D-Sanchez-Cabello
Bayern Munich are a behemoth and behemoths are rarely attractive. They are the leading club in the largest market in Europe. Ally that to the distinct national feeling in Bavaria and you start to see why Bayern are able to bludgeon their competitors each year.
I’m torn on the Bundesliga, there are bits of it I enjoy and others I despise. We complain about clubs with wealthy patronage, but if there was ever an argument for oligarchs, the Bundesliga is it. Bayern have enough financial clout to break the Bundesliga. Some might say they have already done so. Unless a bored Sheikh decides he likes the look of Dortmund… then it is hard to see past a future of Manuel Neuer doing kick ups with the substitutes behind his goal.
Hailing from Bavaria has a significance of its own. A Bavarian might tell you that he is Bavarian first and German second. Historically there is a case for Bavaria being less similar to Germany than Scotland is to England.
For a start it is Catholic, and only became a part of the Protestant North during the Unification of Germany in 1871. Prior to this it was autonomous and if anything, closer to Vienna than Berlin.
What relevance does this have to football? Well, maybe not an awful lot, but when supporting a club is often significant in a person’s identity, it seems Bayern’s chief advantage is their almost Nation-like appeal. How better to attract fans, than a club with a National identity in its self? Bayern have no competition in enticing the Bavarian people and it businesses.
The only other Bavarian club I can think of offhand are 1860 Munich, to give you an idea of their significance: they were forced to sell their 50% stake in the Allianz Arena to Bayern for 11 million euros back in 2006.
In that sense Bayern are like Barca, but run by Germans in an economically efficient setting.
Mehr als ein Club…
Bavaria by its self is one of the biggest economies in the Eurozone, and if it were to stand alone, only 17 countries in the world would have larger economies. It is also considerably richer per person than the rest of Germany. With a GDP per capita of roughly 10,000 dollars more than the national average.
The ethos in the Bundesliga is to respect the fans and commendable though it is, it has in part lead to this situation where a Behemoth supported by a ‘Nation’ can dominate. Weak television rights allow Germans to watch the bundesliga on terrestrial television, but because they are so minor, they have no restraint on Bayern’s commercial dominance.
I suppose you want to hear about today’s game…
Gibbs in injured, but likely to be back for the NLD. Any news on Monreal is strangely lacking, so doesn’t rule out the possibility of Vermaelen deputising. I’d rather it didn’t come to that. A centre back playing wide is an area of personal frustration.
I make the team as follows:
Fabianski
Sagna Mert Koz Monreal/Verm/Jenko
Flamini Arteta
Rosicky Ozil Chamberlain
Giroud
An early goal would be preferable, but it is more significant to stop them scoring. 0-0 at halftime wouldn’t be the end of the world. 1 goal down and they’ll start wavering – mainly as when are they ever a goal down at home? It’s admittedly a long shot. To put it into context, Betfair will only pay you £1 for every £50 you bet on Bayern qualifying.
Cheers and Gone.
DSC.
I think the last time they were 1 goal down was the last time we visited allianz arena. Im not sure they are better now than the team we beat 2 nill last year. Though Pep spoke of ball possession as their game plan. I don’t think they can do it better than the best barca team in their days. Im very optimistic we can do it.
Organised defence and our first goal will be very important.
COYG
Bayern were more direct the season past. That made them more dangerous. Now they are the new Barca. They will kill us with their possession. In the first leg too, they were going from side to side. What fills me with hope is our team. This is the new ARSENAL. We are more efficient than the season past. We make the best use of what ever possession we have.
Go GUNNERS….and dont forget the shooting boots.
Stay on the pitch with 11 will be very important.
About the dominance in the Bundesliga it is something that could have a big negative influence on the Bundesliga for the future. Now they have always been dominant as they win 1 title on 2 on average I think. But it rarely is that they have 20 points more than the team in second place. The last thing you want in a league is to have one team completely outplaying the opposition. They could win the league with 7 matches to go. Boring, boring, boring. And that for a league that has been really attractive for the fact many teams could play of the title apart from Bayern of course.
Great article, I never knew about the historical context of Bavaria – interesting when you put it in context with the club – I’m hoping we pull of a Wigan-esque repeating history upset…But one extra goal!
I agree, the dominance of a league by a single team effectively destroys the league. It is rather like Scotland’s top division (Celtic) and its 3rd Division (Rangers).
Indeed it used to be like this in Spain only with two clubs, except that now Barcelona are managing to come third in the eternal two horse race.
