Everton in August; what a thought! Bulldog’s match preview

Posted on by Tony Attwood

By Bulldog Drummond.

I was taking a stroll to my club yesterday when a fella-me-lad comes up and says hey ain’t you that Bulldog Drummond what writes review for the Times Literary Supplement and I said well young urchin yes that’s right.  And he hit me.  I picked myself up and asked him why and he said, “You insulted Ted Hughes and I ain’t having that.”

And it made me thought – this poetry stuff is violent work.   And what a relief to get back to the much calmer world of football.   Flares and ferrets and Harry Enfield saying “Kalm Down”.   Hub caps and a propensity for making yourself ill by laying on a sun bed all day and night.  Yep.  Everton in August.

It’s a shame none of the national media employ anyone who can think past last week, but fortunately the Arsenal History Soc obliged us with a review of Everton in August.

And of course our minds go back to 15 August 2009.  What bliss!  What joy!  I think everyone there still remembers every second like it was just five years ago.  Which it was.

What we demonstrated that day was what I might be tempted to call a murderous combination of fierce competitive individualism and rampant team spirit.  And that was just in the warm up.

Indeed as I may have said before, if you like a good knock-down-and-drag-out yarn with excitement and violence on nearly every blade of grass, Everton away in August is the place to be.  

But of course our beloved media (most of whom will by now be drunk) cannot think back more than a short while, so all the emphasis in the press today is on the 6 April match this year in which Everton beat us 3-0.   What they forget to say is that that was their only win in the last 15 league and cup games against Arsenal.   A series for us which included not only the 1-6 away win, but also a rather fun 7-0 to us, as well. (although that might not have been within the last 15, it is hard to keep up these days.) Oh, and last March’s little 4-1 defeat of them in the FA Cup, which I seem to remember we won with grace ease and style.

Of course the AAA (several members of which I taught quite a lesson outside the Duck and Thwackham last night when they questioned my parentage) tell us that our four defeats against other members of the top five last season meant we let in 20 goals.   My point is that yep, we piled up all the goals in those games.   In the rest of the season we only let in 21.  Which is why, despite losing our three most important players (Theo, Ozil and Ramsey) we still came in fourth.

So my dear chums, and fellow fruitcakes, we’ve won six league games in a row since that Everton defeat.  One more would make it seven (I like to spell out these things just in case any of the AAA have strayed into my territory by mistake).

Here’s another thing, we had the joint best away record in the league last season.  Something you don’t read when the AAA dominate the discussion with their moaning about big defeats.  A little balance in the debate might help, but what am I saying!?!?  AAA and balance?

And speaking of such things, it was good to see Arsene Wenger mention the problem of on-line abuse of managers – not just him, but across the league.  ““We had that debate at the managers’ meeting recently, where some people felt victimised by the social networks, but we cannot stop that.  We have to live with that and maybe reinforce our solidarity and be stronger inside the clubs. And maybe there is time as a manager to have stronger beliefs than ever, because we are more questioned than ever, and that’s maybe the new challenge we face. Everything we do is questioned and sometimes people are right, we make mistakes.”

So that’s an interesting thought – the outcome of the AAA’s attacks on Mr Wenger is that it makes him, and his fellow managers, stronger.

But anyway, the tripe continues.   The press are full of the news that Arsenal has the smallest and lightest squad in the Premier League, with an average height of just 5ft 9in and the players average weight of 11 stone.  I loved Mr Wenger’s reply to that: “When we buy a player we do not look how heavy he is but how good he is, Maybe it is because we use more technical players in the middle of the park, especially Mikel Arteta.

“Many teams think that they can bully Arsenal. We get that question many times. But if you look at the results from the last three or four years away from home, we are the team with the best away results.”

Indeed just as Untold pointed out the other day – the greatest of seasons of the club was built on the fact that Arsenal went unbeaten away from home, the season before.

