Right, my Internet is still down so I am writing this freestyle, feeling like a Google-shaped section of my brain was removed when I wasn’t looking.
(Tony, how’d you do this in the olden days?!)
Playing West ham at the Emirates should never be a cause for concern, should it? Their resurgence came at just the point their survival was endangered and left, as soon as they reached the points total forecasted by Sam Allardyce, in every television interview over the past month.
“So, Sam, 38 points – should be enough… shouldn’t it? – Said every post-match interviewer ever.
Meanwhile the on-going debate about ends and means persists in East London. From the outside it resembles this: fans sick of watching utter crap, chuckled-down by gruff manager oblivious to how winning could ever be unsatisfactory.
The sacking of T. Pulis encouraged this debate somewhat and might (I.E will definitely not) be come to known as the Staffordshire Springs. The moment an established Premier League club hit a fork in road: one way flat and dreary, the other way with a gradual rise. One way headed by a relegation survivalist; the other by someone with slightly more ambition. It’s an interesting question that ambitious clubs will have to consider sooner or later.
With the Hammers, this question might have come a little too soon, their team hasn’t progressed to the machine-like efficiency of Stoke and therefore hasn’t taken them to a position where survival is guaranteed. They are an established club though; with good infrastructure and resources they have shown to be quite disposable. The choice the fans have shouldn’t simply be Sam Allardyce or relegation, so expect the debate to be a little more relevant next year.
Injury news? I haven’t a bloody clue, the usual people probably. Maybe a few niggles picked up from Saturday evening.
The team might look like this…
Wojciech
Sagna Mert Verm Gibbs
Ramsey Arteta
Gnabry Chamberlain Cazorla
Giroud
The main worry today is that our own lethargy allies its self to Allardyce’s deep dislike of our club.
Cheers and gone.
DSC
I can’t see Arteta playing in this one except of the substitutes bench; not after 120 minutes on Saturday.
I think we’ll see Flamini or Kallstrom there in his place. Personally, I’d like to see both.
Szcznesy
Sagna, Vermaelen, Mertesacker, Gibbs
Kallstrom, Ramsey
Podolski, Cazorla, Chamberlain,
Giroud
Is the line up I’d like to see. With a bench of;
Fabianski, Monreal (if he’s fit), Jenkinson, Gnabry, Flamini, Rosicky, and Bendtner.
I know Bendnter’s an idiot, but he’s better than Sanogo. Actually, my dead Aunt Kate is better than Sanogo, to Bendtner is the lesser of two evils.
Hope the team are buoyed by the weekend’s win and continue onwards to getting the points towards the 4th place finish.
Go get ’em guys !
Up the Gunners !
Paul35m, no good start. First comment and immediately on a yellow card.
We don’t insult our players at Untold.
Flamini is unavailable through suspension (second of two for accumulated yellows, given for a minor foul against Everton, who would have ended with 9 men if same standard had been applied to them) — proof that PGMOL influence extends beyond the current match into subsequent fixtures.
Seems like no one knows who’s injured or not?!
Do some homework lads!
PS. As for the comments about Bentner, how many more Premiership and International goals have you scored than him?
i think gnabry and sanogo to start would be good, they would be a handful because of their pace, power and movement. i think giroud should start down the middle with sanogo playing off him. gnabry on the right with carzola playing an inside left with gibbs overlapping. flamini, ramsey and kallstrom ought to be able to control the middle, especially since fat sam will most likely play more direct down the lines….
Well done Arsenal.
Congratulations Arsenal!
Well done the lads…!
COYG! Aha and Amen!
Good win, especially with a tired team. Kallstrom looked quite a reasonable signing both tonight and also last Sunday – a pity that a lot of armchair punters and plonkers gave AW such a hard time over his signing.
Somebody on Saturday, was looking for stats. Here is a brief set:
Possession 61/39
Shots 14/12
On target 8/2
Corners 4/3
Fouls 14/12
—
How did Kallstrom look out there today?
@Gord
Kallstrom looked quite a reasonable player gave 100%, many good passes and good positionally, fitted in well, seemed to read the game well. Maybe not a world beater, but a very good squad player – just what he was signed for. A very astute signing.
