this team is not good enough for going to CL.
    with 1o defeats so far this season, current 3rd place is only due to chelseas poor form in the league (compared to previous years) and spurs blips.
    and nevertheless qualifying for CL would be fine, of course, but ridiculous, too.
    no blaming on referees and injuries, coz it happens to every team. we had our chances this season and we blew it. arsenal need more quality buys and it will hard to get them once we settle for EL.
    van persie will not sign a new contract if at least CL is not guaranteed. it could be the start of a downward spiral. sad, very sad

  26. I dont care what you think. No matter how bad arsenal team plays, we have a right to fair officiating. It is not that the ref must ‘rob’ for us, it is giving us what we are due. Arsenal is the only top team where home does not mean anything to refs. It’s a good thing but it’s also very bad especially when you look at how other teams always get dubious decisions going their way (man utd) when legitimate ones are ruled against arsenal. The refs in the pl are all fluke!

  27. @shambo

    I don’t care about your shit whatever, all I care about is the team excluding Ramsey and the manager. This is how the season is going to end.3rd place is still for Arsenal.Newcasle and Sp*rs will be two point behind us by the time the season ends. Watch out. Sp*rs will lose tomorrow against Aston Villa and Newcastle will lose their last match against Everton.

    IN ARSENE I TRULY TRUST.

  28. @Opus – Thats right, continue sticking your head in the sand. Wenger will be well pleased with your mindless obedience.

    And so here we are, as we were last season. And the season before last. And the one before last. No trophies – check, annual collapse – check, star player(s) in danger of leaving – check. Poor defence, team still can’t organise itself to grind out results, complacency and poor tactics – check.

    And folks are still banging the drum on aston villa / man city / chelsea doing us a favour. What a joke. Just where do we go from here? Another season of this mediocre shit? With the same clueless man at the helm?

  29. What the last six seasons has taught us is that we are perennial bottlers. Whenever there is pressure on us, we crumble. Arguably our best performance of the season was the 3-0 win over milan. Unsurprisingly there was no pressure on us there as nobody expected us to overturn the deficit. Furthermore, the best part of our season (Feb/March) came at the point where there was the least pressure. Early season nerves killed us, and now end of season pressure is crippling us. I am so fed up of watching our team fall to pieces. It happened at the end of last season, and it is happening again. We had an 8 point lead on spurs and we have completely fucked it up now it has become important. It seems that Arsenal has no real backbone. Today our midfield refused to stand up and be counted. Whilst I love and admire the attacking aspect of Song’s game, he has become obsessed with it and seems to forget the importance of breaking up play and protecting our back four. I love Vermaelen, but he has become overfond of his attacking bursts and leaves the rest of the defence vulnerable. Things really do need to change. I am not one of those calling for wenger’s head, however the number 2 spot has now become important. It seems that this will be filled by Bould. I would love to have an assistant manager who is actually prepared to challenge Wenger’s authority and I think someone like Tony Adams would be perfect for this

  30. @jack
    Well written a voice of sense amongst quite a lot of rubbish.

    I am an optimist I know but some of the critiscm here is just wrong

    Szs has been a breath of Fresh air to the defence, sure he screwed up today, but every keeper has a bad day now and again

    I even sense a backlash against RVP.. Oh please

    And all the hatred directed at Ramsey, last time I checked he doesn’t pick the team and guess what it’s a team game. Despite all the crowing about Gervinho and the Ox I haven’t seen anything special from either

    Given his cameo appearance I would be tempted to try Chamakh against WBA

    It isn’t over yet, I don’t see a fat lady singing

    Despite his attacking play, song still goes to sleep on the ball I can think of numerous occasions when he has lost the ball and it’s cost goals

    Coyg

  31. @opus
    Dude, I admire your stuanchness even if I think it’s mis-placed faith.
    Still, there’s another week to play for and who knows but we may yet land on the right bank.
    COYG!

