Leicester away, all the details plus tomorrow’s newspaper headlines.

 

By Bulldog Drummond

It is my motto always to live an exciting life – to go to strange places (Leicester here I come), do unusual things, and wherever possible wear strange hats.  I also try to be hearty and jolly in a sort of unremitting way, except when dealing with the sort of hearty roughs that make up the Anti-Arsenal movement that so blights our lives.

Take me to a restaurant, (and I wish you would as I’m decidedly peckish at the moment and the funds are a little amiss), and I will enliven your favourite club or snack bar with the sight and sound of good fellowship and a fairly deep dislike of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.  Not to mention Liverpool.

I like players who are physically and morally intrepid which is why when I think of Leicester, that far flung village in the eastern midlands, I think of Dennis Bergkamp and hattricks.

But back to today and we might see the young fella-me-lad Esteban Cambiasso (well, old fella-me-lad at any rate) playing for the jolly old foxes instead of Inter.  He’s 34 however, so he may need an afternoon nap and that may coincide with kick off.

Incidentally if you want a resume of Leicester matches in August, there is one on the Woolwich Arsenal site – and some rum memories they are too.  The link to the latest article is on the left, just behind the potting shed.

However back to the present.  If you think Arsenal have injury problems consider the foxes who are without Matty James and Matthew Upson, who have shin and foot injuries respectively.  Also missing is Doris Kettle, the tea-lady, who has sprained her wrist.

As for the Mighty Arsenal we ain’t got Kieran Gibbs, Mikel Arteta and Olivier Giroud, Theo Theo, Gnabry, Ryo and uncle Tom Cobley.  (You’ll understand that last comment if you know your history of Dartmoor, otherwise don’t bother).

But, Monday is September.  AND THEO RETURNS IN SEPTEMBER.

Oh yes he does

Oh no he doesn’t

Oh yes he (Enough of the music hall thank you Bulldog.  Can we have an actual match preview do you think?  Tony)

Leicester drew 2-2 with the Men of Toffee, just as we did.  They lost to Chelsea, and then lost in the league cup to the Almighty Shrewsbury, but with a team including four debutants.  (I told them playing 17 year old girls in the centre of midfield was a mistake but would they listen?)

Leicester have won only one of 16 league games with Incredibly Amazing Arsenal in the Premier League and that was 20 years ago, at Filbert Street on 23 November 1994 when they won 2-1.  Indeed Mr W has never lost at Leicester.   Last time I went it was during the Unbeaten Season, with the infamous Cole A,, being sent off for assault.  We drew, and I remember a fellow supporter beating up a lamppost as we left the ground.

Actually I was also at Highbury for the very last game against Leicester until today.  It was that amazing, emotional, extraordinary, exciting, overwhelming, incredible [thank you Bulldog that will do] final game of the Unbeaten Season. Leicester were already relegated, and we had already won the league at White Hart Lane (as one does) but still the away supporters filled up their quadrant of Highbury, and  did their bit for their team.

But more than that – after it was all over and they had lost, and we had done the impossible, their fans stayed in the ground and clapped the Arsenal team as they went by during their walk around the stadium.  Now that, says I, is something to be proud of.   A real moment of class from those supporters.   They could have walked off and left us to our celebrations and  them to the misery of relegation, but no, they were there, recognising what an incredible team Arsenal were that season.

Now we enter this game on the back of an 11 match unbeaten run (but don’t expect to read that in the press), while Leicester have won just one of their last 14 Premier League home games (D9, L4).  OK that’s a bit unfair, since it was a 3-1 victory against Portsmouth on 8 May 2004.

But they cleaned their act up last season with the best home record in the Championship, winning 17 of 23 fixtures, losing two and drawing… oh you work it out.

Here’s another thing.  The son of Ian Wright’s old sparring partner, Kasper Schmeichel, made eight saves against Chelsea, more than any player in a Premier League game so far.

And so, my young fellas about town, what of us?

So far this season we have allowed our opposite numbers to score with their first shot on target to take the lead, but have kept clean sheets against the all gobbling turks.

The draw with the toffees concluded the run of six successive Premier League wins, but the unbeaten runs goes on, not least because Aaron Ramsey has scored in four of his last five Premier League games.

