PSG v Arsenal. The teams, the tactical options, and the loss of Ibrahimovic

By Bulldog Drummond.

Amazingly Ibrahimovic  scored 113 goals in 122 games over four seasons with PSG – the sort of figures you normally only find recorded during Chapman’s management of Arsenal.  These days they look like the sort of figures Messi and Ronaldo get.

He could get them of course because he was very good, but also he was playing for a mega team in a league with a lot of mid-ranking and lesser teams.  A bit like the Spanish league and indeed the Scottish league.  Last season, Lyon who came second in the French league were closer to relegation than they were to PSG in first place.  It was that much of a ludicrous league.

But also Ibrahimovic was a focal point and an icon.  As one commentator said, he put French football itself back on the map.

So when we have a very lopsided league like France, Spain, Scotland etc where one, two or three clubs dominate, we tend to look at their Champs League results to see how good they really are.  We know Barcelona and Real Mad are indeed good, because they soak up the very best players not only in Spain but around the world.  It is no coincidence that as a result of aiming to get hold of everything, both clubs have been found guilty of child trafficking.

Last year in the champs PSG beat Malmo 2-0 at home and 0-5 away, Shakhtar D 0-3 away and 2-0 at home, drew 0-0 with Real Mad at home and lost 1-0 away.

In the 16s they beat Chelsea twice, 2-1, and then went out to Man C in the quarters 2-2 and 0-1.   So they were good, but not world beaters.  And now two of  the key players have gone.

Quite why Qatar has pulled back on its investment is not clear. Maybe the whole thing was a bit of an embarrassment, like being in a Sunday afternoon amateur cricket match and asking if your brother can come along to make up the numbers and him turning out to be some big time international.   You win, but really it is all a bit silly.  

Certainly for some, last season made the French league a laughing stock – when it is all over with nine games to go you can hardly call it a competition.  And maybe that is why the sponsor is pulling back.  The one thing sponsor’s don’t like is when instead of taking the sport seriously, people laugh at it.

But maybe this season PSG’s opening blip was just a blip and they are back on track now – it really is hard to tell.

As we know Mr Wenger has now been putting himself under pressure talking up the current squad as being far better than anything we’ve had for a long time – with all the stuff about being grown ups rather than boys.   (Hector Bellerin is 21 so I guess he now counts as a man).

So will Mr W use this grownupness to change his formation, style and approach.   We have seen him do it occasionally in the past, but not that often.  Now could be the time to vary the old 4-2-3-1.   It is what we had on Saturday, but it seems wholly unlikely that Granit won’t play tonight.  So what do we get?
.
What we could do is play 4-4-2 like this
.
Cech
Bellerin     Mustafi      Koscielny      Monreal
Santi Caz      Granit      Coquelin      Theo
Ozil
Alexis

Obviously Ozil wanders – he is not playing directly behind Alexis but rather going left when Alexis goes right.   If it worked Granit would play long balls to Ozil who would give the killer pass to Alexis.

Now I didn’t think of that I must admit; I found it in the Telegraph.   But they did also come up with one that I was sketching out (although with variations) just as their article came in.

Cech
Bellerin     Mustafi      Koscielny      Monreal
Santi Caz      Coquelin      Granit
Ozil
Alexis           Walcott

 

What this is all suggesting is not so much that we play counter attack, which I was trying to argue before the last game, but rather that we set out to counter the counter attack and then (rather obviously) counter counter attack.  No one has ever produced a side that can counter counter counter attack, so the counter counter is where it ends.

I’m fascinated by this, because if you have been reading the Arsenal in the 30s series on the Arsenal History Society site you will know that Chapman, both at Huddersfield and Arsenal had tremendous success when he worked the counter attack approach both at home and away.  Maybe that is where we are going.

Mind you there is also the case of Giroud.  He wasn’t started on Saturday, suggesting either he has had his day, or else that he was being rested for today.   Take out Walcott and replace with Giroud.

Of course this is getting stranger and stranger, but with this huge range of talent (and remember we haven’t actually yet found space for Elneny who performed well in Europe last year) a whole range of other approaches are possible.

