Shit Reaction vs Fulham

[Maestro]

says it all, will take the 3 points though

[The Emirates Gallactico]

Hopefully we were saving up our "form" for the next match.

[Marc Overmars]

Didn't sound like a convincing performance but a very important 3 points gained.

If we make the top 4 this year it will be down to our defending, as our forwards are very poor.

[Niall_Quinn]

We'll get 4th. But we'll do it in such a way that the fans get nothing from it. Yes, the club gets the money. We all know what happens to that. So what's left for us? Entertainment? A bit of pride in the club? We won't be getting either from this lot. I wouldn't hate it so much if this death of quality hadn't been deliberately engineered just so some crusty old fucks could stuff their bank accounts.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Great stuff. A true pub team victory away from home.

Arsenal. :bow:

[Ollie the Optimist]

awful performance, but we got hte points. thats what matters at this point.

merts and kos are beasts, excellent performances from them.

theo can just fuck off the annoymous prick

giroud was stupid to make a tackle like that to give the ref a decision make, but if someone did that to us id be screaming for a red card so i think it is one

[Master Splinter]

That was one of the worst Arsenal performances ever. Truly horrific stuff.

Cazorla, Arteta, Walcott and Giroud were beyond woeful.

Only the centre-backs deserve any credit.

Giroud attacked the ball more than the player, but the ref was desperate to play several even up cards so it was inevitable someone would go. Probably worth an appeal. Not necessarily because we need Giroud though.

A win but a huge :doh: for WengBOT and most of the team.

[Joker]

Appalling performance but importantly we got the 3 points somehow. Although our form looks good on paper, our performances for the last month or so have been pretty mediocre, and like I said last week, unless we improve in the coming weeks I don't think we'll get 4th place. There is no fluency to our play, everything is so disjointed.

Walcott has been terrible for a while now, while Giroud is not the sort of striker who can take us to the next level. The midfield seems bereft of creativity and it looks like the only way we'll score is through set pieces, something which was inconceivable just a few years back when we had such a wealth of attacking talent.

The good thing about Giroud's red is that hopefully Wenger will try Podolski up front.

[Niall_Quinn]

And Walcott and Giroud can just fuck off. Walcott because he's a self absorbed thieving **** and Giroud, despite the fact his heart seems to be in the right place and he tries, because he's pure shit.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

If we somehow scrape third it'll be a testament to how poor the league has been this year. Eight years ago I think we would be struggling to finish in the top half with our current squad.

Giroud's red was very harsh - I think it was clear the ref was trying to even things out there. Still, there was no need to lunge in like that there and give him the oppurtunity.


At least we can rest easily now and look forward to the matches tomorrow. Ideally we need Liverpool and City to both get something.

[Ollie the Optimist]

also, if spurs dont win tomorrow, then the race for 4th is back in our hands by my maths

[Marc Overmars]

Hoping this Emirates money goes on a top striker in the summer, rather than a fleet of yachts.

[Niall_Quinn]

Wenger's team selections, so conservative he makes Maggie look like a hippy. The fucker knows that statistically he'll probably prevail in the end, doing the absolute bare minimum. But every ounce of creativity and passion and entertainment gets thrown away in the process. He'll point at 16 years in the CL. I'll yawn and wait for some other hierarchy at the club who will bring back proper football. I think it's going to take a long time.

[Kano]

we won, that's all that matters. 3 points, great stuff.

[Ollie the Optimist]

also, why did the ref ignore an offside flag in the build up to fulhams offside goal? celarly offside, was flagged yet he ignored it? why

[Niall_Quinn]

also, if spurs dont win tomorrow, then the race for 4th is back in our hands by my maths

That monkey Bale is back apparently. Primate adrenal glands. And Lennon. Just fortunate for us they are up against tough opposition.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

We are shit, they are shit and thus game was always going to be shit.

None-the-less, one step closer to the virtual trophy. :scarf:

[Niall_Quinn]

also, why did the ref ignore an offside flag in the build up to fulhams offside goal? celarly offside, was flagged yet he ignored it? why

It wasn't offside according to the commentators. Apparently one of our lot touched it, although I'm not sure how that prevents the player being offside on the initial ball. Anyway, that was the excuse.

[Joker]

also, why did the ref ignore an offside flag in the build up to fulhams offside goal? celarly offside, was flagged yet he ignored it? why

We can't complain about the referee, he did his job by sending Sidwell and Giroud off (both were reds IMO). And at least the offside was given in the end.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

also, if spurs dont win tomorrow, then the race for 4th is back in our hands by my maths

Yeah we need both to drop points ideally.


