Now where exactly have we got to?

Posted on by Tony Attwood

A philosophical analysis by the Untold Department of Certain Things

The inevitable recap from the start of the season

  • Goalkeeper – we must buy one – this is a major problem
  • Bringing back Flamini shows how useless Arsenal’s management is.  We need to buy not scrabble around with the free transfers
  • Mertesacker is simply not good enough.
  • Ramsey is quite useless

I could go on but instead let’s have a quick look at the table.

Played G.D. Pts
1 Arsenal 13 17 31
2 Liverpool 12 11 24
3 Chelsea 12 11 24
4 Everton 13 8 24
5 Man City 12 22 22
6 Southampton 12 8 22
7 Man Utd 12 5 21
8 Newcastle 12 0 20
9 Tottenham 12 -3 20
10 Aston Villa 13 -1 16
11 Swansea 12 1 15
12 West Brom 12 0 15
13 Hull 12 -6 14
14 Norwich 13 -12 14
15 West Ham 13 -2 13
16 Stoke 13 -6 13
17 Cardiff 13 -9 13
18 Fulham 13 -13 10
19 Sunderland 13 -16 8
20 Crystal Palace 13 -15 7

Big questions now are

Can Tottenham use their game in hand to get a positive goal difference?

Can Tottenham climb above Southampton?

Can Man U get up into the Europa League spot?

When was the last time we were seven points clear at the top of the league?

What are we going to do with all these players who can’t get in the starting XI each week?  Players like Theo.

Can we fix it so we get a home draw in the FA Cup so we can see Gnabry and Zelalem play?

Is it possible for anyone to give me a better Christmas present than this?

What is going to happen to the traditional top four?  Is anyone going to break in?  Liverpool? Everton? Southampton? Newcastle?  Did I miss anyone out?

Have a lovely evening, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday… and let’s do it all again against Hull on Wednesday.

PS: Who should we buy in January?

 

 

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60 Replies to “Now where exactly have we got to?”

  2. Yes, we should have bought 7 players in the summer instead of dithering and getting a recycled 29 yr old DM and an untested 20yr old on frees, and a panic buy on the last day of the transfer season.

    I think Wenger will have a dilemma now, a beautiful one at that, of picking his first 11 when everyone’s fit. What a classy performance after schooling Marseille midweek. COYG!

  3. Yeah and rather than rubbish like Koscielny and Vermaelen we really needed to buy Samba.
    Oh and that midfield destroyer role, what we really needed was Lee Cattermole (no really, halfwits on certain sites wrote this) and Lorik Cana (again, this really was written. ).
    Some humble pie eating from those people who take their views from Talkshite and Sky Sports news please.

  4. Many people were questioning Özil because he had a couple of average games. While I understand the expectations are high because of his price tag, one cannot deny he is a top player.

    I hope Wenger doesn’t allow complacency to set in. This season is a great opportunity to win because many rivals are facing problems.
    And while I respect most rivals, I still think Chelsea is the team capable of ruining Arsenal chances.

  5. More pie makers needed in january….humble pies in short supply at the emirates.
    Goodbye spurs and Manure after tomo…..money well spent at spurs,hahahahahahahah!!

  6. Tony,

    The easiest of all your questions is: “Who should we buy in January?”

    Answer: Whoever Arsene Wenger thinks the team needs and at whatever cost he thinks they are worth.

    I’m sure he’ll do his job in January as he has always done. I’ll do my own by supporting the team in every way I can.

  7. My personal favorite stat of the day (and the competition was rather stiff): “Aaron Ramsey has now scored 2 more goals in open play than… Tottenham.”

  8. Tony,

    Please check to see that somebody else is not posting under Sperez’s name 🙂

    That post @6.58pm is the most positive comment that I’ve ever seen from him.

    Kudos Sperez, let’s keep it positive.

  10. Superb…….yes remember all those calls for such players clockend, samba, quite amazing really. Also remember some shouting to bring in Martin o Neil and even Owen coyle FFS! Just as well the powers that be kept their heads during darker days than today. Lots of pertinent questions in here. Whisper it quietly but anyone else notice the clean sheets stacking up? Strange for a manager who has no concept of defence

  11. I need the most boring 0-0 draw between the Middlesex scum and the scum of Manchester tomorrow. 0-0 draw but filled with lots and lots of cards. I don’t care about the colours but the redder the better 🙂

  12. One of their team is called Kevin theophile Catherine. Does the middle part of that interesting name indicate he is a fan of our flying winger?