The key decision is, do you want two defensive midfielders or one?   If two, one of the two has to be Granit surely because he can come forwards as well as sit back.  But I do hope that at the moment, every time he plays, when he gets a yellow he is taken off and Elneny or Coquelin replaces him, because with one yellow there is every chance he will get a second.

How about

Cech
Bellerin     Mustafi      Koscielny      Monreal
Coquelin      Granit
Ozil
 Walcott     Giroud    Alexis
Standard fare, but if it doesn’t work, replace the centre forward with Peres, replace Walcott with the Ox, and by and large the opposition won’t know which direction to look.   And if, on reading this (thank you if you have been) you are about to say I haven’t a clue, you are right.
But do have a look at the squad…
  • GOALKEEPERS

  • 13 David Ospina
  • 26 Emiliano Martinez
  • 33 Petr Cech
  • DEFENDERS

  • 2 Mathieu Debuchy
  • 3 Kieran Gibbs
  • 4 Per Mertesacker
  • 5 Gabriel *
  • 6 Laurent Koscielny
  • 16 Rob Holding
  • 18 Nacho Monreal
  • 20 Shkodran Mustafi
  • 24 Hector Bellerin
  • 25 Carl Jenkinson *
  • MIDFIELDERS

  • 8 Aaron Ramsey *
  • 11 Mesut Ozil
  • 15 Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
  • 19 Santi Cazorla
  • 29 Granit Xhaka
  • 31 Jeff Reine-Adelaide 
  • 34 Francis Coquelin
  • 35 Mohamed Elneny
  • FORWARDS

  • 7 Alexis
  • 9 Lucas Perez
  • 12 Olivier Giroud
  • 14 Theo Walcott
  • 17 Alex Iwobi
  • 22 Yaya Sanogo
  • 23 Danny Welbeck *
  • 32 Chuba Akpom

The players with the * are injured.  Sanogo remains a mystery and maybe Jeff Adelaide and Chuba Akpom are not the fully done deal yet, but it is still one hell of a squad not just in terms of some quality, but the range of opportunities gives us.

So it is going to be great.   Let’s create some atmosphere.  Shout at the tele.

PSG v Arsenal the story so far…

96 Replies to “PSG v Arsenal. The teams, the tactical options, and the loss of Ibrahimovic”

  1. I like the 4-4-2 but that means all of our “stars” are playing, which could be good if they are on fire but bad if not or unlucky.

    But i would go with:
    Cech
    Bellerin Mustafi Koscielny Monreal
    Coquelin Granit
    Ozil
    Walcott Giroud Alexis
    subs as needed.

    Arsenal must finish off opponents if they get the chance, many times we let them come back too easy, so lets wish for a brilliant performance and a nice win for us.

  2. With all the news of PSG having player injured and all….media is already making excuses for any loss the PSG may be handed by mighty ARSENAL…

    Come on ARSENAL….

  3. i don’t like it when the media say a team playing against Arsenal has many injuries. Normally, it’s their way of slaughtering us either way. When we win, we beat a team carrying so many injuries, when we lose, they show how useless and weak we are, losing to an injured team. So, forget them, I pray we win 1-0, just to make it painful, a it.

  4. Well, as for me I don’t think Le Prof will jettisoned deep lying Cazorla to 2 defensive mid fielders and also abandoned his experimentation of converting Sanchez from a left winger to a striker midway through his experimentation process. Would he? But against Chelsea at the ems, playing 2 DMs might be necessary to put a stop to the excesses of Diego Costa.

    As a result of my believe, Le Prof won’t change his tactical beliefs save for the non availability of the right Gunner or Gunners to carry on his tactical beliefs, he’s the kind of a coach that sticks to his guns despite any insinuations suggesting a contrary opinion to his beliefs.

    In the light of this, I too have decided to stick to my 2 opinions starts and bench selection guns which I posted on this site in the morning, and wait to see how things will pan out when Le Prof makes available his starts and bench against PSG tonight at Parc des Princes.

