Match reaction vs Norwich

[Marc Overmars]

There is it, CL football is now out of our hands.

Potentially the most impressive fuck up to date.

Man City and Villa fans for 24 hours then.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

What a calamity.

[cricketsi]

Terrible first half performance. Deserved to win it from the second half though and ultimately fucked by the referee.

[GP]

Terrible first half performance. Deserved to win it from the second half though and ultimately fucked by the referee.

Exactly right.

[Özim]

Awful result, awful season, awful manager.

[fakeyank]

How on earth does Ramsey start games?!?!

We have fucked shit up royally!

FFS!

[jelgoon]

Dont agree. We were shit for the first 15 mins of second half and they could have scored twice quite easily.


Terrible first half performance. Deserved to win it from the second half though and ultimately fucked by the referee.

[Thierrymon]

Awful result. Fantastic game. Absolutely Terrible ref performance, for both teams.

We have managed to totally mess things up.

[selassie]

It's over lads.

I think it's highly unlikely that both Newcastle & the Scum are going to drop points.

We've bottled it so badly this team.

[jelgoon]

Were never gonna win at West Brom- forget it. We may come fourth if we are lucky

[Japan Shaking All Over]

How on earth does Ramsey start games?!?!

We have fucked shit up royally!

FFS!

Couldnt agree more. . .Ramsey offered nothing today. . .Oxo did far more in the short space of timr he was on

[cricketsi]

Dont agree. We were shit for the first 15 mins of second half and they could have scored twice quite easily.
We were lucky to still be in touching distance by the equaliser, yes, but given we were and the chances we had and those denied us by incompetent/corrupt refereeing on balance we should have won.

[gunnerrrrr]

We simply need better footballers at this club and asap.
We need someone to help with the goal threat besides RVP, and someone who can finish constantly....Theo is the next closest we have and with him not paying we looked limited.

Midfield is a disaster, Song is class but he cannot carry a midfield containing Ramsey on his own.

No Sagna and Arteta = Exposed.

Much to be done...however who will come to us if we dont make the champions league.

And Wenger can fume as much as he wants but he choose the team today, he decided to keep Ramsey on the pitch....its his fucking fault.

[cricketsi]

If Ramsey starts at WBA I might have a Wenger out moment, tbh.

[GP]

Missed Arteta and Walcott badly.

[jelgoon]

YOu think Newcastle will beat MAn City and then win at Everton - no way. I have a feeling the Spuds will win both games though

[Niall_Quinn]

Poor performance, got better when Ramsey came off. Song cost us time and again with his carelessness and eventually cost us their third goal for the same reason. They should have had 1 pen, we should have had a pen for the handball - but the pen for RvP in the last minute. That's the biggest example of cheating this year. Corruption beyond all shadow of all doubt. That result was fixed, the final tables may well be fixed too as a result. That ref should never be allowed near a pitch again because plainly he influenced that result by cheating. The refs have been instructed not to give us pens, we've had so many denied but this latest example is beyond ridiculous.

[Marc Overmars]

Wenger has presided over potentially one of the worst collapses of his tenure. Which is saying something given how badly we've ballsed things up in the past. This season is going to be the disaster it always threatened to be.

I feel sick.

Any chance we can convince Pep to shelf his sabbatical plans?

[Xhaka Can’t]

The opposition went the entire season without committing a foul in our box at the Emirates.

Impressive.

[gunnerrrrr]

Will that **** Mike RIley give us a apology for his **** of a refs perfromance? Doubt it

[jelgoon]

We wont buy many players. Wenger wont want to disturb the youth coming through lol. He will say `if there is anyone better out there we will go for him' Same old shit

[selassie]

Well there is always the summer to look forward to, Arsene will strip the team of his assets and sit on his hands in the market.

[Master Splinter]

We were terrible in the first half.

The ref was truly atrocious all game. He denied them a pel in the first half, but other than that he gave Norwich everything. I'm expecting straight reds for passing to a team-mate next week and five clear goals denied just for a laugh.

Norwich were brilliant and outplayed us for a long period. When we were in the ascendancy, we had more than enough chances to win it and RVP fluffed loads again. As did Benayoun, Chamakh, Gibbs and Ramsey.

Szczesny had his worst game ever and Song, Ramsey and Vermaelen were just as bad.

Only Rosicky was switched on the entire game.

As a neutral, that would have been one of the most enjoyable games in years.

Fucked up, we have.

[jelgoon]

He was shit but to be fair they had two nailed-on pens also that were turned down


Will that **** Mike RIley give us a apology for his **** of a refs perfromance? Doubt it

[fakeyank]

We wont buy many players. Wenger wont want to disturb the youth coming through lol. He will say `if there is anyone better out there we will go for him' Same old shit

It will kill those players and do not forget, we have Song also who can play there ##

[Niall_Quinn]

The opposition went the entire season without committing a foul in our box at the Emirates.

Impressive.

It's called corruption. Plain and simple. When you look at a stat like that and then you hear a stat like Rooney hasn't been booked all year you;d have to be a fool to be unable to figure it out. Or unwilling to accept it as self evident.

[Niall_Quinn]

He was shit but to be fair they had two nailed-on pens also that were turned down

1 nailed on, the other was a good tackle.

[GP]

He was shit but to be fair they had two nailed-on pens also that were turned down

You mean We had two nailed on pels?

[Asthmatic Kitty]

Why Wenger persists in starting the awful Ramsey game after game is beyond me. He should have been sent off (if the ref wasn't such a pussy) and was just useless all game. I want him sold in the summer tbh, though there's about a 0.1% chance of that happening.

Overall the team just looked exhausted, which is the fault of injuries and Wenger not strengthening the squad enough.

Sigh, feels like we'd never have drawn that game if arteta was playing instead of ramsey.

Gotta say though, that was one of the most exciting games I've ever seen! Shame we couldn't nick it at the end. Cheers for that ref.

[jelgoon]

Well there was one when the guy had his shirt pulled blatently and i thought they had another one soon after but i may be wrong.

[Joker]

We can't blame the referee for failing to win today, it's our own incompetence that has cost us. Wenger may point to the RVP penalty decision at the end of the season and say that's cost us 3rd place, but it's the countless cockups against mediocre sides like Swansea, Blackburn, QPR, Wolves at home and now Norwich that will be to blame if we don't qualify for the Champions League. Focusing on the referee and complaining about corruption is just a smokescreen to distract attention from the fact that, after getting ourselves in pole position to finish 3rd, we've made an almighty screwup.

And this referee is known to be utterly shit, and in other games he has the tendency to try and "balance" things out when he makes mistakes in the first half in favour of one team. They should have had 2 penalties, we should have had two penalties. Let's focus on the team rather than the referee, because if we always try to blame the referee for all our failings, we'll never improve.

[jelgoon]

We obvioulsy had two but so did they (or at least one)


You mean We had two nailed on pels?

[jelgoon]

He plays Ramsey cos we dont have anyone else cos of injuries. Im sure Wenger has realised that Ramsey is shit by now. WHo realistically could we have played instead of him today?


Why Wenger persists in starting the awful Ramsey game after game is beyond me. He should have been sent off (if the ref wasn't such a pussy) and was just useless all game. I want him sold in the summer tbh, though there's about a 0.1% chance of that happening.

Overall the team just looked exhausted, which is the fault of injuries and Wenger not strengthening the squad enough.

Sigh, feels like we'd never have drawn that game if arteta was playing instead of ramsey.

Gotta say though, that was one of the most exciting games I've ever seen! Shame we couldn't nick it at the end. Cheers for that ref.

[Young Guns 11]

Exactly right.

:sarcy:

[Niall_Quinn]

Well there was one when the guy had his shirt pulled blatently and i thought they had another one soon after but i may be wrong.

You are wrong on the second, it was a tackle. First was a pen but not a red. We had the handball that wasn't give, player actually raised his arms above his head to stop the ball so 100% pen. Our second pen everyone could see including the ref. That's a case of straightforward corruption, no other possible explanation. Ramsey should have been sent off and so should that **** who deliberately elbowed Kos. That was a hand picked ref to do get the desired result. Like Dowd in the Newcastle game. If I had to guess I;d say it was a betting syndicate, would be interesting to see the payout for a scoring draw.

[Joker]

We obvioulsy had two but so did they (or at least one)

tbh having seen the RVP incident again, Gervinho looks offside in the buildup (although the penalty was clear)

[Power n Glory]

It's out of hands now. Just have to wait to see what Spurs and Newcastle do. Any 'chefs' in the house?

[Power n Glory]

He plays Ramsey cos we dont have anyone else cos of injuries. Im sure Wenger has realised that Ramsey is shit by now. WHo realistically could we have played instead of him today?

Coquelin or Ox.

[fakeyank]

We can't blame the referee for failing to win today, it's our own incompetence that has cost us. Wenger may point to the RVP penalty decision at the end of the season and say that's cost us 3rd place, but it's the countless cockups against mediocre sides like Swansea, Blackburn, QPR, Wolves at home and now Norwich that will be to blame if we don't qualify for the Champions League. Focusing on the referee and complaining about corruption is just a smokescreen to distract attention from the fact that, after getting ourselves in pole position to finish 3rd, we've made an almighty screwup.

