Sorry its late..
I awoke this morning to find out that it was January – something that displeased me greatly. Christmas had come and gone, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and I had acquired a mysterious headache.
It was also 11am, the red /sometimes blue ‘Birds’ were visiting Arsenal and I knew that somewhere I left a detailed plan for the upcoming preview I intended to write. But where?!
It was a strong preview, full of detailed analyses – emphatically factual – majestic? Some might say.
Endeavouring to make sense of this strange situation, I stumbled down the stairs… bottles! As far as the eye could see and of all persuasions: green, brown, short tall, some vase like; others spherical at the base…
It was all coming back to me; there were bottles – many of them. I picked a coat up from the floor and hung it on the banister. Into the living room and I was greeted by the dulcet tones of stereo speakers, hastily unplugged, so emitting a sharp murmuring. Fairy lights still worked tirelessly, battling the oncoming January light.
A ping-pong table sat in the corner, littered with aluminium cans and disposable cups of amber liquid. I stood on a small orange ball, it popped and crumpled up -farewell orange ball, I thought. You were a good ball.
The floorboards were sticky and on a sofa an enigmatic chap meditated -meditated diligently. I needed answers, so I decided to wake him, which he didn’t enjoy – I was disturbing his meditation no doubt…
“Tell me of Cardiff my good man,” I implored. He groaned considerably….
“But I seek answers…”
…“Be wary the long ball” – the sole piece of wisdom he imparted before he went back to sleep.
I moved to the other sofa as another slept there… coiled strangely, using various towels for insulation.
Tell me what you know of Peter Whittingham I probed. He looked blank, tired even. He was about to succumb to his impeding slumber, but managed to pass me a notepad. The notepad!
I opened it to find that most of it I had written in Hieroglyphs, which in this present state, I’d struggle to decipher. Shame really. But here goes…
Wojciech
Sagna Per koz Monreal
Arteta Wilshere
Walcott Cazorla Rosicky
Podolski
Our injuries problems are vast, so the line-up of that team hinges on whether; Monreal, Wilshere, Rosicky and Walcott pass their late fitness tests. The official Arsenal website is optimistic, which I suppose is positive.
Vincent Tan is a muppet, but unfortunately a powerful one. They’re always the worst.
I wish you all a very Happy New Transfer Window. Let’s hope it will be a good one.
DSC.
Rich & powerful muppet to get his nose dirty today…
Hmm, flipped on to Sky, and in 2 minutes see:
1) Nastasic elbow Bony in the jaw, ref 3 metres away. No card at all.
2) Man C attack, clear offside not given. Corner and goal follow.
hmmm
goaaaallll……yeah
Super nick
Theooooooo….
Under par game but we managed it, and by 2 goals too. Hope Bendtner is all right.
Bendtner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well done Arsenal. Cardiff came to park the bus and it’s always difficult to find a breakthrough against such teams. Was thinking is this going to be one of those games where it ends even but with one team having over 70% possession and over 28 shots. Bendtner’s injury looks bad. Well done again.
MOTM: jonathan Moss, sure he is best ref in the PL, although he missed a penalty for us, but you can see its a mistake not bias. I DONT WANT TO GO BACK TO DEAN AND CO.
Bad day for AAAs, super nick won us the 3pts. Back to top.
I’m slowly taking back what I said about NB52 although I don’t believe I will ever be taking it all back.
Thoroughly deserved well done boys. Cardiff came only to frustrate and time waste it would have been a travesty if they had hung on. We showed industry grit and patience and kept going when it was beginning to appear one of those days. Hope our goal scoring hero is ok but a vital win looking at other results. Great save from Szcz right at the end to keep a cs. This team have mental strength to match ability and work ethic. Wenger surely starting the year on top signals the right time to do the right thing
Yassin,
Moss had a good game, felt that way too. Another ref would have only been too happy to penalise Monreal, and you can see any decisions he missed were genuine mistakes, or could easily be called either way. Contrast that with Atkinson who issued 4 yellows against Southampton to Chelsea’s solitary yellow, even though Southampton had more possession, making it appear they were not the team employing negative tactics.