Great result . Mixed performance. Slow start . Very good reaction by the team after going down a goal. I guess we do have that mental strenght Arsen is so often talking about:)
Bjtgooner
Kallstrom at fault for West Ham goal not tracking Jarvis and getting the wrong side of him. Looking to slow even against the slowest side in the PL. You can call me a plonker or worse but what you are really saying is how little you know about football. Stick to what you know best – cheerleading.
Congrats Arsenal. Well done lads! Well taken goals from Giroud and Podolski. I did not see fatigue that the ‘real fans’ predicted would be our excuse for not winning tonight. How wrong they are as usual.
Another great stat: London derby league. Won 6, Draw 1, Loss 1.
Bring on the next match.
COYG
Great Win, did anyone catch G.Neville pouring his heart about Matt Jarvis staying on his feet and that England is the only country in the world where a player feeling contact wont go down!
Good performance from the team and also the officials. It makes things much easier when the opposition players get called for fouls.
Well done all the team. First half, some nerves and lack of confidence, but every player worked through that. Cazorla MOM but credit also to Per, Kos and TV who coped with all the aerial attacks and played Carroll brilliantly.
Special mention to OG who made up for his first half disappointment by scoring a brilliant goal.–pity he’s not a “world class striker”.
Kallstrom looked slightly off the pace at times, but grew into the game as it went on.
Turned off the Sky soundtrack so as not to hear the constant negative crap from the commentator and Alan Smith. Media and AAA must have been rejoicing when West Ham scored, so it is great to see the game turned on its head. No surprise that all their post match discussion was about the penalty which might have been conceded by Sagna. By the way, Arsenal scored 3 great goals, in case you missed it.
I don’t care if we won 3-1, 3-0, or 6-0 with a first half performance like that. Wenger should resign at the end of the season he continues to be outwitted by the Allardyces of the game. If we don’t get 4th at least Wenger should be out. The FA cup doesn’t mean much if we blow winning the league from leading position.
…I kid, but I promise you can find such comments around the arsenal blog community right now. It’s a shame, especially after a win. Some over on Le Suck or whatever its called saying that the FA cup doesn’t matter if we don’t get 4th.
That’s plainly not true. And laughable that after years of saying Wenger should go because he only delivers Champions league football and not a trophy.
Some cannot be happy in life. You give them a great team that plays great football and they want a trophy. You get them a trophy and they say they wanted a different trophy. Maybe when our next manager wins the league (who knows when that could be) we can sack him for not winning Europe? Are we supposed to win everything every year? Are those the expectations of a reasonable person? Is getting mad when your unreasonable expectations aren’t met a rational thing to do? This is why you cannot have a discussion with these types of ‘fans’. They cannot use logic, and are subject to their emotions.
@Tom
You need to realize that you are not the only former football player contributing to this site. As for cheerleading – what an asinine arrogant accusation! 🙂
A hard-earned 3 points.
Three well-taken goals which should restore some confidence.
Cazorla sparkled.
Our defence was sure.
Ramsey’s back. And so is Koscielny.
Now for an FA Cup practice at the weekend
Bjtgooner
I do realize that I’m not the only one . After all this is a football blog.
Look , I get it . You got Wenger’s back at all times. I respect that , I really do but if you think Kallstrom had a good game not being able to track Nocerino in the only goal conceded and having misplaced way too many passes, then I don’t know what else to say.
I’ve got nothing against Kallstrom . He’s got a great attitude and plays to the best of his abilities and that’s all you can ever ask of anyone . He’s just not good enough to play at this level.
Kallstrom makes Arteta , who had a really good game today, look like a speed demon.
A hard-earned 3 points.
Three well-taken goals which should restore some confidence.
Cazorla sparkled.
Our defence was sure.
Ramsey’s back. And so is Koscielny.
Now for an FA Cup Final preview game at the weekend in Hull country.
@Tom the yaaaper,
It’s easy to see the little black spots when everything else is white.
Kallstrom took a bit of time to get to a decent fitness level, and he is not a natural defender, so your question should have been “how did he end up defending in that position”. But I guess that’s too much to ask from a mind like yours. And who are you to assert that he is not good enough? Are you good enough to be an Arsenal fan? With supporters like you, it’s no wonder the team slumps every now and then.