And this referee is known to be utterly shit, and in other games he has the tendency to try and "balance" things out when he makes mistakes in the first half in favour of one team. They should have had 2 penalties, we should have had two penalties. Let's focus on the team rather than the referee, because if we always try to blame the referee for all our failings, we'll never improve.

:gp:

Tbf, Szczesny was gob shit along with his mate Ramsey.

And not to forget us missing easy 1 on 1 by RVP and Oxo in the end. Ref was equally bad for both teams. We shouldve done better in the last home game of the season against a side with nothing to play for. The players and manager should be ashamed.

[Niall_Quinn]

We can't blame the referee for failing to win today

Complete mystery as to why anyone would say something like this. When you deny as clear a pen as you'll ever see and in the last minute and as a result a win becomes a draw then how can you not blame the final result on the ref. Of course I guess we could have missed the 100% certain pen, but we never got the chance to test that. The ref had already set the scoreline. And that scoreline resulted in us failing to win.

[Ollie the Optimist]

i dont care what you say, im fucking furious over taht decision. open goal and taken out behind, clear penatly and not given. its a fucking joke.

suarez and bale dive and get penatlies, we get taken out and get nothing. fuck the fa, fuck football

[Asthmatic Kitty]

He plays Ramsey cos we dont have anyone else cos of injuries. Im sure Wenger has realised that Ramsey is shit by now. WHo realistically could we have played instead of him today?

AOC or coquelin for starters, even diaby with 2 broken legs would've been an option.

[Marc Overmars]

Coquelin or Ox.

With Arteta out, Oxlade should be in midfield ahead of Ramsey no questions asked.

But for some reason, the guy who has done nothing for months is favoured.

[Özim]

:gp:

Tbf, Szczesny was gob shit along with his mate Ramsey.

And not to forget us missing easy 1 on 1 by RVP and Oxo in the end. Ref was equally bad for both teams. We shouldve done better in the last home game of the season against a side with nothing to play for. The players and manager should be ashamed.
Pretty much, it's a joke people are making excuses again this game should have been won regardless of refereeing.

Even if we had got a penalty we would have probably missed it anyway :lol:

[Syn]

Meh.

[Özim]

With Arteta out, Oxlade should be in midfield ahead of Ramsey no questions asked.

But for some reason, the guy who has done nothing for months is favoured.
Wenger has always shown favouritism with certain players, it's nothing new.

[Niall_Quinn]

Is it just my imagination or is there a poorly concealed celebratory mood lurking under the surface for several people here today? I get the impression some people are very satisfied as it gives them ammo to fire at Wenger. These would be the same people stating Wenger has become bigger than the team. Odd then there's this thinly veiled joy as the team sinks while people focus on one man.

[Thierrymon]

It's called corruption. Plain and simple. When you look at a stat like that and then you hear a stat like Rooney hasn't been booked all year you;d have to be a fool to be unable to figure it out. Or unwilling to accept it as self evident.

Have you been spending too much time on Rawk?

[Power n Glory]

They had penalty shouts as well plus Ramsey should have received a second yellow. Awful ref and needs to be shot but when you go a goal up in the first minute and then make it 3-2 with 5 minutes on the clock, you've got to start looking closer to home.

[Niall_Quinn]

i dont care what you say, im fucking furious over taht decision. open goal and taken out behind, clear penatly and not given. its a fucking joke.

suarez and bale dive and get penatlies, we get taken out and get nothing. fuck the fa, fuck football

Yeah, in a proper football match with proper officials and the proper rules of the game applied we nick that and go away talking about resilience even when we play badly - stuff of champions and all that shit. But we don't have proper officials and the rules of the game aren't properly applied so instead we have whatever this thing is. Hard to put a name to such obvious corruption.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

47 conceded. :sick:

Horrible.

[Niall_Quinn]

Have you been spending too much time on Rawk?

No I don't spend any time on RAWK. What I do is look at RvP on the goal line ready to score, then I look at him being bundled off the ball, then I look at the ref who has supposedly been trained and supposedly knows the rules of then game, then I look at his linesmen, then I look at the decision they make. After all these factors are taken into account I reach the inevitable and self evident conclusion the ref is corrupt.

What process have you gone through to decide otherwise? Averting your eyes and waiting for somebody else to decide for you what you had the chance to see with your own eyes?

[Marc Overmars]

47 conceded. :sick:

Horrible.

:blink:

Must be the biggest amount conceded under Wenger? Funny because we have all generally felt the defence hasn't been that bad this year.

When in reality we concede more and more every season. :doh:

[Özim]

They had penalty shouts as well plus Ramsey should have received a second yellow. Awful ref and needs to be shot but when you go a goal up in the first minute and then make it 3-2 with 5 minutes on the clock, you've got to start looking closer to home.
Yup got to agree, just tired of the amount of lives Wenger seems to get, he's been f*cking up for years, last summer was a shocker and this season is a consequence of that.

We've paid the price for a manager who doesn't really know what he's doing, we've lost 10 games this season in the league and were out of everything by February that's says it all I think.

[Niall_Quinn]

:blink:

Must be the biggest amount conceded under Wenger? Funny because we have all generally felt the defence hasn't been that bad this year.

When in reality we concede more and more every season. :doh:

12 of those came from two awful games at the start of the season, makes a big difference.

[Joker]

Complete mystery as to why anyone would say something like this. When you deny as clear a pen as you'll ever see and in the last minute and as a result a win becomes a draw then how can you not blame the final result on the ref. Of course I guess we could have missed the 100% certain pen, but we never got the chance to test that. The ref had already set the scoreline. And that scoreline resulted in us failing to win.

Like I said, Gervinho was offside in the buildup to that move anyway. Even if we ignore that say it should have been a penalty, that doesn't detract from the fact that we were being outplayed by Norwich, a lower-mid table side at best. If we had performed professionally throughout 90 minutes, we wouldn't have needed to rely on a last minute penalty to bail us out.

Yes the referee was appalling and did everything he could to even things out in the second half, but there were dodgy decisions in favour of both teams. We could have had a penalty for the handball, while they could have had 2 penalties and potentially a two man advantage if the ref sent Ramsey and Benayoun off. At the same time one of their lot could have seen red for the elbow on Koscielny. It was simply an inept refereeing performance, but we should be able to rise above that a beat a side like Norwich at home.

[Power n Glory]

No I don't spend any time on RAWK. What I do is look at RvP on the goal line ready to score, then I look at him being bundled off the ball, then I look at the ref who has supposedly been trained and supposedly knows the rules of then game, then I look at his linesmen, then I look at the decision they make. After all these factors are taken into account I reach the inevitable and self evident conclusion the ref is corrupt.

What process have you gone through to decide otherwise? Averting your eyes and waiting for somebody else to decide for you what you had the chance to see with your own eyes?

If he was corrupt, why not give them the penalty shouts they had earlier and send off Ramsey?

[Özim]

:blink:

Must be the biggest amount conceded under Wenger? Funny because we have all generally felt the defence hasn't been that bad this year.

When in reality we concede more and more every season. :doh:
Too many goals conceded, an over reliance on RVP, a lack of creativity and lack of dept have cost us this season.

All in all the quality in the PL hasn't been very high this season and let's face it Spurs have bottled it almost as badly as we do and that's the only reason we're anyway near the top 4.

[Thierrymon]

He wasnt corrupt. Just a total bottler.

[Özim]

If he was corrupt, why not give them the penalty shouts they had earlier and send off Ramsey?
Good question, maybe he did not see it :lol:

[Joker]

If he was corrupt, why not give them the penalty shouts they had earlier and send off Ramsey?

The simple fact is this referee is utterly shit. He was lambasted by Le Tissier when he fucked up another match this season (I think involving Swansea). The guy is simply clueless, makes mistakes left right and centre and then panics, tries to even things up and ends up losing control of the game entirely.

I can't believe people seem to think that the referee is the only reason we didn't win. Hello, we were playing fucking Norwich at home, we don't NEED the referee to bail us out. In any case, everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that Gervinho was OFFSIDE in the build-up to the penalty incident, so it doesn't matter anyway.

[Syn]

Is it just my imagination or is there a poorly concealed celebratory mood lurking under the surface for several people here today? I get the impression some people are very satisfied as it gives them ammo to fire at Wenger. These would be the same people stating Wenger has become bigger than the team. Odd then there's this thinly veiled joy as the team sinks while people focus on one man.

There are some people whose posts aren't worth reading. And you have the ignore function or just ignore them yourself. As for myself - I'm not really annoyed about the result nor am I happy with it.

Obviously it's potentially an absolute disaster but what can you do? I get the feeling the mood amongst most is just helplessness. There is an obvious way we could have improved in the last few games and that was by playing our best players. Like it or not, an 18 year old kid who has hardly played is one of our best players. Nobody expects him to save the day, but maybe the day wouldn't need to be saved if we had a starting line-up who were capable of doing the basics right. I have little doubt in my mind that had Oxlade started most league games after the Milan performance, we would've sewn up 3rd by now. But, as I said, I'm just tired of stating that obvious mystery - and we are left with this feeling of 'come on Arsene, it's really not that hard, play your best players...'