After the draw on Tuesday, there is a remote chance if Spurs win all their games and Chelsea win all theirs apart from their game against Spurs that we would finish outside the top four.

[Ollie the Optimist]

We can't complain about the referee, he did his job by sending Sidwell and Giroud off (both were reds IMO). And at least the offside was given in the end.

not really complaining, just pointing out a glaring mistake that i dont understand, ignoring an offside flag.

he got the red cards spot on imo

[GP]

Surely Giroud's red will be overturned. It's hardly even a foul.

[Niall_Quinn]

Surely Giroud's red will be overturned. It's hardly even a foul.

If we appeal the ban would be extended to 4 games, the rest of the season. Would probably be the first time a decision from the crusties went in our favour.

[Joker]

http://arsenalist.com/m/iUwk1BLKXh2Cy

Can understand why it's a red tbh, I don't think he meant to hurt him at all but it's dangerous to tackle like that.

[Özim]

http://arsenalist.com/m/iUwk1BLKXh2Cy

Can understand why it's a red tbh, I don't think he meant to hurt him at all but it's dangerous to tackle like that.
It's hardly even a foul apparently.

[Özim]

Beautiful sunny day today, so I was out making the most of it, made the right choice by the sounds of it.

We won, yay.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

http://arsenalist.com/m/iUwk1BLKXh2Cy

Can understand why it's a red tbh, I don't think he meant to hurt him at all but it's dangerous to tackle like that.

Reverse angle:

http://i33.tinypic.com/n35enm.gif

[Master Splinter]

Wenget trying to get to the bottle bank before it closes:

https://vine.co/v/bUIOvABUBZ9

[Niall_Quinn]

Reverse angle:

http://i33.tinypic.com/n35enm.gif

Looking at it again he was nowhere near the man and clearly got the ball!

[Joker]

Reverse angle:

http://i33.tinypic.com/n35enm.gif

:lol:

[Kano]

Beautiful sunny day today, so I was out making the most of it, made the right choice by the sounds of it.

We won, yay.
why do you make a point of telling everyone that you didn't watch our game every week? it seems a weird thing to go out of your way to do when you have no interest in discussing a game you had no interest in watching, yet you have an active interest in repeating it to everyone. one would think it might not be true at all.

[Injury Time]

why do you make a point of telling everyone that you didn't watch our game every week? it seems a weird thing to go out of your way to do when you have no interest in discussing a game you had no interest in watching, yet you have an active interest in repeating it to everyone. one would think it might not be true at all.

He really is Arsene Wenger, would explain the team selection as he doesn't ze 'ow merde ze team is...

[Dennis Bendtner]

And there was me thinking that at last we had a man advantage rather than deficit in an away game and it'd be more comfortable. Well done Arsenal you lunatics.

[IBK]

The Fulham red card worked against us in various ways. It motivated Fulham who otherwise had little to play for. It killed any chance of expansive football from them, and we hardly need any further demonstration of how difficult we find it to break down defensive minded; counter-attacking teams. And finally, the ref was always going to try to even things up with home team fans baying for blood for the whole game.

Any player other than Giroud, and I'd say that we've now hamstrung ourselves for the rest of the season. If Poldi is played, however, his 3 game ban may be a blessing in disguise.

That having been said, our toothless performances are very worrying. As at the beginning of the season, we have sacrificed attacking intent for more solid defence - and its obvious that we don't have the players to hurt the opposition when this happens. Typical Arsenal when we sell all our genuine talent, yet end up paying 100K a week for Walcott :lol:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Surely Giroud's red will be overturned. It's hardly even a foul.

I'm not sure I want that to happen.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Reverse angle:

http://i33.tinypic.com/n35enm.gif
That's almost as good as Big Andy.

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Horse-Exercise-Ball-Fail.gif

[Niall_Quinn]

That's almost as good as Big Andy.

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Horse-Exercise-Ball-Fail.gif

LOL - it's Walcott's brighter cousin.

[Ollie the Optimist]

I could be being very cynical here but Fulham were very good with ten men and adapted it to it very quickly, it was al,ost as if they were expecting a red because they had been sent out to go in hard on us

[Niall_Quinn]

That's almost as good as Big Andy.

http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Horse-Exercise-Ball-Fail.gif

And if you look carefully, in the background you can see Giroud galloping into a supporting position.