Even France is heading for single club dominance with PSG and its slave state money. (PSG have complained about Monaco having an unfair advantage because of its tax status!!!)
What I find interesting in England is that for all the efforts of Man C and Chelsea to take over the Premier League utterly with their infinite resources, they have been held at bay to some degree.
But unless FFP works we could head in the same direction.
Isn’t this akin to the income inequality issue that is most pressing in the world today? The Haves are cornering more by rigging the system with their wealth while the Haves-not can starve for all they care. The rich clubs are looking eerily close.
I have nothing but disdain for religious leaders but Pope Francis’ comment about tackling the problem (amongst his many other humane utterances and actions) really warms my heart.
Nuremberg and Augsburg are in Bavaria – but acknowledge their football teams are relatively minor.
I would settle for another glorious failure tonight, I think. Would be key for building momentum. I am not quite sure we have the (fit) resources to continue fighting on 3 fronts if we actually made it through. Top 4 is not yet secure – but the title is not out of the question either (but think we would need to win at Chelsea).
BTW, thanks to the way our club as been run in the last trophyless 9 years, we are unlikely to suffer from the big spenders because we have our own money from the painstakingly instituted self-sustaining model.
I thank a certain Frenchman for putting Arsenal in this position.
Pete,
I’m with you on this. I also don’t know if we have the resources to keep in 3 competitions. Already our 3rd choice left back on the field tonight is telling a story I think.
Of course I would jump with my head against the ceiling if we would go further tonight but then the fixture list will be of us having a match every 3 days almost till the end of the season. We even have to fit in the West Ham match somewhere in between…
So in case it should go wrong (and I wouldn’t like it to go wrong at all if you know what I mean) I will be consoled by the fact that it will give the players more rest in between our remaining matches till the end of the season.
I think that in any league ,if the dominant club wins 5-0 home and away , it does not augur or bode well for it .
While Bayern are doing well in Europe , the other clubs like Liverkusen and Shalke are faring poorly .Dortmund are like us and are rocking the boat but with their best players leaving for Bayern ,they’ll feel the pinch.
Unless of course they get those Bayern players who have lost their places .But here again the wage bar may have been raised far enough that clubs from other leagues may offer better deals .
In the meantime ,I do hope the players try the best to reverse this tie. Never easy , but not impossible either.A clean sheet first ,then throw the kitchen sink at them !
Up the Gunners !
Beer Drinking Test
A Texan walks into a pub in Ireland and clears his voice to the crowd of drinkers. He says, “I hear you Irish are a bunch of hard drinkers. I’ll give $500 American dollars to anybody in here who can drink 10 pints of Guinness back-to-back.”
The room is quiet and no one takes up the Texan’s offer. One man even leaves.
Thirty minutes later the same gentleman who left shows back up and taps the Texan on the shoulder. “Is your bet still good?” asks the Irishman.
The Texan says “Yup” and asks the bartender to line up 10 pints of Guinness. Immediately the Irishman tears into all 10 of the pint glasses, drinking them all back-to-back.
The other pub patrons cheer as the Texan sits in amazement. The Texan gives the Irishman the $500 and says, “If ya don’t mind me askin’, where did you go for that 30 minutes you were gone?”
The Irishman replies, “Oh…I had to go to the pub down the street to see if I could do it first.”
Way to go ..
Old man Murphy had worked down at the brewery for years, but one day , he just wasn’t paying attention and he tripped on the walkway and fell over into the beer vat and drowned.
The foreman thought it should be his job to inform the widow Murphy of her old man’s death. He showed up at the front door and rang the bell. When she came to the door, he said, “I’m sorry to tell you, but poor old Murphy passed away at work today when he fell into the vat and drowned.”
She wept and covered her face with her apron and after a time, between sobs, she asked, “Tell me, did he suffer?”
“I don’t think so,” said the foreman: “He got out three times to go to the men’s room.
We ’re not practicing medicine here, but…
Symptom: Floor blurred.
Fault: You are looking through the bottom of a empty glass.
Action: Find some to buy you another beer.
CHEERS GUYS !
@Bootoome.
It is not just financial stability, it has also been building a really impressive youth system – not just developing our own (Wilshere), but also bringing in kids in their teens and finishing them (Gibbs, Szcz, Ramsey, Walcott, Ox). And we have even shown we can take more mature players and develop them further (Kos, Giroud). And these are just a very few examples form the previous 17 years.
I still think Wenger’s greatest strength is as a developmental coach.
But I know you agree with me on most, if not all, of this!