So today we have Per Mertesacker, Mesut Özil and Lukas Podolski all ready to rock n roll.  This means anyone who found the trip out to Turkey, including the diversion of the flight, the lunatic refereeing (I’d love to get that man in my regiment) and insane levels of tackling, rather tiresome, can have a rest.

And just remember that WE ARE A CLUB IN DIRE CRISIS.   It is important to remember that.  WE ONLY HAVE ONE CENTRE BACK (Kos) and yet we’ve won the Community Thing, won the first league match and stood up to intimidation in Turkey.  Amazing!

I am just dying to watch Sanchez and Özil in the same side – although I guess it might not be today – at least not until the last half hour.  But I’ve put it in my team selection in hope.   I’d also love to see Calum Chambers play as a defensive midfielder – but I feel this is too soon for that.

Anyway that’s most of the gibber jabber from the scribbling classes.  Here’s one possible version of the team, but as I said, Özil might not come on for a while.

 

Szczesny

Debuchy Mert Kos Monreal

Flamini Jack the lad

Ramsey Özil

Sanchez Giroud

Having a nice relaxing time in the best seats and getting paid for it could be some these chappies: Martínez, Chambers, Diaby, Miquel, Bellerín, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Cazorla, Campbell, Rosicky

Out and about, and certainly not playing are Arteta, Gibbs, Walcott, Gnabry, Ospina and Miyaichi.  Last I heard about Sanogo was that his hamstring might not be so bad and he could make the bench.

But those jolly fellas from up north have problems too.  Arouna Kone has a knee problem while Bryan Oviedo is also still out.   More to the point Ross Barkley will be out for quite a while.

Incidentally here is a nice comment from Debuchy during the week: “This is another dimension. If you compare the training grounds for example, nothing at Lille or Newcastle can match the one at Arsenal. It is another world.  Everything here is made to optimise your preparation and you as a player so you can be in the best condition to play and win football games.”

So off we go, one more time…

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111 Replies to “Everton in August; what a thought! Bulldog’s match preview”

  2. I think we should start Ox + Cambell instead of Sanchez + Giroud.
    The only way we are also going to keep players happy is to play them.

    Sanchez will bed in, but he is trying too hard and is not acclimatised yet, so little slips appear, and he can do better as sub until then.

    Hope Giroud rumours are not true, we need him in this squad.

    Did think there was something going on with Cavani as i saw him at Emirates Cup, but i thought surely AW does not want to buy him? Now the rumours are coming out.

    Probably all hangs on the last minute sells and buys that trigger other sells and buys. It’s a marketplace now in the last week.

    Would be happy with W Carvallo me, as i think we are going to produce/birth/reveal our own world class strikers this season.

  4. @para
    I wonder if we have deals ready to go but they are on hold pending winning against Besiktas and ensuring Champions League participation.

  5. Many thanks for the preview Mr.B.Drummond.
    COYG! Lets get back in this asap!
    AHA and Amen1

  6. Refereeing in the premiership is a joke; everytime an Everton player goes down its a freekick, and when our players do its not. This is outrageous

  7. Lukaku committed two fouls in the lead up to Everton second goal. From there Nausmith scores from an offside position, what wrong did we do. all of this will not matter to the AAA dimwits. I hate this.

  8. @Mick
    Probabbly.

    Not impressed by the team today, same old Arsenal, even with the new additions, now we have an up hill battle. 2-0 down.
    I did not expect that at all.

    Now we have 45 mins to do it.
    I think we will, but my bet is gone.

  10. Definitely offside. If it were arsenal, they would have waived off the goal. We’ve seen it time and time again.

  11. @Al,
    And we thought this will be a fair game with Friend, what happened to him?
    We were the better team, and then a goal against the flow of the game, followed by this disgrace of refereeing from both Friend and his assistant. And they say they dont need video replay

  12. bullcrap! 2 goals resulting from 2 fouls on arsenal players.. rubbish refereeing! outrageously bias!

  13. no penetration, nice play around the box but too inticate. Teams looks tired, the goals were weak the 2nd should not of counted.