[Niall_Quinn]

Like I said, Gervinho was offside in the buildup to that move anyway. Even if we ignore that say it should have been a penalty, that doesn't detract from the fact that we were being outplayed by Norwich, a lower-mid table side at best. If we had performed professionally throughout 90 minutes, we wouldn't have needed to rely on a last minute penalty to bail us out.

Yes the referee was appalling and did everything he could to even things out in the second half, but there were dodgy decisions in favour of both teams. We could have had a penalty for the handball, while they could have had 2 penalties and potentially a two man advantage if the ref sent Ramsey and Benayoun off. At the same time one of their lot could have seen red for the elbow on Koscielny. It was simply an inept refereeing performance, but we should be able to rise above that a beat a side like Norwich at home.

I'm not disagreeing with that. So does this mean blatant penalties should be awarded on the basis of how the potential recipients have performed in the match or depending on some value judgement on the performance, tactics and team selection of the manager? Wouldn't it just be easier to apply the rules and let the results unfold naturally?

[Marc Overmars]

The standard of refereeing is horrific but considering we were what, 8 points clear in 3rd? I'm certainly not looking at this game in isolation, we've been on the slide since QPR turned us over.

[Özim]

The simple fact is this referee is utterly shit. He was lambasted by Le Tissier when he fucked up another match this season (I think involving Swansea). The guy is simply clueless, makes mistakes left right and centre and then panics, tries to even things up and ends up losing control of the game entirely.

I can't believe people seem to think that the referee is the only reason we didn't win. Hello, we were playing fucking Norwich at home, we don't NEED the referee to bail us out. In any case, everyone seems to be ignoring the fact that Gervinho was OFFSIDE in the build-up to the penalty incident, so it doesn't matter anyway.
It's a joke to be honest, another get out of jail free for Wenger.

We wouldn't be where we are hadn't blown it, we've had some awful runs this season, including this run at the crucial time of the season.

[Joker]

Is it just my imagination or is there a poorly concealed celebratory mood lurking under the surface for several people here today? I get the impression some people are very satisfied as it gives them ammo to fire at Wenger. These would be the same people stating Wenger has become bigger than the team. Odd then there's this thinly veiled joy as the team sinks while people focus on one man.

Yes it is your imagination. Everyone is pissed off that this team have managed to contrive to fuck things up so spectacularly that from a position of strength we may end up finishing 5th after all. We are pissed off that after getting it back to 3-2, our lack of intelligence results in us being cut open when proper teams (with tactically astute managers) would have re-organised after we went 3-2 up and kept it tight for the rest of the game. Get your head out of the sand and stop thinking that those who question Wenger's tactical decision-making are all closet City fans. We're just looking at reality, while you seem to have your head in the sand whining about referees, as if there's some global Freemason conspiracy against us.

[Özim]

The standard of refereeing is horrific but considering we were what, 8 points clear in 3rd? I'm certainly not looking at this game in isolation, we've been on the slide since QPR turned us over.
Absolutely right, we'd done most of the hard work, all we had to do is be professional and focussed and work hard for the victories, we had a superior team to many of the sides we played and yet kept dropping points, no excuses really.

If I'm honest, I'm not really that bothered these days. I'm not fussed about the CL and with Wenger in charge we're going nowhere, even if we qualified so what...we're hardly ever going to challenge for it.

Yes we may keep hope of RVP, but we need a team not one star player we rely on to score all our goals.

We just need a change of management (and perhaps ownership), that's what it comes down to.

[Niall_Quinn]

If he was corrupt, why not give them the penalty shouts they had earlier and send off Ramsey?

Because when you are trying to rig halftime scores or who scores first or what minute the goal goes in or the final outcome then weird shit can happen. I don't for a moment believe the ref was pro-Norwich. I suspect he took money from a gambling syndicate, like Dowd in the Newcastle game.

[Young Guns 11]

Like I said, Gervinho was offside in the buildup to that move anyway. Even if we ignore that say it should have been a penalty, that doesn't detract from the fact that we were being outplayed by Norwich, a lower-mid table side at best. If we had performed professionally throughout 90 minutes, we wouldn't have needed to rely on a last minute penalty to bail us out.

Yes the referee was appalling and did everything he could to even things out in the second half, but there were dodgy decisions in favour of both teams. We could have had a penalty for the handball, while they could have had 2 penalties and potentially a two man advantage if the ref sent Ramsey and Benayoun off. At the same time one of their lot could have seen red for the elbow on Koscielny. It was simply an inept refereeing performance, but we should be able to rise above that a beat a side like Norwich at home.

:gp:

Appalling defending for their equaliser, Song caught out (How many fucking times does he want to try something clever to get out of situations?), Kozza ball-watching, no-one tracking Morrison.

To blame the ref today, when his complete ineptness clearly favoured neither team overall, is a complete cop-out.

It was the defending today that really cost us, all their goals should have and could have been defended better.

[Young Guns 11]

The standard of refereeing is horrific but considering we were what, 8 points clear in 3rd? I'm certainly not looking at this game in isolation, we've been on the slide since QPR turned us over.

Played 8 games without Arteta; W0 D4 L4

:doh:

[Power n Glory]

Any 'chefs' in the house? We need that special soup once again. :lol:

[Joker]

There are some people whose posts aren't worth reading. And you have the ignore function or just ignore them yourself. As for myself - I'm not really annoyed about the result nor am I happy with it.

Not really, there are just some people who don't think there is some global anti-Arsenal conspiracy and that referees are out to get us. Rather than focusing on things we cannot control it's better to focus on what's wrong internally at the club. Why can't we close games out? Why is Wenger not playing Oxlade? Why is our squad so weak that the absence of one player (Arteta) seems to make the whole midfield crumble? Why is someone like Ramsey continuing to play even though he's been shit for months now? These are questions that need to be asked, rather than changing the subject and focusing on referees.

[Joker]

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "We had chances to win the match but we were not sharp enough. Once we went 3-2 up, we had chances and even at 3-3 we had four or five chances to win the game. It is a point. We were 2-1 down at half-time, it was a great response in the second half and we had enough chances to win the game and didn't take them.

:lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Yes it is your imagination. Everyone is pissed off that this team have managed to contrive to fuck things up so spectacularly that from a position of strength we may end up finishing 5th after all. We are pissed off that after getting it back to 3-2, our lack of intelligence results in us being cut open when proper teams (with tactically astute managers) would have re-organised after we went 3-2 up and kept it tight for the rest of the game. Get your head out of the sand and stop thinking that those who question Wenger's tactical decision-making are all closet City fans. We're just looking at reality, while you seem to have your head in the sand whining about referees, as if there's some global Freemason conspiracy against us.

Yep that must be it. Just incompetence. Nothing to see, move along. No questions need to be asked about this ongoing incompetence it just needs to be accepted as one of those things. It's not even conceivable that there could be corruption in the sport, not even when you see a referring performance like that. Corruption is impossible but hiring incompetents to control professional sports events is entirely feasible. And anyone who thinks otherwise has their head in the sand. Good reasoning. Good logic. Same could be applied to "incompetent" bankers, "incompetent" politicians, etc. Their incompetence keeps them in their jobs and relegates anyone who questions this state of affairs as a "conspiracy theorist". Listening to you is like reading the Daily Mail.

[GP]

Sagna has a broken leg.

[Niall_Quinn]

Not really, there are just some people who don't think there is some global anti-Arsenal conspiracy and that referees are out to get us. Rather than focusing on things we cannot control it's better to focus on what's wrong internally at the club. Why can't we close games out? Why is Wenger not playing Oxlade? Why is our squad so weak that the absence of one player (Arteta) seems to make the whole midfield crumble? Why is someone like Ramsey continuing to play even though he's been shit for months now? These are questions that need to be asked, rather than changing the subject and focusing on referees.

Excuse me, but that post wasn't about any global anti-Arsenal conspiracies - it was about your season long anti-Arsenal postings and the postings from people like you. Stay on topic please.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sagna has a broken leg.

Next season shaping up nicely already.

[Young Guns 11]

Sagna has a broken leg.

:doh:

[Niall_Quinn]

:gp:

Appalling defending for their equaliser, Song caught out (How many fucking times does he want to try something clever to get out of situations?), Kozza ball-watching, no-one tracking Morrison.

To blame the ref today, when his complete ineptness clearly favoured neither team overall, is a complete cop-out.

It was the defending today that really cost us, all their goals should have and could have been defended better.

Yep, Song awful for the whole match. Nobody is blaming the ref for the performance. But he clearly decided the final result and that's not acceptable.

[jelgoon]

Poor guy. It did look quite bad.


Sagna has a broken leg.

[Newguy]

We need an additional RB anyway, sucks for him though!

[Master Splinter]

Daily Mirror's John Cross on Twitter: "Sagna broken fibula, misses Euros. Same leg as at Tottenham. He was kicked on the leg and played on with it."

One of our strongest players is now another Diaby.

At least most of our players will have a long rest.