I think that for us Jack the lad will stay in the side because he was to my mind much developed in that game in midweek.  And it was good to see the old Kos-BFG defensive partnership there again.

My only concern is whether Alexis has got up off his knees yet after playing the part of ten.  Performances like that every week would be wonderful – providing he can stand the strain.

I also thought Oxlade-C came on a lot, and we are starting to see the result of the real promise that he has shown before.  He never gives up, and that’s just what we need.

The one worry here is the Leicester will shut up shop and go for the goalless draw, to stop them looking at a league table of one point from three and a defeat to the Blues (that’s Shrews Blues not Chelsea blues of course).

Özil stepped out of his calmness this week and told those on his back where to put themselves, and good for him says I.   Quite honestly if he just puts through one killer pass per game as he did against the Kara Kartallar (Black Eagles since you ask) that would be enough, but he does much more.   And he’s speaking out too.  Just look at what he said this week…

“The negative criticism came out of nowhere, it went from zero to 100. I went from being the darling of German football, the jewel in the crown, to being hammered in the media.   I’m one of the best players in the world in that No10 position. Fans, coaches, players and everyone knows that my best position is playmaker.   It’s different playing on the left. Joachim Löw needed me on the left. It’s not about the individual, it’s about the team.

“Of course Arsenal can win the Premier League. We’ve strengthened our squad. We also want to show that we can play better in the Champions League. We have the potential to reach the final.”

In reality Alexis will find life is a lot easier against Leicester although I fear the referee will have watched the Wednesday match and taken his fellow’s performance as a blue-print rather than a dire warning of how not to referee.

The last match at the Tower of Power King of King’s Stadium (that’s not quite right – I hope you have a street map – Tony) attracted a mass audience of 8,107.  I expect a few more for this one. 

And thus and hence, the team….

Szczesny,

Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal,

Wilshere, Flamini,

Ramsey, Özil,  Cazorla,

Sánchez

Sauntering on the beach with their buckets and spades we have some of these young hearties…

Diaby, Zelalem, Bellerín The Ox, Rosicky, Podolski, Chambers, Sanogo, Martinez (or Ospina), Campbell, Coquelin
My only doubts are when Rosicky is going to play and when the Ox is going to start.  That’s the problem.  We’ve got too many players.
To finish here’s monday’s headlines

  • If Arsenal win: Arsenal through but fail to convince
  • If it is a draw: Arsenal in urgent need of reinforcements
  • If it is a goalless draw: Gunners fire blanks
  • If we lose: Arsenal in Crisis as fans turn on Wenger.

There you are. I’ve just saved you looking it up on the internet.

The books
The complete Arsenal Anniversary series is to be found on the Arsenal History Society site.

74 Replies to “Leicester away, all the details plus tomorrow’s newspaper headlines.”

  1. Good read. Leicester aren’t a particularly nasty side and would want to see them survive the drop this season. I live 20 or so minutes away, so they’re one of my limited opportunities to see PL action.
    Just worried about the man in the middle…

  2. Thanks Bulldog, that put a smile on my face.

    You, however, forgot the headline for thumping Arsenal win,
    “Manchester United’s new signing get his hair cut!!”

  3. How about if we win big?
    “Arsenal win easily against tired Foxes”

  4. A good read with my sunday morning Frape Bulldog!!!

    I am sitting here thinking that we NEED to get a BIG win under our belts about now…is this the time?? Can the boys make this happen and shut some people up, and at the same time create a non-stress game-watch for us mortals on a Sunday??

    The feeling would be PERFECT!!!

    As for the ‘men in black’ – I am with AL

  5. Thanks for the preview.

    Its a shame that there a football match upcoming yet we have to all think – what will Anthony Taylor do next?

    Well, you cheating scumbag, what will you do next? My guess is cheat us. Aston Villa, opening match, we won’t forget you little turd.

  6. Many thanks Mr.B Drummond,lots of amusing jokes(Doris,Debs,etc)theres nothing like a tonic of humour at UA both in articles and on the board (ever thanks to Mr.Brickfields)in a difficult world at the moment.
    It would be nice to see a case of grit and skill today and four goals for the Arsenal and none for the Foxes.Come on Mesut,-das schaffst du,wir glauben an dich!!!
    HERES TO GRIT AND SKILL!!
    COYG!Aha and Amen!