    My own preferred starts and bench:

    1st option.
    Cech.
    Bellerin Koscielny Mustafi Monreal.
    Xhaka Cazorla.
    Walcott Ozil Iwobi
    Sanchez.
    2nd option.
    Cech.
    Bellerin Koscielny Mustafi Gibbs.
    Coquelin Cazorla.
    Walcott Ozil Sanchez.
    Giroud.

    Bench: Ospina Debuchy Monreal/Gibbs Coquelin/Xhaka Elneny Iwobi Giroud/Akpom.

    I believe any of my starts can take PSG to the soccer school.

  5. Ospina,
    Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal,
    Cazorla, Coquelin,
    Iwobi, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain,
    Alexis

    Beached

    Cech, Holding, Gibbs, Elneny, Xhaka, Lucas, Giroud

  6. Le Prof is a coach that can surprise one out of the unimaginable. He has done it again by starting Ospina ahead of Cech. And against all expectations, Walcott is totally excluded from his 18 man squad for this game. I think I’ll rate myself scoring 80% of getting Le Prof’s starts correctly

  7. Arsenal twitter account said Walcott slightly injured.

    French Group RMC said Giroud not fully fit to start and Cech has a slightly ankle niggle. So the changes in the team makes sense.

    And the aaa are off with their sticks and stones…(even knowing the facts above).

  8. PSG need a whipping, they are dirty and sly. The ref is missing alot.
    We can beat them if we man up.

  9. Ospina,
    Bellerin, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal,
    Cazorla, Coquelin,
    Iwobi, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain,
    Alexis

    Beached

    Cech, Holding, Gibbs, Elneny, Xhaka, Lucas, Giroud

    I don’t think this starting line-up will win us the game. How I wish i will be wrong, but i don’t think i will be . (sigh)

  10. All too easy for PSG. Thought Wenger would have learned from last season but I guess not.

  11. I think we will win the game. PSG just need to be pressed like they are pressing us, and this will come in 2nd half.

    This formation is a little shaky but it will change with the subs. One sub at half time please.

    1-3 i predict.

  12. Granit for Coq and Giroud for Iwobi otherwise looking at a defeat after the dire first half. Lucky it’s only 1-0

  13. The team is ok but have to cope with selective blindness of the butcher with the whistle. Shirt pulling in the box ignored. Physical fouling after the ball has been played not being called. Arsenal holding our own despite the odds.

  14. Let’s be honest we’ve showed nothing going forward despite the refs debatable vision.

  15. Are we going to wait for the 70th min to make, the change. Someone please tell them to shoot the ball and stop trying to walk the ball in the net.

  16. Thought this new team of real men could respond to a few niggles. Has Arsene lost the dressing room like JM did last season. No urgency and this season could be over in record time for the new Men.

  17. Hahahahahahahaha… commentators.

    They think ospina is keeping ARSENAL in the game….

    Of course he is. Hez our goal keeper remember??

  18. I think that made Sanchez’s shot that much more difficult to save, was the bounce off the ground. How high up would the ball come?

    How about a second goal Gunners!

    COYG!

  19. Can only blame tonights performance on the team selection. You don’t leave one of the worlds best GK’s, a 35 mil midfielder and your main striker on the bench when playing PSG. Second half proves the point. Wenger wake up mate!

  20. @Gord

    What, you couldn’t see that the starting line up wasn’t good enough for us to win the game? What kind of a fan are you? A stupid fanatic one? Grow up,Boy.

  21. The butcher with the whistle gets his cards out & despite not seeing fuck all sends Giroud off. Thats the only way to stop Wengers footballing boys.

    The number of fouls not given to Arsenal was criminal. The referee just couldn’t do enough to assist PSG. Apparently Arsenal rode their luck.

  22. Well done boys….or should that be men ?

    So pleased for David. All that bullshit criticism on the back of one mistake, and as usual jumped on by our own ex players and fans.

    He was superb tonight, as he almost always is.

    MOTM between there RB and David. 2 brilliant performances.

    I love it when we dig out a result like that.

