Girona vs Arsenal 29.01.2024 - KO 20:00 GMT

[HCZ_Reborn]

Not quite a rubber stamp fixture but almost. I had to look up where this place even was in Spain (Catalonia about 30-40 miles up the road from Barcelona)

Basically the Spanish equivalent of Blackburn Rovers in the mid 1990s (without the title win of course)


Havertz hobbling about at the end against Wolves, so if possible we should avoid playing him (stick either Martinelli or Trossard up front, no they aren’t strikers but neither is Havertz)


I’d rest Saliba, Partey and if he’s come back from illness Odegaard for this game as well


Raya, Timber, Gabriel, Kiwior, MLS, Jorginho, Rice, Nwaneri, Trossard, Martinelli, Sterling

[Marc Overmars]

Definitely need to shuffle the pack here with City on the weekend.

Girona have lost 6 out of the 7 games so I don’t imagine this will be the sternest of tests. Hopefully we just kill the game off early and most importantly, don’t pick up any injuries.

[Niall_Quinn]

This is classic Arsenal banana skin territory. A beyond belief fuck up here, everything going against us elsewhere and a loss and wave goodbye to the title on Sunday. Season over.

We've done it in the past, so great care and attention required here. Professional job required, not some second squad jolly.

[Niall_Quinn]

And don't discount Oliver finding a way to send MLS off in this one either. Isn't he the ref that booked him before he'd made his debut? Fucker is creative, I'll give him that.

[Mac76]

3-0 Stuani hatter

[Niall_Quinn]

3-0 Stuani hatter

Never heard of him, are you sure we've been linked with him in this transfer window?

[Mac76]

Never heard of him, are you sure we've been linked with him in this transfer window?

he's on the bench so maybe they're protecting him from injury for a sale ;)

[Mac76]

Arsenal: Neto, Partey, Kiwior, Gabriel, Calafiori, Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Sterling, Trossard
Subs: Setford, Porter, Timber, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Tierney, Saliba, Rice, Salah, Martinelli, Butler-Oyedeji, Havertz.

Girona: P. Lopez, Martinez, Yaakobishvili, Juanpe, Frances, Martin, Romeu, Asprilla, Danjuma, Tysgankov, Ruiz.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Danso, Comas, Herrera, Solis, Clua, Kim, Artero, Portu, Miovski, van de Beek, Stuani.


Some sensible rotation there :good:

We've got someone called Salah on the bench - secret new signing...?

[HCZ_Reborn]

Anyway sooner this fixture is done with, the sooner I won’t have “My Sharona (Girona)” playing in my head, I don’t even like the song

[Mac76]

Anyway sooner this fixture is done with, the sooner I won’t have “My Sharona (Girona)” playing in my head, I don’t even like the song

Thanks for putting in our heads too - much appreciated

NOT

[HCZ_Reborn]

Arsenal: Neto, Partey, Kiwior, Gabriel, Calafiori, Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Sterling, Trossard
Subs: Setford, Porter, Timber, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Tierney, Saliba, Rice, Salah, Martinelli, Butler-Oyedeji, Havertz.

Girona: P. Lopez, Martinez, Yaakobishvili, Juanpe, Frances, Martin, Romeu, Asprilla, Danjuma, Tysgankov, Ruiz.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Danso, Comas, Herrera, Solis, Clua, Kim, Artero, Portu, Miovski, van de Beek, Stuani.


Some sensible rotation there :good:

Partey at right back instinctively fucks me off, but I think resting Timber for Sunday makes sense. Definitely glad Saliba isn’t starting….as I said earlier I wouldn’t have played Odegaard but will be interesting to see how he and Nwaneri link up.

Is this Neto’s first game for Arsenal?

[HCZ_Reborn]

Thanks for putting in our heads too - much appreciated

NOT

You’re very welcome :haha:

[Niall_Quinn]

Partey at right back instinctively fucks me off, but I think resting Timber for Sunday makes sense. Definitely glad Saliba isn’t starting….as I said earlier I wouldn’t have played Odegaard but will be interesting to see how he and Nwaneri link up.

Is this Neto’s first game for Arsenal?

You think you have it tough - Partey on the pitch fucks me off.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Arsenal: Neto, Partey, Kiwior, Gabriel, Calafiori, Jorginho, Merino, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Sterling, Trossard
Subs: Setford, Porter, Timber, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Tierney, Saliba, Rice, Salah, Martinelli, Butler-Oyedeji, Havertz.

Girona: P. Lopez, Martinez, Yaakobishvili, Juanpe, Frances, Martin, Romeu, Asprilla, Danjuma, Tysgankov, Ruiz.
Subs: Gazzaniga, Danso, Comas, Herrera, Solis, Clua, Kim, Artero, Portu, Miovski, van de Beek, Stuani.


Some sensible rotation there :good:

We've got someone called Salah on the bench - secret new signing...?

Faustino Asprilla. :bow:

He's back.

[Niall_Quinn]

Faustino Asprilla. :bow:

He's back.

Theo with the ability to move left.

[Niall_Quinn]

Is this on any non-double subscribe platform? Or do I have to have 12 subscriptions on the go?