  14. Superb result today.

    Merts and Szczesny are simply world class and Ramsey must be the most improved player of all time.

    As for Flamini – he was always exactly what we needed.

    I am most impressed with the defence though overall – no silly mistakes, full concentration and real heart. Not seen it for years so this is very welcome.

    I think we are another striker away from seriously challenging come May.

  16. Great result today, this was a key game. A game where we easily could fall into the complacency trap, but thanks to City and United who showed us how NOT to do it 🙂
    I have to say one thing though, I am abit annoyed at how many supporters and pundits say that Aaron must be the most improved player of all time ??? If u say that u also say that he was shit before and for me he never was. He had a horrific injury and it will always take time to come back after that. He was on his way to greatness before the injury and now we se a more mature player, and he is still young and will be even better. The same will happen with Wilshere, he has also been out with a rather long injury, hasnt been on his best form the first months of the season, but he will also just be better in the months to come. Mouthwatering isnt it 🙂

  17. Arsene has proved almost everybody wrong n why his title remain da Prof, I can’t believe what am seeing now myself, Ramsey gradually becoming d best in d league, scesney , Per, wishere,becoming something else, almost all the players in d team now becoming world class, arsenal topping d league n group F in CL., waoh! Something no one can predict from d beginning of d season, I wish my dear arsenal win a title dis season, good luck.

  19. Perfect second goal; Ozil to Flamini, the two recent additions to the team that cost us an average of 21 million and change each.
    But we would not be there if Arsene Wenger did not do exactly what Piers Morgan recommended.

  20. @Ray from Norfolk

    Piers Morgan doesn’t know his gluteus maximus from a hemispherically shaped, lack of soil in his front yard.

  22. Tony
    If you are going to recite the list of ridiculous suggestions for how to improve our squad , you mustn’t forget the most important one – a new manager

  23. They call us “Lucky Arsenal”. We were certainly that, the day Flamini came calling on Arsene a few months ago asking for a game of football. I only hope we have tied him to a long contract until at least age 50.
    I liked the sarcasm of the staff of the Department of Certain Things …..more from them, please.

  25. Great win today for the boys, AFC fans will sleep well today, looking to the Everton, Man City and Chelsea games to see how far we will come new year 2014. proud to be a Gunner for life.

  26. Yes bootoomee unfortunately with mr Durham there is always a sting in the tale tho in fairness he seems obsessed with carrick for reasons best known to himself. He has recently been campaigning to get Dawson into the England team as well so I guess his judgment should be considered slightly suspect still praising us must be a first for him

  27. Sperez?

    Give me a break, you are one of the arch doomers. How dare you come on here and ‘hope’ Wenger doesn’t allow complacency to set in. Do you have any other gems for the manager? Dipstick….

  28. MOTD running order

    1.Cardiff v Arsenal, 2.Everton v Stoke, 3.West Ham v Fulham, 4.Newcastle v West Brom, 5.Norwich v Palace, 6.Aston Villa v Sunderland

  29. Hadn’t seen the first half, but just watching the replay now and just seen Wilshere rattle the bar with another delicate chip/shot in the second minute. Would’ve been another classy finish from Jack, good to see he’s getting back to his best.

  30. despite that moment…giroud well. for the first goal,he dragged about 3 defenders leaving in enough space. he also assisted in defence. when ramsey talked about making some fans looked stupid,he was talking about the likes of piers morgan.

  31. Lest it gets swept under the carpet, let us all remember that the great Ian Wright informed the world only last Tuesday that Aaron Ramsey’s achievements this season has only been due to luck.

    Aaron Ramsey is therefore the “luckiest” SOB in the entire universe!

  32. If only money could buy fans to fill in for the detractors.

    I don’t think we need anyone new in January. Just let the currently injured come back, hopefully without any new long-term absences, and I’d say we’re looking good for the whole rest of the season. I’m having a hard time even thinking of the next summer. But it’s still a long way until then.

    As decisive as Ozil’s passes were, the one crucial moment came when Szczesny saved Campbell’s header. Had that gone in, it could have made the game quite difficult, as they had the momentum after our good start of the second half. We have to remember though that it was the Big Pole’s quality of reflexes what made Mr. Wenger bring him at Arsenal in the first place – and this is a(nother) testimony of his improvement.

    Can’t wait for the next game, and the one after!

