By Navnit
Man City 0-2 ARSENAL: player ratings.
Arsene doesn’t do tactics. He is stubborn. ARSENAL will lose 3 nil. ARSENAL will lose 3-1. ARSENAL lose big games. Its down to the manager, he is responsible for all the big defeats. He is the past. We should look to the future. And when we win a match against the so called “big team” we have this:
“Great win but you don’t get any trophies for one game and all the humiliations we suffered away from home in the last 4 seasons are still relevant. You have to hand it to Arsene though, it only took four years a barracking at Stoke station to make him change his ideas. Its stunning what the team can do when they are coached and the pensioner has a full week to work on a game”
I don’t understand what makes people think so. You are taking credit for the victory are you?? Its because you abused Mr Wenger in the railway station at Stoke that opened Mr Wenger’s mind and filled the empty old pot with new ideas.
Yesterdays commentator, early on in the game, looking at ARSENAL’s shape says
“Looking at ARSENAL’s shape and defending deep, it has to be Steve Bould’s work (taken over the reigns)”
And later in the game
“For once Wenger has humbly let Bould do the job”
Well not exactly his words, but the summary of it. But Mr Wenger never gets credited for anything good does he. Its all Steve Bould’s work. Lets not forget, Steve Bould is Mr Wenger’s deputy and he is here on merit. He does all the things that an asst. manager is supposed to. I have never seen another manager/ asst. manager stuff discussed for so long.
Since all the other blogs/websites do the player rating, we at untold can do it for a change. We usually don’t do it, because football is a team game. Every member is important. And since its an important away win, as we don’t win enough of them. And we haven’t won away to a “big team” since Dortmund!! we break the norm.
Man. I am lazy to do this. Herez the Avg score.
- ARSENAL: 10/10.
Team performed well, everyone at the same wave length. Did you see Giroud’s no look pass to Cazorla!! Did you see Cazorla’s dance moves!! Did you see Coquelin’s awesome defending? Did you see the ball retention skills? Did you see Mr Wenger’s reaction to the game…
- Referee: -10/10.
For booking Ramsey for nothing. For not booking Kompany for the tackle on Alexis. For showing throw ins the wrong way. For being Dean basically.
- AAA: 0.
For being absent since yesterday.
Bonus rating for Pelegrini. -25/10 for calling us divers.
Come on Gunners, lets build on this. To the strong end of the season.
Here are the rules if you want to comment
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Ok. Sorry Navnit as this is not really going to relate to your post.
And I have already wrote something similar in the not-so-long-ago past.
Tony/Walter – please.
We won an incredible 2-0 against $hitty in $hit stadium.
Since then, 6 new posts appeared here on UA –
1. The YES X 100 times post. Well at least it complimented the team, however not analyzing / discussing a single fact about the match.
2. The Silence of the Sheep post – media criticsm.
3. The press got it right post – again, media criticism.
4. PGMO half time report.
5. Defending better – despite my disagreement with the analysis, at least its a post about the team, some insight about what has happened and what is about to happen. Still, however, not related to the huge 2-0 win.
6. Player ratings – This one. Again. To whoever wrote this please I mean no offence and I apologize in advance, but this is not serious stuff. It’s humurous, maybe, but again it’s media criticism (at best).
Sirs, what’s going on ? Don’t throw the glove at me to write an analysis, I have no clue. But I’m sure some people do and I (at least) am looking forward to some proper and serious discussion about Arsenal FOOTBALL club. Yes it has the word FOOTBALL in it, you know…
Thank you.
lol!!! no credit for wenger the cited win was down to the fans who know all about tic tacs better then a professional manager
le grove the most up its own arse blog with moronic followers thinks the cited result had nothing to do with wenger
why do all the players we sign and the ones that send come and get me messages cite Wenger as the main reason they want to join Arsenal?
To add to the media nonsense: Hitherto we were a one-man team, dependent on Sanchez. Now we are a one-man team dependent on Cazorla. Plus the twisted logic of “supporters” who are disappointed at this result, as this, together with Coquelin’s contribution, will deter our stubborn manager from buying a new DM monster.
Great to see all the pre-match pundits have to eat their words, but then try to claim the credit for making Mr. Wenger heed their expert views on the team’s “well known” shortcomings. (Apart from the commentators who dispute the penalty, saying it was unjustified, soft, or the result of careless Kompany giving Monrel the opportunity to “dive” or “go down too easily”.)
Finally, in its endeavour to cast a negative light on whatever Arsenal achieve, today’s Guardian has a big spread on its supposed implications for Mesut Ozil, who is described as a failure, who will not get selected from now on – what utter crap!
@TommieG
I get where you’re coming from but just for once I think this is all deserved. The amount the media criticise us; the crap we take from referees week in week out; and the nonsense spouted by the AAA. I think that this justifies the UA response. I wouldn’t be happy if it happened every time we won a game….but then it doesn’t.
And let’s face it, this is the best blog for serious, credible discussion and analysis…..most of the time 🙂
@Tommiegun,
How can we not criticize the media.
After listening/reading about Carragers rant about the Arsenal selfies and the mantle and the processed photographs with a wodden frame. How can we not!!…
Its not even a selfie. Its more of a groupie.
TommieGun,
I take the blame for it. As I will explain in my post about this match which doesn’t contain media criticism at all(!!!)
As I had other obligations I couldn’t do my match report immediately and 2 days later I thought it would be too late to write about it as a full match report.
However I would gladly re-watch the match again to do a full analysis of the match. 🙂 Come to think of it… I probably will 🙂
Has anyone seen or heard anything from RedandDread and Nick Lee recently? Credit to Jayram for turning out – although seems to have just about converted to an AKB…?