  32. @Shambo and Leftcoastgooner I always agree with you. The defending is shocking , but was said above if we can not beat Norwich at home in a crucial game then we do not deserve to play in the CL next year.
    I hold Wenger responsible for the current state of affair, we have become a mediocre team compare to our previous standards.
    Look at New castle in my opinion they have overall a more talented tean than us – None of they players cost more than 9 millions!
    Why in the world all these deadwoods have been collecting wages year after year at Arsenal?
    I am no manager but I bet you if I went to Brazil and Argentina today I could find 4 or 5 quality , technically gifted players who would be better than Ramsey, Diaby, Djourou, Chamakh, Almunia, Benayoom and many more…
    The only positive thing about us missing the CL if that happens would force us to make changes.
    Hazard won’t come to Arsenal for 10 million , we have to make an effort and say yes he might cost 20 million but he could change our outlook for the next 10 years, he is that good.
    Please someone explain to me how is pap Cisse the second best striker in the Bundesliga bought by New Castle and we have 2 strikers sitting on the bench that were brought by our manager but he does not trust them?!
    Did watch Chamakh or Park play before he bought them ?
    Change must come , no minor adjustment that Wenger likes to do if he can’t he must go , enough is enough!

  33. Whinging about the pen. you should have got, but conveniently forgetting about the equally clear pen. Norwich should have got before half time. Typical Gooner mentality.

  34. am with OPUS and peter Hillwood

    Lets give wenger a 5 year extension on his contract, he really really really deserves it. He’s the best manager around and no-one else can come in and keep doing what he has done.
    with out him Arsenal would drop off the map and get relegated and become the worst club in history. (GET REAL)

    I ask again as i did some month aback WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE LAST 7 YEARS????
    When you make the same mistake once or twice then that’s not bad BUT 7 straight years and the same thing, something has got to be wrong, and i’ll tell you this even if we bring messi here he would struggle Because our problem is not a player one, it’s a MANAGEMENT problem, wenger has totally lost the plot, he’s done, he has no more ideas, he’s dead, and as long as he remains in-charge were we will never get out of the SHIT were in…….

  35. Fact is, Arsewipe are a one-man team. If you miss the CL next season you can wave goodbye to RVP and then you will be a mid-table side, where you belong.

  36. CLOCKENDER SA Vermalen “world class” you’d better go back to that clock end his defensive qualities under pressure are poor who went up with Crouch the other week who let Valencia(no great header of the ball turn him round at manure get real!!!!

  37. we have been told
    “We are a well run football club”
    “Wenger is overachieving”
    well it doesnt feel like it this morning.
    I am wondering if we are ever going to win something with Wenger, he’s changed players but it’s the same results.
    Jack above put it nicely…..when there is nothing to play for we come out guns blazing and then when the pressure is on we crack!!!!
    I said it yesterday, 10 minutes to go and we don’t put players behind the ball

  38. @barry the gooner fair point about his qualities being poor under pressure, but if you look at what he contributes to the team overall in a season, you can’t doubt his class: he has all the attributes to be a world class player, which i think he is. If anything, his eagerness to get in a tackle is his downfall, much like it is koscielny’s (who is also top class). It’s no coincidence that he has been more error prone since Per got injured, as he brings a calm to the defence that was clearly lacking yesterday, at San Siro, etc. I think that TV5 needs a partner who calms him down and tells him that the world won’t end if he isn’t involved in everything. If anything, vermaelen is trying to do too much to compensate for the dead wood in our team. Our defense is fantastic, in terms of individual quality, but it is the lack of a defensive coach that makes our team fall into disarray week in week out. So it is a management issue that’s the problem, not vermaelen or koscielny or gibbs’ quality.

  39. @Hkyid, this is an arsenal blog. if you haven’t any useful input on our team, or any opinion that you may care to share, go make a blog and put down your “views” or opinions on our team there. Not here.

  40. Wow. I have read every one of the 47 comments preceding mine, and if there was ever time to vent, it’s now. At times like this, the value of a really good Arsenal blog is apparent.

    What isn’t apparent is this squad’s ambition or real desire to play Champion’s League football. And as a supporter I REFUSE to be a doormat for this lack of ambition and complete inconsistency.

    For the very first time, I am having real doubts about Wenger’s ability to lead this team to future glory. He’s a genius. He’s revolutionized football in England, he has brought unprecedented success to the Arsenal. He absolutely deserves to have a statue outside the Emirates. But does he deserve the continued custodianship of our club? At 62 and going perhaps his time is coming to an end.

