Really impressive to see the high work rate and determination in defence coming from Alexis.
It will not only be really hard for Podolski to get game, also it is going to show no matter who you are or what position you play you have to work for the team.
3 points is the positive
Lol at the Chq Books.
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too
We were pants today, the energy & the connection in last weeks game was absent. We were lucky to get those 3 points. Lot of work to do yet.
Manolas is under going a medical over the next few days. sweet so there is our back up CB,
I dont know anything about his quality but the price for him seems around $10mil and juve were sniffing around as well. fingers x'd
Also, BFG has signed a new long term deal. sweet!
just need another DMF and we could be real contenders!
For the first time ever I am getting "content not authorised in your location" when I'm trying to watch stuff on Arsenal player... is this because of Sky's deal?
Whatever it is, rubbish. I'm gutted.
time delay?
As in can't view until after 12 hours?
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too
Paul, have you tried using hola unblocker? its a free in browser extention which allows you to access zone restricted webpages/videos
Weird, I get the same. "Content not authorised in your location (NZ)." Worked last season and in pre-season. Hola Unblocker sorts it but a bit strange it's suddenly geo-blocked when it never has been before.
Anyway, phew what a relief. One of those days we often seem to have when we have all the ball and just don't look like scoring. 75% possession and 5 shots on target it whatever it was is ridiculous. But we got the win in the end and that's all that matters. Ramsey seemed to be everywhere and it was never going to be anyone else to pop up and find the winner.
Poor defending all around for their goal. Who thought it was a good idea to put Sanchez on Hangeland? Also as a keeper it always bugs me when goals go in from corners with no defender on the post. So often you get headers and ricochets that fly to the corner so I always feel you should have someone there. Not that it would have prevented the header or made the marking any better but a player on the far post is keeping that goal out today.
Missed Mertesacker's leadership and organisation so he'll make a difference on that note. Chambers looks pretty good though.
Looked to have about half a dozen pairs this morning plus whatever they may have had out the back.
Thanks for the tip about the discount, just went and bought this afternoon didn't I? Undecided whether I'll wear them as trainers or save them until I next play indoor football which will hopefully be soon. Used to play but in 2012 I had a year out of sport with a serious injury and my old indoor team hasn't needed any extra players since coming back to playing outdoor. So that's now the home and away shirts, and the outdoor and indoor boots. Sucked in by Puma!
Also how funny was that moment the ref sprayed the foam in Cazorla's face? Bet he'll make sure the can is working before the next game!
I saw a tweet from Arsenal saying people in Europe can log in to watch highlights on Arsenal player. Must be a broadcasting issue.
I've always struggled to get access immediately after due to the NZ location BS. Normally outside of Europe we have to wait 24 hours.
So Koscielny and Gibbs face fitness tests for the Champions League game, and Wenger has said there is a good chance Mertesacker will be brought back early.
Been very impressed for chambers so far, early days but wenger might have done good deal there. debuchy shot that rambo scored off was great to see as well, very different to sagna.
Alexis working his socks off in defence was great to see, i'd hate to say it but if we can get some decent coin for poli it might be a good time to cash in. Still not convinced about sanogo at all to be honest IF he goes on to be a world class player i'd be very impressed with wenger for spotting it.
centre back and dmf to go on the shopping list......i personally would like another striker
go gunners
The mirror reported today that eto'o was on our radar... but I cant see it happening
Fabregas' through-ball for Schurrle's goal this morn... wow, reminds me of old times
So unfortunate his signing couldn't fit in with us this season, I hate seeing him play for them
The odious one throws some more jibes at wenger and pellegrini, and gab marcotti quite brilliantly breaks it down;
Mourinho and his history
Jose Mourinho is already in midseason form when it comes to poking rival managers.
"Some [managers], they have 10 years to win something, I have only two," he said. No prizes for catching the allusion there.
"I like to work, I like to build, I don't like easy jobs," he added, moving the crosshairs further north. "I don't like to get clubs worked by other managers before me. I don't like to arrive in time to collect the fruits off their trees."
Again, fairly obvious reference.
Whether Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini -- in case you hadn't figured it out -- choose to fire back remains to be seen. They may want to remind him, though, that while you're entitled to your own opinion, you're not entitled to your own facts.
"The season before I went to Porto, they had been fifth," Mourinho said.
Actually, no. The season before he went to Porto, they finished second. They were in fifth place when he took over in January 2002. He guided them to third that season.
Jose Mourinho has never been one to shy away from promoting his accomplishments.
"Remember when I came here (Chelsea, the first time)?"
Yes, he took over a Chelsea team that had finished second in the Premier League, reached the Champions League semifinal and been the beneficiary of the biggest transfer spend in history at the time.
"Where was Inter before I went there?"
They had won two consecutive Serie A titles on the pitch, plus another following the Calciopoli scandal.
"When I went to Madrid, where was Madrid?"
They had finished second, which is exactly where they finished under Mourinho in his first year. And they had again benefited from one of the biggest spending sprees in history.
Mourinho has been one of the most successful managers in the world for more than a decade. That's why he gets rewarded with prestigious jobs, big transfer budgets and huge wage bills. There's nothing wrong with that. But that doesn't mean he needs to make it seem as if all his success has come from building teams from scratch. Or that the clubs he managed and his predecessors had achieved nothing.
The mirror reported today that eto'o was on our radar... but I cant see it happening
Bit of talk out there.
Kostas Manolas has apparently undergone a medical and is all but signed, so there's the CB we desperately needed.
Also talk that we're signing Eduardo Vargas on loan for the season. I assume this would be in place of Sanogo in this season's squad, guessing he'll go out on loan. Not a bad option. I wonder if Podolski will be sold as well.