  33. This team is playing well and we are happy, but there is one thing i must say.
    I get the impression we are playing on a “middle flame” for want of a better word, and i wonder what the pundits and other teams are going to do when AW turns up the flame (all our injuries are back) just one notch?
    It is clear that we are not taking teams to town at the moment, concentrating on keeping a solid defence and clean sheets, but when we really start to put more pressure on, i see dark days for the other teams.
    //
    I thought it was an offence to use hands or arms to push a player down, i saw this at least 3 times against an Arsenal player, and no foul given in the Cardiff match.

  35. I think I understand the pseudo-offside now. Ramsey made the pass to Giroud, and Giroud believed that Ozil touched the ball, which would have made him offside (I guess he wasn’t in an offside position when Ramsey played the ball, but was when the ball was in the vicinity of Ozil).

    I didn’t see the game, just read about it.

  36. @Wambam

    In the news after the game, apparently Michael Owen is still predicting we finish 5th.

    I’m glad you liked the recipe. I once stumbled across a pumpernickel recipe for the Russian Army. I think it required 100 pounds of rye flour.

  38. It was a fantastic game, we are excellent!
    Great great team work and fighting spirit
    Cardiff also played fair and bravely, thumbs up!

  39. Nobody could predict this amazing form from the team, but watching Totts there after all the money they spend with media encouraging them, it’s a real delight!
    .
    I really want to see that man with the spend, spend, spend,… Logo behind Mr Wenger in the crowd with a new note: sorry, sorry, sorry,…

  40. No Hansen on MOTD I am afraid, we have Murphy and Ferdinand instead. Both of them avid Arsenal enthusiasts I am sure.

  41. Gord,

    Even from watching the game, it’s difficult to say if Ozil touched the ball or not. The replay from the opposite end suggested he did, as the ball just seemed to roll differently, without changing its direction at all. Giroud was only being honest:)

  44. Gord
    It was one of those plays where referees missed it completely. Giroud was on -side when the original pass was made but well off -side when Ozill made his flick . Even though players are thought to always play to the whistle , the honest Giroud stopped and I’m glad he did. Had he scored from that play , most Arsenal haters would’ve said the win was tainted

    As it turned out Arsenal didn’t need to capitalize on e referee mistake , they were plenty good enough to win on their own.

    Also the linesman on that play stopped running with the play which further added to confusion.

  45. @Tom

    Thanks.

    I had seen articles suggesting that Ozil didn’t consciously change the path of the ball, but even if it just skimmed his foot, and hence changed how it was bouncing but not direction, it would still put Giroud off-side.

    Yes, I agree he did the correct thing in stopping. It would be nice to see the media reporting that, instead of ridiculing him for not playing the whistle. In the BBC “As it happens”, a number of English people mentioned “play to the whistle”. Someone named Olivier wrote in, with something different. I am going to guess that Olivier is French (I have no useful French language skills, even though I am Canadian).

    Olivier: “jouer au sifflet”

  46. Persian gunner
    Yes it’s a real delight but I beg to differ kindly my good sir.
    There were” some

  47. Persian gunner
    Sorry, a computer glitch.
    As I was saying there were “some” who predicted it based on last season’s form post Bayern match but no use bragging . Let’s hope it can continue.
    Good day.

  48. Piers Morgan is key to our success. All the Boss has to do is listen to him…
    and then do the opposite of what he recommends.
    Drop Ramsey: Keep Ramsey.
    Buy Gustavo: Do not buy Gustavo.
    Buy Higuain now: Wait and get Ozil instead.
    Get a new keeper: Sell Mannone.
    Listen to “advice” from pundits: Distant disdain.
    Hire Stuart Robson: Fire Stuart Robson.
    etc…

  49. Ray,
    Hear hear.
    And then give Morgan the full Salem witch hunt treatment. If he floats I say he’s a witch…….

  50. @Ray from Norfolk

    I’m sorry, I misunderstood your Piers Morgan comment.

    For a while, I went to school in Pittsburgh, the closest I’ve been to Norfolk was landing at the NYC airport in New Jersey, to go on to Huston, TX.

    I’m a little dismayed by the Alisher Usmanov comments in the news. He just wants to turn Arsenal into another rich kids club. Yes, Wenger spent some real money to bring in Ozil. This was not a change in standard operating procedure.

    Personally, I would like to see Usmanov GIVE all his shares to the Arsenal fanshare group, and then go find some other club to support. Portsmouth is scrounging for a coach, maybe he could buy Portsmouth and get them a good manager?