Dunno but your site name is coming as UNSAFE ARSENAL on my mobile. Is it just me or is there some problem.
Dunno but your site name is coming as UNSAFE ARSENAL on my mobile. Is it just me or is there some problem.
@walter….unsafe ARSENAL.
Is this what you were talking about a few comments earlier….
Fraz,
No that was a practical joke from Tony after the Everton match and Arsenal not being able to stop the smoke bombs.
@Fraz happening here too.
With respect to 1 (or 2) dominant teams in other leagues, that seems to pop up in Central and South America quite often.
Pete,
Of course. And I seldom disagree with you on anything Arsenal anyway 🙂
This is why it is so frustrating to have to keep explaining to the trophy junkies that while due to the spending powers of our nouveau riche rivals, our stadium project and to a great extent – BAD LUCK, have kept us from winning silverware, we have every reason to be grateful for where we are in the comity of clubs based on our current and likely future standing.
I once wrote about why I am not frustrated by how long we’ve not won anything. http://blog.emiratesstadium.info/archives/30507
I can see beyond my nose and instant gratification is not my thing.
@Bootoome.
That is key. I really don’t think we could have done significantly better over the infamous 9 years given the constraints. Yes, with a couple of breaks and fairer refs we may have won a couple, but we didn’t. That’s football. Nothing is guaranteed (look at Man C – Wigan).
We have kept our nerve while the likes of the Totts haven’t. Every time they have a setback they fire their manager and start again. Apparently, they had NONE of their much-trumpeted summer buys on the pitch the other day. Talk about wasting the Bale windfall! Meanwhile, we are through the worst with our stadium debt while they (and Liverpool) have it all to do.
Okay. As a fan residing in India have never been too concerned about ticket prices and stadium safety . But obviously they r important. Obviously am immensely proud of how this club operates.
Still there isn’t the same connect to those same issues.
But hoping to make a trip some day. Soon.
All that I am asking for in this game is a respectable result delivered with great heart and spirit. Of course, a victory that sends us through will send me to cloud 9 but I am only watching with realistic optimism.
Here is a video of an unforgettable European night for all your pleasure and to set the mood for what we all hope for tonight:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lwJyGHvVPg
Could do with a night like that again Boo! Maybe Bayern are a bit vulnerable what with the Hoeness situation? I still think we can grab this…
COYG! AHA! and Amen
I hope we play like we know we can, and manage to knock Bayern out. This alone will give us a good confidence run to end of season. As long as we play our game and are fighting, i have no complaints really, but i hope there are no ref errors or complications on Tuesday.
Come on Arsenal.
I’ve left the comment about Unsafe Arsenal up because I haven’t really seen anything from Arsenal relating to taking the issue of flares and smoke bombs seriously. A further issue has arisen however as I have talked to people, and that is that some Everton fans attempted to block the stewards from getting close to the people with the flares. It really was very unsafe.
But I’ve made the point – I’ll change us back to Untold shortly
All done. I wonder, does anyone ever notice the line from Wenger that we’ve had on the site for over a year now.
“I believe the target of anything in life should be to do it so well that it becomes an art.” A Wenger
I think that is his best ever statement – but no one ever comments on it.
Fabianski
Sagna
Koscielny
Mertesacker
Vermaelen
Arteta
Cazorla
Oxlade-Chamberlain
Ozil
Podolski
Giroud
Substitutes
Viviano
Jenkinson
Hayden
Flamini
Rosicky
Gnabry
Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
From the BBC (still no 9 years comment, I’m surprised):
> 19:30: Bayern Munich v Arsenal (19:45 GMT)
> Fifteen minutes to go then. The mystery of that six-man Arsenal bench could be down to the fact that Ryo Miyaichi flew out to Munich but isn’t eligible to play.
> There are reports that the Arsenal management didn’t realise that he was unavailable until they arrived in Germany…
COYG!
Left Right Left Right Left Right
1- I love u Arsenal
2- all thr players tried hard. Against the best team in the world.
3- Chamerlain? What are u?, am I seeing our thierry out there?
4- Cazorla awesome? No more
5- Sagna, above 30? Now way.
6- Vermailen? Where have u been? I missed him. Dont ever leave us again. Speedy?
7- Ozil Ozil Ozil, you are one of the best players around the world. Stop thinking about those moaning and start your amazing stuff. Destroy them. Btw lazy ozil has been tracking back all day, in case u noticed AAA?
8- Ox u beauty!!! Man what are u?