    COYG

  23. @5th gen Gooner,
    I wonder what game you watched.
    Ospina was MOTM surely, while Giroud’s constant dissent and antics has cost us his presence in the return.
    While I questioned Arsene’s selection, to achieve a draw in all the circumstances proved that AKB. 😉

  24. We were opened up far to easily PSG could have been 4 up before we scored
    All l can say we hung on in there rode our fortune and got a draw need to improve

  25. Have I underestimated PSG’s ability? Yes, I think I did and overrated Arsenal’s capacity to beat the Partisans. PSG’s Cavan failed to take all the scorable chances that fell to him but one. Thus we are fortunate to get a draw. However, Sanchez made good of the rare chance Arsenal had in this match. Therefore, I thank God we didn’t lose the match. My Arsenal match winning run in all competition is at the moment off the table but it can still comeback on track. I’ll be looking forward to Arsenal 3 PL match winning run at Hull City AFC at KCOM stadium on Saturday. An Arsenal win there will pacify me for their not beating PSG this night.

  26. Team selection was poor, and the selected team was not good enough. Cavani (who should have scored three) was allowed to get between our central defenders and pick his spot for PSG’s goal
    The referee was poor (but equaly poor for for both teams) , and his decisions did not impact on the result which was fair, and his sending off of Giroud was absolutely correct, I’m sick of his diving.
    But we stuck at it and ground out a good draw. That’s the hardest game out of the way with a decent result. We’re perfectly placed to win the group.

  27. The selection of Ospina to start this match has vindicated Le Prof with the numbers of crucial saves he did to bale us out of the jaw of defeat. But would it had been better if Le Prof had brought on Lucas for the toothless Oxchambo instead of the ineffective Olivier Giroud he brought on who could only picked up a yellow card instead of to score for us or assist to have a goal scored. Is he taking something?

  28. There are a bunch of self-serving people writing in today. Arsenal 13 does a wonderful job of supporting the team. All of you self-serving people will only see problems. All in the hopes of being able to say at the end of the day, _I_ was right. Not the team did well, _I_ was right. The most important thing, is _I_.

    I
    I
    I
    me me me
    I
    I
    I

  29. I see we have the usual collection of critical posters who all seem to delight in finding fault and questioning the managers team selection and tactics. Rather than moan why not enjoy what was in my opinion a thoroughly entertaining game.

  30. Poor start,not a great performance but a decent result.
    Some mental strength shown, the men move on.

  31. Mick
    Yes, a thoroughly entertaining game, but let’s not gloss over poor team selection.
    Ox-Chamberlain should never have started, and Xhaka ought to (arguably) have been selected ahead of Coqueline who got his usual early yellow card.
    I think that we dug out a good draw away at our most dangerous opponents, but it didn’t have to be like this. We have the players to beat them home & away.

  32. Saw the last hour in a bar in Dublin with a Belgian Anderlecht fan. Poor first half but much better second. Rode our luck – but this was a critical result. Top job Ospina. Well done lads.

  33. The state of some moaners over here…

    Anyhow, since Walter is still on vacation, there will be no match report for PSG and Southampton matches. And the ref review for the Southampton match along with the weekly refs’ report are delayed by a week further due to the reason above.

    There will be no ref review for Uefa CL matches due to lack of time. But I will try to post 2-3 paragraph summary of some decisions of the ref in the comments of next article (with the use of video evidence if possible)

    One more thing that is not mentioned (thanks to some moaners here), we are top
    Of the group. ?

  34. Gord
    With respect, what actually is Arsenal13’s contribution (other than a series of inanities) which don’t appear to have any semblance of adult input to the team’s performance. Perhaps when he’s 14 he may have progressed to real vocabulary.

  35. no regrets for the draw. actually happy with it considering it was Kassai with the whistle. we tend to get screwed up when he us around. this time lucky huh

  36. @Mandy,
    You’re right, we’ve seen Kassai in the Champions League last 4 years in a row, and 6 out of the last 7 seasons.

    Overall good result on the road against our main competitors for the top spot in the group. We’ll take care of them at the Emirates!

