Match Reaction vs Fulham (home).

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Again, only turn up for 15 minutes but get the job done.

Well done Santi. :bow:

[Özim]

Easy win thanks to Santi.

[GP]

Easy, really.

Top of the League :bow:

[Marc Overmars]

A forgettable first half but we stepped it up a notch in the 2nd and it was a routine win in the end.

Boy am I glad we have a great defence now, this attacking line up really lacks some goal hungry and ruthless personalities.

Anyway 3 points and another clean sheet. Top of the league.

Come on you Gunners.

[Power n Glory]

Santi stepped his game up for the 2nd half. Pod looked very sharp when coming on too.

Too of the league.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Gnabry is a special player.

[Ollie the Optimist]

top of the league. easy win. can't ask for more.

[Niall_Quinn]

Merts was only 98% today, but Kos was 102% so another great show by the defence. Monreal reads the game very well but Sagna continues to wreck his past record now that he can suddenly cross a ball.

Pods and Ox looked desperate to impress, good sign. Jack and Flam did okay in the middle, good second half from Santi and the goals of course. Giroud put a big effort in again but he's still below par and a very quiet and often careless performance from Ozil who seems to have lost that smile he had. Wonder what's going on there?

Fulham are really awful and we made them look PL quality in the first half. Easily overcame them in the second but in truth we'll need to play a lot better than this against the better teams. 3 points though thus leaving the money bag comedy clubs still trailing.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

3 points, top of the pops, we stay.
Up the Arse!

[Master Splinter]

5 minute patch of power play does it again.

Awful first half. Much better in the second, if still hugely wasteful in the final third.

Good games from Szczesny, Monreal, Koscielny, Wilshere, Gnabry and Cazorla who stepped up in the second period.

I hope all the people constantly saying Flamini is the much better option over Arteta have seen how much Arteta is missed in recent games. Flamini is supposedly a ball-winning terrier, but Fulham had periods where they dominated the possession and when we did have the ball, Flamini doesn't set any tempo and can also be erratic and loose with his passing. Arteta - or a ball distributor who is superior to Arteta - is essential for us. Flamini can be useful in some games, but he should be no more than a decent back-up option.

Anyway, another useful win, Wilshere getting back to his best with a run of influential performances, Gnabry impressive again and defensively solid once more.

Oh, and Koscielny is a monstrous player.

Arsenal :bow:.

[Power n Glory]

Merts was only 98% today, but Kos was 102% so another great show by the defence. Monreal reads the game very well but Sagna continues to wreck his past record now that he can suddenly cross a ball.

Pods and Ox looked desperate to impress, good sign. Jack and Flam did okay in the middle, good second half from Santi and the goals of course. Giroud put a big effort in again but he's still below par and a very quiet and often careless performance from Ozil who seems to have lost that smile he had. Wonder what's going on there?

Fulham are really awful and we made them look PL quality in the first half. Easily overcame them in the second but in truth we'll need to play a lot better than this against the better teams. 3 points though thus leaving the money bag comedy clubs still trailing.

When teams defend in numbers like that, we need a lot of movement to create space, aggressive drives forward and shots to get ahead. Gnarby played well even though he got some stuff wrong but wanted to see more of what he was doing from Cazorla and Ozil because the cute passing and lay offs just weren't working. Cazorla stepped his game up but Ozil looked disappointed because he probably knew he was off today. He needs to take more risks. Early in the first half he laid off a pass for Giroud from a great move but Giroud couldn't make up the ground to get on the end of the pass. Oz should have just blasted it in the roof of the goal instead of going for the cut back. He'll learn.

Good to see us see out the game comfortably and with a clean sheet. Defence solid again and Monreal is putting in solid performances on that left. Laying in good crosses and another assist today plus he's good on defence. Impressed with him and glad he wasn't injured.

[IBK]

When teams defend in numbers like that, we need a lot of movement to create space, aggressive drives forward and shots to get ahead. Gnarby played well even though he got some stuff wrong but wanted to see more of what he was doing from Cazorla and Ozil because the cute passing and lay offs just weren't working. Cazorla stepped his game up but Ozil looked disappointed because he probably knew he was off today. He needs to take more risks. Early in the first half he laid off a pass for Giroud from a great move but Giroud couldn't make up the ground to get on the end of the pass. Oz should have just blasted it in the roof of the goal instead of going for the cut back. He'll learn.