9- Arteta? 10more souls of u in the pitch and we win today, BTW there is 10 more like him and 6on the bench.
10- ok u showed us u r faster than Robben, now can u break his ….. Ok am not violent man, but…. Ok
11- Mertesacker,show them u r more German, london german
12- Fabianski, when u think they will score, he save the ball.
13- Oxlade? What the hell where u thinkin? ” I will show u am better than the whole team of Bayern and Robben ( see robben aint a team player)
COYG, make us proud, impossible is nothing (except Spurs reaching Champions league). Lets win this
COME ON
F*ck i missed Giroud. Come on man,we need a super hatrick, show them u can do what that dutch couldnt do 2 years ago.
Am I looking stupid? Who cares am just hyper now. My team is trying there best. All I asked for.
Where is divining Robbins card? So far so double standards
From the BBC (still no 9 years comment, I’m surprised):
> 19:30: Bayern Munich v Arsenal (19:45 GMT)
Come On You Gunners!!!
Oops, forgot to delete 1 more line. 🙂
—
COYG!
Getting really frustrated watching this. Bayern players throwing themselves to the ground when under pressure and getting the decision every time. That piece of shit martinez is the worst for it
What a shit game Bayern are scared ref is shite
Fucking cynical robber cunt face
Fabianski has been a beast
Proud proud proud
Bayern Diving bastards
Bayern were looking tired on their own ground with 25 minutes to go. And they were very jittery too despite their 2 goal advantage. So, this is what they look like against 11 man Arsenal!
I really think that we would have stuffed them at the Emirates if not for our 1 man deficit.
This team has given all that I asked for and I am very proud of them.
Arjen Robben: FUCK YOU!
Lukas Fabianski: WELL DONE!
Well played to all the lads, Im glad Fabianski saved it, bloody Robben! At least we came away again with dignity (again), shame the first game went the way it did…
COYG! aha and Amen.
Head High, boys did us proud.
Needed fresh legs the last 10 mins.
Arjen Robben dived for 2 penalties over 2 legs against Arsenal and none was scored. This must be a new record.
Robben: Fuck you again, you diving bastard.
I love my team!
Well done. I am proud of you all.
That penalty save: Love you, Bian.
We draw 1-1 in Bayern and the fools at the Guardian can only say negative things.
I’m at work right now, so I couldn’t see the match, but Eurosport’s formulation was “Robben goes to the deck under pressure from Koscielny”. Great example of sportsmanship.
@GoingGoingGooner
Who in their right mind would read that shit?
@Bootoomee
I agree, and hope you don’t mind me repeating your comment: –
Robben: Fuck you again, you diving bastard.
Full marks for effort for the whole team. Hope they find a way to give TV game time and keep TV.
Yes, Poldi got away with a push, but the best team in the world were reduced to some very cynical tactics this evening which they by and large got away with. How was robben not booked? And why do refs fall for it time and time again?
Still, avoiding defeat there deserves some acclaim, despite how the media will portray this.
The lesson from this evening and the last four or five years…..WIN THE FRIGGING GROUP STAGES NEXT YEAR!
But again, well played the team, Ox was amazing , Fabianski will take a great memory from Arsenal wherever he goes this summer
Bayern best team in Europe, but with 11 a side over 2 legs, we would very likely have won.
Arsenal were magnificent on the night. Everybody did us proud. Special mention for Ox.
Fabianski was outstanding once again. I hope that he signs a new contract and stays with us.
Ian Wright always negative, Roy Kean giving a fair reflection.
1- first match we were 1 player down, our gk, two subs down, we managed to get near final wistle 1-0 To the best team in the world now. Any Arsenal supporter should feel what @Arsenal 13 said, Pride.
2- Second match, we played good first half,brilliant second half, if only our fitness could have helped us. What do we feel again? Ask Arsenal 13, he answers pride.
3- but I feel ashamed now! How can that sh*t Uefa,Fifa and all the journalist in the world accept that diving from that c*nt? Two penalties which he dived in one and exaggerated in the second. To any football fan,that is not acceptable. Those types of players, him, suarez, young, bale, and all shall be banned so that diving br stopped.
Years ago we had great talent, but some players didnt want to run, were lazy. Today 14 players on the field, all did the best they can do. Am proud of every single player.