  7. Leicester aren’t a nasty side at all. Since Pearson came back he has made us very disciplined and gets pretty irate if he loses players through suspension. We had one of, if not the best, disciplinary record in the league last season.

    I think this will be a very interesting game and one which we have a great chance of winning. You’ll get a surprise later that’s for sure but if you cope with it well and play well then you should get a result. Have an off day on the other hand and we have the quality to punish you.

    Another good performance and a close game and I’ll be happy. My heart says 2-1 but my head 1-1, I don’t think we’ll lose.

  8. Will Taylor stitch the cannon with foxskin?
    Gunners cull foxes in spite of Taylor hounding!

    I’m hoping the cheat has an issue that keeps him away from Filbert Street.

  9. Leicester is a team to be not underestimated. Just watch how they play. They should stay up, and will cause us problems today IF we are not on the ball.

    A big win would be good, as we need to start scoring goals.

  10. Whatever the result is today, the newspapers are still gonna blast Arsenal tomorrow, the next day and will forward to the next match commentary. Apparently, history does repeat among morons so just enjoy the team’s performance this season. Whatever title Arsenal win this season, I will consider as a bonus as these morons will never stop the siege. Go gunners!

  11. You’re right Micheal,was watching BBC motd2 extra and the people on there were blasting AW for ‘missing’ out on Remy. Only Keown was defending the manager’s stance. You’d think these clowns would have a bit of respect for someone who managed to go an entire season unbeaten. Apparently they know more than the manager,, even though they’ve not achieved anything themselves. Tw*ts

  12. If we got penalties for every ‘foul’ like liverpool just did we’d win the league by a mile!

  13. Correct. The penalty awarded to Allen would have prompted a yellow car for diving had it been an Arsenal player…and the indignation of the hypocritical pundits.

  14. So the liverpool pen was a dive? nothing new there. Am not watching but that was my suspicion when I saw on the updates they’d been given one. I expect us to be denied a stonewall one at Leicester this afternoon. Sometimes I wonder why I bother with this league when it’s so predictable, it’s a joke.

  15. arro.

    You are quite right, an off day and we will come unstuck.

    But as we saw with City yesterday, that applies to everyone.

    But the point the article is trying to make, with tongue firmly in cheek, is that if we do come unstuck it will be the end of the World as we know it.

  16. Dier with an arm on Allen, and Allen tumbling after hesitating less than a half second.
    Super soft penalty. I have to say that Sp*ds had no bite at all (Pool’s went to Barca).

  17. Apparently, ALL discussions about Arsenal must be about players that we MUST buy. Sky pundits preview of the game Leicester V Arsenal has been nothing but a whinefest (or is it concern trolling?) of players that Arsenal needs to buy.

    Why can’t this fucking idiots just talk about the team that Arsenal have NOW and the tactics and strategies of the manager? It is getting fucking unbearably annoying. Man City lost at home to lowly Stoke City yesterday but none of the morons is proposing that they buy players, so why is it the only thing that they ever have to say about Arsenal?

    The swing of results from last weekend and yesterday shows exactly how a competitive league works. There will be upsets and surprises galore along the way and it is not always because of the quality of personnel. Sometimes it is tactics and one would think that a panel of experts would be helping us laymen understand better but they latch unto exactly the same thing that online critics do i.e. BUY PLAYERS!!!

  18. Get in theeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeee!!!!!!!
    COYG! Three more please!!

  19. Anyone watching it? the comms.on 365 saying AFC are crepe and that L’Pool and Chelsea are wonderful,and already asking as to when teams lose the league…
    COYG! Do your stuff this half time Mr.Wenger!
    CYOG! aha and Amen!

  20. you’re lucky you didn’t hear russian commentator.
    “sonogo is a new nic bendtner for arsenal fans”
    “leicester is much better team”

  21. we will win the second half. im of the opinion that had koscielny not had a head injury they would not have equalized. need to keep going and pick up the pace, particularly in the last half hour of the match. we have some game changers on the bench and i would love to see campbell or poldi come on and grab the winner….