@Tom
It was Kallstrom’s first start – so from a comment point of view why don’t you cut him some slack. Overall he did a good job for us.
You say you respect the fact that I have Wenger’s back – I don’t think that is correct – I think you are twisting – you made that comment too soon after the asinine cheerleader comment.
So Tom, we have had a good win tonight, three valuable points, some players starting to return from injury, can you not enjoy the moment without coming out with negative crap?
The press conference at Arsenal.com, it is possible Ozil is back for the weekend.
Florian
Who do you think Kallstrom was suppose mark on that play?
Nocerino is a midfielder and so is Kallstrom who was by far the closest to the West ham player. Nocerino just run away from him. Simple as that.
The fact that you even ask this question is indicative of your football awareness . I’m not surprised though . I remember one of your long winded ‘brilliant’ posts about how little tactical nous Brendan Rogers possesses and how uncomplicated Liverpool’s tactics are. It was quite fascinating.
And it’s Mr. Yaaaaper to you 🙂
Bjtgooner
Yes it was a great win. Decent overall performance and I’m enjoying the moment. Conversely though , why couldn’t you do the same and not mention the plonkers and arm chair experts?
You stop making those sort of comments and I promise you I won’t say another negative word till the end of the season win , loose or draw 🙂
Tom,
Or maybe Kallstron wasn’t supposed to defend like that at all, but it didn’t work out because the left flank players were caught out of position. But it’s always great to hear insights from such an expert like you.
And FYI, YAAAP = Yet Another Anti Arsenal Post. Now you know what you’re talking about. 😀
Tom Jesus Christ when did you smile last about our team?
We knew our title chances went south when our spine of the team all got injured. Take out Suarez, Sturridge, sterling and they are not winning the league. Give our players back and we do.
I had a great night with my kids last night but when putting daughter to bed it got hairy, doesn’t mean the whole night was shit. Just means I got to work it better.
Coyg!
@Tom
Why on earth did get so upset about plonkers and arm chair experts?
Do you consider yourself in either of those categories?
You are so sensitive tonight that you are behaving like someone with a bad dose of piles!
Maybe you are still upset because you had a disagreement with someone else earlier?
I was not targeting you when I mentioned plonkers and arm chair experts – but if you decide that you are offended it is your choice.
As I posted above, why don’t you just relax and enjoy the moment.
Florian
And maybe Kallstrom wasn’t suppose defend at all.
Kallstrom sees the danger before the ball is played to Nocerino. They are shoulder to shoulder at about 36 yards away from the goal, tries to mark him but by the time Nocerino reaches the 18th yard box , Kallstrom is five yards behind and never gets goal side .
Nocerino isn’t very quick.
This is what I said about Kallstrom when the news hit Arsen had signed him.
From watching him at Lyon , Kallstrom is a good dead ball specialist,good passer of the ball and hard working midfielder but TOO SLOW for the Premier League.
Do you know who was one of the most surprised people when Wenger signed Kallstrom ?
Kallstrom . He said it himself.
@Tom
You have pontificated so much about this that I have re-watched the recording.
@10.04 pm – you stated Kallstrom was at fault for not tracking Jarvis – incorrect on two counts – first this implies that Kallstrom was lazy and by not tracking back was responsible for the goal, secondly Kallstrom tracked Nocerino not Jarvis.
In you enthusiasm to attack my comment you lost the perspective of what really happened and then followed that up with your asinine cheerleading comment.
@12.17 am – you stated “Kallstrom is five yards behind and never gets goal side” – incorrect – Nocerino did outpace Kallstrom but not by five yards and in fact Kallstrom did get goal side and tackled Nocerino – the rebound went to Jarvis via Szczesny and possibly Kos.
Again in trying to attack Florian you twisted what happened.
Tom, please stop knocking our team for the sake of it – if you can manage that – you never know we might end up pals! 🙂
Tom wrote:
“Do you know who was one of the most surprised people when Wenger signed Kallstrom ?”
“Kallstrom . He said it himself.”
And this proves exactly what? It’s dumb that all you have to support your anti-Kallstrom tirade is that the guy was surprised that Wenger signed him.
Seriously, that’s all you got?