[Joker]

Excuse me, but that post wasn't about any global anti-Arsenal conspiracies - it was about your season long anti-Arsenal postings and the postings from people like you. Stay on topic please.

There's a difference between Anti-Arsenal postings and complaining about the way the club is being run by the twats in the boardroom and by Wenger in the dressing-room. I have not once criticised the club Arsenal, I have been voicing concerns about the direction the club is being taken by people who don't seem to have the clubs' best interests at heart, and seem to care only about the financial bottom line (this includes Wenger). This is what I'm complaining about.

Do you label the Blackburn fans, Villa fans etc who have complained much more vociferously about their owners/manager Anti-Blackburn/Villa?

[gunnerrrrr]

some good news - Arsene has declined to speak to BBC/MOTD ....shame Linekar u big eared ****

[Niall_Quinn]

There's a difference between Anti-Arsenal postings and complaining about the way the club is being run by the twats in the boardroom and by Wenger in the dressing-room. I have not once criticised the club Arsenal, I have been voicing concerns about the direction the club is being taken by people who don't seem to have the clubs' best interests at heart, and seem to care only about the financial bottom line (this includes Wenger). This is what I'm complaining about.

Do you label the Blackburn fans, Villa fans etc who have complained much more vociferously about their owners/manager Anti-Blackburn/Villa?

No, I don't give a shit about Blackburn fans. What they do have to do with anything? Your track record is posted here for all to see.

[Niall_Quinn]

With the Sagna news on top, one word for today. Disaster.

[Newguy]

Wenger has said that the defending was unacceptable

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger has said that the defending was unacceptable

He should have just said Song is a cock and I'm going to kick him in the bollocks.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Wenger has said that the defending was unacceptable

Could have fooled me.

[Marc Overmars]

Feel for Sagna with the Euros around the corner. Hard luck.

I guess for us though it's not the worst blow given he has the summer to recover.

[Young Guns 11]

Feel for Sagna with the Euros around the corner. Hard luck.

I guess for us though it's not the worst blow given he has the summer to recover.

Coquelin did a very decent job when he came on as well. Mr Utility.

[Master Splinter]

Coquelin always seems to perform well while disaster and general meltdown is occurring all around the place.

Wonder if WUMger will ever play him during a good run or before Song, who has been a bit shit aside from the glorious chips to feed RVP.

[milla]

Coquelin did a very decent job when he came on as well. Mr Utility.

Give him the DM role next season. Coquelin is more energetic and better suit than Song IMO. :coffee:

[Newguy]

Coquelin always seems to perform well while disaster and general meltdown is occurring all around the place.

Wonder if WUMger will ever play him during a good run or before Song, who has been a bit shit aside from the glorious chips to feed RVP.

Surely he should have played in the middle with Song from the start, with Ramsey nowhere to be seen

[jelgoon]

Why is our defence so shit nowdays after a good spell? Is it that Koscielny,Vermalen and GIbbs are not as good as they think they are or is it the failings of the defensive midfield. I think its the former- I just dont think our defenders are good enough at the top level (apart from Sagna).

[Young Guns 11]

Coquelin always seems to perform well while disaster and general meltdown is occurring all around the place.

Wonder if WUMger will ever play him during a good run or before Song, who has been a bit shit aside from the glorious chips to feed RVP.

Song frustrates the living hell out of me. Every time he has to try and hold off players with his strength and then push through, he needs to reign in this more flamboyant side that has emerged with him recently. He's a DM, our only real defending midfielder. He leaves us in horrible defensive situations on a number of occasions, and today we saw that. Even for their first goal he should have done better, didn't jump with that Norwich attacker who headed it on, and then failed to track back immediately, which was a big reason why whoever it was got that pass to Holt in space. Still super unlucky that went in though.

[Joker]

People who said Vermaelen is overrated were correct tbh. He's got an all action style of play which is exciting to watch but he is defensively naive a lot of the time. When Jackson went past him as if he wasn't there it was pitiful.

[milla]

Coquelin always seems to perform well while disaster and general meltdown is occurring all around the place.

Wonder if WUMger will ever play him during a good run or before Song, who has been a bit shit aside from the glorious chips to feed RVP.

Something is so wrong with Song, he really cant concentrate (or maybe he just doesnt have the engine to play 90 minutes in midfield). You cant build your midfield around Song, he just cant focus 100% on the game. :coffee:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I don't think Song really knows what he is doing, in the nicest possible way. You can't be both our main attacking threat from directly in the middle and at the same time be our main defensive shield.

[milla]

People who said Vermaelen is overrated were correct tbh. He's got an all action style of play which is exciting to watch but he is defensively naive a lot of the time. When Jackson went past him as if he wasn't there it was pitiful.

Maybe because he was already on yellow didnt want to risk a second one. Nothing wrong from the CBs today, midfield is however a big problem now. :coffee:

[Marc Overmars]

Quality wise, Song has everything.

He just smokes weed before every game so it's lottery as to what performance we'll get from him.

[milla]

I don't think Song really knows what he is doing, in the nicest possible way. You can't be both our main attacking threat from directly in the middle and at the same time be our main defensive shield.

For next season, Wenger has to buy or promote someone to take over the defensive role in midfield. Right now Song is best as 2nd CM, let him compete with Wilshere and Diaby (if they ever fit). :coffee:

[milla]

Quality wise, Song has everything.

He just smokes weed before every game so it's lottery as to what performance we'll get from him.

Yes, keep it that way and we will not win anything IMO. :coffee:

[Niall_Quinn]

12:45 kickoffs are shit - depression hits earlier, longer until the kids go to bed and you can raid the drinks cabinet to go coma. Fucked up 12:45 kickoffs. Isn't there a cup final on today at some point? Might slash my wrists and squirt blood all over that.

[Dennis Bendtner]

Song needs someone sane next to him. It's not a balanced midfield otherwise. He and the centre-backs are clearly employed in a big way for their ability going forward. It's fine, but the midfield will just tend to empty and get easily bypassed without a sane head in there. We can't say we haven't seen the upside of it - look at Song's passes to Van Persie and Vermaelen's record of scoring important goals. But a common theme of most of our defeats at the Emirates is how the midfield all become sucked in to the same areas, notably against Man Utd on the counterattack a couple of seasons back. Today was just far too easy. The centre-backs were left in lots of one-on-one situations and actually did well to limit the number of shots on goal. The system demands a lot from them.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wouldn't be surprised if Ox is our DM next season. Think of the craziest fucked up possibilities and then add a special surprise factor.

[BOBN]

People who said Vermaelen is overrated were correct tbh. He's got an all action style of play which is exciting to watch but he is defensively naive a lot of the time. When Jackson went past him as if he wasn't there it was pitiful.
glad you people are finally listening.

The guy is fooking shyt.

Theres a reason belgium dont have the best central defence is the world and will be sitting on their arses this summer (HINT: its not Kompany)

[notwist]

All this scrambling for CL football is a nonsense anyway. It disguises the fact that we are not competitive in the PL and haven't been for years. Tbh a year out of the CL and rid of Wenger would be a result now.

[LDG]

The bottle is on!! :bow:Shoking really. Got ourselves back into it, then panicked. Ah well. Always next season.

[LDG]

The opposition went the entire season without committing a foul in our box at the Emirates.

Impressive.

bloody hell!! That's a joke! Haha! :lol:

[Globalgunner]

Whenever we have a bad result like this the forum almost always decends into the same bitchy agruments over minutae. forget the ref forget the opposition, this game and this result are pure Arsenal and pure Wenger. How may times have we cocked up like this royally with a win just minutes away. We cannot defend because it is intrinsically in our nature to be brittle. Our midfiled loses possession and are never in a mad dash to recover, Song, Ramsey, etc will jog back at half the speed of the attackers. This is us, this is how we were when Denilson was bestriding our midfield like a colossus. Nothing has changed bacause the manager has not changed. Our defenders are never serene or determined when under pressure, we all panic en masse. balls are heraded up into the air or passes made straight to the attackers. Our players are goal shy, in the box we miss open goals and easy chances. this is us , it has always been us, at least for the last 8 years. Ride on Monsieur Wenger, in you we always trust.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

There is it, CL football is now out of our hands.

Potentially the most impressive fuck up to date.Man City and Villa fans for 24 hours then.


Wenger has presided over potentially one of the worst collapses of his tenure. Which is saying something given how badly we've ballsed things up in the past. This season is going to be the disaster it always threatened to be.

I feel sick.

Any chance we can convince Pep to shelf his sabbatical plans?

Rubbish to both, Last season was much worse the only reason it seems worse to ou this was because we may get no Cl footie next season.

Our sqaud is shite and with RVP not beeing on form in the last few Theo being our and Mikel it was always going to cost us as well AW being Tacitally inepet and decided to keep playing shite like Gev and Ramsey.

Had spuds not fecked up we bo no where near 3rd anyway.

Losing the CC was a bigger fuck up then today. this is just somethng that was bond to happen without quality in the team.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

You mean We had two nailed on pels?

Have not see the game just the result but what this about the ref?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

The bottle is on!! :bow:Shoking really. Got ourselves back into it, then panicked. Ah well. Always next season.

:lol: Pretty much.