[IBK]

I could be being very cynical here but Fulham were very good with ten men and adapted it to it very quickly, it was al,ost as if they were expecting a red because they had been sent out to go in hard on us

If they adapted, its because of our pedestrian passing game that is so easy to defend against. Generally, though, it seems as though going a man down isn't the issue it used to be for most teams. It would have killed us that early in the game, though!

[Özim]

why do you make a point of telling everyone that you didn't watch our game every week? it seems a weird thing to go out of your way to do when you have no interest in discussing a game you had no interest in watching, yet you have an active interest in repeating it to everyone. one would think it might not be true at all.
Why? Because I didn't.

Stops people making up my reaction as well.

I don't mind discussing the game, but I didn't see it so would need to use the general opinion for any discussion.

[Niall_Quinn]

I could be being very cynical here but Fulham were very good with ten men and adapted it to it very quickly, it was al,ost as if they were expecting a red because they had been sent out to go in hard on us

Surely you've noticed that when we get the upper hand we drop a level? Arrogance, complacency, disrespect, a lack of belief, an allergic reaction to success, a head slap moment heading off to the bottle bank only to discover we have no bottle? Any or all of these things but we are a much bigger enemy to ourselves than any opponent could ever be. I think things will improve when we get a new board, a new manager and a new team.

[Özim]

Low and behold, just seen the AW interview and he's brought up our "very strong run" in the last 8 or 9 games (he referred to it as ("absolutely sensational").

Summer 2013 transfers :rose:

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Pointless stat

Today was Wenger's 634th league game in charge of Arsenal

Today saw the 62nd red card in the league in that time.

[Static]

Can someone explain why Giroud will be banned for 3 games when Mertesacker was only banned for 1?

[Munchies]

Can someone explain why Giroud will be banned for 3 games when Mertesacker was only banned for 1?

Straight red card = 3 game ban.
2 yellows in a game = 1 game ban.

[Marc Overmars]

Straight red for:

Violent conduct = 3 games.

Professional foul = 1 game.

[Static]

Straight red card = 3 game ban.
2 yellows in a game = 1 game ban.
Mertesacker's was a straight red.


Straight red for:

Violent conduct = 3 games.

Professional foul = 1 game.
Thank you.

[Syn]

Giroud must learn to practice naan violence.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I personally wouldn't have given a red card for either offence.


The problem is the ineptitude of Ramsey and Arteta, square passing, overcooked/undercooked passing no authority etc is making us play badly....cazorla is being played as a winger when he isn't one and will become a depressed nihilistic wreck who ends up comfort eating like Arshavin.

In reality we really need the anaemic, lacking any midfield creativity, burnt out, dragging themselves over the finish line United to turn up next sunday or we are in for the proverbial midnight dorm visit from the geography teacher in boarding school

[Munchies]

Mertesacker's was a straight red.


Thank you.

Oh sorry my bad, I thought he had a yellow before.

[Cripps_orig]

Good win

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

well what can we say

arteta chasing shadows all game, awful denilson

monreal overcomplicating things when he should just clear

but giroud :lol:

my god he's crap. what was he thinking? slow, mechanic, just a shitter andy carroll. might have saved 20m but should have just gone for big andy, at least we'd have a bit of english grit.

you've got your gay porno deal, you dont have to keep sticking your tongue every 2 minutes. start playing some football now.

[Cripps_orig]

Mert is awesome. Love this player.

Definite red cards for both challenges.

Giroud out for 3 games so that'll be Man Utd, QPR and Wigan.

Time to try Podolski up front

[Power n Glory]

Lucky to come away with 3 points. Seems like we came under serious pressure after the subs. Maybe Rosicky should have stayed on.

Walcott looked anonymous again. This winger/striker role isn't working and he's not working hard enough either. Good delivery for the freekicks and we got a goal from one but it's not good enough. They had 10 men for the majority of the game and he should have made that count.

Giroud red card....harsh but he won't be missed with that sort of performance. Way to static and way too easy to mark. He makes it too easy for defenders. Now that he's banned we're forced to deal with a change and I only hope someone steps up to the plate and adapts quickly. It's shocking we matched Fulham's shots on target when they only had 10 men. It looked as though Chesney was worked harder out of the two.

And Chesney with that spilled shot from the freekick. He's lucky it was called off side. Well, we might as well forget about picking up 3 points against Utd.