Now where we are, we win a trophy or not, I will say, to every single player out there, during this whole season, U Made me proud. No matter what happens next, am proud to support this team, manager and players. Its x time we get out of the last 16 in CL they, we make it with pride and fight they never say. Am sad we couldnt turn it, but am proud of all the players. Today there is no room for any AAA to come and speak ****. Even u Ozil, u were brilliant. If it doesnt work with that is ok, but if u ran the whole time to make it happen. Am proud. Again one of the most wise words today:
“PRIDE PRIDE PRIDE”. By Arsenal 13
Ian Wright just asked why Podolski didn’t do more tonight. I cannot believe that those of us watching from home can see better than the guy in the stadium. Podolski was immense and he fought for every ball. I consider this game one of his best ever for Arsenal.
Sometimes you just wonder what this pundits are watching.
Now that I have got that off my chest – the team did us proud tonight, they matched the much vaunted best team in Europe and at times scared the c**p out of them. Well done guys. I don’t understand how that diving bastard Robben stayed on the field – he should have been off before the penalty incident.
Bayern seemed (in the absence of Wilshere) to have a plan for rotational fouling on the Ox. He looked as if he was struggling towards the end of the match, hope he is ok for the Spuds.
Great penalty save by Fabianski – but the whole team was great – lets hope they take positives from this & march on.
bjtgooner,
Please use away. I cannot stand that cheat.
Fuck him.
Yassin,
Hear, hear!
Robben the robber robbed us of victory in the first leg, and the tie. Disgusting. Well done boys, did us proud tonight.
Pity that TV did not kick Robben up the arse.
A really good team performance against a very good and cynical team. If we reproduce that passion for the rest of the season we will certainly win at least one trophy.
COYG
@John
Agreed, but maybe better in the crown jewels!
We managed to keep the clean sheet in the first half. That was good.
I felt the desire of the team right from the start, but especially after Bayern goal, I must say I absolutely loved the urgency in almost every move of our players, like Podolski did when he scored and till the end of the game. So good!!
We can tell that tireness from the Bayern players’ faces after the game. And somehow they had quite something to say to each other. We knew they did suffer from our great effort.
Brave men they are, Our True Gunners!
@Bootoome
He did say that?
One word: this Ian Wright was like a legend to me, now if this doesnt make him proud, he aint a gooner, and he may f*ck off with his AAA agenda, and they say they dont exist. Podolski didnt stop running all the game, for God sake he scored the goal, on his own.
When the Penalty was saved, and ball stopped on the line of goal, the commentator ( Arabic ), its justice, forgive me, but that was injustice against Arsenal, that was never a penalty.
How was Robben not booked for that dive. The ref waved it away with utter contempt so he KNEW IT WAS A DIVE. And yet.
And to add insult to injury he fell for his second dive, which of course all the ITV pundits unanimously agreed was a penalty.
Talking of pundits, Ian wright should be ashamed od himself, and that prat Dixon isn’t far behind.
Is there any ex gooner pundit out there who’s ever going to put in a good word for us.
Personally I would rip anything down at the Em’s that had anything to do with Wright.
He is a complete and utter disgrace !!
Is it not possible to find a couple of ex Arsenal players turned pundit who can say something positive about our team. Dixon and Wright, both of them negative wankers, Adrian Chiles feeds them the right lines and they respond just like the media expect them to. Anyone would think they used to play for Spurs the spineless pair of c***ts. Respect to Roy Keane, fair and constructive, it comes to something when we have to rely on ex Man U players like him and Gary Neville to say a good word about us.
Rant over.
I was so proud of the lads.
The Ox was immense amongst some great performances.
As some said, it’s just a shame we didn’t just have enough energy to capitalise on a very twitchy Bayern after we scored.
After this, we need to make the message reach our players, the real message, not the fake media message, the real Arsenal fan base message, We Are Proud Of You, and we will support you the whole time, just make us proud, and get the league and FA cup. Giving up is for weak, those players showed they are not, now is the time we supporters show what we are made of.
The league will be ours, and FA too, we have enough rest without CL,lets get it. And lets tell Dean to go to hell, we wont give it to u that easily.
300 the movie? No this is a movie, but what we did on this two legs is not.
raise your head Gooners.
@jambug
Unlike you I am going to have another rant. I just watched a good game in which our team gave everything against a great team, albeit of diving cheating b******s, I was proud of all of our boys and feeling good at the end of the match despite the result not going our way. But now those two miserable c***s Wright and Dixon have totally deflated me and spoilt my evening. F**k them.
Martin Keown (Twitter):
On 51. minute incident: “Surely robben should have been booked for diving there!? Embarassing”
After 73 minutes: “Robben could have got a gold medal in the 10m diving if he had switched sports!”