  15. cheers Dave, Im watching the radar on B.365, so its better than the ticker…365 commentators giving Wenger a booting in the first half(good ol media!).
    still hope yet…

  16. Chamberlain miss too excited, he needs to calm down and concentrate, he could have scored with a shot from outside, or made awesome assists had he looked to the man running alone. We should shot from outside as they defend in their own box.

  17. It was offside.

    Deja vu from April. Disoriented players combined with English linesmen who don’t know the offside rule.

    Hopefully we’ll see Campbell and Rosicky in the second half.

  20. All these idiots blaming the linesman for the second goal, we have looked absolutely non threatening when going forward. What a joke.I reckon this will end up in a severe battering. Get this dictator our now

  21. Even Jamie redknap agree lukaku fouled mertesacker and Naismith was offside, but still the officials missed it, how is that possible???

    I think for those trying to blame players you’re being grossly unfair. It’s difficult as it is without any biased officials.

  25. All we need is a good start of the game, and an early goal, and I think we can do this.
    But please Wenger spend some money on sime luck. Its everytime we are the better team we concede a goal out of no where.
    Again 2nd goal offside and a foul and i blame the LINESMAN.

  26. This linesmen is a joke, he knows his screwed up. Why do we expect decent officials, the whole world know England team is a natinal shame so why would the officials be any different. Anyone recall the WC 2010 final?

  27. you can’t blame stadium for no trophy with players we had. Let’s address the truth

  28. You motherfucking bastard, or Sean or whatever your name is, do you have eyes? Even a blind man could see that was offside. Muppet.

  29. Still think Cambell should have started with Ox.

    We need to get clean sheets if we want to progress, for every goal against will drain confidence.

    We know the enemy, it’s the opposing team AND the ref, so play them both and stop ignoring the ref.

  32. Why is he not changing anything… Tactics, players? Has Campbell been bought to sir on the bench?

  33. Al, get a grip you twat. Your dear imbecileleader is ffinished will be lynched on Wednesday just wait and see

  35. I have absolutely no faith in these Refs;Friend, Moss, whoever. It’s the same. They have been screwing us all these years with an average side. And it will no doubt get worse now we are stronger and knocking on the door for major honours.

  36. Can you explain why this dunce has not made any changes? Is he happy to lose just by two? He’s probablyhhappy with a two nil at least better than last season.

  38. managed to miss both the goals so I’ll take everyone’s words for it that they should have both been disallowed (internet connection went for both), but have had all of the rest of the game and one thing is clear – Everton comfortably deserve to be 2-0 up.

    No way this team is going to win the league this year. But I’m happy with 4th

  39. How? I have asked a perfectly logical questions. Thousands will be behind me. The times up for this misconception to end

  44. Now who is looking like a complete twat now? If Everton’s offside goal hadn’t stood it’d be 2-1 in our favour.

  46. You were right, Sean. We looked terrible, eventhough that offside goal should have given us 3 points. You complete twat.

  47. PGMOL at it again!! Cheating bastards without any shame. Ref ignores a foul worse thatn the one he booked BFG for and the Assistant sees offside but cant find his flag from his backside.

    Despite the cheats Arsenal come back to draw.

  48. The refs strike again….and again…..and again….
    Still, that might shut a few up, and boost the team for the qualifier.
    Great comeback in difficult circumstances

  49. Well battled the lads!!!OK so we didnt win, but Everton will feel they dropped points.
    No doubt the AAA will still have a slagg fest however Im sure Martinez will get slagged by his fans too.
    COYG! Aha and Amen!
    ps that Giroud bloke a load of crepe isnt he?…he never just never scores…

  51. It’s not everyday you hear sky pundits say the ref and his linesman got it wrong. And yet some muppets still fail to see that we’re getting screwed? Shocking.

  52. Mr Friend, you have greatly disappointed me, I thought you were better than that. I was right in calling you a home referee though.