[milla]

Lucky to come away with 3 points. Seems like we came under serious pressure after the subs. Maybe Rosicky should have stayed on.

Walcott looked anonymous again. This winger/striker role isn't working and he's not working hard enough either. Good delivery for the freekicks and we got a goal from one but it's not good enough. They had 10 men for the majority of the game and he should have made that count.

Giroud red card....harsh but he won't be missed with that sort of performance. Way to static and way too easy to mark. He makes it too easy for defenders. Now that he's banned we're forced to deal with a change and I only hope someone steps up to the plate and adapts quickly. It's shocking we matched Fulham's shots on target when they only had 10 men. It looked as though Chesney was worked harder out of the two.

And Chesney with that spilled shot from the freekick. He's lucky it was called off side. Well, we might as well forget about picking up 3 points against Utd.

:gp:

4-3-3 with wide strikers system doesn't work and needs ditching asap. It doesn't matter what system we play, the set up is the same pass the ball into the net which won't work with players like Walcott or Podolski. Just revert back to 4 creative attacking midfield players + 1 CF.

[milla]

We are shit, they are shit and thus game was always going to be shit.

None-the-less, one step closer to the virtual trophy. :scarf:

Your face is shit :coffee:

[milla]

Reverse angle:

http://i33.tinypic.com/n35enm.gif

He clearly got the ball :coffee:

[Marc Overmars]

Thought Bif's red was slightly harsh, as you could see he was just trying to get his foot around the ball so he could turn away, but you always run the risk of a red if you catch someone on the shin I guess.

[Cripps_orig]

In challenges like Girouds, I always think how I would react if a player did that to one of our pussy players and I'd be calling for a red so as I am a fair and just man, I have no complaints over it especially as Girouds been terrible.

Although its the quickest he's ever moved.

[Power n Glory]

What was interesting was how the substitutions, designed, I’m sure, to spark a bit of life into us, completely changed the momentum of the game. We were most certainly on top, if completely nonthreatening, with plenty of possession. We spread the ball well from one side to the other, Fulham worked hard and kept a good shape which made it difficult for us (on top of our own performance issues), but when Podolski and Wilshere replaced Rosicky and Walcott it was like somebody flicked a switch.

For the final 15 minutes or so, they looked far more likely to score an equaliser than we did a second. Only for some good assistant refereeing by Sian Massey and it might have been worse, their ‘goal’ was rightly cancelled out for offside, but we were living dangerously. Mertesacker and Koscielny dealt with increasing Fulham pressure and even with a man advantage we couldn’t get back on top of the game.


From Arseblog.

So I'm not alone with this.

Despite creating very little yesterday, we have to keep Rosicky playing or maybe get Cazorla in the middle with Ramsey like how we played in the final 20 minutes of Everton. We looked so disjointed in the middle when Jack is playing and it's not a coincidence. Maybe Wenger should get him out on the wing if he needs games.

Thoughts on the piece overall....I get that we won the game and came away with 3 points. We should be happy with that. But we know our team and when we start to lose momentum you just know the wheels can come off at any minute and we start dropping silly points. I have serious doubts about us beating Utd next week which makes me really worried about the upcoming games after that. We're playing teams with a lot on the line and you have to wonder if we'v e got it in us to turn up. I can only hope Spurs bottle it and slip before we do.

[LDG]

Three points. Get in.

Come on Arsenal :scarf:

[Marc Overmars]

Thoughts on the piece overall....I get that we won the game and came away with 3 points. We should be happy with that. But we know our team and when we start to lose momentum you just know the wheels can come off at any minute and we start dropping silly points. I have serious doubts about us beating Utd next week which makes me really worried about the upcoming games after that. We're playing teams with a lot on the line and you have to wonder if we'v e got it in us to turn up. I can only hope Spurs bottle it and slip before we do.

I think QPR and Wigan could be relegated by the time we play them, certainly QPR anyway, so the odds are still in our favour but it would be ideal if we could avoid defeat next week. We'll know how much room for error we have after today, it would be a bit of a sickener if Spurs and Chelsea both win.

