Arsenal v Bayern. The teams, the multiple personalities and the return of Per

Posted on by Tony Attwood

By Bulldog Drummond

There was one really interesting and barbed comment that most of the media failed to analyse (well actually most of the media fail to analyse most stuff but this was a particular one upon which they faileed to turn their gaze).  Mr Wenger’s statement that, “You have to accept that a team is made up of 25 different personalities.    I don’t want people to change. I just want them on board to achieve something together. What I expect from the team is just honour. I don’t know what happens inside your work; maybe you love and kiss each other every day, but I’m not completely convinced.”

So 25 personalities in the team.  There are 11 players and seven on the beach which gives us 18, leaving seven spare.   That could mean that seven of the players have split personalities, or, and I think this is more likely, Alexis suffers from dissociative identity disorder and has eight different personalities.  This is obviously much more Dr Billy “the dog” McGraw’s field rather than mine, and I have dropped Tony a note asking that he might commission a piece from the dog on this delicate subject.

Per Mert got in on the discussion as well, saying, “I think we saw on a lot of occasions that we were absolutely not ready for a fight; and that’s what I want to see tomorrow: that we are up for a fight, to challenge something.   We haven’t competed a lot. We need to turn that around. We literally threw it away in the second half against Bayern.”
.
(Actually no Per, that would be handball, but I see what you mean).

“One thing about the Liverpool game is that there were 11 players on the pitch. We had a real chance to go for it, to push it and even without our best player on the pitch, to show that we are a real unit. It’s not always the manager.  It’s hard for him now to select; he does it with his best knowledge and we trust him.

“We have done something wrong in recent games. I am telling the players that we need to take the first step to get the fans on board again; to make our fans proud of us again.  To be successful again we need our fans to back us up.”

Absolutely true Per, and I hope it will happen, but the turgid combination of the anti-Arsenal-Arsenal and the Arrogance-Amnesia-Assumptions of the national press make it hard.

As for the teams Mesut Ozil is set to miss out because of an illness so he should play against Lincoln.  Per Mertesacker himself could be involved in his first game of the season having recovered from a serious knee injury he suffered in the summer.

“I want that we are up for a fight on Tuesday, to challenge something,” he said.  “We haven’t competed a lot in recent games, we need to turn that around.    I think it’s up to us to show a different face. That is really something we are going to demand because we literally blew it away in the second half there and being in that position.

“So it’s really down to us now to make the first step to make our fans proud of ourselves again. That is really something that we need the emphasis on.”

Bayern defender Jerome Boateng is not yet match-fit having been out since November with a chest injury, and Philipp Lahm is suspended.   Renato Sanches, who has overcome a cold, and winger Douglas Costa, who picked up a knock during Saturday’s 3-0 win at Cologne, have both travelled to the game.

Contrary to what most will say, since the beginning of 2003-04, Arsenal have lost just 10 of their 62 home games in the Champions League.   But Bayern have beaten us twice in London –  in 2013 and 2014.

This is the 12th time we’ve played Bayern in the Champs League – they have won six, three have been draws and we have won three.  However Bayern have only won one of their last six Champions League away games, losing three and drawing twice in that run.

And here’s another one that is often missed.   Arsenal’s last 14 goals in the Champions League have all come from inside the box, including one penalty.

So the team,

Ospina

Bellerin   Mustafi   Koscielny  Monreal

Coquelin   Xhaka

Oxlade-Chamberlain   Iwobi   Alexis

Giroud

Beached: Welbeck, Cech, Gabriel, Ramsey, Perez, Walcott, Per Mert.

It seems that the threat of a boycott has, as usual, largely gone away, and the tickets have by and large sold out.  Let’s hope the notion of support is still there too.

Arsenal v Bayern – what else we felt like writing

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104 Replies to “Arsenal v Bayern. The teams, the multiple personalities and the return of Per”

  1. Good old Per talking this one up. He’ll always be there for us no matter what. Great club captain.
    He must know that BM are stratospheric, while we’re still on the runway by comparison.
    The only way I can see us even winning is by them getting over confident and being rolled over. We’ve seen it before, but I think they’re far to professional to fall for that again.
    Can only hope.?

  2. And Pep is not in charge now. This Bayern is different and will not “roll over” cos they are “through”.

    Tonight we fight and survive or die, again.

  3. Live score is displaying a lineup. Ramsey and Xhaka in front of the back four, Alexis in front, and Walcott/Ox/Wellbeck in between. Gibbs, Gabriel, Lucas, Mesut, Giroud and Coquelin on the bench/beach/pine.

    I’m hoping for a good game from the players, and support from the fans.

    COYG!