    Due to all the inconsistent performances, I’ve been on here all season long saying I don’t know this team anymore, but perhaps it’s Wenger who is more confounding.

    What I do know is that once again we have placed next season’s position in the table and a potential 40 million pounds completely in the hands of the other results today.

    As Steve Tyler of Aerosmith once famously said:
    “It’s costs a lot of money to look (be) this cheap”.

  41. We do not have it in our hands anymore…..

    Could we not have set-up better first-half?

    THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY POINT FROM THE BEGINNING…..

    Win the game and bring on RAMSEY, not before…

    A lot of people will now come in here and vent as if they never saw all this coming….with all the favouritism with Ramsey, unjustifiably benching the Ox etc
    I complain about what i see us doing wrong whether we win or not, has it not come to haunt us now….i hope it doesn’t, because 5th place will be absolutely disastrous..

    Here’s hoping we remain third till the next round of games…

    Very sad moment indeed

    We could have beaten QPR and co, but the manager decided to play Ramsey on the wing …with Gervinho and the Ox on the bench…

    I was a mad man when i said it, wasn’t i?

    We were better only when RAMSEY departed the pitch, all our players seem to see right thru this shit. We lost only Arteta and we cant seem to string any sort of rhythm without him…BECAUSE RAMSEY CANNOT SIMPLY STEP UP. Big question is “Why must Ramsey play?”.

    No matter what we want or whom we would like to blame, it is very obvious what our problem is, isn’t it? Only the blind will not see it.

    Since you Shard seem to close your eyes to this, then i will term you blind. You come on here and confuse fellow deluded fools like yourself because they know no better….you write sweet rubbish and confuse even yourself too.

    There is always a side to every story and THERE IS THE TRUTH too. Even a blind man will know what our problem is…
    A robot will know what our problem is…
    You are probably blind Shard, you could also be a robot for all i care, but stop telling others black is white cos no matter how we want to believe it, we can actually see the truth. Right now the truth hurts badly, will probably kill some people when we do not qualify for the champs league.

    I’ll be supporting the chavs for the UCL, not that it matters, but tis good to see a coach understanding his players and actually putting round pegs where they belong. You do not beat barca the way they did and not win it.

    @Shard – Since you feel calling names should be the order of the day, i will feel free to too…

    Newcastle has effectively lost, but fingers crossed for the ongoing spuds game(1-1 for now). Problem is I had a lot of hopes for next season with Mvila, Vertongen, Hazard and Podolski already wrapped up. Will these players want to come in now? Can our manager use them or will he still play Ramsey?

  42. Hey HKyid hope you enjoyed the game, now take a hike.

    One nil. I hear you and you talk a lot of sense I guess I am not as far down the line with you with regard to Wenger. I may be the only one but I sit firmly in the Wenger camp. The man has given me a huge amount of pleasure and lets not forget the huge cash injections that City and Chelsea have. At the end of the day, sadly football is all about Money.

    Think we need to freshen the side up for WBA, I think Chamakh is worth a shot, he did well yesterday

  43. The spuds have drawn to villa…..

    Guess were still third, but must now win our last game….

    All what is written above still holds for us and wenger whether we qualify for UCL or not. This is the truth people have come out to say…unfortunately, not out of real conviction, but more out of frustration and anger.

    A lot of pressure off for now…….i hope wenger does not dissapoint with his team selection for the next game.

    About Song and Vermaelen, they do too much to cover for what they feel others should be doing…if this makes it look as if they are not doing their jobs, then your attacks on them is misguided. The question i always ask is “Do we have a coach watching the same match we are?” or “Do we keep on seeing something he refuses to see and correct with the next training session?”.

    Arteta had the understanding with Song and our midfield was efficient……this Feb to March period coincided with when Ramsey was out and Rosicky playing ahead of them…

    When we did not have Ramsey against Milan, we scored three and conceded none, did Song and Vermaelen play well? It is a pity we did not have someone like Arshavin in the second half to come on and help us.