I think Kallstrom had a jittery and below par first half but most of our players weren’t great in those first 30 minutes anyway, so to single out the Swede is unfair. He was, however, very good in the second half. Overall, for me, I’ll say he had a good game, especially for his very first full game for the club. I think that an ‘ex-footballer’ should understand this and cut the poor guy more slack than us mere cheerleaders.
Gord, who did not watch the game live, asked for how Kallstrom did and bjtgooner gave his verdict. Considering that bjtgooner is one of the most ubiquitous positive Gooners on this site, I am not surprised that he focused more on his positives and not the negative. The fact that you took a 180 degrees position says a lot about your kind of supporter. I’m also pretty certain, from the little that I know about Gord, that he would prefer bjtgooner’s verdict to yours.
I think that bjtgooner gives you a lot of undeserved credit for your alleged football career. I don’t know anything about you in real life so I don’t give a rat’s ass about your being an ex-player, even if you were ever one. It does not make your opinion anymore valid than that of any other poster here. We should all be judged by the contents and logic of our comments.
Bjtgooner
I’m not offended. Very little offends me anymore but I do have an agenda ,I admit. Arsenal transfer policy gets under my skin and people who defend it.
I will stand right with you on issues like ; anti Arsenal media bias, not getting the rub of the green or the calls when it matters but I refuse to do the same when it comes to our transfer policy.
So when you make a comment like you did trying to justify Kallstrom loan , it does get to me. Not personally but rather as an Arsenal supporter who spends tens of thousands of dollars per year traveling to England and places like Milan or Barca to cheer my club on while buying countless Arsenal scarfs, kits and other things for my family and friends.
I simply think Wenger can do better and Arsenal can do better .
bjtgooner,
This is not the first time that Tom had wrongly blamed one player for the mistake of another.
He blamed the goal that we conceded in our 2-1 victory at Villa park on one player (that I cannot recall, unfortunately) when it was Carzola’s fault.
Personally, I hate to beat up players if their errors lead to goals just as I don’t go over the top in praise of players on good form. The team wins and loses together. You’d expect an ex-player to understand this but you’d be wrong.
@Tom @ 1.01 am.
Unless you know every last detail of our transfer attempts/policy you are in no position to use that as an excuse to attack our manager – or indeed try to attack me for supporting our player.
In such circumstances when you state wrongly: –
“Kallstrom at fault for West Ham goal not tracking Jarvis and getting the wrong side of him.”
Followed by: –
“what you are really saying is how little you know about football. Stick to what you know best – cheerleading.”
You are showing all Untolders that you got the wrong player – Jarvis – and then tried to show that your football knowledge was superior, you qualified that with the asinine cheerleader comment.
Further, you were very inaccurate/twisting in your post to Florian.
All these errors from someone who made a point of telling us he was a former player.
You suggested that I might call you a plonker – I have not done so – but I think you yourself have demonstrated exactly what you are.
When I asked about Kallstrom (and immediately kicked myself seeing that bjtgooner had already mentioned something while I was typing my message), I knew it was his first start. Being on the practice field with all the guys, and being on the field are different. Last time, he was a substitute, and he went on the field with probably pretty specific instructions from Wenger as to what to do. To start a game, there are little or no instructions. Which was why I asked. How did he fit in, in his first game starting. And I was happy that bjtgooner expanded on his first answer.
If Kallstrom hadn’t of made any mistakes today, I would have been very surprised. Everything I’ve read, suggested he is a very intelligent player, and plays within his abilities very well. Very much like Per Mertesacker, except a bit shorter. Sure, Theo will blow both of them away in a sprint. They are both experienced enough to not put themselves in situations where they would need to get into a sprint against someone like Theo.
I’ve seen a few different reports, which suggest that Theo is the fastest person currently in the EPL. What advantage is it to a team, where they can in practice, go against a player who is faster than everyone else in the league? For hours or days at end?
I think Bootoomee has a reasonable idea about me. I am an engineer, and I believe he is as well. I’m autistic, he isn’t. But we spend most days trying to solve the same kind of problems in the same way.
Florian
It looks like I owe you an apology .
My original post was incorrect indeed. I meant to say Kallstrom didn’t stay with Nocerino in the build up to the Jarvis goal
Your post now makes perfect sense, mine didn’t.
Sorry!!!