  4. I think we will win tonight.
    I just don’t know if we can win by a large enough score-line.

    As a Wenger fan, I hope his tactics and his players both work tonight.

    Arsenal fans need to see a good performance. Arsene Wenger really needs to at least avoid another horrible defeat. I don’t want to see Wenger pulling that sad face again tonight. I don’t want to see Wenger being humiliated and criticised by the annoying and stupid pundits and by arrogant journalists.

  5. If we have any chance, we need to be 2 nil up in the 1st half. Come on gunners,show come pride, shove those goals up Bayern’s back side.

  6. Ospina

    Bellerin Mustafi Koscielny Monreal

    Ramsey Xhaka

    Oxlade-Chamberlain

    Welbeck Wallcott

    Alexis

  12. Tthheeeooooooooo

    Yyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhhh
    Ccooommmee ooooooonnnnn

  13. Brilliant by Theo. He’s looked our most dangerous forward since the start. Only three more needed now

  15. Theo was not offside the first time. Bayern doing their simulating & the ref falling for it. Robben an exceptional cheat.

  20. What a cowardly referee!!! He should book 3 Bayern players for attacking Walcott. This is just too dodgy to be a clean bit of officiating.

  25. Whatever you read the in media the atmosphere inside the stadium is eaectrifuing

  31. The officials are clearly cheating. There is clear fouling & clear blindness from the officials. Amazing how bad this game has become – corrupt at almost every level. That incidentally includes the lower level in England.

  36. Walcott got booked because he put the ball in the opponents arms. Vidal should have had red but it is obvious the referee has German paymasters.

  39. Martinez was booked….Now he’ll dive all over with even a hint of our boys around him….

  41. Walcott didn’t need to even pick the ball up. And then he slammed it into the Bayern player

  42. Is this the same,arsenal,that folded in the 1st leg? Its good to see them play with some balls.

  44. Leon you only seem to comment to contradict the bad shit against an Arsenal player, do you not agree that Bayern got the rub at all?

  45. I saw two dives. One by Rafita who threw himself into Ramsey, and another just before half time when a foul was given against Giroud

  46. Oh, and by the way what about the Bayern players reaction to our should have been given penalty, yellows all round eh Theon?

  50. Come on ARSENAL 3 more goals
    Come on ARSENAL 3 more goals
    Come on ARSENAL 3 more goals
    Come on ARSENAL

  52. @para,

    We never get such penalties anyway….
    It’s like our players don’t expect it to be given either….

  53. Looked like a pen from the crowd angle. Please Gunners there’s thousands of fans in the stadium and millions world wide rooting you on… For once please take us over the line.

  55. Leon – Theo didn’t slam the ball. If he did the Player would have been on the floor. He put it the players hands. He could have slammed it into the players groin but he didn’t. It was a sporting gesture not an unsporting one. The ref is an absolute twat as is the dildo wielding prat on the goal line.

  57. Menace . That’s how it looked to me. I think he should have left the ball alone. I mean who ever returns the ball to the opposition anyway unless they ‘re time wasting .

  58. Hahahahahahahaha Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha HahahHaha Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

    You saw that coming

  61. The dive draws a penalty. The dildo wielding cheat (who didn’t see anything wrong when Theo was brought down) has intervened & got our captain sent off. It is truly a display of corruption …… The pundits are even worse what a shambolic state this game has got to.

  62. What is it with this fuckin’ Markyb troll?

    Not a troll mate that’s you Klis Tom Tommo Shoot and others. I support the team and the Manager mate.

  64. That was shocking . The guy dives, gets a penalty, Kos gets a yellow, protests and gets a second yellow. The sound on my stream has gone so I can’t hear what the media team make of that. Effing disgraceful. We stand no chance now

  65. Clearly there were some “terms and conditions” in order for this ref to get his first ever Champions League knock-out tie.

  66. Now the commentators agreeing that the dummy was right…..Sic

    Pathetic.

  67. It’s wasn’t second Yellow…

    It was straight red. That dummy overturned the referee.

  69. If they are so precious about their fucking CL, let them have it. Fucking cheats!

  72. And some people still don’t believe in corruption in football…

    There is absolutely no other way to explain how a referee who had a clear view of 2 obvious decisions right under his nose, got the 2 decisions awfully wrong

  74. Well this was my last football game.
    I cant take the obvious cheating and manipulation any more. That’s it. Good bye all. It was fun while it lasted.

  75. When I criticise the Officiating there are a bunch of arse holes who take the piss. Now I hope those same arse holes feel the fucking pain. These officials were taking the piss. Off sides ignored. Advantage given when the free kick was more advantageous.