    I would have prefered Coquelin in place of Arteta for the last game, rather than Ramsey…It was really good to see him come in for Sagna, i think he is very good at defensive/central midfield….he is fast, strong, can keep the ball, can probably dribble too…

  44. i hate to blast players, but GunnerBoss is spot on about ramsey. How many times do we need to give him an opportunity? Coquelin looks much better than him and dare i say it, i think when Jack gets back he should play over Alex Song. Purely because Coquelin still remembers his primary duty is to break up play and distribute, not spray glory passes to RVP in the hope that every 1 in 10 will make it. I’m quite fed up with song and ramsey, if truth be told. I really think that M’vila and kagawa are the answers, they are top-class players. Also, Retsub echoes my views personally perfectly i think: Yes, wenger needs to reevaluate his strategy but he is still one of the greatest managers in the world. His record can’t be questioned. Now, with hopefully massive sales in the summer plus our 50mil in the bank (supposedly) for transfers, this is the appropriate time to judge the Boss. And i said spurs and newcastle would drop points, so here we are: a win and we’re third. Not bad for a team who had their worst start on 58 years, were 18th at one point, lost 8-2 to their great rivals and lost two of their best players in the summer…

  45. Arsenal 2 Abiom 1
    Sp*rs 1 Fulham 1
    Everton 1 newcastle 0

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  46. Abiom 1 Arsenal 2
    Sp*rs 1 Fulham 1
    Everton 1 Newcastle 0

    Now loading . . . . . .

  47. I am still optimistic that our team will finish third even if we lose the last game.
    I expected our rivals Spurs and Newcastle to win one,draw one and lose one when we were 66 points or before Norwich game.So far Spurs have won one and drawn one, so there is a big possibility that they will lose to Fulham and Newcastle will draw with everton.

  48. @retsub
    Yes, AW has given us all a huge amount of pleasure and much to be proud of. But how much longer can we live the glorious epoch when we can’t beat Norwich at home when we really need the points? Or Wigan or QPR or Stoke.
    The closer we have gotten to nailing this thing down, the harder we have choked. There’s a big screw loose somewhere in the machinery that nobody is responsible for. It’s got to stop.

  49. If I had not undergone that anger management therapy I don’t know how many TVs I would have smashed by now. How can we go up 1-0 after 60 seconds and then collectively switch off? How can players be so lacadaisical when all we needed was one last 90 minutes of focus and enthusiasm and intensity? We have to be the most schizophrenic side in the league. You never know which team is going to turn up. For that Wenger must take a share of the blame. But these guys are professionals and really shouldn’t need a geeing up or a “hairdryer” or whatever. The players also have to have some accountability.
    This is where the Ramsey debate pisses me off. Where are the comments about how shit Rosicky was yestrday? And in the last three or four games? How many ridiculous outside of the foot passes must he keep trying to play? How about Song’s defensive indisciplines, failing to track back? What about Vermaelen’s defensive mistakes? Or Szcesny’s?
    Even RVP was not having a particularly great game – scored two I know but really should have had at least two more.
    The point is, this team can have days when we look like world beaters but then have a collective fuck up like Saturday’s. Drives me fucking nuts!

    Still third though. How jammy are we?

  50. @Leftcoast # 56: “The closer we have gotten to nailing this thing down, the harder we have choked.” Well put, and that’s really it or at least part of it in a nutshell.

    @Terry # 57: “If I had not undergone that anger management therapy I don’t know how many TVs I would have smashed by now.” That would be really funny, except it’s probably true. For a lot of us.

    Is it better to a mid-table club and resign ourselves to a few years of rebuilding, or is it better to be perrenial also-rans, missing out on any real trophies, but just pipping the CL places and giving us another false dawn for another year of hopelessly hoping?

    Because that’s what it feels like these last few years. A lot of the frustration is from coming so close you can taste it…and then choking big time. For the past few seasons I have given Wenger all the credit for keeping us so close, but (after money, unfortunately) sport is ultimately about winning, and if not winning, at the very least leave it all out there trying.

    I’ll be the first to cheer if I’m wrong, but the Boss just maybe our of new ideas. And that’s Ok if you can move on with grace and dignity and enjoy the tremendous legacy you’ve left behind.

    Monsieur Wenger, what is the plan, the fresh attitude, the greater strategy, the adjusted tactics, the right players, to get us out of this constant rut?