Good to see us see out the game comfortably and with a clean sheet. Defence solid again and Monreal is putting in solid performances on that left. Laying in good crosses and another assist today plus he's good on defence. Impressed with him and glad he wasn't injured.

Delighted with the win - especially after a frustrating first half. But can we step it up against the best teams for the rest of the season - settling for the squad we've got?

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Ozil's look of disappointment (probably at his own performance) is becoming a little too familiar. Someone mentioned he needs to look to shoot more and I would agree making the point (a few months ago too) that he needs to understand how his role has changed from the Galaticos egos of Madrid. That partly means more of the goal threat should come from him directly. It is worrying when a player of his qualities misplaces a simple pass. Particularly as it is arguably his greatest asset. He'll work it out in time though...

Gnabry was good and has an interesting game. So often Sagna is way ahead of him but you can Gnabry to be sensible enough to not sell Sagna out. Still, I'd like to see Gnabry forward a little more and taking a few more risks at times.

I agree that Arteta is the first choice man. Always has been for me and remains so.

[Power n Glory]

5 minute patch of power play does it again.

Awful first half. Much better in the second, if still hugely wasteful in the final third.

Good games from Szczesny, Monreal, Koscielny, Wilshere, Gnabry and Cazorla who stepped up in the second period.

I hope all the people constantly saying Flamini is the much better option over Arteta have seen how much Arteta is missed in recent games. Flamini is supposedly a ball-winning terrier, but Fulham had periods where they dominated the possession and when we did have the ball, Flamini doesn't set any tempo and can also be erratic and loose with his passing. Arteta - or a ball distributor who is superior to Arteta - is essential for us. Flamini can be useful in some games, but he should be no more than a decent back-up option.

Anyway, another useful win, Wilshere getting back to his best with a run of influential performances, Gnabry impressive again and defensively solid once more.

Oh, and Koscielny is a monstrous player.

Arsenal :bow:.

82/84 passes for Flams today. That's pretty good. I think the team on a whole didn't press enough and were too comfortable letting Fulham attack us. We're missing Ramsey because he's the one with the most tackles per game.

[IBK]

Ozil's look of disappointment (probably at his own performance) is becoming a little too familiar. Someone mentioned he needs to look to shoot more and I would agree making the point (a few months ago too) that he needs to understand how his role has changed from the Galaticos egos of Madrid. That partly means more of the goal threat should come from him directly.

Gnabry was good and has an interesting game. So often Sagna is way ahead of him but you can Gnabry to be sensible enough to not sell Sagna out. Still, I'd like to see Gnabry forward a little more and taking a few more risks at times.

I agree that Arteta is the first choice man. Always has been for me and remains so.

Perceptive point. 42M for Arsenal rather than 'Galacticos' team means that you should be making the difference, not simply being a good link man.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

It's these sort of routine 2 - 0 wins that win leagues. Man Utd have been doing this for years; rarely did they consistently pummel teams 4 or 5 nil.


Great run we're on, what is it now, 5 or 6 straight wins. It's just our fucking luck that the year we hit this great form is the same year Man City and Chelsea decide to be good. :rolleyes: FFS. Just not fair. :(

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Before it is mentioned.... I know it is not all about goals and Ozil is certainly no goal machine. However, he was last playing in a Mourinho team and now he is supposedly the main guy (talent, fee, experience and prestige wise) in a Wenger team. For even just that reason alone his role has changed.

Fortunately we are in a place where we aren't just relying on one midfielder to drag us through all the time, be it Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil or Wilshere. It would be nice to be less reliant on Giroud at some stage too!

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I was quite hoping that Liverpool would beat City last month (despite Liverpool being ahead of us at the time).....for this exact reason. City just keep winning. I think they have won 10 prem games in a row now or something like that....

They were lucky against Newcastle....very lucky, but still squeezed out a win.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Seven in a row, they drew against Southampton. I'm sure Citeh are thinking the same of us right now though too tbf.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Perhaps 10 in 11 then rather than 10 in a row....

I'm sure they are thinking that, but their squad is much better equipped to cope and I think that they probably expect us to blink first. Their record in the big games (which may prove the difference) is better than ours I suspect too.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We'll see I guess, they have the Spuds away and Chelsea at home next.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

OoOo didn't realise that! Here's to hoping!

[LDG]

Fucking awful first half.

Better second.