  22. Anthony Taylor was shite as usual. 3 freaking minutes of injury time.

    I do think that we need to show more aspiration in front of goal though.

  23. For being on the pitch.

    The turd of a Referee cheated in the most polite way. He allowe Arsenal to be kicked and gave Leicester as many chances as possible.

    A point is not as bad as a loss.

  24. Thought we played well – a good point at a tough ground. Well done the gunners.

    Sanogo is getting better every game too

  25. So tomorrow’s headlines then: “Arsenal in urgent need of reinforcements” 🙂

    In my opinion, our movement is not that crisp yet, to unlock the defences like these. Hopefully Ozil, Ox and others who kept holding their legs are all right. Seems like the effect of the game with Besiktas 🙁

  26. As long as we do not lose when we play iffy. Knew tigers would make it hard, mind you when we are not full on form most teams make it hard for us, but we will soon be rocking, taking us a little longer this season.

    I wonder if Joel is to be sold, because he has not appeared for us yet, even though AW says no. Hope it’s just a niggle.

    I hope the deal work with Carvalho that’s going on behind the scenes. I think we are getting at least 2 players before tonight.

  27. taylor was….as we expected.

    too many sloppy give-aways in the second half. not enough concise movement and passing. would have liked to see the substitutions a little earlier, but understand wengers caution when the game is so tight.

    there is work to be done on the training ground to increase our team cohesion and fluidity in the final third. however, in the unbeaten season we picked up a lot of draws early in the season and i remember people saying we drew to much. im not about to say that we are to go unbeaten in the league, but a draw away isnt the worst result, and continues our unbeaten run. we have yet to be anywhere close to our best this year, yet we arent losing which for me is a very encouraging sign.

  28. I knew we were going to be a nasty game since second 20, when the LCFC player should have been sent off for almost breaking Debuchy’s leg. Santi kicked in the box, Ramsey, Ozil and the Ox kicked in every other part of the field, and above all Koscielny having to bail out to have a chance to find his way home. Leicester a nice team, my foot. I thought we played Stoke RC today.

  29. Szczeny booked for nothing.

    Santi fouled in box…. No penalty!……. No surprise!

    Leicester given “advantage” then given a free kick after all, some considerable time later when they lost the ball.!

    Several of our players were clattered repeatedly after releasing the ball, including Per, Debuchy, Ramsey, Santi, Ozil. No protection from ref, hope no serious injuries.

  30. 4-1-4-1 formation, just stop it. Ozil surely should be in the middle. Very disappointing. Sanchez looks like he’ll die for the team though. Oh well, bring on the next game.

  31. However we didnt lose, still unbeaten, and the season will really start after the international break.
    How did Cazorla play? In the world of the radar(365) the comms. said he was the best player for Arsenal and couldnt understand why he came off.
    Pleased for Sánchez that he grabbed another though.Onward and upward!
    COYG! Aha and Amen!

  32. Agree guys, a point with a ref like this feels like 3. I missed a big chunk of the game, but the last 25 minutes or so I watched I counted no less than 5 bad fouls on our players that; Santi (twice), Ozil, Ox, and Ramsey(I think that should have been red, could easily have been another shawcross incident). I’m not saying Leicester are a dirty side but that’s what happens when players see they can get away with murder; even saints turn into hatchet men. Anyway, let’s hope noone is seriously injured.

  33. And the fucker gave only 3 minutes of injury time. 3 solitary minutes! The foul on Cazorla was way worse than the one on Allen that was given earlier today at WHL.

  34. @Bootoomee, and he took damn whole minute to issue yellows to Sczcesney and whoever that LCFC player.

    Again we were denied a damn penalty? What fucken even out and what damn its us fans bias. Its so obvious but some love to ignore that.

  35. I know the team may not be at its sharpest at the moment but let’s not underestimate the impact of refereeing such as today’s. Walter once did an article/series on how a ref can help one team over another without necessarily awarding obvious things like penalties or red cards. Think he said he can do this by disrupting the other team’s flow by halting their attacks for pertinent free kicks, calling fouls one way only, etc. From the sounds of it think that’s what we got today. Not to mention the penalty that Santi should have got(sorry didn’t watch but hear it was a stonewaller). Momentum is everything, and when you get a ref like today’s you’ll not be able to build any rhythm to gain momentum.