[GP]

Have not see the game just the result but what this about the ref?

He's a cunt.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Is it just my imagination or is there a poorly concealed celebratory mood lurking under the surface for several people here today? I get the impression some people are very satisfied as it gives them ammo to fire at Wenger. These would be the same people stating Wenger has become bigger than the team. Odd then there's this thinly veiled joy as the team sinks while people focus on one man.

Nope your right the likes of Zimm, FY, Joker are happy so they can gloat etc also these are the same people who said they rather we got in the Europa league so i don't see why they are moaning tbh they are gettin their wish.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

He's a cunt.

They all are tbh.

[Gubby Allen]

Rubbish to both, Last season was much worse the only reason it seems worse to ou this was because we may get no Cl footie next season.

How in the world was last season worse? On what scale?

We've got less points than last season
We've scored less goals than last season
We've condeded more goals than last season (and the most in Wenger's reign)
We didn't go any further in the C.L this year and went out to a considerably worst side.
We went out of the FA Cup earlier this season.
We went out of the League Cup earlier this season.

In all seriousness, on what level is this an improvement?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Missed Arteta and Walcott badly.

Pretty much


Will that **** Mike RIley give us a apology for his **** of a refs perfromance? Doubt it

Nope and he'll do worse next season tbh.

[Gubby Allen]

Why is our defence so shit nowdays after a good spell? Is it that Koscielny,Vermalen and GIbbs are not as good as they think they are or is it the failings of the defensive midfield. I think its the former- I just dont think our defenders are good enough at the top level (apart from Sagna).

47 goals conceded in one league season is abysmal. It could easily hit 50 and that's with a decent keeper who hasn't missed a match.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

How in the world was last season worse? On what scale?

We've got less points than last season
We've scored less goals than last season
We've condeded more goals than last season (and the most in Wenger's reign)
We didn't go any further in the C.L this year and went out to a considerably worst side.
We went out of the FA Cup earlier this season.
We went out of the League Cup earlier this season.

In all seriousness, on what level is this an improvement?

We had better players last season, compared to this one. Matter of a fact was had RVP picked up an injury earlier we'd have been fucked sooner.

Had the spuds not collapsed we'd be no where near 3rd anyway.

Id not say this has been a bigger collapse then what happen last season, because our sqaud has not been strong since day one.

Loose a few key players and we see what happens.

[Özim]

Nope your right the likes of Zimm, FY, Joker are happy so they can gloat etc also these are the same people who said they rather we got in the Europa league so i don't see why they are moaning tbh they are gettin their wish.
It's what you get with a mickey mouse manager I'm afraid.

I'm sad that the club isn't doing as well as it should be, on the plus side though that plan Wenger is getting his come uppance and maybe will get closer to being moved on, which let's face it is what we need.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

It's what you get with a mickey mouse manager I'm afraid.

I'm sad that the club isn't doing as well as it should be, on the plus side though that plan Wenger is getting his come uppance and maybe will get closer to being moved on, which let's face it is what we need.

From who he won't be sacked nothing will change so i don't see it tbh.

Us missing out on the CL only affects the fans more or less and thats why most will be upset by missing out if we do.

[Özim]

From who he won't be sacked nothing will change so i don't see it tbh.

Us missing out on the CL only affects the fans more or less and thats why most will be upset by missing out if we do.
Us missing out on the CL will affect the fans, it will p*ss them off and may make them do something a bit more drastic, from a personal point of view I think the CL is sh*t, we just make up the numbers every year, nothing more.

As for Wenger, his position becomes more untenable as the collapses continue, the fans have the power at the end of the day, if they kick up a big enough fuss then the board would be left with little choice.

Wenger on the sidelines kicking his drinking bottle and waving his hands in the air means sh*t because he doesn't ever seem to do the necessary, it amazes me he's surprised or even frustrated by these defeats and draws as they're largely of his own making.

[Özim]

We had better players last season, compared to this one. Matter of a fact was had RVP picked up an injury earlier we'd have been fucked sooner.

Had the spuds not collapsed we'd be no where near 3rd anyway.

Id not say this has been a bigger collapse then what happen last season, because our sqaud has not been strong since day one.

Loose a few key players and we see what happens.
This season is worse than last season, you're right we are lucky to be where we are and are only there because other teams have faltered badly, fact is though this season has been a disaster, last summer was a disaster, the start of the season was a disaster, the cups were a disaster and looks like the end of the season is a disaster too.

The biggest disaster though is that the clown is still in charge, how can we ever hope to get better with this clown at the helm?

As for losing players, well again the manager showed his incompetence, we left it way too late to sell them (we were in denial all summer) and then replaced them with panic buys, there was no planning, just a load of BS from the manager, poor show.

[jelgoon]

Apart from losing out on a load of money how are we affected by not qualifying for the CL. Lets be honest for a change -we have not got near the final for 6 years and havent a
prayer of winning it with our current manager. The early group stages are boring and we dont even sell out those matches. So, we are really talking about one or two rounds where we may get a couple of matches against a top team like Barca or Milan. We will look forward to the matches for weeks and then we will be killed over the two legs and thats it for another season. So, I dont give a shit about the CL anymore and would much rather win a fucking cup- even if its the Anglo-African cup in Nigeria.


This season is worse than last season, you're right we are lucky to be where we are and are only there because other teams have faltered badly, fact is though this season has been a disaster, last summer was a disaster, the start of the season was a disaster, the cups were a disaster and looks like the end of the season is a disaster too.

The biggest disaster though is that the clown is still in charge, how can we ever hope to get better with this clown at the helm?

As for losing players, well again the manager showed his incompetence, we left it way too late to sell them (we were in denial all summer) and then replaced them with panic buys, there was no planning, just a load of BS from the manager, poor show.

[Özim]

Apart from losing out on a load of money how are we affected by not qualifying for the CL. Lets be honest for a change -we have not got near the final for 6 years and havent a
prayer of winning it with our current manager. The early group stages are boring and we dont even sell out those matches. So, we are really talking about one or two rounds where we may get a couple of matches against a top team like Barca or Milan. We will look forward to the matches for weeks and then we will be killed over the two legs and thats it for another season. So, I dont give a shit about the CL anymore and would much rather win a fucking cup- even if its the Anglo-African cup in Nigeria.
I pretty much feel the same, sure we miss out on the money, but we don't spend it anyway so who cares.

When you're a club like us just making up the numbers without a prayer of every winning it, I agree it's very boring, the group stages are dull as dishwater and we all know the minute we meet anyone decent we're out.

[jelgoon]

I agree with most of what you say. Where i disagree is that I dont believe the fans have the power to get rid of managers like they used to. Its a corporate game - just look at Newcastle. Ashley does what he wants even though the fans hate him. Sure, Liverpool got rid of Hodgson cos of their fans but our board would not sack Wenger even if the fans broke into the Directors box, tied the directors up and tortured them.
This season is worse than last season, you're right we are lucky to be where we are and are only there because other teams have faltered badly, fact is though this season has been a disaster, last summer was a disaster, the start of the season was a disaster, the cups were a disaster and looks like the end of the season is a disaster too.

The biggest disaster though is that the clown is still in charge, how can we ever hope to get better with this clown at the helm?

As for losing players, well again the manager showed his incompetence, we left it way too late to sell them (we were in denial all summer) and then replaced them with panic buys, there was no planning, just a load of BS from the manager, poor show.

[Özim]

I agree with most of what you say. Where i disagree is that I dont believe the fans have the power to get rid of managers like they used to. Its a corporate game - just look at Newcastle. Ashley does what he wants even though the fans hate him. Sure, Liverpool got rid of Hodgson cos of their fans but our board would not sack Wenger even if the fans broke into the Directors box, tied the directors up and tortured them.
In a sense they do, if they stop turning up you can guarantee the board would have to act, they won't of course. Newcastle fans have kinda changed their mind about Ashley I think as their fortunes have changed in recent times.

The question also has to be posed whether Wenger would stick around if the fans clearly wanted him out, I doubt he would.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I agree with most of what you say. Where i disagree is that I dont believe the fans have the power to get rid of managers like they used to. Its a corporate game - just look at Newcastle. Ashley does what he wants even though the fans hate him. Sure, Liverpool got rid of Hodgson cos of their fans but our board would not sack Wenger even if the fans broke into the Directors box, tied the directors up and tortured them.

Yep and this is why i don't Wenger out after every mantch we loose not because i still think he is the man to lead us to glory but my word to the board means feck all.

I do agree with Zimm that fans can not turn up but ours don't do that they love the club too much.

[Cripps_orig]

Must be the end of Wenger for sure now.

Cant see any other positive.

Podolski is looking through his contract to look for a get out clause as we speak

[Olivier's xmas twist]

This season is worse than last season, you're right we are lucky to be where we are and are only there because other teams have faltered badly, fact is though this season has been a disaster, last summer was a disaster, the start of the season was a disaster, the cups were a disaster and looks like the end of the season is a disaster too.

The biggest disaster though is that the clown is still in charge, how can we ever hope to get better with this clown at the helm?

As for losing players, well again the manager showed his incompetence, we left it way too late to sell them (we were in denial all summer) and then replaced them with panic buys, there was no planning, just a load of BS from the manager, poor show.