  53. Those are two points lost looking at how good we played, and this time I will blame someone, i will blame Wenger, Gazidis and the whole board. When is this refshite gonna stop. Come on do something.

    Oxlade or Wilshere should have been my man of the match, but then this Giroud came and took it from them.

    Giroud is so good in thw air, we should target him much more better. All our players were playing good, you could see that, but this first goal against the flow of play, and that cheat 2nd. Still we came back, had they not wasted time, we would have won it.

    Am proud of every single player today, all… And of those fans behind them out there.

  54. Naismith went down so often it was like he was in a porn movie.
    Giroud was very good. Looked sharp and had two great near misses before his goal.

  55. According to Andy (racist) Gray the second goal was just offside but not enough tu justify a flag!! He still stinks like bad fish.

  56. Well dome Arsenal, a great performance in the end against the odds points away from home against the other teams likely to be in the mix at the end of the season is what we needed this year. A good start I’d say.

    COYG

  57. PGMOL score for this season vs Arsenal now at 2pts to nil (can we keep a running tally on the main page or something?)

  59. Para,I think the Arsenal deserved it because they didnt give up. When we lost to Blackburn a couple of years ago in the FAC they didnt deserve the win at all, as they were dominated the whole game and just took their chance.Perhaps theres a lot to be seen in that if we played so badly and still came back from 0-2 down in a fixture we lost last season, then theres much psychological power to be gained from the game and the team needs that kind of momentum.
    Early season yet the teams not in flow, everyone’s got to settle down and once the transfer markets closed that will help and get he CL fixture out of the way.
    COYG! Aha and Amen!

  60. Again Gazidis and Wenger and the whole board should do something about these refs. If Moss and Friend are like that, then what will probert, dean and attkinson do?

  61. hahaha, pgmol tried. Wiltshire slows the play down too much Carzola/Giroud changed the game.

  62. Oldgroover
    Agree 100%. Naismith was a disgrace; deliberately clattered into Debuchy’s ribs, leaned into Carzola and got a free kick(in a similar way Mertesacker didn’t not get a foul against lukaku, even though Naismith the circumstances were not similar). It reminded me of Ramsey’s sending off in midweek, Wilshere was on the receiving end of an exact foul, and the ref deemed it worth sending Ramsey off but not even award jack a freekick.

  63. The excuse of a linesman who gave Naismith on side for the 2nd Everton goal was the same twit who failed to see the “Hand of Vidic” a few years ago.

    Overall we were the better team & despite being behind and under pressure we played some delightful football.

    We showed great determination and persistence and but for the incompetence of the PGMO(L) would have taken the match.

    But well done the team, great fight back.

    @oldgroover

    I am going to agree with you for once!! Naismith is a real cheat!

  64. One HUGE point won by this beautiful team.

    Not just the offside goal (and the foul in the buildup), but that was as a complete ‘home team’ referee performance as you can expect (although of course the PGMOL does worse regularly too), against a good team (but a team I lost respect for because of their diving) at one of the toughest grounds to go to.

    We played poorly in the first half, the defense failed on the first goal, and we need more work on the training ground for the new formation/players to work like we want, but man does this team have character.

  65. @Para, we played good man, its just that mistake by Monreal for their first goal, and then they parked the bus and went for counters. When they park the box, you cant score with fast players like sanchez and Oxlade alone, they need some target man to score or take away players, and this is when Giroud and danger came in

    The second Everton goal was a foul and and offside which I BLAME THE LINESMAN FOR.

  66. @Kenneth Widmerpool
    I know, i think we were letting Everton get tired, but we run out of time.

    I can’t wait for the goals to start coming.

  68. Para, I think you’re being hard on the team. We were better than Everton in all respects. The stats were shots 13-8, on target 3-2, possession 54-46, all in favour of Arsenal. Apart from the set piece and offside goals I don’t recall Everton really causing us an problems. Maybe it was all those soft and dubious freekicks Everton were being handed on a plate that created the impression they may have been better than us.