    I do think for us to win the league again would require super human effort on the players part, or a complete collapse by our rivals (which is near impossible as not all three or four could all collapse at one time). Just reflecting on what’s required to survive in a bent league, but otherwise am happy with a point today.

  36. AL,

    Santi just turned a Leicester defender and was about to unleash a shot right in front of goal when was he was pulled down. Taylor would have definitely given a penalty for that incident against Arsenal.

  37. Al,
    It was a damn penalty, the LCFC player pushed cazorla in the back after hitting him on the foot, this was so obvious even the BeIn sport said its impossible he didnt give it. And to see the position of the ref just yards away, with NO ONE to obstruct his vision, this is nothing but damn cheating. Its every time we have a penalty not given, every damn time. Yes we werent good enough today, a draw was fair, but this should have chamged the game. Plus other teams play badly too, and then they get 3pts from such moments we are deprived of. Wenger go spend some money on refs mate, its our only way out.

  38. The confused media’s take on two separate penalty claims.

    1.. Joe Allen wins one for Liverpool with minimal contact, some may even have called it a dive. The media take is there is minimal contact but technically he is entitled to go down so it is a justified penalty.
    2.. Cazorla on the other hand, although the media agree there was contact it was apparently not enough to justify a spot kick.

    What a bunch of two faced wankers.

  39. Bootoomee
    That’s an cast-iron penalty! I thought it was something that could have been interpreted to be 50-50 but not from that description. We were robbed, again. I said I’ll keep a tab of points we are robbed of and see where we stand end of season, last week was two and today another two. Four now, and counting. This league stinks.

  40. Mick,

    Let’s not forget that these are the same wankers who harped on about the 2 non-penalty incidents against Arsenal in the Besiktas game.

  41. Yassin
    If you hear commentators say it’s impossible he didn’t give then you know we were screwed. Have we even had a game that was reffed fairly this season???? This is unbelievable.

  42. Attack on Ozil has put him under huge pressure today, anyone could sense that, but why was he under attack, I have no ide. Thia media has to stop attacking our players and manager, ans those refs have to change, and start being more fair. Uts so disgusting and ao annoying this thing. I say lets go for the CL ans forget avout the EPL, they wont let us have it any way round.

  43. Given the PGMOB rep had a good line of sight (I think) there aren’t many excuses that can be made for him missing the pelanty on Cazorla.

    The contrast with the call in the the Liverpool game (Dowd! We’ve seen those before!) is telling.

    With this rep from the PGMOB tilting exactly as Al described at 6.39, with the injury to OG and the game on Wednesday, I’d have taken a point and no long term injuries all day long! 🙂

  44. It’s a penalty in a friendly five-a-side kick about between friends, let alone in a professional game of football.

    The plundits only expose themselves with such gibberish.

    It is what it is.

  45. Arsenal need no find a little bit more fluidity, finding the pass for that run beyond the defensive wall a fraction earlier, but given that these players are used to OG and no pace for the last period, it’ll take just a little while to see the switch that was seen with the more familiar Walcott up top in the 3rd round of the cup.

    Got through the qualifiers. Unbeaten in the league. Job done.

    Hopefully Koscielny and Chamberlain (& Ozil?) get an Anthony Taylor induced rest from the internationals and come back fresh and ready for the Arsenal,

  46. Looked a penalty to me. Overall, despite a ref we are never going to get anything from, we were not at our best today……the end of a tough week.
    We had some good spells, but also looked a bit careless, especially in the middle at times.
    Games like that show what giroud does, he creates problems, has a nice touch , a goal threat and occupies defenders, bringing others in…he can also deal with the most physical teams. Only wenger knows if he needs to recruit to deal with OGs absence,…..he says not, but secrecy and smoke screens are useful weapons at the end of the transfer window.not sure Sanogo yet ready to lead the line on his own, but if wenger has faith in him, so do I, just all about timing.

  47. Was a penalty. So much shit went on in this match. I cannot really blame Leicester, they just followed the tone set by the referee. Taylor is really quite a joke. Where is the social media campaign? Arsenal ‘fans’ can fucking go and on about transfers, lets see something useful done and put pressure on this cheat.