A little pity that he was not a “pundit” tonight?!
What we saw tonight was just how good a team we have – and that is without Walcott, Ramsey and with Verminator at left back (actually Verminator was great tonight).
I have stated this before – the team is not quite they final article, but it is not too far away, if AW can get 1 or 2 suitable reinforcements this summer we will have a great squad for next season.
It is important we maintain continuity, I can see Fabianski leaving to get first team playing time & can’t really blame him, but lets hope Sagna & Verminator stay.
With fair refereeing we could well have put Bayer out and progressed further. But when do we get fair refereeing?
Hope Ozil & Ox are ok & available to play the Spuds.
Well done the team again!
@Mick
Just noted your comment. The aim of Wright, Dixon & the rest of the corrupt media is to deflate the loyal fans and undermine the club. Don’t let them succeed. We are out of the CL, but not disgraced, we did well tonight.
The disgrace belongs to the cheating scum of Bayer (a bit like Barca when Pep was there), the biased refs & the media.
@bjtgooner
I know you are right and I should ignore them but after putting up with all the media shit for God knows how many years it gradually grinds you down.
@Mick
I’m very glad I guessed correctly what Dixon and Wright would say after the match and didn’t listen to them. Don’t put yourself through the pain next time. These two have become totally predictable.
Mick
“grinds you down”
Exactly. I never really get depressed or angry when we lose. Just sad and disappointed really.
I have a chat with like minded gooners, resolve it in my head, get over it and move on.
It’s the constant barrage of media abuse, especially those that should support us, that gets my goat.
There lies. There bias. There hatred. It’s all so depressing, and utterly, utterly predictable.
Whether we win lose or draw you cant turn on the radio or TV or pick up a paper without finding someone, somewhere, having a pop.
And all because Winger’s French and just so so much more intelligent than most of them could ever hope to be.
Correction: ‘Wenger’s French’, obviously.
From Arsenal.com
on Podolski’s goal being a foul…
It looked to me a foul yes.
Although I dont agree with Wenger, this is just class, honesty, but instead of media giving him deserved respect, no they do their stupid moaning and insulting.
Again, Mr. wenger, u have filled me with Pride.
@jambug
I agree with your comment completely, but would add that there is one additional factor – someone (or a consortium) is deliberately orchestrating the media situation (and possibly the refs) to undermine the club and Wenger.
I dread to think what talkshite will have to say about our latest ‘failure’. Well we are specialists in it I suppose, we deserve all the criticism, we bring it on ourselves.
I feel like saying something even after a draw and an lost at the first leg. No, the result didn’t please me (though I’m not disappointed either.) But I’m really glad to see the progress of the Ox displayed during the last couple of games. Arsenal has a gem in the making, again. He wouldn’t draw all the fouls if he’s not threatening. Arsene please gives him more match time now, don’t stop while he’s having a upward trend going, thank you.
Wenger doesn’t do tactics??….Now say that again.
This was a tactical masterpiece, well almost. I know my ARSENAL. I sure know how they play. However good Bayern are at call retention, they are not as good to reduce our possession below 40%. We let them have the ball, and then let them go left and right and left and right. The game plan was simple. They want the ball. Let them have it. The last part of the game hit them. And it worked almost. They were tired. Unfortunately our own defensive mistake dindnt help.
Special mention: Verminator. I won’t say Ox. This is what he does best and its becoming the norm now.
Curiously: we all know Roben is a diver. And he displayed all his abilities yesterday. But Lahm? Martinez? Its a virus that Pep carries around.
# ball retention….. Stupid auto correct
Everything I’ve chosen to read, has the information that we did well. The problem is, most of the authors don’t want readers to come away with opinion. Where do we go to read about Arsenal, other than here?
Go away from auto correct. I suspect you have auto correct because you don’t have a keyboard, because you don’t have a computer (typing on the phone). Plug computers are cheap, Pi’s are cheap, find one that will let you use a real keyboard.
It sounds like you enjoyed the game. I wish I could have watched it. All I have is the stupid BBC commentary. I live in Canada, and no Canadian source commentates (that I know of), and all of ESPN has the collective IQ of a gnat. And even if they had commentary, why bother.
But yes, like others, I hope we do a number on the spuds.
Yassin
Wenger is class, he even said he felt Podi fouled Lahm. Like you, I don’t think it was a foul, it was the slightest of nudges and to keep up with the whole evening’s theme from Bayern players Lahm decided to go down. fortunately the ref didn’t buy that one. Nor the statue behind the goal line. Even Roy Keane, my favourite pundit by a mile, said it was NOT a foul. But just shows what a decent and honest person Wenger is.