Man, a new miracle team is happening right before our eyes and many are not noticing it.
We have a new Arsene Wenger, we have a new mentality and spirit in the team, after many periods of despair, we have a SQUAD, even with injuries, unlike last season where we were down to the bare bones, and last we have many Arsenal fans, who hate Spuds and support the team.
So, as Untold proudly says, let us dispense with everything except support and critical analysis of ourselves, the team and the manager.
COYG
Fair article, I find this site the most balanced out of all of rest. Some of them are just pure hatred, that just spout absolute crap. Although when Wenger is wrong he deserves to be criticised, like not bringing in an extra Central Defender over the summer. But he deserves to be praised when right, like on Sunday. I feel that Wenger has tried to play this way before, but the execution has been wrong, due to individual error leading the opposition scoring the first goal. It’s all about the first goal and no errors and keeping the shape. Against the bigger teams Arsenal rarely get the first goal, for example Arsenal should have smashed Man U if it weren’t for slack finishing.
forgot the refs too.
This are good times. Arsenal beating CORRUPTION football club in HELL. As always JUSTICE will prevail. Go GUNNERS!
@ Goonermikey, fair enough – I was writing this frustrated post BECAUSE it’s the only blog worth reading.
@ 13 – YES but FFS 6 posts since the match and not a single professional discussion?! 1 I’m asking for 1 …
@ Walter – if I was in Belgium I would have invited myself over haha… Ok waiting for your report.
Pete – they could all be the same. Three persons in one…… no no no. They are so ashamed because they did not watch the match & were busy writing abuse & wind ups. All that keyboarding wasted!!
TommieGun – enjoy the peace & quiet. Create your own imaginary report because the aaa will not believe it anyway. I’ve watched the game 3 times but I really miss MOTD (Match of The Day on BBC). It really must be bending & twisting every drop of footage for something to show Wenger in bad light…..and finding sweet fuck all.
Very interesting. Very interesting indeed.
In fact, I have just returned from the hospital after having my sides sewn up.
Stop it Mr. AAA, just stop it. I have not laughed so much since the sorry Spurs fans crept silently out of the Emirates in their ‘Mind the Gap’ t-shirts.
I saw it on twitter. I read it on LG. I heard it mentioned on the Radio…………….
Mr. Steve Bould was responsible for Sundays performance. (stunned silence)
Let us think about that. He took the training sessions, he picked the team, he gave the team talk. Take a bow Mr. Bould. Great job.
Hold on though. How is this possible? Arsene Wenger, the man the AAA call a control freak, let Steve Bould manage the team on Sunday? How very nice of Mr. Wenger. A very kind, considerate act. I also thought the boys shirts looked extra clean on Sunday – I wonder if Mr. Wenger also relinquished the task of cleaning the kit? He’s finally getting the hang of this delegation lark. He’s thrown away the washing powder, he’s thrown away the Marigolds & he’s no longer going to drive the coach. Arsene is delegating. The chilli con carne pre-match meal will just have to be cooked by someone else. Where’s Pat Rice when you bloody well need him? Pat, Pat?
Bloody funny ‘shit’ someone has been smoking around here.
I give up. I don’t have any more tears left, I have been bled dry. Bloody hilarious. These fans really are not of this universe. Its a bloody wind up! It has to be. Doesn’t it?
Here is an idea.
Lets kidnap an AAA. Stick a red nose on him/her/it, a large pair of baggy trousers, a huge pair of shoes and shove him/her/it into into a frigging bright yellow car who’s doors fall off. Lets see how he gets on at Billy Smarts, after all isn’t that where he belongs?
CLOWNS. Clueless clowns. Bloody clueless clowns.
Asking them for intelligent debate is like asking Adrian Durham or Neil Ashton to get their big, ugly heads out of their fat arses!!
There is no way they can possibility believe the absolute garbage they come out with. It simply is not possible for people to be that thick. It isn’t.
These clowns are just desperate. They pretend they enjoy wins but its all a sham, they don’t really.They have dug a great big hole, made some absolutely ridiculous accusations and now the only way to save face is to discredit Wenger by making up some of the most incredible bollocks since Tony Blair taught his arse to speak.
I am starting to wonder if this is really a giant wind up created by a load of Spuds and Chelsea fans. I don’t know a single Gooner who thinks these people are anything other than complete idiots. It is just so bloody surreal. I have no objection to an opposing opinion but for heavens sake this is not opinion, it’s criminal negligence. These people should be sectioned under the mental health act, shoved in a straight jacket & rogered senselessly until unconscious by Mandingo the Massachist from North London N17. They deserve nothing less.
“Any man can be an idiot. But only a real idiot persists in their mistakes….”
TommieGun
Good points.
In order to have a serious football discussion, however, one would have to be ready to admit honestly to certain things.
Too many people are too entrenched in their believes to welcome such analysis. The prevailing consensus from prior posts was ‘ Yes it was a great win, but mostly because the referee didn’t ( couldn’t) fuck us over badly enough like they had in other big matches.
Never mind that Arsenal players did many things in the City game that we haven’t seen them do in a while. Like closing down City creative players and not allowing them space. Keeping a compact shape for most of the game , and when failing to do so , getting an earful from a teammate or the manager. Those were unArsenal like events worth discussing .
But admitting to those things not being present in other ( not all mind you) Arsenal performances , would suggest that maybe the players and the manager could’ve done a lot better in previous big game encounters and that is a dangerous thought for people who believe referees are only to blame for our sub-par showings to date.