:shrug:

Top

:scarf:

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Just seen we have Southampton and Palace next and they have Spurs and Chelsea.

Smells like an opportunity to me. Hope we can put some distance between us and them.

[Özim]

Southampton and Palace aren't that easy, Southampton have shown that they can beat top sides and Palace since they brought Pulis on board have improved a lot.

City will beat Spurs, Chelsea game they'll get a draw at worst I reckon, though the way they are playing at the monent I think they might even win that.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Southampton have likely lost Lovren for our game which is terrible news for them really.

[Özim]

We've got Liverpool and Chelsea away coming up in February, that's going to be tough.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Man Utd home in February, Chelsea away is in late March.

[LDG]

Darren Bent :haha:

[Özim]

Man Utd home in February, Chelsea away is in late March.

Sorry yeah Man U not Chelsea, I'd say we'll win that game but after last time I'm not sure, it's like a mental block.

[Marc Overmars]

Southampton are good but that will probably be a classic pubbed away win for us and Palace will be a trademark 2-0 to the Arsenal.

Liverpool and United in the space of 4 days will be difficult though.

[Syn]

Job done again. Not pretty to watch but the goals were quite good again. The first one was a lovely move. Credit to the defence as well for making sure, yet again, that a goal or two would be enough.

51 points from 22 games is a solid pace. Plan: just keep fucking winning.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Aren't Liverpool little bit our bitches? Especially on their patch.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

Well.... yeah.

And yet for some reason it's the big game I feel least nervous about.

[GP]

Danger Zone

[Marc Overmars]

Well.... yeah.

And yet for some reason it's the big game I feel least nervous about.

You'll beat us comfortably.

[Alpha]

A derby is always a tough game regardless of the quality of the opposition . They always raise their game . So , 3 points , clean sheet and a solid defense display are not too bad . But we need to be more ruthless in the final third .

[BOBN]

Carzola in my fantasy team :dance:

Knew to have him in over that hype-job Ozil.

[Maestro]

what's with bif jerkin off in celebration????

[fakeyank]

what's with bif jerkin off in celebration????

I keep seeing BIF and I have no clue what it is... I know its for Giroud but no idea what it stands for

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

City will mash the spuds but I'm hoping Daddy Mourinho can park the bus for long enough to cause City to drop a couple points.

[hobson's choice]

Great performances by Santi and Gnarby.

Ozil is a good player, and i'm very thankful for what his signing has meant to this team. But he is becoming Hleb, he just doesn't try to have a go at the goal at all, when he's in a good position to do something. Unless it's a clear cut chance, he's passing it up.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Santi when he is on it. :cloud9:

So good to watch.

Oh and Poldi's left foot. :wacko:

http://shrani.si/f/1f/Fc/mM1mIdX/poldi.gif

Credit to GIFlord on Redcafe Newbies.

[Alpha]

5 minute patch of power play does it again.

Awful first half. Much better in the second, if still hugely wasteful in the final third.

Good games from Szczesny, Monreal, Koscielny, Wilshere, Gnabry and Cazorla who stepped up in the second period.

I hope all the people constantly saying Flamini is the much better option over Arteta have seen how much Arteta is missed in recent games. Flamini is supposedly a ball-winning terrier, but Fulham had periods where they dominated the possession and when we did have the ball, Flamini doesn't set any tempo and can also be erratic and loose with his passing. Arteta - or a ball distributor who is superior to Arteta - is essential for us. Flamini can be useful in some games, but he should be no more than a decent back-up option.

Anyway, another useful win, Wilshere getting back to his best with a run of influential performances, Gnabry impressive again and defensively solid once more.

Oh, and Koscielny is a monstrous player.

Arsenal :bow:.


The defence did not concede so credit to the guy who was covering and protecting ( Flamini ) . He still has my vote over Arteta while I also rate the latter highly .
The thing is it is the team work . Everyone must do their bit properly . The culprits are the lads at the other end of the pitch . They kept losing the ball easily and unnecessarily . They couldn't even make some combinations which is the basic of our game . At some stage , Fulham looked like " Old Arsenal " with their passes and we looked like Stoke or Wigan . That put too much pressure on our midfield and defence and made Flamini looked "average" . But he was doing a very good job protecting and organising his teammates who started to panic under pressure .