Well done the team. A hard fought match & although the Cardiff bus was fairly solid we breached it in the end for a well deserved win.
Bendtners control is better than Giroud but is his attitude?
Great game Gunners!
So many numbers, I’m going blind. First half of the first EPL season. They used 40 referees that season, 39 of those were seen in the first half. And only 3 penalty situations that I can see. More to follow.
4am now, time to sleep got work in 3 hours!
Wat a nail biter of a game, happy for Nick n hope he ok.
We won with our second team basically, pod and nick playing is better I reckon. Jack had a poor have u felt, lots of bad passes, trying to beat 3 guys like Messi, keep it simple jack.
COYG totl!
Fantastic performance under heavy rain & wind. You can’t ask for more from the boys when they’ve played 4 games in 10 days. Great win & still on top.
Let’s take it one week at a time.
For those who read my article Fast Forward EPL, I told you Gunners would be on top by tonight at 45 points! I was on mark precisely!
Interesting day think Chelsea got Atkinson and utd get Webb . will be interesting to see if the spuds get their usual dodgy pen with him and if they do that I believe will be the first pen against utd in the league in close to eighty games tho stand to be corrected of course
From the BBC:
> 1719: BENDTNER OUT?- Arsenal 2-0 Cardiff
> This could be significant as the transfer window reopens – Arsene Wenger has said that Nicklas Bendtner has sprained his ankle and will be out for ‘weeks.’
Hmmmm, united get Webb, and chelsea got atkinson, think something fishy is afoot here.
Meanwhile, Chamakh got away with a foul(shoving a player to the ground) that he could never have imagined he could get away with while still at Arsenal(shows its who you play for that determines what constitutes a red), in a game dean is said to have shafted Norwich(he gave palace a penalty, failed to send chamakh off, and sent a Norwich player off – sounds familiar??). It may be a brand new 2014 but the tilting mob continues from where it left off in 2013.
Ah Mandy 6:21 🙂
WOO HOO , HOO ! A very , very though win , against difficult odds. Well done the lads !
Do hope Nic is not too badly crocked ,while the rest recover in time.
@ DSC – Wow ! Must have been some party .What happened to those learned sages in your lining room ? Any more predictions for the upcoming games ?
Shame bendtner does not always help himself but he is also unlucky with injuries. And he has more goals than messi Ronaldo and falcao this year
I agree re Moss, he got most things right. Added on time for the time wasting, could have given two penalties but gave neither which balanced out. Was probably the best referee we had last year and looks set to continue that this year. I would happily have him again, but I suspect it will be a while before that happens.
HAPPY NEW YEAR ooh sorry im in capital letters im at the Sheraton Kampala sippin something called Heineken but I don’t know the taste of it anymore as I tested a lot of whiskies and wines yesterday.
Im having some friends from Oldtoilet and I have just won myself $100 for the sewer rats knew that am not going to win this today or stay on top,i believed them for a while inside my heart but I could not let it out. I pity them for they have not played their match and am still on top if anybody is near by here just come in the paradise pub I have got several litres for you. I’m putting on an Ozil T-shirt and black jeans
I just wonder where the Manures got such a hatred for us!!
Happy New year
cheers Gunners and lets keep the fire burning.
I was thinking about one last-minute goal by Ben in a draw or win (can’t remember!) several years ago, when the match came to the last ten official minutes. Oh man, it was fantastic that this happend once again!!!
Ben is my saviour one more time. Everyone could be that saviour at any time. That’s why I love our beloved Arsenal, all of our players.
@leany: If I remember correctly it was Hull City in the 93rd minute.
CHEERS ! Off to watch the ManUre & Spuds game .Do hope both drop points ,but somehow any score is fine by me !
Goodnight guys !
@Al,
Its been a long time that i didnt shout ir swear at the TV, really i can accept mistakes but not bias.
Did anyone see Mason giving a red card today, and Dean giving penalty, I was told this is English football and those are not giben in here, or is it not giving when its Arsenal suffering?
I missed the handball against Monreal as the electricty was off and i had to turn the generator on. Any link???
When he was in, you could sense the passion he lacked since ages, why doesnt Bendtner do that every game, before the goal, he was one of the most players putting efforts.