My point was, OK this this season has been worse, if you look at our stats. We have lost too many games and Conceeded to many goals.

But i don't think this result was worse then being 4 -0 against the bardodes last season and drawing 4-4.

What we are seeing is the result of the manager and board not adding quality to the sqaud in the summer.

Im happy next week is the last week in the season and what ever happens happens.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Must be the end of Wenger for sure now.

Cant see any other positive.

Podolski is looking through his contract to look for a get out clause as we speak

Then he was a stupid boy to sign for us knowing we had not secured Cl footiee tbh.

But i agree on the Wenger thing tbh.

as fae as im concerned he can leave now.

[Dennis Bendtner]

I'm warming to the Europa League now. Could be a right laugh. Pat Nevin and Collymore for the games at Dynamo Tbilisi. Our players breaking their faces on frozen pitches.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I'm warming to the Europa League now. Could be a right laugh. Pat Nevin and Collymore for the games at Dynamo Tbilisi. Our players breaking their faces on frozen pitches.

Same here and like Zimm says we have a chance to win it i guess, which would be nice to feel. Just want this season over and done with. Just fed up.

[Dennis Bendtner]

Same here and like Zimm says we have a chance to win it i guess, which would be nice to feel. Just want this season over and done with. Just fed up.

Main thing re. CL is I'd worry about the money issue. The gap is colossal. You get a pittance even for winning the Europa League. I just worry it's an extra invitation for us to sell someone off, or once again underinvest in the team. In that scenario where we did get 4th but Chelsea took our place, what would the approach be? I'm sure they've planned for years for us not qualifying for the CL, but have to wonder what the plan to consolidate a place next season would be. But that's still to be seen. The Europa League itself I don't really have an issue with. Would be my first time really following it (since the Uefa cup days). It's a bit of a clusterfuck of fixtures but it should be alright.

[gunnerrrrr]

I'm warming to the Europa League now. Could be a right laugh. Pat Nevin and Collymore for the games at Dynamo Tbilisi. Our players breaking their faces on frozen pitches.

Perhaps the Europa cup is what some of these useless twats need to wake the fcuk up and realise that they are not as good as they think they are.

Let's hope Wenger does not dick off to some French football channel as a fucking pundit for the Euros, but decides to spend it at Asburton Grove and start by growing some fucking balls and getting rid of a load of shit that restricts our transfer ability and overloads our wage bill.

He needs to get rid of at least 10 existing players:

Almunia
Mannone
Squillachi
Djourou
Chamack
Vela
Bendtner
Asharvin
Denilson
Park

The he should loan out a few youngsters so they can develop in the Prem:
Frimfrong
Ramsey
Coqulain
Joel Campbell

I mean fucking hell how have we complied such a list, no wonder our first 11 are fucking knackered, we have no squad, no depth away from a starting 11.

The fact Wenger has allowed the squad to become so erratic, shows he's either lost his eye fro talent, has too much power at the club, or that no one has the balls to challenge him.

Fuck me he better be busy this summer.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Main thing re. CL is I'd worry about the money issue. The gap is colossal. You get a pittance even for winning the Europa League. I just worry it's an extra invitation for us to sell someone off, or once again underinvest in the team. In that scenario where we did get 4th but Chelsea took our place, what would the approach be? I'm sure they've planned for years for us not qualifying for the CL, but have to wonder what the plan to consolidate a place next season would be. But that's still to be seen. The Europa League itself I don't really have an issue with. Would be my first time really following it (since the Uefa cup days). It's a bit of a clusterfuck of fixtures but it should be alright.

:gp:

Same here but as the Big man Phw says we should be ok if we don't get CL footie.

My other worry was Playing Europa while Spuds were in the Cl.

Like you i have not followed the EL maybe because were not in it so i find it boring but if were in it ill fowllow it i guess.

I guess us just missing out on the Cl wil be interesting to see what the board do.

If we sell off one of our stars maybe it wll be RVP (Obvious i know).

[Dennis Bendtner]

That's key. We really have to be active this summer. Regardless of the CL/no CL dynamic. The last few weeks - with the injuries kicking in - have not reflected well on our squad depth. It's actually a large squad. We have a dangerous number of redundant players or loanees who ought to be completely out of the picture. I don't see us selling those players very easily, though. Can see many of them still on loan or in the reserves. Almunia's out of contract so that's good. Mannone's not that troublesome. Vela should have generated some interest. But - particularly for the rest - you could quite easily have a situation where we're loaning again or having them in the stands drinking coffee at the Emirates every game with wage demands and lack of interest. But hopefully work is already being done on this front.

Then we could just do with quality. Three really good players. Defence, midfield, attack. Squad needs to be leaner and more competitive. A couple of the young players could easily do what the wasters are doing now.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

That's key. We really have to be active this summer. Regardless of the CL/no CL dynamic. The last few weeks - with the injuries kicking in - have not reflected well on our squad depth. It's actually a large squad. We have a dangerous number of redundant players or loanees who ought to be completely out of the picture. I don't see us selling those players very easily, though. Can see many of them still on loan or in the reserves. Almunia's out of contract so that's good. Mannone's not that troublesome. Vela should have generated some interest. But - particularly for the rest - you could quite easily have a situation where we're loaning again or having them in the stands drinking coffee at the Emirates every game with wage demands and lack of interest. But hopefully work is already being done on this front.

Then we could just do with quality. Three really good players. Defence, midfield, attack. Squad needs to be leaner and more competitive. A couple of the young players could easily do what the wasters are doing now.

:gp: top post. no excuses or exceptions this summer.

[Dennis Bendtner]

:gp:

Same here but as the Big man Phw says we should be ok if we don't get CL footie.

My other worry was Playing Europa while Spuds were in the Cl.

Like you i have not followed the EL maybe because were not in it so i find it boring but if were in it ill fowllow it i guess.

I guess us just missing out on the Cl wil be interesting to see what the board do.

If we sell off one of our stars maybe it wll be RVP (Obvious i know).

Not too worried about Spurs or Newcastle. Spurs in the CL one season whilst we aren't - it's not really a seismic shift. Day in the sun. They don't have the resources to sustain themselves there or pull away from us. It wouldn't be like another Man City breaking the top four. We can pretty easily correct it should it come to pass, as long as we do the right things ourselves.

[jelgoon]

You dont have to worry about the money if we dont qualify for the CL. We can selll RVP and Wilshire. Itll be fine.


Main thing re. CL is I'd worry about the money issue. The gap is colossal. You get a pittance even for winning the Europa League. I just worry it's an extra invitation for us to sell someone off, or once again underinvest in the team. In that scenario where we did get 4th but Chelsea took our place, what would the approach be? I'm sure they've planned for years for us not qualifying for the CL, but have to wonder what the plan to consolidate a place next season would be. But that's still to be seen. The Europa League itself I don't really have an issue with. Would be my first time really following it (since the Uefa cup days). It's a bit of a clusterfuck of fixtures but it should be alright.

[Cripps_orig]

on dropping two points...
It is more than frustrating because we were very poor in the first half, not switched on. The quality of our first half was absolutely not at the level we wanted in a decisive game like that. in the second half we did very well. We created at least 10 chances but again not only did we not take our chances, but on top of that we gave them a third goal in a situation that was absolutely unbelievable. In the end we got punished for our mistakes.

on conceding the third goal…
It was five or six mistakes in the same goal.

on the first half…
We have to analyse the reasons why we were not sharp enough in the first half. There is no obvious reason because we prepared normally as we always do, but maybe subconsciously [we thought] we would win it. Norwich played well, you have to give them credit.

on Arsenal's Champions League hopes…
It leaves us with one thing - it is not in our hands anymore. We have to wait for the results to see where it leaves us tomorrow night. We knew that if we didn't win today, that is what would happen.

on whether Arsenal deserve to qualify…
It depends on what you mean by 'deserve'. We have 67 points, and every year you qualify with 67 points.

on the defensive performance…
We were [too frail], of course. We lost too many challenges and it is surprising because recently we were quite good, but today I feel that defensively the whole team was very poor.

on Van Persie's penalty shout…
I don't know, we have to accept the decisions of the referee, that is the only thing I can say. Here, the whole season we have got zero penalties. It is absolutely amazing because you see other clubs who have 10 or 11.

on Aaron Ramsey…
He was unlucky with the first booking, it was a good tackle. It is part of learning your job, you have to deal with all kinds of situations and he will do that. He is very strong mentally and is going through a difficult period at the moment. But he will come off that stronger.

****s comments

[Olivier's xmas twist]

on whether Arsenal deserve to qualify…
It depends on what you mean by 'deserve'. We have 67 points, and every year you qualify with 67 points.


Don't see what it has to do with deserving to Qualify?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Not too worried about Spurs or Newcastle. Spurs in the CL one season whilst we aren't - it's not really a seismic shift. Day in the sun. They don't have the resources to sustain themselves there or pull away from us. It wouldn't be like another Man City breaking the top four. We can pretty easily correct it should it come to pass, as long as we do the right things ourselves.