  51. Lefty
    You may well be right, but I can’t help it I just love the guy. Plus I struggle to think who would do a better job, people talk about Guardiola and Mourinho but both spent huge sums of cash.

    Terry … Keep the faith we know the WBA game is going to be traumatic, but somehow I feel we will get through.

    Despite everything I will always love this team

    Does anyone else think we should chance Chamakh. I don’t see Gervinho giving us much

  52. @GunnerBoss
    I dey ur side bro.
    Anyway, watch out the first names on the teamsheet next week sunday against Abiom will be RAMSEY.

  53. Thank God that Totteringham choked too!

    Last two seasons we’ve faded at the stretch with lots of injuries and tired legs. I’m a fan of Song’s but think the recent poor form is due to no breaks and inconsistency with the other central midfielders around him.

    Fingers crossed that we get three at Albion and Wenger and the board dip deep into the transfer market. We need to upgrade at multiple positions to not see our form yo-yo up and down.

    COYG

  54. I have something off topic to point out….Wengers sulky sprint down the tunnel, just aswel Lambert went toward him or hed have done another of his unsportsmanlike displays…the fact that the man could hightail it down the tunnel after our last home game of the season just reaffirms for me how little he thinks or feels for the fans.
    He is our most celebrated sucessful manager, but he is also our most stubborn, selfish and dare I say it hypocritical- doesnt agree with the money been.banded about yet is in the top tier of managers salaries- that we have ever had.
    I really dont know how his Arsenal career will finish, but I think the longer it goes on, the more tarnished it is becoming on so many different levels…sometimes you wonder what reality the man inhabits cos he doesnt seem to see what the rest of us do.

  55. The strange thing is, we could still end up third. it’s in our hands. I am not sure what that says about the state of the premier league these days. In my opinion Man $ity should have romped it in weeks ago. The depth of their squad is incredible. I was watching them play Newcastle and they take off Nasri and bring on a player who has played in a world cup final for gods sake! We bring on an 18 year old and a hashish smoker or whatever he is into. He certainly plays like one!

    But anyway, I think City are streets ahead quality wise they just managed to (nearly) f#ck it up and let Manure who I think are ordinary in terms of quality (but their mentality is another matter) back into it.

    @1-nil – I hear what you are saying. It does feel like deja vu all over again – so near yet so far. Although this season it was probaly so far from the start. If we cling on to third place, who here would have thought that after the start we had? So while things aren’t exactly how we would like/hope/expect – they could be a hell of a lot worse.

    If thereis one consolation is that Spurs are like the late Yasser Arafat. There was noone quite like old big nose to always miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. At least I seem to remember someone writing that somewhere once! That might have got lost in translation but you get my drift. I just hope they continue that form right to the end.

  56. We are back in it. ITS IN OUR HANDS TO LOOSE. FOR HEAVENS SAKE LET RAMSEY OUT OF THE LAST GAME. HE IS A TOTAL JOKE. BETTER TO SE COQLINE PLAY IN THE HOLDING ROLE THEN RAMSEY. OX MUST START OUR LAST GAME AS HE HAS CONVICTION AND PASSION

  57. In other words,

    barring any injuries, barring any favoritisms and also barring any sort of madness or dementia……

    RVP/NO CHAMAKH

    Ox/Benayoun Rosicky/Benayoun Gervinho/Ox/Benayoun

    Benayoun/Song/Ox/Rosicky

    Song/Coquelin

    Gibbs/Santos Verm Kos Coquelin/Ox

  58. @delano #64,
    I still rate Ramsey and I know he’ll come good one day, poor kid, but unfortunately you’re right. He has become “a joke”, and should really be left out of the squad’s final game.

    I hope we can manage a loan spell for him next year so he can sort himself out. Swansea might be a good fit. They’ve played our style better than we have in some matches this year, and he’d be back in Wales which may settle him down, who knows.