Enjoyable article Navnit.
Judging by what I’ve heard and seen in the media after the Arsenal’s magnificent win against Man C I can only conclude that all this ‘credit claiming’ is a tactic sent down from the higher ups.
I mean it’s utterly ludicrous and amazingly childish but when you’re sole purpose for writing such trollop is to attack Arsene Wenger why would you give credit where it’s due?
I suppose I shouldn’t expect anything else from these ‘scribes’… oh and the herd that follow them… ‘foundations made of clay’ come to mind.
Referees are not responsible for sub-par performances by the team (although they may well make some contribution). They are, however, responsible for game-changing decisions which affect results. it is not unknown for a game to be won by a team who give a sub-par performance (that, for some teams and some pundits is a mark of true champions, ie to win whilst not playing well, grinding out results etc etc).
Regardless of the quality of team performances, there is enough clear evidence, documented through posts on this site throughout the season, to show that bad refereeing has directly or indirectly deprived us of several league points.
Prodkev – too funny.
John – agreed.
Tom
Your are not known as the:
‘disingenuous one , half brain, idiot mutherfuckerand pussy’
That is what you are.
Thank you Nanvint for a refreshing article!!
I watched the game live (on TV), and to be honest, before the start I was nervous yet positive. I won’t go into my viewing experience as it (match) unfolded over 90 odd minutes, but I will say this; I watched the full match again earlier today, and given all I have read from the aaa’s, media, pundits etc…I wondered if they all were watching another game – since I came to the conclusion that with 35% possession, we still controlled the game (the tempo and which part of the field its played).
Now for a one man team, guided by a manager who has no technical knowledge or how to apply it…we certainly managed to make Aguero nonexistent at one one end, and Ospina redundant at the other!! WE CONTROLLED THE MIDFIELD with our ‘midgets’ 🙂 🙂
Articles like this one are necessary as a counterbalance to the plethora of constant negativity heaped upon AFC.
Here’s Jamie’s hatred:
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-01-20/liverpool-legend-carragher-describes-arsenal-dressing-room-antics-as-an-absolute-joke/
@proudkev
January 20, 2015 at 2:47 pm
“Lets kidnap an AAA. Stick a red nose on him/her/it, a large pair of baggy trousers, a huge pair of shoes and shove him/her/it into into a frigging bright yellow car who’s doors fall off. Lets see how he gets on at Billy Smarts, after all isn’t that where he belongs?
CLOWNS. Clueless clowns. Bloody clueless clowns.”
Brilliant! 🙂
Tom
Yesterday in a rather sad effort to support your proposition that the ONLY contentious decision in the entire match was our penalty, you said Kompany did not deserve a second Yellow for his foul on Alexis.
I assume the reason for making this ridiculous statement was to support your assertion that Dean in fact had a ‘good’ match.
Now you’ve had time to reflect do you stand by that?
It was a great performance Sunday.
The players executed the tactics to the letter and there was some stand out performances.
Having Per and Kos back as a CB pairing is a big improvement. Young Hector is growing in confidence and performed admirably. His pace and ability on the ball is not to be understated. This is a young lad that Wenger has given faith to – this is one of the Managers strengths. He knows you cant buy world class players for every position. He could have opted for Chambers but he stuck with Bellerin, who Wenger has always rated. It isn’t Wenger’s fault Debuchy was put in hospital but along with steve bould and the coaches, they have improved Bellerins positional play. Experience is being gained and he proved he is capable.On the left, Monreal proved what an asset he is and a better player than some people seem prepared to admit. He is strong, reads the game well and again knows his position. Very disciplined player.
That back four showed mental strength, desire and operated as a unit. They held a deep line, did not allow Citys players to pull them around and performed as a unit. They dealt with a large number of corners and City hardly created a chance all game. That bodes well.
The three in the middle, Coquelin, Santi & Ramsey worked hard as a unit. They closed down space and forced Man City into wide areas, nullifying the threat of Silva and Aguerro. Playing without the ball is one of the hardest things to do, it demands concentration and can only be done as a unit. You cannot press or close space individually. The boys stuck to their task and Coquelin sat between Santi & Rambo, offering a DM screen. The intelligence and discipline Coquelin displayed deserves more than just passing comment. He has proved to be getting better game by game. He is gaining an understanding within the team, which is essential. This notion that you just throw players in and expect them to perform is flawed. Much work is done on the training field, with all the coaches. Wenger drives this of course, so deserves the credit. Just because Coquelin was brought back from Charlton, is not a good enough reason to disrespect him. He went home with Silva and Aguerro in his pocket, that in itself is no mean feat. I want these youngsters to be given a chance. Of course I want quality players too but there are no guarantees.
Sanchez and the ox were used to help move the ball quickly into the opposing half and was a clear tactic to relieve pressure and catch City on the break. A tactic often used against us. With City pushing on, fast movement with the ball allowed us to drive the ball into spaces. It was refreshing to see players holding their positions and not all charging ahead of the ball. Both full backs were clearly held on tighter leashes.
A much maligned player is Giroud. The abuse he gets is pathetic but is a sad indictment of the kind of morons that claim to support the club. They don’t, they support themselves.
Giroud is a much better player and finisher than some want to credit him with. Compare his stats to benteke, Saldado and Balotelli (the three players some idiots demanded wenger signed). They aren’t in Girouds league. He works hard, his touch for a big bloke is superb. There is nothing more demanding than playing as an isolated lone striker. he doesnt get frustrated, he chases lost causes and he did that all game. he linked up play well and played a superb blind cross filed ball to the mastro Santi in the second half. He oocupied the City back line and took his goal well, thanks to a to a great delivery and good movement. Practised move. Credit.