[Power n Glory]

Our midfield weren't pressing. You could see that and you need to press as a unit to win the ball back. Flam only won 1 tackle out of 3 attempts. Cazorla didn't attempt a tackle, whilst Ozil, Wilshere and Gnarby all had 1/1 each. Kos and our wingbacks won the most tackles.

Flam and Cazorla won 4 interceptions each but no other midfield player won the ball. That's pretty bad. Not enough hustle from a lot of players.

[Power n Glory]

Perceptive point. 42M for Arsenal rather than 'Galacticos' team means that you should be making the difference, not simply being a good link man.

He's going for the easy option all the time. We're not seeing a great team performance where he's dictating the flow, making space for others consistently and we're not seeing great solo performances where he's trying to make things happen when we're looking for that vital goal.

Despite his errors, I liked Gnarby's approach of trying to drive forwards and get cracks in goal even if the shots were well wide. Always thought Cazorla and Ozil should take that approach because players with their skill and experience would have more luck with a crack on goal or taking on their man. Cazorla stepped it up in the second half and did what I was hoping he'd do as an experienced player.

[Marc Overmars]

If anything I think Mesut Hleb is making it harder for himself rather than easy. The guy will look to pass no matter how difficult the option is, rather than take on some responsibility and shoot. He's completely selfless and it's easy to see why selfish players like Ronaldo loved him for it.

Unfortunately for us we have a lot of players like him already so it can be frustrating at times when he does this, as you expect a little bit more from a guy of his undoubted ability.

[Power n Glory]

He said recently he knows he isn't playing at his best and his sub reaction tells it all. He'll get there eventually. What I'd like to see from him is more aggression. More take ons and attempts to dance pass his man instead of a lay off. Someone also mentioned that he linked up better with Ramsey on another forum. It also sounds like he likes when Rosicky is playing. He gave him a lot of praise last week.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Szczesny - 6 - Off his line quickly to deal to get to ball before Kacaniklic (who the stadium announcer got tongued tied with) smart save from Steve Sidwell but almost spilled a ball from a free kick and got mugged by Darren Bent in stoppage time.

Monreal - 5 Every time he cleared the danger the ball seemed to land straight back at the feet of a Fulham player.

Koscielny - 8 Wasn't at all frightened to get stuck in to crunching tackles

Mertesacker - 6 - Calm and measured most of the game but had a few iffy moments from set pieces

Sagna - 6 - Defended reasonably well but a lot of his ball distribution was poor in setting up counter attacks and his crossing left something to be desired.

Flamini - 6 - Guilty of giving the ball away too much, although in the second half he was winning back possession more after ceding it.

Wilshere - 7 - Drove the attack forward through the middle of the park, some of his passes were a little too cute but good link up with Cazorla for the opening goal.

Cazorla - 8 - Looked isolated at times on the flanks in the first half, moved into the middle in the second half and took his goals very well.

Ozil - 5 - Was put through on goal by Wilshere in the opening five minutes but fluffed the chance, after that was constantly miscontrolling passes with a heavy touch....not a good afternoon for him.

Gnabry - 6 - A couple of wayward shots in the first half, linked up well in the attacks in the second half....drew good save from Steklenberg.

Giroud - 5 - Held up the ball well for others a few times just outside the Fulham Box, but really offered very little in the way of goal threat himself.


Subs:

Podolski - 7 - Looked dangerous as soon as he came on and was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet

Oxlade Chamberlain - 6 - Fairly anonymous but came close to scoring in the closing stages of the game.

[Power n Glory]

Really disagree with the ratings for Flamini and Monreal. Flams got a 98% pass completion rate so he wasn't reckless in possession. I only recall that miscontrolled pass from the keeper that ended up with a shot on goal but I have no idea why Chesney played it short anyway.

Monreal set up Cazorla and was very positive on attack. Won all his tackles, covered well and didn't leave us exposed....5 is very harsh for him.

[Alpha]

Szczesny - 6 - Off his line quickly to deal to get to ball before Kacaniklic (who the stadium announcer got tongued tied with) smart save from Steve Sidwell but almost spilled a ball from a free kick and got mugged by Darren Bent in stoppage time.

Monreal - 5 Every time he cleared the danger the ball seemed to land straight back at the feet of a Fulham player.

Koscielny - 8 Wasn't at all frightened to get stuck in to crunching tackles

Mertesacker - 6 - Calm and measured most of the game but had a few iffy moments from set pieces

Sagna - 6 - Defended reasonably well but a lot of his ball distribution was poor in setting up counter attacks and his crossing left something to be desired.