  59. I like the idea of loaning Ramsey to Swansea next season. We should have done with Diaby 3-4 years ago…
    We can all agree that Man city is the most talented squad in the EPL right now , thanks to their rich owners.
    We are more than 15 points behind Manu. Is that due to bad luck,injuries or adverse refereeing ? No – It is a talent gap ! For most game Manure front line are Rooney and Welbeck, coming of the bench they have Hernandez, Berbatov not to mention Nani, Ashley Young… We have RVP and …. Well you see what I mean.
    There is a line of reason around many Gooners these days that says well the season was success because we were at oint sitting 17th on the table.
    I have to disagree this is a mediocre way of thinking , we should have never been in that position. The manager simply did not do his job last summer and strengthen the team. So I do not give any credit, I am done giving him the benefit of the doubt.

  60. @Kel if I am RVP why would I extend a contract hearing this kind of talk from my manager , it shows no ambition. We may have quantity but we do not have much quality

  61. @ Retsub

    pretty impressive stats if you had told me that and i had not seen i might not have believed.
    BUT am afraid all those stats count for spit in the current situation.
    as a mater of fact with such a high win ratio in the league how come we have only won the league 3 times in 15 seasons?????
    so when you stack that fact with the win ration makes you wonder doesn’t it………..

  62. @Retsub
    Sir, there are lies,damn lies and statistics.
    Your pie graph falls under the last of these.

  63. News filtering through from several reputable sources that Arsenal have agreed a club record deal with Rennes to sign French international Yann M’Vila.

    The 21-year-old enforcer is understood to be moving to the Emirates in a four year deal for a fee in excess of £16 million with French football specialist Julien Laurens, claiming both on Twitter and Le Parisien (malheureusement, avec ‘un paywall’), that the player has opted to test his hand with the Gunners rather than Inter Milan.

  64. Reports are that Steve Bould is going to be Pat Rice’s replacement. Be interested to hear some informed views. Hopefully it will be a start in shoring up the defence.

  65. @Terry #74,
    If Bould comes in, it would hopefully be an arrangement in which he does more than just trying to execute Wenger’s direction. One would expect someone of his background wanting a real say in shaping our improvement, which must start in the back.

    If we don’t improve substantially in that area I would be deathly afraid to play a team like Newcastle, who now seemingly have the best striking tandem in the world with Cisse and Ba. That kind of class would terrorize our hapless defence for YEARS.

  66. As much as I like Song, he does have a habit of switching off. If I understand M”villa’s game ala Vieira then song will be under threat….correct?

    Wouldnt it be great to have a Vieira type player in the side again , now where is Petit?

  67. @opus
    The number on the M’Villa deal is said to be 17.9 M. British pounds Sterling.
    (Gol.TV reports this morning.)

  68. Been a quiet observer of dis blog. Yet 2 come 2 terms with acronyms like AKB .Whats AKB? pls

  69. I said Podolski, Mvila, Vertongen, Hazard and the free Blackburn striker(not that i want him) will be coming….

    2 down, 3 to go…..

    M’villa will only complement Song (HE IS NOT BETTER THAN SONG). Have we seen Song when we have Arteta and Rosicky in midfield? How did this “Song and Vermaelen are not good enough thingy start?”. We better be careful not to hurt fully functional squad members. Song increases our efficiency as a team, he needs to be played with mates who are at par with or better than his qualities…Right now, Song is the best holding midfielder in the league for us.

    I pity those of us who also feel Vermaelen should be blamed, but forget very soon he has been our hero on a lot of occasions too. He won us the shitty game, didn’t he? How did he do it? The same thing we are complaining about is the same thing that wins us games cos others in the team keep passing and passing and nobody wants to take the bull by the horn. Up steps Song looking for that killer assist VP loves so much and boom the game is won. Towards injury time, Vermaelen goes up more often. Do we as a team rely on this? Yep, pretty much often…THE COACH OBVIOUSLY LIKES IT.

    We have no right to be blaming our committed and talented players. Some of them could have off-days, but i would definitely blame a player who fails to turn-up/partially turns up on every match he plays in. Its amazing how we do not see that these guys want to do extra, especially when playing alongside Ramsey. I would never blame Vermaelen for bombing forward towards the end of a drab match in search of the winning goal. If we are winning and suddenly draw towards the end of the match, then the coach needs to teach them how to organize themselves in this situation. HE HAS SIMPLY FAILED TO ADDRESS THIS.