  69. Giroud injured, damn. I felt Friend was being harsh telling him to get off the pitch when he was clearly in distress. It should have been obvious something was wrong coz why would Giroud want to waste time when we were on the ascendancy and attacking. If anyone was wasting time it was Everton as they were rattled.

  70. Have to agree with Dave C, sean is a retarded moron.

    That draw feels like a win. Well in a perfectly unbiased world we should’ve win. Their second goal was obvious. The first goal resulted from WRONGLY GIVEN freekick against Alexis who was shoved from behind.

    But what a bench. We brings Giroud, Cazorla & Campbell for Alexis, Jack & Ox. Especially happy to see Campbell make his debut. He did well. Santi & Giroud gives great performance after all the malice from you-know-who. An assist and a goal from them saved us from a lost induced by pgmob. COYG!

  71. para,

    My man, I have an advice for you:

    STOP POSTING DURING MATCHES IF WE ARE TRAILING!!!

    You get emotional and lose perspective at such moments. You then look like a mug if the team turns things around. You are better than that because I know that you are a positive fan. You just need to calm down and wait till the final whistle. And even then, you are not supposed to start denigrating your team no matter and how bad you feel Some of your comments above put you in a negative light.

  72. Al,
    He was injured and Friend told him to get out of pitch, but he remained despite injury, and people still hate this warrior?
    Damn now we are leadung the injury table? As usual

  74. I was watching on a Dutch stream so didn’t understand the commentators descriptions of the goals. I know our two were clean, but what did the Sky people say about the Everton pair?

  75. I know Gollum’s twin (M.Dean) is world famous for anti Arsenal bias, Michael Oliver seems none too far when a bad call goes against us. I wonder is he the new pgmol bitch?

  76. Everton must be really sick at blowing a two goal lead and were clearly hanging on at the end and trying to slow the game down.

  77. oldgroover,

    Sky pundits were fair for once. They were unanimous in calling out the foul on Per and the fact that Naismith was offside. They were alright.

  79. So Friend goes to the dark side.
    Both Everton goals were irregular, the 2nd on is a joke.
    If only Arsenal were least wasteful, there would be a big win for Arsenal. Giroud could have scored a hattrick, Chamberlain can not hit the target, Wilshere forgot to shoot..

    1 point more than after corresponing matches from last season. Keep on!

  80. Like for like comparison of our 2 premier league games so far with last season’s corresponding fixtures yield:

    +1 point net
    +2 goals net

    Not bad, not bad at all.

    Looking forward to Wednesday evening.

    Come on ARSENAL!!!

  81. Tony and Walter when are you going to let this shit continue? Why are you letting complete wankers comments pass through moderation? Please take care of this tool above and ban him and his ip address from accessing this site. We dont need idiots like him here

  82. Dont know what Ozil does on the pitch, he seems to do nothing, and then when he is out of the team, we struggle to create. When you see the statistics, he is the main player doing everything in the last third. And when on pitch, he seems anonymus. I love this man, and I cant believe how smart he is, he is a joy when he controls the ball.

    And not to forget, beautiful cross from Monreal. Its awesome how close he is in performance to first choice Gibbs, you dont feel any difference.

    After today, I just cant wait to have new players gel in the team. Its beautiful Arsenal again.

    And yes, isnt it too much the cost of Chambers? Hell no!!! Its a steal.

  84. Mahdain,

    I don’t think that anyone is in doubt of who you are talking about. The guy is a retard.

    I don’t know why people have the desperate need to post their ‘feelings’ during matches, especially when we are trailing. If I cannot post a positive uplifting message, I just shut the fuck up so that I don’t look like a moron when the team turns things around in the end.

    Just imagine how delighted Sean would have been if we had lost the match. Fickle fucker.