Flamini - 6 - Guilty of giving the ball away too much, although in the second half he was winning back possession more after ceding it.

Wilshere - 7 - Drove the attack forward through the middle of the park, some of his passes were a little too cute but good link up with Cazorla for the opening goal.

Cazorla - 8 - Looked isolated at times on the flanks in the first half, moved into the middle in the second half and took his goals very well.

Ozil - 5 - Was put through on goal by Wilshere in the opening five minutes but fluffed the chance, after that was constantly miscontrolling passes with a heavy touch....not a good afternoon for him.

Gnabry - 6 - A couple of wayward shots in the first half, linked up well in the attacks in the second half....drew good save from Steklenberg.

Giroud - 5 - Held up the ball well for others a few times just outside the Fulham Box, but really offered very little in the way of goal threat himself.


Subs:

Podolski - 7 - Looked dangerous as soon as he came on and was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet

Oxlade Chamberlain - 6 - Fairly anonymous but came close to scoring in the closing stages of the game.


Unrealistic ratings .

Ox didn't do anything to deserve a 6 . 5 for Monreal is a joke . All the back four were fantastic that 's why we did not concede . Flamini did his usual job superbly . Ozil was not up to his standard which is very high due to his quality but he was not that bad to get a 5 .

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

The defence did not concede so credit to the guy who was covering and protecting ( Flamini ) . He still has my vote over Arteta while I also rate the latter highly .
The thing is it is the team work . Everyone must do their bit properly . The culprits are the lads at the other end of the pitch . They kept losing the ball easily and unnecessarily . They couldn't even make some combinations which is the basic of our game . At some stage , Fulham looked like " Old Arsenal " with their passes and we looked like Stoke or Wigan . That put too much pressure on our midfield and defence and made Flamini looked "average" . But he was doing a very good job protecting and organising his teammates who started to panic under pressure .

Flamini was brilliant. There's no doubting that.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Having not seen the match at all, not even goal highlights, I have to disagree with all the ratings.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Niall_Quinn]

Having not seen the match at all, not even goal highlights, I have to disagree with all the ratings.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Are you on work placement for the mainstream media?

[Master Splinter]

Are you on work placement for the mainstream media?

no u

[AFC Leveller]

Another average performances coupled with a 10 minute spell where we get a couple and kill the game off.

Its funny that these Mourinho loving whores in the media keep reminding us that Chelsea keep picking up points wihtout really playing well and that shows they are title favourites but we do the same and we "win but not convincingly".

top of the league! have that you journo ****s and haha Man ure and RVC.

[Dein-machine]

Another average performances coupled with a 10 minute spell where we get a couple and kill the game off.

Its funny that these Mourinho loving whores in the media keep reminding us that Chelsea keep picking up points wihtout really playing well and that shows they are title favourites but we do the same and we "win but not convincingly".

top of the league! have that you journo ****s and haha Man ure and RVC.

I agree with your post but the only difference for me is that we don't set up to pub results. We have so much possesion in mdfield area & try to break teams down, whereas Maureen teams will sit back, soak it up & then hit you on the break. Apart from Flamini we don't have a natural defensive midfielder so its not a way we should play. Unfortunatley, starting at Man Ure & then again at home to Everton, Chelsea & away to Napoli, Wumger decided he wanted us to play on the counter just because we had beaten Dormund using these tactics. Dortmund should have been 2-0 up at half time & it would have been game over. Many of us are questioning what Ozil has brought to the team for 42 mill but in fairness to him asking him to be so defensive is not his game.

[AFC Leveller]

I agree with your post but the only difference for me is that we don't set up to pub results. We have so much possesion in mdfield area & try to break teams down, whereas Maureen teams will sit back, soak it up & then hit you on the break. Apart from Flamini we don't have a natural defensive midfielder so its not a way we should play. Unfortunatley, starting at Man Ure & then again at home to Everton, Chelsea & away to Napoli, Wumger decided he wanted us to play on the counter just because we had beaten Dormund using these tactics. Dortmund should have been 2-0 up at half time & it would have been game over. Many of us are questioning what Ozil has brought to the team for 42 mill but in fairness to him asking him to be so defensive is not his game.