    Look at Chelsea vs Barcelona(even with ten men), did we see any organisation there? Everyone knew where he was to play and they certainly knew what to do. I guess we can take a cue from there…

  70. Chelsea arm’t too organised tonight are they?

    Listen Im a fan of all Arsenal players, I dont think TV is back to his previous standard. I love the guy he’s all heart but his priority has to be defence. All to often he bombs forward and is not covered at the back. Certainly since Arteta has been out the midfield is a shambles.

    Song has similar issues sespite his record of assists, he neglects his main job all too oftewn and frankly some times he is in la la land. take the Norwich 3ed goal as an example

    I’m pretty sure if someone were to analyse who was at fault on goals conceded these two would be at the top of the list,

    Dont get me wrong i am a fan of both, but currently they need to do better

  71. C’mon ….

    I only saw a Chelsea minus UCL players get beat 4-1, besides, they beat them in the cup final with their top players on Saturday…
    They have little to play for in the league except make more money(which they have tons of) if they can climb up…

    We can all see the players to execute next Saturday’s match were rested.

  72. I agree with Retsub. I am in no way suggesting Song and TV are crap and should go – that’s nonnsense. But they both had shockers on the weekend (they were’t alone). But both were caught up in the mood of the game and forgot their principal defensive roles. I think that is all a few of us here are saying. Try not to turn this into a ridiculous argument.

    Here’s a question for Gooners – if (and yes it is still a bif if) we finish third and Spuds finish fourth, do you want Chelski to beat Bayern and take that spot away from them? Even though it is Spurs I think that would be hard to stomach. There is something I find deeply odious about Chelski. With the exception of their team doctor. She is very saucy! Dammit, I have gone off topic again…

  73. I agree with you guys…

    But, how we tend to make it look as if they are bad is the problem here. Absolutely no qualms with ur argument at all. Cos, i feel because they are good players, we should be able to overlook whatever and give them the benefit of the doubt…atleast the coach supports this or else he should be able to caution them. Afterall, this has been going on for quite a while now…
    Point is, if the coach is not encouraging them, they will not be doing it…they are better than this and we know it. Problem is and i say again, the players surrounding them is their main handicap.

    Messi could not help barca win against real and chelski…..WHY? Because Messi is god-like and has rescued them on countless occassions already. Should they criticize Messi cos of those two games(one of which was against 10men)? From the way you argue, Messi(who created the amazing standards for himself in the first place) should be held culpable for both defeats.

    Just saying…..

  74. the chavs, chelski – Chelsea FC
    the spuds – Tottenham HotSpurs
    the mancs, manure – Man United
    shittey – Man City
    magreed – Real Madrid
    AFC – Arsenal Football Club

    RVP – Robin VanPersie

    OXC – OXlade Chamberlain

    AKB – Arsene Knows Best

    D&G – Doom & Gloomer

    WWO – Want Wenger Out

    LOL – Laugh Out Loud

    I personally do not know how come about all these three and four letter acronyms, can not include all, but some of them just suck to say the least…

  75. @Fabe – Dude, why did you even pick me in the first place? Why did you think i know what it means? First time seeing you here, must be very silent indeed…

  76. Terry
    That’s a tough one I would settle for a Cashley own goal settling it

    Gunner boss
    Congrats you managed a posting without the R word, although you came very close

  77. My two cents.
    Both Alex Song and TV5 are quality. Neither does the perfect job but then both have too much to do. Another more defensively minded midfielder would help both immensely. Maybe Frimpong might do the job but perhaps not by next season. We will need a back-up goal keeper too. Fumblehandski and Moon Man will not do.