  85. Kenneth W, thanks for the stuff on Poldi in the other thread, like you , hope he stays, a great finisher , and clearly a popular player.
    Mahdain, see where you are coming from having the critics and our pet trolls banned, but could cost me money…….one of them is wrong so often, I am going to start using him as a betting tool! And they do provide amusement when they fuck up spectacularly like the guy you mentioned did today. There is some dark cruel side to me that revels that there are some saddos stuck in a room having composed lines of vitriol, all for it to come to nothing thanks to Girouds goal…….some of these types probably having a real bad evening……such a shame!

    Hope Giroud is ok, looked a bit injured at the end, we will need him this week.

  86. Yeahhh!!!

    Great result in a field which I reckon many teams will return with 0. Sanche was clearly not adhering to Wenger’s instructions to stay up the pitch.

    The ref is a joke. Really. 5 yellow cards 2 of which were not even a foul. And their second goal of course.

    Now, for useless Giroud … Hahaha. The guy is an asset!!! I love him. So suitable for our game – can’t believe he didnt start.

  87. TommieGun

    I think Giroud tends to be really effective when he’s used as a sub. Not saying he should never start or that he’s not effective then. Just that he’s a useful option to have and change things up.

    We just need more time for our team to become more familiar with each other, but we have the potential to be a really scary attack for any side to face, with lots of different types of options.

  88. Afraid Giroud might be out for a few weeks, Mandy. Wenger said it’s not looking good.

    Apologies to Tony for copying and pasting, but just read this from Paul Wilson (Guardian) and regretted instantly having visited that site in the first place;

    “Arsenal protested with some justification that Naismith might have been fractionally offside when Lukaku released the ball, but it was a technicality missed by most people in the ground, including the officials. It would almost have been a travesty had the goal been chalked off, an undeserved reprieve for a defence who had demonstrably been torn to shreds.”

    Fractionally? Was a yard off. ‘Technicality (really?) missed by most in the ground’, highly unlikely everyone missed that, I’d say a fair number saw he was off, but even then the man employed to do the job of ensuring that that doesn’t happen was in line with the last playerwith no obstruction whatsoever, what was he doing if he fails to see such an obvious offside? And chalking an offside goal off is now a travesty…., really? When was it ever a travesty to disallow an illegitimate goal? Only when Arsenal plays it seems. And a defence that had been torn to shreds….how exactly was our defence torn to shreds? Does he mean by the way Per was barged by Lukaku before the later stole the ball. This is the kind of fodder that the trolls feed on and then come on here spouting nonsense, calling the manager a dictator. There’s so much wrong in this one paragraph I could write a full article on it. And we’re accused of being paranoid if we say there’s an agenda by some in the media to portray us in negative light.

  89. TommieGun
    Someone, can’t remember who, said the manager took Sanchez off and replaced him with Giroud, a target man, as Everton were playing park the bus. Makes more sense to me.

  90. OK so having been very P***** off during the game I have finally calmed down somewhat so can post – phew.

    We did not play well, lets be honest, but Everton ran themselves in to the ground closing us down and ultimately ran out of steam. Another 5 minutes and we would probably have taken all 3 points. The team did do well to keep going and they should take a lot of confidence from the late goals in the last 2 games yielding 3 points extra. Scoring late on is a true sign of a winning team and I hope we keep the habit.

    There is A LOT of work to do with the team. Wenger was really trying something new today with the selection but it did not work – but he has to be given credit for trying and now is the time to work on getting it right. 4 points from 6 is a decent start especially as Everton away is no easy game.

    The thing that annoyed me more than anything else was Everton’s second goal. There can simply be NO other reason other than cheating. I can not see how the foul and the offside could both be missed. Taken in the context of the rest of the game where Everton players were allowed to continually kick out and unbalance our players whilst our players were booked mercilessly I can only conclude that the referee and linesmen were briefed that Arsenal were not to win that game. The linesman (who has serious form when it comes to ‘mistakes’ that hurt Arsenal) saw the off side and made a conscious decision to not flag.

    On Alexis, I was a bit worried that he went off… I suspect having been kicked in the ankles and shins for 45 minutes he may be injured.