@ Arvind: yeah, it was.
And I really hope Ben won’t be out long.
KampalaGun,
Wish I could join you man 🙂 Please enjoy your windfall, you’ve earned it the hard way with that nail biting performance.
What was the best moment you enjoyed in this game:
1- Passionate Sagna (as always) who wanted the win. and out of nowhere came to head the ball that then Bendtner scored.
2-Bentdner scoring, and we having the joy that this is a bad day for the AAAs.
3-Szczesney Save telling us that he is now the best GK in the EPL. (WTF what a save!!!!!!)
Quite inspired substitutions from wenger wonder if he will get media plaudits on a par with a Jose wankfest when his subs help win games?
My only regret today is that we got our first too late. I believe, as proven by Theo’s goal, that had we had more time after the first goal, we would have scored a few more.
I was still beyond relieve to see big Nik smash the first goal in. All that the commentators on my live stream whinged about was Cardiff’s hard luck for conceding so late. What about our hard luck for the first 88 minutes? Biased idiots!
This is the sort of game that I hate us to lose points in. My points calculation for the season is still haunted by that Anthony Taylor inspired Aston Villa game. I’m jolly glad that we got the 3 points today.
May I implore everybody to lay off the players please. They all gave their best and Wilshere, contrary to a criticism above, was fantastic all through.
Thanks@ Bootomee, im just enjoying who knows oneday one time Adebayor scores a beauty
Yassin,
Can I pick all of the above?
If not, then I must go for option 2. Anything that makes the AAA disappointed and sad is always great for me 🙂
Mulima na mulima hasikutane lakini binadamu,oneday we will meet you never know. Oh my gash the Manures have gone silent in here.
Yassin
The Monreal handball was nothing really, the ref got it right and Cardiff didn’t even appeal for it, only their fans. A Cardiff player called Noone hit a cross and Monreal blocked the cross with his left leg and the ball cannoned off onto his arm, nothing he could have done about it really. The distance between the two players was about 1m only, it was also just outside the box, so would have beaten quite harsh if the ref had given it. But I have seen other refs penalise us for lesser things that’s why I’m relieved he didn’.
@Al Happy new year ,for your information if it was mike dean shit he would have given it ,thank be to GOD he was not in charge.
AW admits Bendtner is back at the level he wants him to be at, but then goes on to say he will be out for weeks. Shame.
Happy new year too Kampala, sounds like you’re really having fun, at the expense of those manure fans 🙂
@Al talk about it ma men, there are grumbling about everything but who cares Alex Furgus is in the stands I tell them and if one day the Angel Gabriel arrives they will take of them almost 8trophies for they have bought them, we where the rightful owners.
Webb just bottled showing welbeck a card for one of the worst dives I’ve seen, and I’ve seen Young and Bale in action.
OMG, i cannot believe i am rooting for Manu to get an equaliser, but after all it is spuds they are playing, and 1 point each is better than one of them winning.
@elkieno
January 1, 2014 at 6:15 pm
Are you serious saying Jack was poor, general consensus seems to be had a terrific game, especially second half and that was my opinion too.
Wow what a lovely day the devils lose, I just like that can you imagine they don’t even have the courtesy to say bye to me and they call themselves my friends.
Hmmm so is the world ……
Mandy Dodd,
Is it not high time to re-sign Sagna at a raise? A real gem and too little loved. Our Bac’s nous and fitness and professionalism are a rare bubbly, wunt ya say? Happy New Year!
p.s. and killer crosses, might I add….
It is official now: MU will get less points than last season.
It was their 4th defeat in 7 matches against top 7
Spurs have just won their 1st match this season against top 7.
I believe Wilshere was the best player today, just wait until Santi get his full form back, and then i hope the midfield magic comes to life.
@Bootoomee, choose and add as u wish, cant believe how happy I am today. Worst conditions, last minute goals, top if the league, AAA out of the way, Walcot telling us that we forgot he was our top scorer last season, i have watched a ref that really can ref a game, no bias, man its been a while!!!!.
@Al, thanks for your reply, thank God it was Moss, or else we would have been doomed.