  78. @gunnerboss, u r d most outspoken dude hia, and I usually enjoy ur comments even though I sometimes disagree with ur views, especially about arsene. Am an arsene fan but definetely not an “AKB”. I don’t think he knows best, he has his shortcomings like being too one dimensional (even more than walcott) and so on but still like him 4 so many reasons lyk (1) he has a lot of faith in his players (imagine a pre 2011 van persie, diaby e.t.c under mourinho) they would av been sold long ago. Maybe am stating d most obvious fact but I thought Rambo was shit, rubbish, lazy (u can add more) in d norwich game, d number of times he was caught ball watching was uncountable and he almost got himself sent off, He left Song doin d work of 2 DMF alone but he didn’t cover himself in glory with dat “HOLLYWOOD PASS” dat lead to the late equalizer. RVP (who can do no wrong) also missed some clear cut opportunities (e.g chance 4rm dat sublime pass 4rm Rosicky), Chesny (would spell his name right one day) also had his worst game in an Arsenal shirt, But what in hell waz d ref thinkin, Naughton’s push on RVP was blatant (my grandma would av pointed 2 d spot). I won’t mind a loan spell to swansea 4 ramsey to hone his talents (if he has some). Would b glad to see M’Vila and Podolski in an Arsenal shirt nxt season. Think of an M’Vila-Song-Wilshere midfield against d rugby team, they won’t b bullied.
    On terry’s question. I don’t want to even tink about d possibility of chelski winnin d champions league, it’s just lyk 5pur2 winnin it, d shame wil b too much. Am hopin 4 Gunners 3rd, Newcastle 4th and Bayern winners. Lookin 4ward 2 seeing 5pur2 and Chelski in d Europa League. Can’t wait 4 it to happen.

  79. We desperately need to sign Eva Carneiro, the Chelsea Doctor. That would bring success back to the club…

  80. @ Fabe
    I wouldn’t regret selling Diaby though..what he contributed to Arsenal from the start of his career until now is indescribably awkward. Scoring one or two important goals just to head in an own goal to help ManU win us which it’s obvious he lacks the hunger to even get the ball he just jumped (you know? ‘just’ doing his job and all) Then he has this injury period which is so long you can’t even see the light at the end of the tunnel. And until you saw it. You’re into another tunnel again. Then you look back and you wonder how much has he ‘earned’ from when he injured until now? What salary is easier to earn than the ones Diaby is earning now?

    PS: I think He’s still in Arsenal because he is a Frenchman and Arsene is the manager. That’s all. At 24 he simply didn’t contribute enough in whatever form of performances to deserve to stay.

  81. To the board and wenger, stop making excuses
    where there’s a will there’s a way..
    By the way have we taken notice that JUVENTUS are unbeaten is Italy with one game to go…Just taught i would mention

  82. Pat rice thank you for been a true gunnar for those decades 44,you been there at our lowest and highest,you brought nothing but loyalty 2 arsenal, you finally get to see the game on da big screen I hope you enjoy it da way we do,good old patty!

    Welcome to da hot seat,well da lightly hot seat steve bould!you like
    Pat rice have been true gunnars,I am sure you will bring new innovations,an eye for talent,strategies for all games,love for da beautiful game and respect and a heart for da gunnars nationally and abroad.

  83. Song, Song, Song. Why does he think he’s the next Messi? Sure, he’s played some amazing football…but COME ON! He must calm down in these high pressure situations. Just keep possession!

  84. All this talk about Steve Bould changing things @ Arsenal, BUT i wonder.

    Don’t get me wrong BUT i think if we boast so much about the invincible s that we should have had one of them lined up because of their part in our most successful era .
    So if Bould is promoted why not hire Bergkamp and put him in-charge of the B team so that when wenger decides to leave or is run out of town by us fans then we have a ready replacement.
    Bergkamp seems to be the only one with all the coaching badges i know of from the invincible s and his philosophy of football seems quite arsenal like so why not get him in the system.
    The board and the manager has totally lost their marbles, do they expect wenger to carry on forever his time will come.
    This club has the nack of talking one thing BUT doing another. I read some where that the B teams defending is as shocking as the first team, if that true then what???
    I think Bould will be a yes, But i guess this is maybe the last straw because the players have been changing BUT the results have gotten worst, look at the goals we let in(amount) the only constant is wenger and Hillwood, put two of them together and they can’t amount to one……

  85. @Kel
    Thanks dude,
    that was precious. I just love the new “Tablecloth” look.

  86. But do we really know how big they can get? In 2009 NASA told us to be wary of solar storms, and warned of the dangers to America’s ancient overloaded power grid. Being without power for a few months, in the developed world, is a lot more serious than most people realise.

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