  91. @shard,
    Giroud is good as a sub cause then their is not much pressure on him. I cant believe how he is being destroyed by the media and fans, i hope he aint another gervinho. I want a new striker to take the pressure off him, and then to get back stronger and show what he is.

    @Jayramfootball,

    I think Wenger has to choose between Sanchez, Ozil, and oxlade.
    and as Oxlade was on fire, Ozil the one who does everything without anyone noticing. I believe he made the right choice. When they park the bus, we need Giroud and crosses.

  92. @Yassin I would have taken OXO off not Alexis (unless he had a knock). Against Besiktas Alexis was impressive on the wing and I think OXO had a poor game today – nothing really worked for him.

    Ozil again was quietly effective. he is the one player that seems to retain possession and keep us moving. I thought he did well in the second half especially linking play down the left…

    As i said lots to do though – but if we can keep up this spirit taking points when playing badly and scoring late goals then the air of confidence will just grow and grow.

  93. Yassin

    Actually I think Giroud takes it as a challenge. Plus, I think there is a football aspect to it as well. Giroud mentioned that Wenger has asked him to be more unpredictable. I think as time goes on the defenders get used to his movement and his passes. When he comes on as a sub, they aren’t used to what he can do. Which is why having both him and Sanchez (not to mention Campbell, Sanogo, Poldi and eventually Walcott) is great. It offers a variety that the defense then have to adjust to.

    On Sanchez and him being taken off. The team is still getting used to him and at 2 goals down, the familiarity was probably needed to get us into the game. Giroud offered a change of style. And we have a crucial CL qualifier coming up that Sanchez will be needed for. If Giroud is unavailable it will be a major blow to us, but hopefully Sanogo will be fit enough to provide the big man option. Poldi and Campbell can contribute as well of course.

    Oh and a word for Cazorla. He’s not been stellar at the start of this season, but what a pass for the Ramsey goal.

  94. Good thing the ref was inept as he missed Wilshire’s wild lunging challenge which could have been a red. Plenty to moan about but we did well to come back. Giroud saved the day, if he’d been a little luckier he’d have snagged a hat-trick. Alex doesn’t look suited to play upfront. The first half we looked jaded but the second half we showed spirit and a never say die determination. On the balance of play a draw was about right but the worrying thing is Giroud’s injury, we’re going to miss him when we play Besiktas.

  95. Particularly glad we came back for a great battling draw as the commentator was already saying ‘losing to top teams like last season’.

    That paragraph by Paul Wilson is a disgrace.

    Arsene Wenger had to ring the changes because by the time we get to next Wednesday we will have had four difficult matches in close succession, including a trip to Turkey.

    Very sad that even a ref predicted on past form to be fair wasn’t. Shows yet again what we are up against. By the way, considering all the stick Jack Wilshere has been getting in the media, it was great to see his confident interview after the match on arsenal.com.

  96. Shearer was a bit uncharitable on MOTD when he was creaming over Everton’s second and only admitted ( as an afterthought ) it was offside when nudged by Lineker.
    Still a Howard Webb no show. Have they withdrawn him? I think we should be told.

  98. I believe a lot of Girouds effectiveness as a sub is down to the fact that the defenders are wore down while he comes on fresh and is able to bully the center backs. Alexis will look better through the middle in time. The team is very comfortable with Girouds style of play and it must be quite a change having a new player with very different attributes up front.

    Today was a very good example of what Arteta does for the team. No knock on Flamini but if Atreta is fit there’s no way Flamini starts this game. Our offense usually starts with him and if nothing is on the ball goes back to him to restart a move. Didn’t see very much of that today with Flamini. We seemed impatient on offense and it felt like we were forcing it a lot in the first half which led to bad turnovers and counter attacks.

  99. @oldgroover, perhaps Ramsey should lead the line, got the makings of a great striker that lad. Let’s not put Ozil on the wing, he should be in the middle, that’s where he’s most effective. Very odd thing to do. Maybe Wenger’s trying to confuse the enemy!