As I said, I thought this was a great team performance – but not the surprise performance some are claiming.
We have played like this on many occasions, not always with the same result. For the last couple of seasons, we have been hampered by injuries. I couldn’t give two figs if I get accused of using excuses, because it is an excuse. It seems ‘excuses’ can be used whenever we play a slightly weakened team but not when we ourselves are weakened. You take Terry, cahill and Ivanovic out of that Chelsea team or any of their other key players and they will be weaker. Ignore the rubbish about redzone. All top players play most games, fact. How many games will Terry & Cahill play? The answer is 40-45.
Last season, we were forced to play man City two days after an away CL game at the Etihad, a midday kick-off. A joke. Any person who knows anything understands that physical recovery is not possible in such a short time nor is organising a tactical plan and rehearsing it. This time we were fresh and had time to prepare. It is relevant. We made the most of that.
I have faith in the Manager. I also have tremendous faith in this group of players. We need a centre back, that much is obvious. I do not buy into this notion that we have to buy top players for every position. Give Bellerin and the likes experience and a chance. Bring them into the team, give them responsibility and let them learn off the more experienced lads. They aren’t hampered by huge egos and they have young legs. Compliment them with signings like Ozil & Sanchez.
That was not a one off Sunday. We murdered Chelsea, they had one shot on target, Cahill should have walked and Fabregas dived two handed to bloke a shot in the penalty area. Chambers was sent off. Any of those decisions gone our way and we would have won.
Sundays performance owed as much to Wengers perseverance with the players, the fitness of key players and his tactical awareness. This is a man that has won most of the top trophies in a world dominated by oil money. He is the only manager to go a season unbeaten. He kept us in the Champions league, while paying for a stadium and being forced to work with young players, while making a profit. While others spent £1 Billion quid. He knows what he is doing. He makes mistakes. To class him as tactically clueless is pathetic. Especially when you are an office worker. To refuse to credit him for Sunday is the act of desperation.
Great performance by a great team, a great manager, great coaches and a great club. A club much maligned and who few seem prepared to give any credit.
That is my report on the game Sunday. Don’t get that on LG do you, most of the content there is players and the manager being insulted.
Great little article Navnit 😀
John, it’s clear that it’s the Mach€$t€r Accountant$ that are a one man team, they can’t win without Toure! How often has that been mentioned? Hundreds of millions of pounds spent on building a one man team, now there’s an article for an honest sports journalist! (Cough cough).
A bit off topic, but Wenger is constantly criticised for his transfers. Looking at the two teams, we had only one big-money player in the starting XI, Sanchez. We had four players starting who were more or less developed by the club: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Coquelin and Bellerin.
On the bench we had one big-money player, Ozil, and three developed at the club: Szczesny, Gibbs and Walcott.
Compare that with the Manch€$t€r Accountant$. They had three big-money players in the starting XI: Fernandinho, Aguero and Silva, and on the bench Mangala, Dzeko and Jovetic; and a grand total of 0 players developed at the club.
Arsenal: 2 big-money players, 7 developed at the club.
Manch€$st€r Accountant$: 6 big-money players, 0 developed at the club.
Cost of Teams
The costs of the starting XIs plus the benches is:
Arsenal: £196m
Manch€$st€r Accountant$: £295.2m
So, what does the WOB have to say now 😀 They spent 51% more on their team.
The way Wenger has blended big-money signings (e.g. Sanchez), with cheap players developed at the club (e.g. Bellerin), and those inbetween (e.g. Cazorla was a relative bargain at £16.7m), is perfect. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Wenger’s transfer business.
rantetta
It’s not just Jamies hatred.
The amount of journalists, broadcasters ex players that dig the knife in at every turn is incredible, not to mention our own so called fans that attempt to discredit everything we do.
I said again yesterday for the God knows how many time, that we, Arsenal FC, must withdraw our co operation with these B******ds in the media. Do the contractual obligations and no more.
A plea to the players (alas as good as it is I doubt they red this blog) but just in case they do:
THESE PEOPLE ARE LAUGHING AT YOU !!!
THESE PEOPLE ARE TAKING THE PISS OUT OF YOUR TEAM MATES !!
THESE PEOPLE ARE INSULTING YOUR MANAGER ON A DAILY BASIS !!
GET A FUCKING GRIP AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT FFS !!
Not to mention taking the piss out of us, the fans.
Proudkev – magnificent rant!
Hello Jaime.
Do you have a problem with Stevie G celebrating beating Villa like they’d won the league?
http://instagram.com/p/xrxKvRHHkW/?modal=true
Or are Stevie G ‘selfies’ acceptable?
How about a Skrtel selfie for beating the mighty Villa?
http://instagram.com/p/xrc7xrJfHC/?modal=true
What about Jordan Henderson selfies? Or does the Norf just do it with more style?
http://instagram.com/p/xrbAHOIej8/?modal=true
How about a Coutinho selfie, for slaying the mighty Villa?
http://instagram.com/p/xrWe9lxCU9/?modal=true
proudkev @ Quincy
2 fantastic posts.
Tom (pull the other one)
“Too many people are too entrenched in their believes to welcome such analysis. The prevailing consensus from prior posts was ‘ Yes it was a great win, but mostly because the referee didn’t ( couldn’t) fuck us over badly enough like they had in other big matches.”
How I laughed. Again. This time it is the sheer irony of your comment.
Replace your comment with:
“Too many people are too entrenched in their believes to welcome such analysis. The prevailing consensus from prior posts was ‘that Steve Bould did the tactics, it had nothing to do with Wenger. Wenger doesn’t do tactics”.