  52. Great win, Great all round performance some thoughts on MOTD ????? Wait yes! I captured that thought, its Rubbish complete and utter rubbish. Sorry that’s two thought’s,

  53. Gord,
    I have been to Pittsburg.
    Spent a week there in connection with a Federal medical exam, which I passed, so yes I do like the city of Pittsburg. Been to New Jersey, too, and Texas, San Antonio via Houston during a scary storm, for a medical convention. Lived in Europe but I have never visited the UK, but it will come when my kids grow up and are able to watch the mighty Gunners before the Lord Wenger retires.

  54. @Ray from Norfolk

    I’m glad you didn’t take offense to my reply about Piers Morgan, we seem to be of the same mind as to his value to the universe.

    I was only in Pittsburgh for 2.5 years. I am from western Canada, I currently live in NW Alberta, Canada. I changed airports in Frankfort, for a conference in Austria once upon a time,

    Between tonight and Monday night, we are expecting about 1.5 feet of snow. This morning, we had freezing rain. I am sure the addition of snow on top of ice will help make all the drivers around here much better. 🙂 Such is winter on the eastern slopes of the Rockies.

    Take care.

  55. Good sarcastic post. If we keep this up MOTD will need all the pies there is in the land.

    On the subject of whom to buy – Shane Long – He is out of contract in the summer (our fav type of contract) and Ireland is not going to world cup so he wont be “demanding” game time. He can hold the ball up, make runs in behind and give defenders a bloody time – didn’t Wenger say something abt needing a striker with those qualities a few days back.

  56. Whatever you guys are saying is just regardless instead of been indifferent towards the players start believing in them, they are playing well doing everything to protect the lead so stop the cynicism.

  57. There was a moment when in 25th minute a Cardiff player was off and we continued to play, they were angry about that Cardiff fans, and the commentator didn’t say anything bad bout us for it. So when we had 10 on pitch and they attacked we were angry, I am watching the replay just now, after reading that some gooners complained about it, just saying.
    Anyway great win for sure, when thinking about the manure commenters on f365 saying they will be laughing soon, after pasting spurs and when we drop points to Cardiff.
    Hahahaha yes must be one if those southern Mancs who will soon be jumping on our good ship if we get past Xmas intact. But as long as they pay money to us I don’t care..
    COYG!

  58. good game. Szczesny save was superb. My player of the month….

    Lets give it to Wright, lets consider Ramsey was lucky to score 8 goals (13 is it in total). But I would like to hear his thoughts about Ramseys performance in the midfield. Thats where the pundits punditry ends…..stupid. We have a monster midfielder in our hands, who is better than your Gerrards, Lampards, Parker(hahhahahhaha), Catermole(sic) except it idiots.

    Arsenal flame is just simmering (taking words from @PARA), cant imagine how will it be when in full blow.

    What are ARSENALs chances this season. Well I give it 100%. Thats the confidence I have in my team.

  59. Gord,
    I wish your winter will be manageable. I lived seven years in southern New England before heading South; the first thing I heard when I got here is “it must be cold over there” yet it is very similar; one of my cousins lived in Thompson and his accounts of the cold winters are quite hair-raising.
    Anyway, Piers Morgan is the ultimate charlatan; even in politics, he is a vile non-progressive liberal without a single ounce of libertarianism in him; he also has no clue how Wengerball proceeds with 4-2-3-1 versus 5-4-1 when Monreal, Flamini, and Vermaelen are brought in to protect a result for Cazorla, Wilshere, and Ozil.
    I think all he does is operate as a parrot of the most clueless Wenger detractors.

  60. welp, it turns out that ozil is quite the bumslayer! which is fine by me considering that there’s only 30 pts out of 114 to possibly be gained from playing the other top-6 teams…. and keep in mind arsenal only got 7pts out of that possible 30 from the top-6 last season, and thus far we’ve already got 6pts out of 9 possible, which is a great start.

    so hey, if you’re gonna be magic to contest 84/114 points and somewhat invisible for 30/114 points, i’ll take my chances. lamentably ozil’s gotta be, what, 30 or 31 by now? too bad he won’t get a heck of a lot better =(

    anyways, with city and chelsea both coming for the lead and coming on our radar this month, that means you gotta handle business with hull at home. idk how much of their 3-1 edition of scousercide was on them as opposed to “the pool” but this should be another interesting one because (SPOILERS) they all are!

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