  37. Thought so Jerry. Looked harsh on Giroud for me. Hope we don’t see this ref again this campaign
    But agree, good result

  38. Mandy your right about Giroud. He gets fouled all the time & when he uses his height & strength, he gets called for fouling. The PSG players bullied the little Arsenal players all game & Kassai allowed it to go. As soon as Giroud came on he was getting held & Kassai ignored it. Watch the corners that Arsenal got. In fact the goal Arsenal scored was filled with Giroud being made love to by Thiago (No2), a penalty in any fairly officiated game.

  39. The U19 got a scoreless draw against PSG.

    I think Usama said we top the group. Sure. 🙂

    All the teams have the same stats at this point, with 1 game played, both games ended 1-1. So, technically the away teams are in better shape, as they now have an away goal each.

    ManC had their game rained out.

    I would imagine the replay is going to be annoying fixturewise to both teams.

  40. If your opposition winger AND their fullback are ganging up on our fullback, the real question there is where was our winger and why wasn’t he supporting him,pretty diabolical performance but somehow Cavani our man of the match saved us. Not going to keep happening form much longer Mr Wenger.

  41. I am so alarmed that some think positivity is all about ignoring things that are obvious.

    To ignore the failings on the night is just as bad as ignoring the point we managed to get.

    Still, with all of our different options, we still tried to always walk the ball into the net when we may have scored from a shot just that few seconds earlier.

    PSG surprised us, and we need to stop letting ourselves be surprised so easily.

    Yet we did not give up and were unlucky to not get more goals and the win.

    A shaky performance 🙂 and way below the capabilities of the team. Still some bedding in and fitness problems but they will be ironed out 🙂 in the next few games.

  42. In case one wonders, i decided to not use the negative smiley where it should have been used. 🙂

  43. Anyone who doesn’t think leon used to be known by another name here (possible identities including tailgunner,rolf, Rupert) needs to have their head examined. He claims he used to be a passive observer on UA for years to try and explain why we had ‘never heard’ of him before, but the reality is he was posting under a different name (the frequency of his posts just proves this).

    Anyway, enough of vermin, good result. First match I’ve watched this season (am done with the corrupt EPL), and I thought the boys played well. Predictably, conceding in first minute changes everything so whatever gameplan we had went out the window. This ref is our cl version of dean; he always seems to find it easy to punish our players, maybe another bussacca in waiting? Ok, Ollie didn’t need to get involved but is anyone honestly telling me he committed more offences in the 20 or so minutes he was on the pitch than most of the PSG players? Please..

    Hoping for a good run in the cl this season. COYG!!

  44. para,

    Why was this a shaky performance, and what are the capabilities of the team that you know so well? Share us the mere mortals the depth of your immeasurable football coaching genius.

  45. hahhahahaha,

    team selection was wrong???? Look who say this??

    1. Ospina was sharp and had brilliant saves all game. Doesnt look wrong to me.
    2. Giroud was on bench. Exactly. Were you not the ones who said Giroud is not fit to wear the shirt in the first place?? The very people who wanted Alexis tried out as a center forward.

    Why is it that every goal conceded considered poor play by us? And every save from the keeper, poor play by the opponents?? Some times you just have to accept it, their goal was a brilliant goal. And Ospina making saves is not being lucky. Its just that hez a goal keeper and its his job to prevent goals and he did exceptionally well.

    Giroud red card, well therz a video on the internet. Different angle. Giroud was sent off for standing there and not sulking, for doing the man-up thing.

  46. I wonder, why can’t we have a different opinion here? I think all of us that willing to spend some time to come here are all arsenal fans. We all support the team one way or another. Some of you should be grown up enough to see that and to accept the different opinions given by the fans as some kind of concerns we have over the team, not as some kind of hatred and dislike over them. I may have an opinion, you may have another, and we don’t have to agree on each other’s. And it’s perfectly alright, isn’t it? It’s the way of the world.

    Anybody who accuses others of being a bad fan for having a different opinion from his is a complete idiot. You can’t, and you won’t be able to, make the whole world agree with everything you think is right. So, grow up,please or go live on the dream land where everybody agrees with everybody.