Funnies:
A boy asks his granny ‘Have you seen my pills, they were labelled LSD ?’
Granny replies “Forget the pills, have you seen the frigging dragons in the kitchen ?”
Little Billy asks his dad for a telly in his room. Dad reluctantly agrees.
Next day Billy comes downstairs and asks: “Dad, what’s love juice its got me confused?”
Dad looks horrified and tells Billy all about sex.
Billy just sat there with his mouth open in amazement.
Dad says: “So what were you watching son?”
Billy says: “The Tennis.”
and:
My mate just hired an Eastern European cleaner, took her 15 hours to hoover the house. Turns out she was a Slovak.
and finally:
I’ve been charged with murder for killing a man with sandpaper. To be honest I only intended to rough him up a bit.
@ proudkev
people also forget to mention that we completely trounced Man U too. They only crossed the half way line twice and then only managed to shoot at prostrate defenders on the ground to get their deflected goal. We also pissed on them away from home last time out too but because we didn’t win 6-0 it wasn’t recognised by anyone.
What gets me is that people are telling us that we needed to sort out our defence if we were going to stand any chance. You know. the defence the media and pundits perpetually tell us is crap.
Yes the defence they has restricted the pposition to less shots than 18 out of 19 other EPL defences. The defence that restricts the opposition to less shots than Man City, Man U or Chelsea. People go on about the goals we’ve conceded sure. I’m not saying that’s not an issue and certainly we could have prevented some but surely the job of a defence is to deny the opposition from getting into a position to score. Well here are the facts about shots by the opposition the season.
Man U allowed the opposition 244 shots
Man City 229
Chelsea 227
ARSENAL 222
But of course, either the media are too stupid or lazy to look beyond the end of their noses and see this rather telling statistic….or, more likely, it doesn’t suit their anti-Arsenal agenda.
And we’ve done that without being able to play our first choice back four for virtually the whole season. I don’t see the media mentioning that……..
The issue is really that even if we’d only conceded 1 goal this season, the media would be bemoaning the fact that we shouldn’t have conceded that one, even if our whole squad had been playing on crutches. What’s even more annoying is that the AAA would have agreed with them………
Quincy
Absolutely f***ing brilliant.
What a fantastic example of the different ways the media treat us to every one else.
How embarrassing is that?
Carragher should be ashamed of himself.
I really wish an Arsenal player, or perhaps even TH10 would shove those pictures down his throat and suggest perhaps he owes someone an apology.
I wont hold my breath.
Goonermikey – yes.
To repeat my comment on a previous thread, we went to the home of the defending champions and our goalkeeper only touched the ball ONCE in the first 28 minutes of the match – and that was to take a free kick. I don’t think I have ever seen a goalkeeper, even in the most one-sided thrashings, be as under-employed as Ospina was in the first part of that match.
And that is entirely down to the defence.
I agree with the Giroud comment, he was amazing against Man City, towards the end when we had to hoof it upfield and those takedown that he did to start a few attacking moves, were exceptional. Also if Flamini hadn’t had taken the extra touch and just squared it he would of had a tap in and 3-0.
As for Carragher, it must have wound him up so much that he didn’t have any material to slag off Arsenal that he had to go on about Selfies (and get load of press coverage about it). Pathetic, his hatred toward arsenal is obvious and showing through. Even before the game his piece on sky sports about how Silva was going to tear the defence into shreds, implying that Ramsey and Rosicky were going to protect the defence. When most Arsenal fans would know that Coquelin would be that man and plus Ramsey/Rosicky. My point being that some of these so called experts are absolute terrible, but I find Neville fair in some respects.
PROUDKEV, Having read your comments today all I can say is FUCKING DAMN GOOD INSIGHT. Keep up the good work.
agree with @Goonermikey, if Debauchy and Koschelny had been fit from the start of the season, we would;t have dropped those points, at Swansea, Anderlect…etc. Defence is about a unit and understanding and Kos and Mertsacker are a great paring as good as anyone in the league. But they still need protection. Maybe they could be more vocal from their team mates to give them protection and not maraud upfield.
Goonermicky
These stats where actually highlighted on SKY Sports last week, not to show us mind, but to emphasise Southampton’s good defence, as they are the only side above us in that particular table.
The irony that only the day before they where slagging us off, and where again the very next day, seems to completely pass them by.
I actually put up a post about it but I haven’t got a clue where now.
QUINCY and GONNERMIKEY, Kudos to you guys also. Very well written comments. You guys nailed it on the head. I have always said the same things but am not erudite enough to put it the way you guys have done. Enjoyed it immensely. Please keep it up.
Nice writeup kev.
The thing is, the head Honcho’s in the media all sent there favourite Arsenal haters to the Etihad with the expectation they would all be administering the ‘Coup De Grace’.
How excited they must of been at the thought of it.
You can imagine how that numbskull Howard from the Sun had already written his piece, long before he’d even set out from his cesspit in Wapping.
The problem is it didn’t quite go to plan.
Cue much spitting of feathers and venting of spleens, as the sound of ripped-up copy and grinding teeth could just be heard above the woops of joy emitting from the away dressing room.
Oh Dear.
Howard:
“Shit boss, what do I say now?”
Editor:
“For fuck sake Steve, surely you don’t need me to tell you what to say, just make up a load of old bollocks like you usually do”
They cant have a go at how we played so they start on things like Wengers post match interview, it was Bolds plan, Corzolas off to Barca, the players selfie blah blah blah.
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic.