Very true, i guess one Season in the El Should not hurt us and it would Certainly make AW take note tbh. I doubt the board will care though.

[Tipsychubbs]

Give him the DM role next season. Coquelin is more energetic and better suit than Song IMO. :coffee:

Yes please.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Don't see what it has to do with deserving to Qualify?

I think what he is saying that we'd be unlucky to not finishing four with that points haul. He's completely wrong though, we've finished fourth on 68 points and the Spuds finished fourth with 70 points.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I think what he is saying that we'd be unlucky to not finishing four with that points haul. He's completely wrong though, we've finished fourth on 68 points and the Spuds finished fourth with 70 points.

Ok. Just seems strange to me lol.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Perhaps the Europa cup is what some of these useless twats need to wake the fcuk up and realise that they are not as good as they think they are.

Let's hope Wenger does not dick off to some French football channel as a fucking pundit for the Euros, but decides to spend it at Asburton Grove and start by growing some fucking balls and getting rid of a load of shit that restricts our transfer ability and overloads our wage bill.

He needs to get rid of at least 10 existing players:

Almunia
Mannone
Squillachi
Djourou
Chamack
Vela
Bendtner
Asharvin
Denilson
Park

The he should loan out a few youngsters so they can develop in the Prem:
Frimfrong
Ramsey
Coqulain
Joel Campbell

I mean fucking hell how have we complied such a list, no wonder our first 11 are fucking knackered, we have no squad, no depth away from a starting 11.

The fact Wenger has allowed the squad to become so erratic, shows he's either lost his eye fro talent, has too much power at the club, or that no one has the balls to challenge him.

Fuck me he better be busy this summer.

Top post. Wenger has a hard summer ahead of him if he is still at the club that is.

[Cripps_orig]

Almunia
Mannone
Squillachi
Djourou
Chamack
Vela
Bendtner
Asharvin
Denilson
Park


How many of these actually played today or indeed have played much of the season? None of them. Whilst they are a bit shit and needs to be offloaded asap, the major problem is our shiteass first XI

[gunnerrrrr]

How many of these actually played today or indeed have played much of the season? None of them. Whilst they are a bit shit and needs to be offloaded asap, the major problem is our shiteass first XI

You missed the point.

If we get rid of the names i mentioned, we have the salary cap to bring in a number of better options. Also our first 11 are normally exhausted as they rarely get time to rest, mixed with an attitude that they will always play as no one below them to challenge their position.

Look how Theo woke up after Oxo started to produce...

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Sagna what happend to him, how ling is he our for?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

The whole summer presumably.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

FFS, Broken leg, better buy a Quality RB then.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Just seen the goals tbh, szchsney :doh: Seems like he was at the Euro's already.


We should be defending better then that.

[Cripps_orig]

How did Sagna break his leg?

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2PyeW-i3HM

[Cripps_orig]

Wtf?

Our players are so weak

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Oh that was horrible.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Wtf?

Our players are so weak

Have that done to your leg and see how strong you are.

This is the same Place he had broke his leg in last time.

[Cripps_orig]

Have that done to your leg and see how strong you are.

This is the same Place he had broke his leg in last time.Have what done?

I doubt il break my leg stretching to control a ball

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Have what done?

I doubt il break my leg stretching to control a ball

Thats not how he broke the leg.


Arsenal right-back Bacary Sagna will miss France's Euro 2012 campaign after breaking his fibula against Norwich City on Saturday.
The 29-year-old was carried from the field after falling to the ground unchallenged in the 33rd minute of a pulsating 3-3 draw at the Emirates.
It is the second time this season Sagna has broken a bone in his leg.
He underwent surgery in October after falling awkwardly in the 2-1 north London derby defeat by Tottenham (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/15051273) .
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger confirmed the injury in his post-match news conference. "It is a broken fibula, the same leg. He was kicked on it, it has not happened alone," he said.
Continue reading the main story (http://www.goonersweb.co.uk/forum/#story_continues_2)
“It looked like a bad one and he had a big one already this season”
Yossi Benayoun Arsenal forward

"When he was kicked, he has broken the leg. The guy closed him down and walked on him. I don't know if it was deliberate or not.''
Sagna will also miss Arsenal's final game of the Premier League season against West Bromwich Albion, as they push for Champions League qualification.
Yossi Benayoun, who had given Arsenal a second-minute lead in the Norwich draw, admitted he had feared the worst when his team-mate went down.
"I don't know exactly what happened but it looked like a bad one and he had a big one already this season," Benayoun said.
"It was similar in the same area as the last one but I hope he will recover quickly because he's a great player and that's more important than any points or win and hope he can recover quickly."

[Gubby Allen]

Was Ramsey's yellow card really a 'good tackle'? Looked a blatant foul when I saw it and the sort he'd usually be berating the 4th official for if it was on us.

[hobson's choice]

Vermaelan is really a bad defender, don't understand why so many people can't see this. So many times i've heard people say, he is our best defender. He just doesn't seem to understand what makes a good defender, takes too many chances, when he really doesn't need to.

Look at truly great defenders, you rarely see them ever having to make hollywood tackles.

[hobson's choice]

Song frustrates the living hell out of me. Every time he has to try and hold off players with his strength and then push through, he needs to reign in this more flamboyant side that has emerged with him recently. He's a DM, our only real defending midfielder. He leaves us in horrible defensive situations on a number of occasions, and today we saw that. Even for their first goal he should have done better, didn't jump with that Norwich attacker who headed it on, and then failed to track back immediately, which was a big reason why whoever it was got that pass to Holt in space. Still super unlucky that went in though.

But he seems to be the only CM who can actually create anything, Arteta while solid, has become a 2-5 yard pass merchant, Ramsey is shit. At least with Song, he tries to do something positive.

[fari]

Vermaelan is really a bad defender, don't understand why so many people can't see this. So many times i've heard people say, he is our best defender. He just doesn't seem to understand what makes a good defender, takes too many chances, when he really doesn't need to.

Look at truly great defenders, you rarely see them ever having to make hollywood tackles.

big merts is a case in point. we miss him and we really miss arteta. is verms playing to instructions i wonder or is he just that poor of a defender

[Power n Glory]

big merts is a case in point. we miss him and we really miss arteta. is verms playing to instructions i wonder or is he just that poor of a defender

Vermaelen had a shocker and left exposed for th e goals. Caught sleeping or out of position for all the goals. Merts and Kos were a better partnership.

[Xhaka Can’t]

But he seems to be the only CM who can actually create anything, Arteta while solid, has become a 2-5 yard pass merchant, Ramsey is shit. At least with Song, he tries to do something positive.

Your description of Arteta can be read as a pretty damning assessment of Arteta and what he brings to the team. Check out our record with him in the team and out of the team and you'll hopefully have a better view of what he has brought to the side.

As for defenders, it is clear to me at least the Koscielny has been our most reliable and effective defender.

[Grebbo]

I didn't think this team could sink any lower. But they did.

Shockingly bad.

3rd is gone.

4th is nearly gone.

Terrible.

[Marc Overmars]

Rubbish to both, Last season was much worse the only reason it seems worse to ou this was because we may get no Cl footie next season.

Our sqaud is shite and with RVP not beeing on form in the last few Theo being our and Mikel it was always going to cost us as well AW being Tacitally inepet and decided to keep playing shite like Gev and Ramsey.

Had spuds not fecked up we bo no where near 3rd anyway.

Losing the CC was a bigger fuck up then today. this is just somethng that was bond to happen without quality in the team.

What are you talking about? CL football is the absolute bare minimum, it's what Wenger prides himself on and the club is happy to achieve. Potentially missing out on that can only be described as one of the biggest fuck ups to date. All the title challenge collapses have nothing on this because the safety blanket of CL football was always there, it won't be this time.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

What are you talking about? CL football is the absolute bare minimum, it's what Wenger prides himself on and the club is happy to achieve. Potentially missing out on that can only be described as one of the biggest fuck ups to date. All the title challenge collapses have nothing on this because the safety blanket of CL football was always there, it won't be this time.

That was my point you only see this as a big fuck up because it may cost us the Cl fine i get that, but how we fucked up last season was way worse.

Lets be honest at the start of the season and trough the middle we all thought we may be in the europa league did we not so it was not a big shock we play in it.

The board has said even if er drop put its not a big deal.

What im saying is if you look at the sqaud its always been week from the summer and could have cost us at some point. Being 8 pointd clear of spurs never meant a thing to me because i knew with a few bad results and injurey to key players we'd be right where we were.

Last season we had a sqaud that should have won 2 cups at least and they failed badily this year we never had that sqaud thats the problem.

And had spuds not messed up they have got 3rd by now anyways.

[Özim]

That was my point you only see this as a big fuck up because it may cost us the Cl fine i get that, but how we fucked up last season was way worse.

Lets be honest at the start of the season and trough the middle we all thought we may be in the europa league did we not so it was not a big shock we play in it.

The board has said even if er drop put its not a big deal.

What im saying is if you look at the sqaud its always been week from the summer and could have cost us at some point. Being 8 pointd clear of spurs never meant a thing to me because i knew with a few bad results and injurey to key players we'd be right where we were.