Not much talk of the DM we were all hoping for, aside from a 19yo PSG lad - Adrien Rabiot - that we're being linked with.
Although why was Flamini left out of the squad altogether at the weekend?
Mancini has confirmed Richards & Nastasic will both leave, Nastasic in particular is looking for game time. Could be a good option if Manolas falls through.
RE Cesc I couldn't help but have him in my fantasy team, he's going to have a good season with Schurle, Hazard, Costa, Oscar in front of him.
Yeah I just watched that entire game. That 20 minutes or so from Chelsea they were scary. They were also fairly ordinary at times too though. They might want to figure out their defence.
Fabregas looked great. 2 x assists as well, I'm holding back from a knee jerk reaction in bringing him in to my fantasy team. It would have to be for Sanchez or Mata.
The Fabregas Arsenal fans are going to be annoying this season but fuck him. He went on strike to force his way out of Arsenal and now he plays for Chelsea. Nuff said. But bloody hell he seems to aged about 10 years since signing for them doesn't he? Sure he didn't look like that at the World Cup!
We have Ozil, Sanchez and Ramsey. We need a Matic or Costa much more than a Fabregas.
Also, Sanogo is the kind of player who should be on loan for the season. Ridiculous that he's 2nd choice and starting games at a club aiming for the title. Signing Ozil and Sanchez almost seems a bit pointless if we're going to play Sanogo and Giroud in front of them. Only done half the job. Really hoping we give Walcott a go up front.
Impressed by Chambers so far. Amazing to think that was only the 22nd start of his career and first at CB. Great to see us taking the gamble in buying the player the season before he might cost 30 million instead of waiting until next summer and missing out to City, Chelsea or United.
Absolutely Paulm. I miss him but I totally get why we didn't re-sign him.
ajc28 your comments about a Matic/Costa is bang on to.
RE Flamini being MIA for week one he just did a press conference with Wenger in Turkey, so I guess he's all good.
Gibbs confirmed out for 3 weeks with Hamstring, but Koscielny played & Mertesacker is back in the squad.
I think we'll see Kosc/Chambers start at the back, with the BFG used as cover for Kosc. I don't think starting Chambers with BFG for his Champions League debut is a good idea as they haven't played together!
6.45am on ESPN tomorrow in case anyone was still wondering. Also we're the live TV One game this weekend if anyone wants to watch a better quality picture than PLP. Love it when the CL games are 6.45. Early enough to watch the whole thing before work. Gets annoying when the clocks change and they start at 7.45 and then 8.45.
I thought I read that mertesacker hasn't travelled to Turkey?
Once he is ready to play Mertesacker will probably step in and give kosc a cupla games rest, then when he's back to 100% we should see our first choice CBs together for the first time this season. By then we should have Manolas (or Nastasic) on deck as well.
And yea Brumbys just saw a comment online that Flamini was ill for Palace, so that explains that.
Yep fully agree that Fabregas signing would've been excessive in hindsight, I just loved that guy and really didn't want him to play anywhere else.
a bit of talk about Chambers filling in as DMF as well.
go gunners
would have perferred Nastasic over Manolas but either will do the job i guess. Vargas on loan will be handy as well.
Now just for a world class DMF....i know rabiot's name has been thrown around but not totally convinced on him
go gunners
Paulm I misinterpreted Wenger, apparently the BFG is on stand bye...good to know :)
Who watched the game? I didn't. Followed ESPN bootroom for updates from work. Sounded bad.
Think Everton are the real winners, the guys will be tired after that. Play Everton and then play a must win against Besiktas a few days after.
Pretty average game in Istanbul although we should be able to turn them over next week.
Chambers looks like an excellent buy, a couple of great saves from Szcz, sparks of Sanchez magic on the wing, Ox looked very lively when he came on and Debuchy's attack is definitely a step up over Sagna.
On the other hand, Giroud toiled, Ramsey caught a red and Santi was up to nothing.
We need to do the job vs Besiktas, that pitch shouldn't be used in European football. Its not fit enough for livestock IMHO
I watched. Decent result but would have been good to score an away goal. We could be in trouble if they score first next week.
I'm not usually overly critical of Giroud but that was abysmal. Worst peformance I've seen from an Arsenal striker, and struggling to think of too many worse ones from any Arsenal player ever. He couldn't even control the ball. Absolutely appalling. It almost seems pointless signing Ozil and Sanchez if we're going to play Giroud and Sanogo in front of them.
Ox added some urgency and made a difference. Would have been a great goal but for a super save.
Ref was a bit of a joke too. Ridiculous red card and couldn't stop blowing his whistle all game. Will Ramsey just miss the 2nd leg or will he miss a group game if we get through too?
like everyone has mention pitch and ref were very average. Love Giroud but days like this you remember how shocking he can be. Would have been good to kill the tie today but was not to be. Everton is going to be a big challenge this weekend. wenger will need to rotate squad wisely.
go gunners
The pitch this morning was terrible, not sure we are the better of the two coming out of the game with Besiktas avoiding conceding an away goal but back us to finish them off at home. The Ramsey red card was a bad decision, Sanchez the only one for me who offered anything in the game.
From the first two games, nothing that sets the world on fire (apart from Chambers looking decent) but hoping with Ozil and Walcott back it will make a big difference. I still believe Giroud is not good enough to win the league with and here's another example of why:
Giroud scored 16 goals in 36 league appearances last year. He scored no goals against the top 3 and no goals that changed the result against the top 5. He scored only 8 goals against the top 10. Shots to goal ratio over 7.
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