The whorenalists, AAA and management issues
A few people have been complaining about Coquelin only having 4 or 5 months left on his contract. I suspect that there is some kind of regulation which would have prevented Wenger discussing a new contract with Coquelin while he was still at Charlton. We have no idea if Wenger has been discussing anything with him since being recalled and playing.
Szczesny. It did not make an iota of difference whether Szczesny had a good game on Jan 1 or not, Ospina and Martinez had the FA Cup game on Jan 4th. And all of the mental giants in the press, kept trying to make it into a discipline issue about smoking. Since the FA Cup game, we have played 2 games (including the one at ManCity 2 days ago), and Ospina played goal in both of those. Szczesny wasn’t dropped for discipline as near as I can see. But he has now missed 2 games. This morning I see medja articles saying the Szczesny better find himself a loan position for the result of the season. What a load of crap! He has missed 2 games. Catch the flu and you could end up missing 2 games.
Related to Coquelin getting a new contract, more of the medja whores are winding up another subject. They say it has been decided that Diaby will be dropped because of Coquelin.
Sorry, there is nothing about any of this on the Arsenal website. It is all the fabrication of someone.
And for me, still no Krystian Bielik news. 🙁
Cazorla – Sorry Santi.
Wow, brilliant short article with excellent comments! I read through them all (except one that I skipped – no prizes for guessing which one that was) and kept thinking surely this can’t better. But better and better it got. I think one could throw all these comments into one big article and it’d make sense! Of course except that odd one 🙂 Proud to be a gunner.
It’s a pity that I am so terribly late to this wonderful thread and my response to TommieGun might now be stale but here it is nonetheless:
– The only thing that I find shocking is that Untold has published ONLY SIX articles blasting the media and our detractors since the Sunday game. I was expecting a lot more. The bastards deserve it.
– I saw the game and I am sure that TommieGun saw it too. If anyone hasn’t, they better head off to Arsenal Player ASAP. It is there and free for all digital (free of charge) members. I don’t understand the moaning about not seeing a “match analysis” when you saw the game yourself. I will read any match analysis published by Untold but if for some urgent reasons, like rubbing the noses of our external and internal detractors in our hard and well won victory, then I will understand.
Fuck the media and double fuck the AAA and all their apologists and sympathisers.
Up the Gunners and the positive and supportive Gooners wherever they are in the world.
Tom
I asked you a simple question early.
Now you know how upset you get when I ‘just wont drop it’ so why not just answer?
After all, it is your chance to show that given time to reflect you’re not as ignorant of the ‘Laws of the Game’ as you seem.
jambug,
Please leave Tom alone. Stop picking on the poor “( the other one) also known us disingenuous one , half brain, idiot mutherfuckerand pussy” by asking him to back up his disingenuous comments. I don’t think he can help himself but you gotta love the way he rushes to embrace any commenter saying anything remotely close to his. Poor guy!
Did Pelegrini really call us divers?
Pellegr post match intvw.
Start at 1:00 for “dive”, or check for graciousness from the start:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t994irPrQOY
Jambug
Yes indeed, it wasn’t only Carra hating. Sky’s aftermatch show was quite funny, given that their starting point wasn’t to be one about Arsenal winning. Souness couldn’t hide his disbelief – Arsenal haven’t played like this for 10 years, blah blah. And whilst at some point, Neville reluctantly admitted Arsenal had played well, he seemed to be on a downer about the result and how to explain it.
Much more has been contributed from above posts, so I needn’t go on.
Except to once again say Thanks.
Bootoomee
I know I shouldn’t but I cant help myself.
These naysayers that come here with there disingenuous comments, without a shred of evidence to back themselves up, deserved to be questioned at every opportunity.
If that “disingenuous, half brain, idiot mutherfuckerand pussy” ever turns up with a single statistic to back his ‘opinions’ up I’ll start eating Mrs Jambugs cooking. 🙂
Great comments goonermikey, Quincy & the ever reliable Jambug. The media agenda is shocking, facts simply do not back up the negativity they fire at us.
When you consider the injuries to our defenders and the loss of key players, the stats are outstanding on our ability to defend.
Somebody needs to explain to me the real reason why we are so disliked becaue I do not understand it. We are the good guys, fighting against teams that ride roughshod over the rules and common decency.
proudkev
“Somebody needs to explain to me the real reason why we are so disliked because I do not understand it. We are the good guys, fighting against teams that ride roughshod over the rules and common decency.”
There’s a few theories.
The one most commonly Cited by UA dates back to when Wenger arrived. He was put under intense scrutiny with some scurrilous, unsubstantiated accusations. Wenger handled it all brilliantly, but along the way put many a nose out of joint. Many believe it struck a very deep wound that has not healed to this day.
But there are other theories to do with Money, snouts in troughs, vested interests, etc. all of which focus on the theorise that the more money pouring into the game the more snouts that can be fed.
Wengers/Arsenals module of self sustainability just does not suit the vested interests, such as the media, both written and broadcast, that are the biggest snouts in the trough, with the most insatiable apatite’s.
A poster called Tim I think it was wrote a pretty good post about it a couple of weeks ago that I thought put it quite well and succinctly but alas I wouldn’t know how to find it.
The more I read in the media and on various Arsenal blogs, the more I feel we need to do a few things as true Gooners:
1)Use the newspaper media as toilet paper, fish wrappers, oil rags, as protection when painting, to start fires, to pick up dog feces, to line litter-boxes, as insulation in the walls and attic,as ground cover in our gardens,etc. butNEVEr actually read this shite. (feel free to add ideas)
2)The aaa are all singing from the same hymnbook so we should all respond from the same remedy list…..we need to isolate and ridicule them to death, refusing to react to their ridiculous assertions but rather always branding them with the same response: like we used to do with the GIT award of the month or something similar.