    Giroud would have been nice in this game. Battering ram.

    Boys worked hard, though. Cannot fault them for effort. The precision will come as the season goes on. Let them write Arsenal off. It is a rather long season.

  48. OG will be missed, no doubt about it. As for cover think AW is seeing something we may not be aware of yet in the players he has. I watched Keown on motd2 extra today, when the rest of the panel were laying into AW for not signing remy as Giroud’s cover. Keown said everyone thought he was mad when he let Ian Wright go and replaced with an untested 17yr old noone knew or had hear about, Anelka. And the rest is history. That shut them up. Well done Martin.

  49. I agree with the manager, the draw was a fair result. It was a tired performance, unsurprising after ten days that has seen two tough away PL ties, a trip to Turkey and a hard fought victory under considerable pressure during the week. Injuries not helping as usual and I will be happy to see the international break and the transfer window close.

  50. Al, kudos to Martin Keown. Compare that to what Alan Smith said on Sky

    “They had so much ball against Leicester and so many promising opportunities but they couldn’t turn it into a good chance. You are playing with one arm behind your back without a proper top quality striker.”

  51. A point on the road isn’t to be sniffed at, but against this level of opposition it feels like points dropped. We remain unbeaten and sit in seventh but five points from a possible nine suggests we’ve got to improve after the Interlull

  52. I really feel that with Sanogo it’s just a matter of confidence. He gets into really good positions but can’t get it over the line yet. It will come. Anyone else think his assist for Alexis was intentional? I’ve heard a lot of people saying he scuffed it but I don’t think so.

    And within all the non-refereeing that went on #7 was this weeks Naismith. That guy did whatever he liked today and I think it was he who fouled Cazorla in the box.

    All in all not the best performance but considering we had two spells where we played with 10 and the horrible officiating a point doesn’t look too bad. I wonder why we haven’t seen Roscicky yet? I really like him against teams that defend deep.

  53. Think Rosicky will be seen most when others not available, if we are chasing a game….or well in front. But yes, would have liked to see him today, especially as Ozil not yet firing on all cylinders
    As for Sanogo, nerves and confidence undoubtedly an issue. As we know, Wenger sees things, and sees something in this player. He is a useful battering ram in Girouds absence, but my main worry….not sure he is quite ready, we,also know he is injury prone. Giroud is out until the new year…..he needs to recruit, keep faith in Sanogo, trust Alexis as a striker, or show more faith in the likes of JC, Poldi or even Chubs…..or Theo. I for one am intrigued..

  54. Not our best overall performance, thought from the onset the team looked a bit jaded, which after all the recent tough matches and traveling and considering that the team has had only a partial pre-season is not surprising.

    Sanogo needs matches, a loan spell may help.

    The team even if tired worked damn hard today and in the circumstances a point is not too bad, especially with Taylor as the mis-representative of officialdom.

  55. Alan Smith makes a fair point, your club is not going to win the league with Sanogo leading the line. He tries hard but he’s not really top class, not yet anyway. When you look at our main rivals they are stocked with good strikers. We have a very remote chance of winning the league anyway and I don’t think we are trying to, more likely we are trying to build a squad capable of doing so over the next two seasons. Whether that is going to keep the likes of Ozil and Sanchez happy I don’t know but I’m sure Wenger must have convinced them that he is trying to build a CL winning team on a limited budget. If he does that will be an amazing achievement because we’d probably need to spend 200 million to do so, no club in recent years has won the CL without a surfeit of top quality players. We are not close yet.

  56. And btw, looking at the recorded replay I realize I was wrong about the bad tackle on Debuchy. It wasn’t second 20, it was second 11. Can’t wait for Walter’s review.

  57. I was watching the match with my liverpool brother in law and said really? was that a penalty? If that was arsenal it would never happen! He saw the carzola incident and said yeah that was weird! And then szczesny getting the yellow card for trying to get way from the scissor clamp on him! He was like why did he get a card?!?!

    I am getting really worried about these ankle tackles on our players, are we going to have a team left? It either the Achilles or ankle! pissing me off every time I watch a match I swear like a lunatic!!

  58. I think it could have been a draw if liverpool weren’t handed a penalty it was ridiculous!

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