[Cripps_orig]

Arsène Wenger spoke to the media after Arsenal beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.

on a nervous finish…
Yes it was tight at the end because we couldn't score the second goal. I feel that we became cautious in the second half. Our first half was quite good. We were in control and played well with 11 against 11. Up to half-time we were alright with 11 against 10. In the second half, I felt [we wanted] to protect the lead and not to make a mistake. The final 10 minutes were really nervy because they started to play direct. They had a few dangerous balls in the box and it was difficult but it's still a very important win for us.

on the red cards…
I spoke with Giroud. He said to me that he slipped at the moment he went for the ball and it's confirmed by the television. I haven't seen it but he's not a tackler. He went over the ball and knowing that Sidwell had been sent off before, I had no illusion of the colour of the card.

on if he will appeal Giroud's red…
I have to see it again. I haven't seen it on television.

on Sidwell's red card…
Sidwell's challenge was in front of me. I've seen that better. I think the referee had only the red card to give.

on Arteta avoiding a serious injury…
He played the second half but I don't know how much damage it's done. It was a kick. I don't know if he has twisted his ankle a little bit or not. In this kind of things, it's just a question of a fraction of a second. If you are fully on your foot at the moment you get it, you break your leg. If you just ease a bit off [you can prevent injury]. Maybe that's why he got away with it.

on getting protection…
Against Everton it was a very physical game. Somewhere I feel that physically we were a bit jaded today in the second half, maybe because we gave a lot against Everton. I've seen that Everton lost at Sunderland. It was a very physical game on Tuesday night.

on the second-half performance…
I put it down to psychological reasons and to the fact that we didn't want to be stupid. You are a bit under pressure when you play 11 against 10 because you think that with every foul you risk a second yellow card so they do not go in the challenges. The crowd is behind their team. it becomes a different problem. In the end, we have a fantastic spirit and that got us through.

on if Arsenal are favourites for top-four place now…
We are on a strong run and we just go into the next game and focus on winning that. The next game will be Man United so it's a good challenge for us.

on putting pressure on teams around them…
It's important for us to win our games of course.

on Wilshere needing a rest…
He played on Saturday and he played on Tuesday. He is still not completely recovered and pain free. I took the decision to rest him today.


How can he say Girouds "slip" is confirmed by television if he hasn't seen it on television yet?

[Özim]

In challenges like Girouds, I always think how I would react if a player did that to one of our pussy players
One of those challenges would probably break them in half, for 18 months tbf.

[Özim]

How can he say Girouds "slip" is confirmed by television if he hasn't seen it on television yet?
Sidwell slipped too, that's what he told his manager when he spoke to him, was down to the rain apparently.

[Marc Overmars]

Red card appeal rejected.

[Özim]

Red card appeal rejected.
Does he get a longer ban then?

and it was "hardly even a foul".

Anyway this is good news as it should give Podolski some games.

[Marc Overmars]

Still 3 games, he'll be back for the final game against Newcastle. Which hopefully is a dead rubber. :pray:

[Niall_Quinn]

Why wasn't his ban extended? Once again we are discriminated against by the authorities!

[Niall_Quinn]

From Arseblog.

So I'm not alone with this.

Despite creating very little yesterday, we have to keep Rosicky playing or maybe get Cazorla in the middle with Ramsey like how we played in the final 20 minutes of Everton. We looked so disjointed in the middle when Jack is playing and it's not a coincidence. Maybe Wenger should get him out on the wing if he needs games.

Thoughts on the piece overall....I get that we won the game and came away with 3 points. We should be happy with that. But we know our team and when we start to lose momentum you just know the wheels can come off at any minute and we start dropping silly points. I have serious doubts about us beating Utd next week which makes me really worried about the upcoming games after that. We're playing teams with a lot on the line and you have to wonder if we'v e got it in us to turn up. I can only hope Spurs bottle it and slip before we do.

It's possible the substitutions changed things, far more likely it was what we have seen so many times over the years - mental frailty, making it harder for ourselves than it ever has to be, stupid tactics (almost certainly that) and the rest. We had a lot of possession because Fulham were content to sit off and hit on the break which we seemed powerless to prevent. In the last 15 minutes it's not surprising they became a bit more adventurous, there's nothing to be gained from hanging on for a defeat.

Rosicky didn't have a particularly impressive game. But I wouldn't have taken him off at all, it would have been Giroud to go and Podolski up top. But Wenger's never going to make a sub like that because it's not part of the algorithm. In hindsight I'm glad we didn't take Giroud off because it would have avoided him picking up a ban. But you can't give Wenger credit for accidentally giving us a big boost going into the Utd match.

Other than that Arseblog seems to be saying, okay we're total shite but we've done pretty well considering how shite we really are. Fair enough but don't go charging those ticket prices then and keep PHW under lock and key when it comes to the annual round of boasting about financial performance.