  47. topanlesmana,

    You can and you are allowed to have a different opinion here. The thing is, without palpable data to demonstrate its validity, such an opinion is as valuable as toilet paper. It is, in other words, a waste of time and energy.

  48. Topanlesmana

    If the only reason to come onto Untold Arsenal and post about a game is to whine (aka whinge) about the team selection, you are the one at fault. It has nothing to do with growing up. But if all you want to do is bitch about decisions made by management, by all means go to dreamland (le Grove or whatever) and bitch.

  49. Several people had suggestions of the sort “It is obvious this lineup was horrible”.

    All of us ordinary fans have access to limited data about the players. The people at Arsenal under the direction of Wenger, have access to much more information. They have data about how the players do in training, every training period. We might see pictures once in a while. They might have access to various biometric data, we don’t. You can do statistics, they can do statistics.

    When Wenger sets a lineup, he has access to all the best data, and has thought long and hard about it. We typically bitch about a lineup after the game has started, but some people start before. We don’t have all the data, and we might spend 17 seconds thinking about things.

    Given the above, it is NOT obvious that the lineup is wrong. The problem for most people is that Wenger does not have to justify his decisions to you. And hence you are always missing the most important part of the information.

    But, if you still feel you are better at selecting players than he is, go buy a team and hire a manager who will let you select players. And then stay in the top 4 of the EPL for 20 years. After all that, tell us about it.

  50. @ Florian & @ Gord

    All that i said was that i thought we wouldn’t be able to win the game by our starting line-up. It was just an opinion. And what’s wrong with that? You saw it yourself how we were outplayed by PSG in the first half. And….you saw it yourself how the coming in of Xhaka and Giroud made the team a lot stronger. So, again, what’s wrong with having an opinion? Do you really think all the fans have to always agree totally with every decision made by Wenger all the time? Do you really expect us as human being not to have a different opinion to others? That’s silly.

    And Gord, grow up, will you. I wasn’t whining, and i think it’s perfectly alright for me to have an opinion of my own. I never forced anybody to accept it, so why the hell you have to force me to accept yours? You’re a lot worse than Hitler was. LOL

  51. Difference of opinion is always welcome. Like say we can differ on wether Alexis can play center forward or not. Like the other day wether play should’ve been stopped or not etc etc…..

    But whining about team selection is not about opinion……..its about support. You support ARSENAL or not.

  52. An away draw against the group favourites cannot be at all that bad . Not having seen the game or highlights , I really can’t pass judgement . Well done the boys .
    Quite a few pisstakers on here ! Glad that they are all disappointed with the result ! Arsenal ‘fans’ my ass!
    WOO HOO , HOO !
    Up the Gunners !

  53. Like the guy above said, you are not privy to records about the players relative fitness etc. It just may be that given the data Mr Wenger had on those two players he decided it would be best to introduce them when he did.

  54. @ARSENAL 13

    I’ve said already that i wasn’t whining, haven’t i? I just gave an opinion. And what makes you think that an opinion of not agreeing the line up of the team means that i don’t support Arsenal? That’s ridiculous. I’ve supported Arsenal for almost 20 years now, in the good times and the bad. I always watch every game arsenal plays, no matter what. In every end of the seasons where we didn’t come up as a champion, i still love the team for all that they’ve done all seasons long. Guess that makes me a lot better supporter of Arsenal than you and some people here who just don’t like to have different opinions to yours are.

    By the way, we still live in democracy, right? Do you spank your boys when they have a different opinion to yours? LOL

  55. Having death with the jokers ,….here are the jokes !

    An English man stopped at a local restaurant following a day roaming around in Andalucía.

    While sipping his beer, he noticed a sizzling, scrumptious looking platter being served at the next table. Not only did it look good, the smell was wonderful.

    He asked the waiter, ‘What is that you just served?’

    The waiter replied, ‘Ah senor, you have excellent taste! Those are called Cojones de Toro, bull’s testicles, from the bull fight this morning. A delicacy!’