3)Only if a poster supports his/her opinion with solid and replicable facts should we discuss their opinions…otherwise they should be dumped in the aaa trash bin.
Why we waste so much time on driving people like Red and Dread or his sidekick back into the obscurity of their aaa cesspools is beyond me….lets enjoy UA, not spend irretrievable energy flaming these aaa assholes.
Proudkev
I really enjoyed your analysis up to the point when you started making excuses.
So let me see if I got it right . We were tired before the City game last season and that’s why we decided to make the game a track meet?
Do you realize how silly you sound?
Maybe we should’ve been tired for the game at the Bridge last season when Gibbs decided that the position of the right winger was far more suitable to his particular skill set in the opening minutes of the game. Had he been tired maybe he would’ve played o more of a traditional left back against one of the most prolific counterattacking team in the leage.
Also I don’t get your little dig about giving all the credit to Steve Bould .
I specifically gave all the credit to Arsene Wenger for the tactics and to all the players for executing them almost flawlessly.
People who say we have played like this many times before simply don’t know what they are talking about. Perhaps they watch the referee too much instead of our players. I’m not going to go over why this was so special as you have covered most of it , but I will mention a few things. The players fought for each other and held each other to account.
The manager demanded compliance and execution , and he got off the bench to get his point across when the players got carried away.
None of this ‘ I put players on the pitch and I trust them to do the job’ nonsense.
Of course Arsene Wenger trusts his players, but players lose their bearings sometimes during a hundred miles an hour action , and they have to be helped from the bench ,and Wenger did that .
Also , remember the zonal v man to man at the set pieces debate?
Well , the team adjusted and did a bit of both and it worked to perfection.
This was by far the best performance by an Arsenal team in a long while because it was proffesional, disciplined and selfless.
Jambug
I don’t get upset at anything that goes on on here. As a matter of fact some of the comments are down right amusing and I don’t mean the jokes either, especially yours.
I don’t take you seriously because anyone who doesn’t admit they are biased towards their own club , can’t be taken seriously.
But don’t change , whatever you do. Every club needs supporters like you whether in the stands or from a far. Arsenal FC are way better off with people like yourself around , to counter weight the wing nuts at the other end of the spectrum. You know the ones who believe Wenger doesn’t do tactics, steals money from the club and all that other nonsense.
So keep up the good fight and remember Arsenal need you.
Bootoomee
I thought we had a little truce going here. I limit my ‘bulshit ‘ to a minimum , and in turn you will be less pedantic.
Did I fail to keep my end of the bargain? 🙂
Also can you please leave Jambug be ? I really enjoy his little digs directed at me. If he stops doing that , his life might become empty.
So let him express himself . I really don’t mind. 🙂
Jambug
“If that “disingenuous, half brain, idiot mutherfuckerand pussy” ever turns up with a single statistic to back his ‘opinions’ up I’ll start eating Mrs Jambugs cooking. ”
Ramsey played 31 games in the first half of the season for club and country, where no other box to box midfielder played more than 24 .
That’s why he got injured and not because” he got kicked to pieces”
Theo Walcott played in six games in a period of 21 days , after he had just come back from a long term abdominal injury. That’s why he got injured.
No other player, that I can remember, has ever been put in a similar position and entrusted with such a heavy work load after just coming back from a serious injury.
And my favorite, from your dear sidekick Al;
” Kallstrom was brought in to fill in for injured Ramsey and I think he did a great job at it”
Kallstrom played fraction of 1% of all the minutes Ramsey could’ve played had he been available and fit to play.
Bon appetit! I hope Mrs Jambug is a wonderful cook 🙂
I am sorry to say this, but Mike Dean could have given a couple more yellows to the citizens, and one less to us (Ramsey) but this is not what this post is about.
Kompany body checks Nacho: clear penalty; dean could have said that it was not enough to warrant a penalty, like he did last season when Willian felled Theo in the surface.
Also, the citizens did some diving, but it was farcical, and Dean did not give a penalty; he could have, if he felt like it, such as when Aguerro went down for no reason.
The advantage rule was applied very oddly, and you have to ask yourself if giving advantage when a team is essentially losing the ball is really how the rule is meant.
The point is, dean could have screwed us; he could have ignored the foul by Jovetic on Alexis that lead to the free kick by Santi Cazorla and the goal headed by Giroud.
My take is that Dean may dislike the idea of City winning two back-to-back titles; he may be under orders from the PGMO to actually give as little as possible to City.
Nonetheless, the way we played, a win was the least we deserved; had Alexis and the Ox been in scintillating form, we could have won by 3-0 or even 4-0. COYG and AKB.
” Many people especially ignorant people , want to punish you for speaking the truth , for being correct , for being you.
Never apologise for being correct , or for being years ahead of your time .
If you’re right and you know it , speak your mind . Even if you are a minority of one , the truth is still the truth.”
Gandhi
You say …. I say …..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LwNG042z2A
Thanks a lot Kev it was a very well written, well thought and comprehensive analysis!
Have to say I agree with everything you wrote, and adding to that –
(1) Did not see our FBs bombing forward as usual. Was that a tactical instruction by AW ? Maybe, or maybe it was the result of having the Ox and Alexis in the wings, playing further down the field.
(2) Which leads me to – as a I saw the team sheet, I was thinking that I wanted to see Theo or Ozzer instead of Ox. I was of course proved wrong: the Ox might not have Ozil’s creativity or Theo’s sense for goals – but what he has is tremendous work rate combined with the will to get into the opposition faces.