  78. This has become a nightmare match. Not one we were expected to win, but to lose like this…..

  79. Commentators saying embarrassing evening for ARSENAL….

    Well nope…

    Proud of the boys. It should be embarrassing for the UEFA…..Their flagship competition games are decided by shit refereeing….

  81. The cheats are enjoying their 14 man advantage. The judas’ are out with their cards. The commentators are trying to rub the scoreline in despite their ‘Britishness’ . What a fucking nasty bit of hatred for a great sporting footballing brain.

  82. 10 goals against and its all the referees fault..what about the manager who doesnt coach defending .Truly woeful and weare the laughing stock of europe.Give the manager a new 2 year contract because all of us want to see more of the same!!

  83. Markyb
    The reason I call you a troll is because you never ever comment on the match or the article. All you ever do is troll other commenters (not just me) . It’s all you seem to know how to do. You’re either very young or very thick

  84. What the hell is going on with this club?
    Every fucking time, after Christmas this team makes a hash of it. This is pathetic, get out Wenger and take these Losers with you.

  86. tom

    Arsenal were so bad defensively that Bayern didn’t create a single real scoring opportunity before the referee decided to give them the match….

  88. I’ve just switched over to watch the women’s international. It should be incedent free shouldn’t it . It’s nil all at 36 mins

  90. And now, with the match over, the great divergence can begin. The great divergence between what an intelligent person would see – a match where the officiating dictated the result – and what the average football fan, commentator, and pundit will suddenly ‘know’ – that Arsenal are an embarrassment and Wenger must go.

    It’s really rather simple, and we’ve seen it again and again in these Champions League fixtures. There are teams that are allowed to win, and teams that are not.

  91. As for Ian Wright, who is reportedly an intelligent man: “It’s a sad day because we’ve gone out again at this stage. We’re going through a period in our history that’s the worst.”

    In what way is this period of history Arsenal’s worst? Just in what way? We were humiliated by Bayern Munich in Germany, but here we have been robbed of any kind of justice by the unbelievably predictable Champions League referees.

  92. tom – if you didn’t see on TV what I saw, is it any wonder you are dim. The official behind the goal was more obvious than the Referee. He ignored the penalty on Theo & the subsequent attack by three Bayern players. He then ensures the Bayern victory by putting his wisdom across & earning the whore or whatever he is paid with.

  94. Ok, so what’s the club going to do about it???? Has it done anything in the past??? U know the answers.

  95. The sad thing, Rodelero, is that the ref probably got the red card call correct in the end. Definitely a penalty, and it fits the criteria for a red, even if it’s still a stupid rule.

    The ref blew the Arsenal penalty shout earlier and missed a few other less important calls as well, but the game-changer was probably correct.

  96. Menace
    You such an abosilute donkey when we are humiliated by 10 goals and you have the audacity to talk ref….

  97. Menace is right to be loyal to the team – that’s what fans are supposed to be.

    We played really well until the officials put the fix in – well done our team – I am proud of you.

    As for the officials – I regret I could not describe them in terms suitable for a family site.

    As for Munich – a good team, but also a pack of play-acting cheating animals.

  98. Every ladder you see is greased. The ref holds onto a rung with one hand, uses the other to blow his whistle.

  99. Menace
    How dare you call me dim.Did you see the first leg at Bayern where we were ripped apart and knocked out of the champions league.The game was over well before the sending off decision.We as a team and club are light years away from the likes of Bayern Munich and unless we buck our ideas up we wont have to suffer the annual humiliation at europes top teams next year.

  102. Support is knowing something about the game & its Laws. Something about sport & being able to balance the truth with the reality. The truth is we were robbed. Don’t talk about the score when you have seen the corrupt officiating. The reality is the game is more corrupt than just the FIFA world cups. Remember the 2006 cup to Germany was bought by a famous Bayern official. Now there’s a surprise. The dildo holders were a Platini thing & are corrupt compared to the goal line technology that the EPL use. They have screwed teams when ever necessary to satisfy their agendas & been blind to the most obvious fouls. I have seen the bastards at work in the Ems & believe me they are a Platini corruption in the game.

  103. Okay, so what’s the solution then? Does the club have the balls to take on the UEFA?

  104. I am proud the way the team played , most especially in the first half . Then the officials took over and the game descended to a farce .

    Kos was sent for a foul that never was . Which part of the strikers body did he clip ? Not his legs . At best his hand was obstructing the run , which is not unusual when two players are running and competing.

    Was it worse any than that Theo penalty that was not given ? He was tackled after he had played the ball first. In the clip by Fins above , Alanso never even touched the ball at all. But he berates Theo for ‘diving’ ?

    And worse were the commentators trying to justify the officials decisions , while really putting the boot in to our players .

    Thank god its over , do we hope dare that it will be different next year ?

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