We will always have more posession than the other team because of the players we have but its clear to everyone that we seem to sit back everytime we go ahead and try to kill the game off. Maureen's teams have always been about sititng back and socking up pressure but i think this current chelsea side have less of that about them and they look like they are trying to play differently so i dont think their pub wins have been down to Maureens tactical genius anymore than it has been about luck.

I do worry about us because in the big games we have been either outplayed (City, Everton) or outwitted (Chelsea, Man u) and when you look at our run in March then you have to concede we will drop points.

Ozil, for me anyway, hasnt yet produced anything close to his best and thats down to many things but the main thing for me is the lack of movement from his team mates. Giroud is and will always be static and Theo is injured so who is he gonna pick out? We saw at real Madrid what he could do with runners infront of him.

I do however think he needs to shoot more.

[selassie]

We will always have more posession than the other team because of the players we have but its clear to everyone that we seem to sit back everytime we go ahead and try to kill the game off. Maureen's teams have always been about sititng back and socking up pressure but i think this current chelsea side have less of that about them and they look like they are trying to play differently so i dont think their pub wins have been down to Maureens tactical genius anymore than it has been about luck.

I do worry about us because in the big games we have been either outplayed (City, Everton) or outwitted (Chelsea, Man u) and when you look at our run in March then you have to concede we will drop points.

Ozil, for me anyway, hasnt yet produced anything close to his best and thats down to many things but the main thing for me is the lack of movement from his team mates. Giroud is and will always be static and Theo is injured so who is he gonna pick out? We saw at real Madrid what he could do with runners infront of him.

I do however think he needs to shoot more.

Yeah i largely agree with this, though I don't necessarily agree that Man U or Chelsea outwitted us. I think if anything we outwitted ourselves, we mentally lost that game against Man U, we were beaten before kick off. The Chelsea game again IMHO was more a mental thing, we seemed more concerned about not losing, though should have actually beat them as we had some great chances in the 2nd half.

I still believe this team has a "mental" issue in as much as not believing it is capable of beating any of the big 3 (city, chelsea or man u) or what we would have called big 3 at the start of the season. We need to address that because if we don't I see us ending up trophyless this season.

[AFC Leveller]

Yeah i agree about Man u beting us before kick off but i also think we played into their hands a bit and looked a bit scared o them (the manager even admitted he was surprised). Chelsea for me was there for the taking but because we hadnt beaten them in a long time (maureen) and we'd lost that CL game to dortmund a few weeks earlier, we semed happy enough with a point.

[Niall_Quinn]

And the team had flu or some sexually transmitted disease or whatever it was. Let's hope we can put out a strong and fit team against them at home and we'll give them a pasting.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

And the team had flu or some sexually transmitted disease or whatever it was. Let's hope we can put out a strong and fit team against them at home and we'll give them a pasting.

Eboue is not here anymore. And you need to stop being so racist.

[PGFC]

And the team had flu or some sexually transmitted disease or whatever it was. Let's hope we can put out a strong and fit team against them at home and we'll give them a pasting.


Eboue is not here anymore. And you need to stop being so racist.

:gp: They're not gypos they're pikeys :good:

[Dein-machine]

We will always have more posession than the other team because of the players we have but its clear to everyone that we seem to sit back everytime we go ahead and try to kill the game off. Maureen's teams have always been about sititng back and socking up pressure but i think this current chelsea side have less of that about them and they look like they are trying to play differently so i dont think their pub wins have been down to Maureens tactical genius anymore than it has been about luck.

I do worry about us because in the big games we have been either outplayed (City, Everton) or outwitted (Chelsea, Man u) and when you look at our run in March then you have to concede we will drop points.



Ozil, for me anyway, hasnt yet produced anything close to his best and thats down to many things but the main thing for me is the lack of movement from his team mates. Giroud is and will always be static and Theo is injured so who is he gonna pick out? We saw at real Madrid what he could do with runners infront of him.

I do however think he needs to shoot more.

100% agree om Ozil - due to Theo's earier injury & then Rambo's, Ozil has had virtually no movement ahead of him. He is having to play sideways or balls into Girouds feet which means he's got a 50% chance of getting it back. A fit Theo & Rambo would have given him a little more of what he craves & if we had a mobile striker we would see the best of him. He had the likes of Ronaldo, Di Maria, Higuin & Benzema at Madrid, all of whom wanted to get past defenders - we are far too static for him.

[Niall_Quinn]

:gp: They're not gypos they're pikeys :good:

They all smell the same to me.