Last season we had a sqaud that should have won 2 cups at least and they failed badily this year we never had that sqaud thats the problem.

And had spuds not messed up they have got 3rd by now anyways.
Then the manager should be sacked as it's down to his incompetence.

It's all very good saying the squad has been weak from last summer, but whose fault is that for not planning and replacing the players we lost with quality?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Then the manager should be sacked as it's down to his incompetence.

It's all very good saying the squad has been week from last summer, but who's fault is that for not planning and replacing the players we lost with quality?

Maybe.

[selassie]

Then the manager should be sacked as it's down to his incompetence.

It's all very good saying the squad has been weak from last summer, but whose fault is that for not planning and replacing the players we lost with quality?

Yup, I don't think Arsene has any excuses left, not that he should have been given so many chances anyway. Aside from the fact he's made a complete mess of the squad and he has from both the lack of quality and the large amount of redundant high earners. Moreover tactically he can't motivate this team, I mean 3 weeks ago we were a shoe-in for 3rd place and look at us now.

Honestly what does Arsene really offer us that any other hungry competant couldn't?

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Yup, I don't think Arsene has any excuses left, not that he should have been given so many chances anyway. Aside from the fact he's made a complete mess of the squad and he has from both the lack of quality and the large amount of redundant high earners. Moreover tactically he can't motivate this team, I mean 3 weeks ago we were a shoe-in for 3rd place and look at us now.

Honestly what does Arsene really offer us that any other hungry competant couldn't?

He offers you nothing, he offters the people that matter alot or makes them money.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

How RVP did not score more then 5 yesterday is amazing he had so many chances.

[selassie]

He offers you nothing, he offters the people that matter alot or makes them money.

I'm sure there are other managers out there that can make the club money without winning anything.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

I'm sure there are other managers out there that can make the club money without winning anything.

Maybe they can, but he is meeting their targerts in their eyes so why get rid. They should have got rid last summer but for some reason they did not.

[Young Guns 11]

But he seems to be the only CM who can actually create anything, Arteta while solid, has become a 2-5 yard pass merchant, Ramsey is shit. At least with Song, he tries to do something positive.

I posted this yesterday;

Games without Arteta: W0 D4 L4

As for Song, there's no questioning his ability, he has progressed immensely well and is to be able to defend and attack well, but the point is he needs to learn when is the right time to attack/do something fancy and when he needs to stay back and pick up the pieces in case our attack falls down and they break away,especially since he's not exactly the fastest of players.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

As for Song, there's no questioning his ability, he has progressed immensely well and is to be able to defend and attack well, but the point is he needs to learn when is the right time to attack/do something fancy and when he needs to stay back and pick up the pieces in case our attack falls down and they break away,especially since he's not exactly the fastest of players.

Yep abd this is why we need M'villa he can do that job and it will put pressure on Song to up his game, right now he knows he will start no matter if he fecks up or not.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Then the manager should be sacked as it's down to his incompetence.

It's all very good saying the squad has been weak from last summer, but whose fault is that for not planning and replacing the players we lost with quality?

Pretty much hit the nail on the head, the summer was a laying of a bed that has been a bitch to lie in

If we propose to be a club with any aspiration, which I think we can be. . .we can never come out of a summer and into the first month of a season so badly prepared/undermanned. . .

[Xhaka Can’t]

There was no excuse whatsoever for how badly prepared we were. It was crystal clear to everyone, who was leaving and where we needed to replenish and strengthen the squad. I actually think we were considering banking all the transfer receipts without actually signing anyone after the departures of Fibreglass and the lezza.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Pretty much hit the nail on the head, the summer was a laying of a bed that has been a bitch to lie in

If we propose to be a club with any aspiration, which I think we can be. . .we can never come out of a summer and into the first month of a season so badly prepared/undermanned. . .

So true. This is why we can't have another summer of this BS.

[Marc Overmars]

Just hope it's not a repeat of last summer. My biggest fear is that the RVP situation could drag on and without the club knowing whether they will get 25m, it may affect our activity in the time being.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Just hope it's not a repeat of last summer. My biggest fear is that the RVP situation could drag on and without the club knowing whether they will get 25m, it may affect our activity in the time being.

25 mill for a player in the last year of his contract woulf be a suprise if anyone paid that. Unlike cesc who was younger and on a longer contract, this is well diffrent.

[Marc Overmars]

Well we got 25m for Nasri. Although I guess it helped having City as the buyer.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Well we got 25m for Nasri. Although I guess it helped having City as the buyer.

Yep, we mugged them off in away cause i don't think a madrid or Barca would have paid that. But like you say if he does go RVP its sorted soon.

[Niall_Quinn]

There was no excuse whatsoever for how badly prepared we were. It was crystal clear to everyone, who was leaving and where we needed to replenish and strengthen the squad. I actually think we were considering banking all the transfer receipts without actually signing anyone after the departures of Fibreglass and the lezza.

Same here, but they couldn't get away with it when a few injuries didn't pan out and we got our arses handed to us in the early games. If people had killed the board as I suggested then this season could have been different.

[Gubby Allen]

We're on MOTD now. I'll judge the 4 penalty claims

[Gubby Allen]

We're on MOTD now. I'll judge the 4 penalty claims

Only showed one for each side, so can assume the second ones each side claimed for were nothing.

As for the two not given one for each, I couldn't even offer a suggestion why either weren't. What sort of industry is it, where we'll never ever know why? I'd have more respect if he said I had a few quid on 3-3, than not saying anything. It doesn't have to be to the cameras but some sort of clarification would do.

Should've been 4-4 then, but either side should've scored at least 7.

[Cripps_orig]

Gervinho was offside anyway

[Gubby Allen]

All biases aside - and just a rules question - was gervinho technically offside in the RVP penalty incident. I've no idea how it works anymore with phases. He's clearly offside and it looks like there's a whisker between his foot and the ball - so the fact he didn't touch it, then mean he is not actively involved?

[Grebbo]

All biases aside - and just a rules question - was gervinho technically offside in the RVP penalty incident. I've no idea how it works anymore with phases. He's clearly offside and it looks like there's a whisker between his foot and the ball - so the fact he didn't touch it, then mean he is not actively involved?

No touch = RVP goal would have stood.

[Grebbo]

We have seen some shockingly bad defending during the last few years but this game takes the biscuit.

I don't actually know how we managed to defend so badly.

Horrific stuff.

[Cripps_orig]

Everton had a goal disallowed for basically the same thing

Ball played in, Fellaini clearly offside, goes for it and misses completely and some other dude puts it in but was ruled out

[Olivier's xmas twist]

All biases aside - and just a rules question - was gervinho technically offside in the RVP penalty incident. I've no idea how it works anymore with phases. He's clearly offside and it looks like there's a whisker between his foot and the ball - so the fact he didn't touch it, then mean he is not actively involved?

If Gev interfeers with play then he is offside. As he did not he was not.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Everton had a goal disallowed for basically the same thing

Ball played in, Fellaini clearly offside, goes for it and misses completely and some other dude puts it in but was ruled out

The rules need to be made clear then, because no one seems to know it.

[Niall_Quinn]

The rules need to be made clear then, because no one seems to know it.

Especially the refs. In the real world Gervinho is interfering with play because he's stood right in the middle of the box and must be distracting the keeper to some degree. However, in the fucked up world of FIFA and UEFA he's not offside, it IS a penalty, 100%, the ref DID see it and has decided not to give it. Therefore, for whatever reason, cowardice, bias, bribes, gambling debts, the ref's a cheat.

[Olivier's xmas twist]

Especially the refs. In the real world Gervinho is interfering with play because he's stood right in the middle of the box and must be distracting the keeper to some degree. However, in the fucked up world of FIFA and UEFA he's not offside, it IS a penalty, 100%, the ref DID see it and has decided not to give it. Therefore, for whatever reason, cowardice, bias, bribes, gambling debts, the ref's a cheat.

Yep, Scummy refs lol.

[Syn]

Sagna reckons Bradley Johnson deliberately stamped on him (which led to his broken leg).

He probably did - he had enough time to avoid Sagna but ran straight over him.

No fuss made of it - what's the point?

Sagna says it's a clean break. Should be interesting to see whether he's any good when he comes back, or if yet another player has been fucked by an injury.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sagna reckons Bradley Johnson deliberately stamped on him (which led to his broken leg).

He probably did - he had enough time to avoid Sagna but ran straight over him.

No fuss made of it - what's the point?

Sagna says it's a clean break. Should be interesting to see whether he's any good when he comes back, or if yet another player has been fucked by an injury.

I found it odd Sagna would come out and say that, he doesn't strike me as a guy who would kick up a fuss. So I'm thinking there's probably something to this. Whe you add the fact the media is ignoring, looks like that fucker stamped on him in a good honest way. What we need is somebody who can mark a card and make sure it gets well punched before the 90 mins are up. RvP is the closest we have but he's often up front and away from the action. We should maybe resign Petit and Vieria just to bring them on for the last 5 mins to persuade other teams it's a seriosuly bad idea to mess with us. As it is, we don't fight back, the refs do nothing and nobody talks about it so I guess we can expect plenty more injuries until we do soething to even the equation.