Bjtgooner
You are 100% correct . My original post was incorrect . That’s what happens when you watch two other football matches while posting.
My second post was pretty much spot on. Nocerino ran away from Kallstrom with ease , didn’t he ?, but I do apologize for the mix up.
Doesn’t change the main point I was making. Kallstrom is too slow for this league.
Bootoomee
You said we should be judged on logic of our comments and nothing else- to which I say Amen!
Here are some of your recent comments that I can remember;
1. Arsenal don’t have to get a result against any of their immediate rivals as long as they win all their other fixtures. I believe you even wrote an article on this topic. Considering we are talking about four or five clubs competing directly against us , that’s about 24 to 30 points we don’t have to partake in sharing – brilliant! As if winning against every club from fifth place on down twice home and away was even remotely possible. Not to mention the psychological damage loosing to all top teams would do.
2. Loosing 6-0, 6-3 or 5-1 is just like loosing 1-0 , you still only gain nothing and the other team just gains three points. After stating which you contradict yourself the following week when Arsenal fail to win or barely just scrape by , by saying ” it was a good performance considering how emotionally harmful the big loss from last week was.
Not to mention the goal difference which might come into play for us this season against Everton.
3. Advocating against any internal Arsenal review of any or all things that might contribute to our missing half the squad due to injuries was another great idea of yours.
4. Stating that every responsible Adult fan should have his or hers priorities straight , by which you mean supporting Arsenal should be fourth or fifth on that list of priorities and suggesting if that’s not the case then there’s something wrong with them.
In my case it’s my family and friends , my businesses and Arsenal is close third so I guess I’m on the borderline of qualifying to meet your criteria.
However during my 17 years of supporting Arsenal I have cheered with some supporters who have but two items on their list and Arsenal is at the very top. Coincidently those fans are the loudest and the most dedicated I have ever met. They go to every away game Arsenal play and without them your plan of Arsenal beating all other clubs in the league would be even more bleak .
I think I’ll stop now because I’m depressing the hell out of myself here.
Considering all those brilliant ideas and posts of yours I’m surprised you keep at it. If I served up as many whoppers I would burry my head in the sand never to resurface again.
BTW , that argument you and I had about me blaming some other player when it was Cazorla’s fault in the Villa game. Well , you got that wrong too.
You said it was Cazorla’s fault for turning the ball over that led to conceding the goal and I said it was one of those things that happen in football and sometimes you just have to give credit to the other guy and say well done.
It took a perfect cross and a diving header from Benteke to score.
Cazorla is a playmaker and will always try to play out of a jam instead of hoofing the ball up field or into touch . You got to take the good with the bad.
Tom,
We’re only human, so, apologies accepted. I don’t like to see the spirits inflamed because of a moment which will be soon forgotten. And, while not perfect, I’m sure Kallstrom has plenty to offer to justify his presence in the team, as much as he is going to be given the chance. Chill up and enjoy the ride!
Florian
Thanks and Cheers!
Gord
I thought Kallstrom had a good performance too. He misplaced one or two passes initially, or made a pass into space where his colleagues hadn’t anticipated (no fault of his), but other than that he was effective. I’ll not talk about his being at fault for the goal as that has since been corrected. He made quite a few chipped, beautifully weighted passes through. He also put in a good shift defensively. He looks like the player that’s always looking for a well placed teammate to give the ball and has great vision. He’s a good addition to the squad no doubt. Bjtgooner had covered most of this but just thought I’d weigh in with my view.
Good win, and let’s hope for more at the weekend.
@Tom @4.57 am
Thanks for agreeing that your first post was wrong. But not only was that post factually incorrect, just remember you loaded it with a lot of aggression and sarcasm based on your wrong assumption – you asserted that you were correct and I was incorrect.
Your second second attack/post was also incorrect, Nocerino did out accelerate Kallstrom – but Kallstrom caught him, got goal side and did put in a tackle – (remember your post @ 12.17 am ““Kallstrom is five yards behind and never gets goal side”)
If your assertion that Kallstrom is too slow for this league is based on wrong observations, then your point would remain unproven and unsupported.
I am disappointed that you have chosen to take such a negative view of Kallstrom – one that mirrors one of the corrosive comments the AAA previously found comfort in.