After deciding i want to watch highlights of other matches, and to watch TOT-UND game i was surprised to see two things:
1- there exist challenges in this league that is punishable, and even yellow cards are being used, I thought its a “Men`s Game” 😛 Or is it?
2- Moyes, Moyes, Moyes,… he seems like a good guy by not doing what Ferguson has done before, imagine Webb not giving two penalties in the OLD TRAFFORD? WOW!!!! Really something has changed for those favors to turn to the other side of Manchester, Does Ferguson has anything to do with that?
Para
I have to disagree with you my friend on rooting for Mancheaters United to get the equalizer against the Spurs. There’s no other club in PL that have distorted the fabric of fair play more in the last decade ,with the help of Ferguson and PGMOL ,than those divers.
Bu my count, Welbeck’s blatant dive in the penalty area was the sixth dive by Mancheaters in consecutive matches played.
Valencia, Young, Rooney , Januzaj and Welbeck are a quintet of serial offenders with Hernandez looking in from time to time, who never get punished and I’m glad Webb gave them nothing today.
The only time I would root for Man U against the Spurs would be if Tottenham were directly challenging us in the table and that is highly unlikely this season.
I would much rather see the Man U miss out on CL next season ,even if by some miracle Tottenham made it in to the top four instead.
Seeing Rooney and Van Judas play in Europa League would be a bonus.
Like I said on the thread “Arsenal: The team of 2013”, I’ll be singing
“I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
‘Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You’re gonna hear me roar”
COYG!!! Get in thereeee!!!
@bob
Agree with you about re-signing Sagna, it is important that we keep the core of the squad together. My feeling is that Wenger will ensure that Sagna is retained.
It was unfortunate that Bendtner was injured, he looked quite sharp today. Lets hope the injury is not as bad as first thought.
Mandy Dodd
Agree with your line of thinking except for the “showed patience” part.
Starting slow against “weak” opposition at home can only inspire and embolden them and is a risky approach. Judging by Wenger’s frustration , this wasn’t something that went to plan.
We showed some serious urgency only in the last 25 minutes and left it very late to score the wining goal.
Really hope we can keep Bac Bob he is a vital player and not sure Jenks is ready yet. Would have preferred a draw at OT but agree with Tom under fergie they wrecked fair play and few suffered for it more than us. Nobody should ever again have the malign influence of fergie. I have some sympathy with moyes who at least seems a decent guy but great to see Rooney so pissed off with Webb of all people at the end. Cheats prospered under fergie but moyes will have to do it the hard way. And as you say there are issues with his two key forwards .Cannot see utd or spurs in the top four Sherwood in enjoying a honeymoon and ade only plays up to a transfer window these days, looked hurt as well
this could have easily been another game ruined by ref
two penalties not given for arsenal, not sure why the linesman didn’t see Monreal hand, but it was outside of the box, so no game changing wrong decisions in our favor
anyway, we’re top of the league
COYG
Take your point on showing patience tom would love to return to the days of our early goals to make things more comfortable but think the conditions schedule as well as opponents tactics did not help today
Not a great performance today but vital to get the win. These are the kind of games we have to win and we did.
We are not playing that fluently this year so it is encouraging that despite this we are top and we have room for improvement with a few players still to come back in.
Still think a cheeky bid for Cavani, if successful, would give us a great chance of winning the league. As it stands, City are maybe a bit too strong.
i doubt city is too strong
they barely got three points with palace and swansea, and at emirates without the dumb ref and unfortunate injury to central defender we have all the chances to break them
Happy New Year everyone:)
jayramfootball,
Yes, or a cheeky bid for Diego Costa wouldn’t hurt.
@ DSC – Was your party a real bitch like this one ?
http://www.detechter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/drunk.png
Deja Moo: The feeling that you’ve heard this bull before.
It has recently been discovered that research causes cancer in rats.
It may be your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.
An old man tells his friend, ” I’ve got my health, everything is fine. My heart is good. My liver is good. And my mind, knock wood……..who’s there?”
Another one at DSC’S party ?
ecard text: Trying to get ready for Monday… where did my bra land when I took it off and threw it on Friday?
http://www.rottenecards.com/card/326281/trying-to-get-ready-for-monday