The ref had a poor game; lost count of the number of fouls Bayern committed when we were on a break, they did that all evening that someone should have walked. He also fell for their diving, how he didn’t book Robben and chose to reward his diving all evening with a very very soft penalty is an absolute disgrace.
Ox is looking more and more the finished article, the young man was immense. Once again, our boys left Munich with their heads held high. Let’s hope we kick on from this result to give a final push domestically.
@Gord, At present I am using a Desktop. Usually I access this site from my laptop. Rest when I cant use those, I use my phone. The comment earlier was from my phone. So the auto correct…..
Oh yes, Lets defeather the chickens
@Arsenal 13, you are far more dispersed than I am. I wish you luck in purging in the auto-correct daemon.
Hopefully those damned chickens are so tired of trying to walk on a basketball, that they just roll-over and stay on the ground.
Regarding ex-Arsenal players as pundits it’s disappointing that Dixon and wright always seem to lean towards being critical of the team. We have had Lehmann and Thierry before and they were never critical of the team. Just wondering why it’s that way. Could the British ex players feel more pressured to tow the line?
Al,
bang hit the nail on the head I think
Good performance by the team…the showed great desire and heart…!
Al, Walter
If that’s the case I guess Martin Keown is a bit more difficult to intimidate he he
He’s always been fair to Arsenal as far as i have heard or read.
RE: ESPN commentary
In the Fa Cup match last weekend the ESPN commentary was really very good. Ex west ham pro I think did not catch his name, very fair to both sides.
Only watched the first half this morning due to work, but Craig Burley was quite fair as well.
I have noticed a change in ESPN commentary towards arsenal this season. Hopefully they keep it up because by the sounds of it they have, at least this season, become quite reasonable compared to Sky, BT or ITV.
My feeling yesterday was that we lost the tie in the first leg by conceding the second goal. Wilshere’s quick free kick and Koscielny’s jaunt up the field cost us that goal. IF it were 1-0, we would have had a much better chance.
That said, I am not deflated by the result at all. Bayern are ahead of the us on the development curve. But we’re, despite being the unfinished article, not that far behind them. And you could tell that they fear us. In both legs.
The refereeing yesterday was disgraceful. I think once Arsenal scored, he was told that there was a foul in the buildup and that he must redress the balance. Because after that, any Arsenal player being brought down was told to get up, and any touch on a Bayern player was considered a foul. We got a goal scoring chance with Podolski’s push. Bayern got a goal scoring chance when the Ox was pushed, but Fabianski rushed out at Mandzukic’s feet and saved it. For me, as a fair person, that levels things up. They just didn’t take their chance. But it didn’t stop there of course.
The dive by Martinez when Cazorla won the ball. The dives by Robben throughout the game. Even Lahm went down easy on Poldi’s goal (though I think it was a foul) Mandzukic was falling over all the time. Schweinsteiger was fouling at will. Martinez took out Podolski when he was caught on the break (and Guardiola applauded) Not to mention the seemingly incorrect offside decision at the end when Podolski was through.
Bayern are a very good team. But I find it difficult to respect a team that plays that way. And Guardiola… I think he’s showing that the Barca divers weren’t a one-of. He seems to condone it at Bayern too. Robben has always been a diver, but Martinez and Lahm and Mandzukic didn’t show that last year (though they did resort to fouling us last year) And to applaud the foul by Martinez..I think that just shows that Guardiola isn’t what he pretends to be. He’ll say all the right things and talk about a good game. But inheriting a team of talented players and getting them to pass it around, while relying on diving and the referees to help out is not my idea of a great manager, nor a good game. I don’t care about losing, to what I’ll admit is a better team. But I hate cheating, and Bayern cheat to win.
Sav
Keown might be the exception, but the rest are all the same; Paul Merson, Alan Smith, Stewart Robson, etc., the list is too long and nauseating.
Look at the link Hartson has said about us.Its on the BBC football as it happens site.Utter,utter disgrace!.These ex players all want the money.If they were too nice they would not be employed by the media.We should make a hit list and send them messages at the end of the season, when we win the cup and finish? who knows.When I watch on the TV, I have no sound.I just cannot stand the total crap that is spoken.
AL
RE: Keown.
Going by his ‘tweets’ last night he was fair. But don’t let that fool you.
The last time I heard him on Radio 5 live he was happily towing the party line like all the others.