    The man said, ‘What the heck, bring me an order.’

    The waiter replied, ‘I am so sorry senor. There is only one serving per day because there is only one bull fight each morning. If you come early and place your order, we will be sure to save you this delicacy.’

    The next morning, the man returned, placed his order, and that evening was served the one and only special delicacy of the day.

    After a few bites, inspecting his platter, he called to the waiter and said, ‘These are delicious, but they are much, much smaller than the ones I saw you serve yesterday.’

    The waiter shrugged his shoulders and replied, ‘Si, Senor. Sometimes the bull wins’

  56. PSG is a strong side and we drew them when at away.

    I don’t understand why some fans are upset and thinking it is a weak lineup . What if the result is a loss and the regular played ? You will have to something to say again about Wenger?

    I guess Arsenal is not the right team for these so-called fans . Find another club

  57. Brazil and Warnock on talkshite this morning are writing Mustafi off after 2 games, lets underline that…. TWO GAMES, as being not good enough and a poor panic buy. Absolutely incredible that they are employed to spout this ridiculous nonsense.

  58. Mick

    Don’t know why you even listen to them arseholes mate.

    I haven’t listened to ‘talkabsolutefuckingshite’ for over a year.

    Last night I wouldn’t listen to the build up on BT simply because I know it’s usually an hour of Arsenal bashing.

    Similar to when we are on SKY. I don’t listen to the build up there either for the same reason.

    I haven’t watched SKY on Sunday mornings for at least 3 years, because the ‘Sunday Supplement’ is simply an Arsenal, or more accurately, a Wenger hate fest. Goals on Sunday found a way to bash us at the merest opportunity.

    Radio 5live is just as bad.

    The thing that sickens me is I pay an absolute fucking fortune for the privilege of having my beloved club criticised, ridiculed and abused at every opportunity.

    As, due to work, and finances to a lesser degree, I just cannot get to many games, if I want to watch or listen to Arsenal live, I have no choice but to subscribe to these broadcasters.

    To be honest it is for the reasons above I get so annoyed with the guys that come on here moaning and groaning.

    To me Untold Arsenal is my little Oasis of positivity.

    For example, with a night such as last night, a place I can come and enjoy a hard fought point.

    I’m over the moon at the fact we didn’t play brilliant but somehow with a mixture of luck, brilliant keeping, last ditch defending and a sheer bloody minded will to keep going, we got a point.

    What’s not to like ?

    Enjoy it FFS.

    But no, some have to find fault with this that or the other, and isn’t funny how it’s the same old names.

    You have to ask yourself, why do they even bother.

    If they have got there issues with Wenger, and my God some really have, why oh why do they have to come here, when there are so many other platforms where there seemingly endless negativity would be welcomed with open arms.

    What gets me is that these people know from the sites ‘mantra’, it’s blazoned across the top of the page ffs, that this is a site set up for folk who take a positive, supportive view on all things Arsenal and Wenger, and then they get all uppity when we become a bit defensive.

    We may be wrong. We may be misguided. We may be touchy.

    Whatever. If you don’t like it, don’t post here. There are dozens of places to go and listen to like minded souls. You can post and phone-in your whinges and whines to your hearts content, and not hear a word of dissent.

    One site, just one fucking site that wants to maintain a ‘positive’ attitude and buck the trend of finding something to moan at no matter what, and you choose to do your whinging here.

    I don’t get it.

  59. Heart of Gratitude.
    Arsenal play well, many shots on target, greater possession, the opponent gets a goal, a freaky one like Cech against the Saints, Arsenal are rubbish and can’t finish off teams. arsenal don’t play too well but got a draw, they are still useless and were just lucky….hmmmm, and you call yourself a FAN? Am with the team, at good times and always. UP GUNNERS.

  60. We are the Arsenal & we are the Best, We are Untold so muck all the rest.

    We played some beautiful football & came away with a draw. What could have happened is conjecture. What happened was that we drew at theirs. We have an away goal.

    Despite the biased official we managed to play our game. The fouling was diabolical, right in front of the referees nose, yet he didn’t see it.

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