  100. Kenneth Widmerpool
    As you were saying Martinez certainly did get slagged by his own fan(s), as a regular ( can’t remember her name ) called into 5Live and really laid into him. Said it was all his fault because he left his substitutions too long after Arsenal made theirs and therefore Everton players were too tired and we overran them. She probably had a point.

  101. Worrying if true Al, if he really is out for several weeks, Wenger may have to get someone in…..or make sure that Poldi does not leave, Sanogo is not yet ready. I sense a lot depends on us overcoming our qualifier challenge…..and that is an understatement.
    The injuries pile up.
    Refs don’t understand offsides when we play.
    And we get kicked from pillar to post, and booked when our players respond.
    The AAA constantly go on about Groundhog Day….think they may have a point….refs…..kicking…injuries.
    Pat, I would expect very little else from the Manchester Guardian.
    We need to fight opponents, and perhaps an establishment desire for 3 north west teams in the top four this year. Ivan and Arsene, you have been warned

  102. Chapmans Ghost, unfortunately Ramsey will not be playing on wed due to a highly dubious red card. As mentioned, it will be presumably JC leading the line, but let’s see what Chubs can do if called upon. Think Sanogo is injured, and Poldi left out of the squad today…..read what you will.
    Match day two…..and an injury crisis!

  103. Mandy Dodd,

    What about that German physio magician, eh? We were told it must be Arsenal’s medical team’s fault that we have lots of injuries; what about now that we have the venerable Forsythe?

    It’s the kicking my dear, it has always been the kicking. I hope that Ollie is fine by the way. I love that guy.

  105. WOO HOO , HOO !
    A fantastic second half performance . We let in 2 poor and undeserved goals but came back strongly.
    Did you see Alexis winning the ball outside our box after having lost it earlier at the other end ! Great stuff !
    As for the arsehole on here who said that thousands are behind him , let’s hope( for his sake !) that they bring along some very good lube with them – or not !

  106. Even I we had beaten everton , press will change its line to Arsenal haven’t beaten any top4 side away from home instead o 5 🙂 , its the pissing on arsenal that they like, not facts.

    And imagine if that come back was from chelski or mcity or even mutd at this stage of the season. imagine the a** l****** from the press to the respective teams, we come back in last 10 mins, and they say everton got tired.. tired from what.. playing 2 games when at the same time we have played 4 ? who are they kidding.

    Good comeback after an off colour first half. gim beglin and some other commentator was saying that it doesn’t mater it was offside, because it was such a well finished goal – for evertons second. Asking them now.. it was 2-2 u m***** it matters, we would have had 3 points if not for that goal.

    Also on another topic.. in the mu s swans game last week, monterro came on and immediately tried to get a free kick for a nudge on the back , commentator : “he shouldn’t do that , or he will get a reputation as a diver”, I was wondering why no such thing was being said of Naismith, he just fell and fell and fell again in the second half as soon as the wind rustled his back . Does the reputation rule only applies to “foreigner” even though Scotland is represented by a separate FA and naismith is a foreigner in BPL, but he is considered local because of some other reason ?

    @Tony @Walter, since this site is always interested in all football matters , not only arsenal’s . I was hoping there would’ve been an article on anti – racism, sexism, Semitism with the events that unfolded during the week in English football. Sad to see no such article.

  110. @colario

    Yes, I read that report. It was strange that it was so different from the tone of the coverage on Match of the Day – much more negative.

    These things seem to depend a lot on who is writing the report. There are a small number of reporters across various newspapers and branches of the media who give us a fair crack of the whip. And then there’s the rest ….

  111. For a few years, Arsenal players were easy to bully…

    Its actually the time before Cesc and RVP left. After more experience players like Per, Arteta, and later on Giroud coming in, its not the case anymore.

    Yes, if you overload one specific player he might have a harder time but for one on one, or even one on two, its not the case anymore.

    Besides, the Spanish national team… and the most successful Barca didn’t have big players.

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