He was criticising quit a lot of things but the one I found most upsetting was an attack on the ‘lack of talent Arsenal bring through there youth system’ if you can believe that.
I did post about it on here at the time but I’m such a computer numpty I would never be able to find it, let alone create a link.
Given his apparent ‘pro’ stance, when left to his own devices, it is perhaps rather depressing proof of how he, once in an anti Arsenal media environment, will, like all the others, obligingly tow the line.
All very sad.
I Don’t buy the papers usually but as it’s Cheltenham week I am (Sun/Mirror), and as usual, despite a spirited, gutsy performance, it’s still as depressingly negative as ever. Even that prat John Cross, who shamefully masquerades as an Arsenal fan, can hardly find a good word to say.
More bad news is Ozil out for weeks it seems.
RE: Hartson.
Again something I posted earlier in the year.
During the opening game of the season against Villa.
The radio commentary went something like this following yet another Arsenal player being kicked into the air.
Commentator (cant remember who): That wasn’t good.
Hartson: No it wasn’t. I think he’s going to get a card.
Com: I don’t think so, I think that’s his first.
Hartson: There being very clever. They are sharing ‘IT’ about. (Laughing)
Com. Arsenal have got to get used to the fact teams are not just going to let them play.(laughing)
I assume you can transpose the word ‘IT’ with Foul, kick, cheat or whatever else ‘IT’ is a euphemism for.
Honestly, I couldn’t believe what I was listening to. Well, actually I could.
It’s a f**king disgrace and something needs to be done. But what?
jambug
You’re right. I only agreed re Keown as he seems the more milder of the lot. But I can recall a few occasions when he sounded just like the rest of them. Even his column in the DM doesn’t always sound pro Arsenal. I guess the big question is why do the ex-gunners from these shores sound like they’re always ready to stick the knife in, while their foreign counterparts seem to do the opposite? Even when they’re interviewed, the foreign ex players always seem kinder in their comments about Arsenal than their British counterparts. Or one possibility is the foreign ex-gunners don’t rely too much on the biased British media? I don’t know. Maybe I’m just reading a bit too much into a non-issue here.
AL
You are certainly not reading too much into it.
The anti Arsenal media agenda has a major influence on the negative way in which we are refereed.
I, with unwavering support from Bootoomee, as well as a few others, consistently allude to this as a major contributing factor to our many many injuries, and the subsequent impact that that has had on our quest for trophies these last few years.
Obviously it’s not everything. We are perfectly capable of some shocking performances, as well as shooting ourselves in the foo,t that’s for sure. But biased refereeing has had a massive impact on us, to an extent that NO OTHER Club has to deal with.
@jambug
Agreed. It is the fact that the anti-Arsenal ref bias, shown in match after match, is excused or glossed over or not reported by the media. This ignoring of the bias allows it to continue.
The covering up of bias over such an extended period by the media indicates a level of collusion – and corruption – and from the outside it looks like an enormous can of worms. But a slip or wrong move by someone involved could still and probably will bring the whole heap down. The sooner the better!
bjtgooner
Believe it or not Referees are only human and as such are as susceptible to pressure as anyone. In there case it is media pressure, and lots of it.
They know if they give any kind of contentious decision in Arsenals favour, soft Penalty, sending off, etc. it is always going to get them serious amounts of criticism in the media.
Conversely if they give any kind of contentious decision against Arsenal they will not only avoid any criticism at all but as often as not will be praised.
I don’t care how paranoid some people deem to call me, it is a fact that is born out by statistics compiled on this site by neutrals over a long period of time. Let alone what I see week after week with my own eyes.
bjt/jambug
Agree. Robben made three blatant dives yesterday, with the ref rewarding him with a penalty for one of them. But at least there was one where the ref refused to buy it and told him to get up on his feet. Normally we would expect a yellow card, but nothing. Today, just Google the name Robben, and you will see at least 75% of the headlines labelled something like ‘Robben tells Wenger to show class’ ‘Robben bites back’. They are not even condemning him for trying to cheat. It’s as if he’s some kind of hero or some such, being potrayed as if he was wronged by Wenger calling him a diver. Yet everyone, including the ref, thought he dived yesterday, at least on one occasion. But that’s not being talked about. Imagine if that were an Arsenal player. And yet to hear some accusing us of being deluded when we say there’s an agenda against Arsenal. I hope Alves/Busquets dives tonight against City, just to compare the reactions
Matthew 15:14
Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
– King James Bible “Authorized Version”, Cambridge Edition