(3) Santi was deployed in the middle of the middle – unlike the past where he was deployed in the wing or behind the striker. That has enabled him a lot of room to control the match in a similar way to AC Milan’s Pirlo (vs. Juve’s Pirlo, who is much more stationary) – i.e., controlling the tempo, distributing balls to the wings, but also roaming forward when possible.
(4) Le Coq Sportif. What a revelation. I am sure that behind closed doors even AW is surprised at how good he had turned up for us. The amazing thing was to see him shout at team mates … he feels at home, he feels he is responsible, and he has the discipline and perhaps humility not to expose his team mates. I thought that Henry’s comment regarding how we need a new Vieira was ill thought, as he could have said – “but now they have Coq who is starting to take up this role”. Not mentioning him (after saying we miss Vieira) seems like an old geezer crying how it was all so good “back in my day…”.
(5) Giroud – agree again. He is a great finisher, plus he gave both Kompany and Demichelis such hard time… his strentgth and persistance mean that defenders can never be easy on helping out the midfield.
(6) Ospina. I will just say this: I’m a bit sad for Schez.
@ Tom – you are wrong. See Kev’s analysis? See mine? That’s all I was looking for.
Have read a couple of comments saying that the sitting back closing down creative players is new, I’d agree to a degree but it’s not completely new, but last season against liverpool we gave the game away by conceding early goals to set pieces and game was gone so couldn’t do it, against Chelsea we gave the game away by getting caught in possession on the half way trying to break (counter attack maybe) then couldn’t do it, against City were completely in the game until late on so one of those days. This season completely different, limited Chelsea to next to nothing but didn’t get the decisions and ultimately lost, Liverpool drew but was unlucky not to win and limited their chances, and City was near perfect away performance but didn’t make the most of our breaks,, Utd we completely dominated and a couple of close calls probably cost us the match, we are pretty much there people, and as Theo said with our attack and a few trophies we can show just how good we can be .
TommieGun. Thanks.
Tom.
You said:” I really enjoyed your analysis up to the point when you started making excuses.So let me see if I got it right . We were tired before the City game last season and that’s why we decided to make the game a track meet? Do you realize how silly you sound?”
Hopefully, other commentators on here could understand the point I was making. I wasnt making excuses for us losing last season. I was merely attempting to explain the difference between the two away games.
I used to play at a decent level and understand a bit about preperation and recovery. You may think I am ‘silly’ but if you knew anything about Sports science and preperation (or if you listened to experts on the subject) you will know I was not being silly:
1. Tactics require practice. You work on the training ground and you repeat drills. This has to be done as a team and in units. Regularly, not once!
2. Recovery. The body is not capable of recovery within 60 hours.
Last season we played away in Europe on Wednesday evening. We had to fly home which meant the boys would have arrived back home early hours of Thursday morning. So Thusday would be a rest day, perhaps some light fitness work. That leaves just Friday – one day – to work on tactics, closing down drills etc. The game was the following day at Midday.
Add to that the fact that Man City played on the Tuedsay evening, at home in europe.
Is this an excuse for us losing? No.
This is simply an attempt to explain a factual situation that would have disadvantaged us last season. Compare that to the game on Sunday, where the boys were fresh and had an entire week to practice and rehearse their closing down and defensive play.
I have no idea whether or not the disadvantage we had last season affected the result. Who knows. All I am saying is that there may be reasons why we were better prepared this season.
If you disagree with me, fine. But please don’t insult me by calling me ‘silly’, it makes you come across as a bit arrogant and rude.
Football isnt about picking 11 blokes. The game has far more involved in it then some of you armchair experts seem to believe. Top level sports is a science, it really is. To pass judgement or ridicule other peoples opinions is fine but if you are going to do so, I suggest you do so from an ‘educated’ point of view. Not from sheer ignorance.
Tom
Just answer the questions you are asked why don’t you?
Where did I even mention Ramsey, Walcott, re injuries?
WTF are you talking about?
All are asked was:
Are you still saying that Kompanys foul on Alexis wasn’t a Yellow card offence. No more no less.
As usual you avoid the question.
I’m beginning to think you are feeling a bit silly about it now given the World and his dog seem to agree it was worthy of a Yellow.
No wonder you don’t agree with the Refereeing reviews if that’s how you see decisions.
An interesting opinion –
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4611200,00.html
Proudkev
For starters , let’s not go and measure our dicks on here. I respect your playing career but I also played and at a higher than ‘ decent level’ , and I know enough about sports science and fitness . Every profesional athlete does.
Also I couldn’t care less if you think I’m rude or ignorant , but when you roll out ‘ we were tired ‘ excuse to justify the 6:3 loss to City last season , you deserve to be called silly. Not because the excuse is not a valid one, but because they way we chose to play that day if indeed we were tired.
You don’t adapt a wide open , up and down the field tactic against a potent and probably one of the best transition teams in the league , when you are tired. As a matter of fact , when you are tired, it’s easier to play when you keep a compact shape.
We were so wide open that day , there were literally acres of space between our formations. A Sunday league team can get together on a Saturday after lunch and devise a plan to be less open than that.
It’s not about winning or losing that game , but rather how we chose to play.
We also left all kinds of open spaces in games against Chelsea at the Bridge, and Liverpool at Anfield last season.
Were we also tired in those games?
Giving teams respect and trying to nullify their strengths is a huge part of football , and if you fail to do that , it will come back to bite you in the ass , whether on two days or seven days rest.