[Niall_Quinn]

It's on Amazon Prime (meaning sub-standard) where you have to take out another subscription to watch.

All those promises that fans wouldn't be fucked up the arse by services like Sky. When has a corporation EVER made a claim that wasn't an obvious lie?

Suppose I will try that pirate stream provided by WMUG, thanks btw. It sort of worked, once you get past the 2.5 trillion adverts.

[Niall_Quinn]

This works so far: https://papahd2.info/girona-vs-arsenal/

And it also helped me find my dream kitchen which I didn't realise I even needed.

[Niall_Quinn]

There are also quite a few pop-up slags that want to shag you at half time. They are all definitely real and don't lead to a credit card screen - trust me, I tried.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Part of the City Group.

Hope we hammer them obviously.

[Niall_Quinn]

Part of the City Group.

Hope we hammer them obviously.

Yep, their bitch feeder club.

Trouble is, sounds like everyone is jusy assuming we are winning. Hope the players and manager don't see it the same.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sam Matterface is commentating on our game.

I immediately regret putting this on.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sam Matterface is commentating on our game.

I immediately regret putting this on.

You could always make death threats against him 3 weeks ago.

[Niall_Quinn]

Arteta is having sex with their manager. I wish we could get back to the days when we were throwing pizza at them.

[Niall_Quinn]

The famous Lucy Ward commentating. LOL. Go and make coffee!

[Niall_Quinn]

We're in a weird black and green kit that has no connection with our club whatsoever, apart from the profit angle of course.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Neto is bored already.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

We're in a weird black and green kit that has no connection with our club whatsoever, apart from the profit angle of course.

Maybe we have a partnership with Lynx Africa.

[Niall_Quinn]

The prostitutes on my stream are really distracting, and I'm not even talking about the players.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Trossard, what a miss.

Nwaneri is so good.

[Niall_Quinn]

Trossard misses an open goal. Good cross from Sterling.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Disallowed goal for Calafiori.

Jesus he has some finish on him.

[Niall_Quinn]

Found a stream without all the nagging whores.

https://itssportstime.info/streams/6.php

[Niall_Quinn]

Disallowed goal for Calafiori.

Jesus he has some finish on him.

New striker?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Get him up there.

[Niall_Quinn]

That deep block we were talking about. Think Girona. 11 on the goal line.

[Niall_Quinn]

so far, extraordinarily boring. We've decided to tip tap against this bunch for some reason.

[Niall_Quinn]

Paint just won't fucking dry. Pot won't boil, grass won't grow. WTF?

[Niall_Quinn]

Shit. Why is Sterling at this club?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

1-0 Danjuma.

[Niall_Quinn]

Why is there no shame? This is not sport. This is not entertainment. This is just shit.

And now it's 1-0 to Girona.

[Niall_Quinn]

That's what happens when you arrive having already won. It's a joke.

[Niall_Quinn]

Should hev been an easy 2 goal lead but Girona are absolute shite.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sterling is beyond shit. New term required.

[Marc Overmars]

Neto. :haha:

[Niall_Quinn]

If we just keep randomly tapping it around, statistically speaking the ball might end up in the net within the next 5 years.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Having a mare out there. :lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Should be 2-0 but they just don't have the talent. Lucky we aren't up against a decent side tonight.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Pelanty!

[Niall_Quinn]

No. Ref has given a pen for a Partey dive. That's harsh. Oh well, a freebie.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

JORGINHO!!!

[Niall_Quinn]

1-1

Won'y say we didn't deserve it because Girona have been every bit as pathetic as us.

[Niall_Quinn]

There's not a single player on that pitch who can say he's provided a penny's worth of the entry fee. It's so, so awful. Odegard is actually playing, though you wouldn't know it.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

NWANERI!!! :bow:

[HCZ_Reborn]

2-1 Nwaneri

[Niall_Quinn]

Finally, the kid earns his wage. 2-1. Showing the lazy cunts how its done.

[Niall_Quinn]

Nice goal actually. Should sell him to Utd.

[Niall_Quinn]

It's like we sleepwalked into a 2-1 lead. I mean we could win this 5-1, 10-1, 20-1, but there's nothing at all good about this performance.

[Niall_Quinn]

If this is city's feeder club I hope they are force feeding them. Diet of shite.

[Niall_Quinn]

Ah, finally good football until Sterling happened.

[Niall_Quinn]

HT 1-2

Absolutely dreadful.

[Niall_Quinn]

Tempting fate, but that stream held up for the whole first 45 minutes. Of course it did, it was torture from start to finish.

[Mac76]

Given the rotation I rhink it's been ok, though Neto was poor on their goal

Great strike from Ethan

[Niall_Quinn]

They have an Indian bloke called Dave announcing the half time scores :haha:

And he can also offer you technical support.

[HCZ_Reborn]

They have an Indian bloke called Dave announcing the half time scores :haha:

And he can also offer you technical support.

Hello Boss

Have you tried switching off and on?

[Niall_Quinn]

Given the rotation I rhink it's been ok, though Neto was poor on their goal

Great strike from Ethan

Seriously? What was okay about that performance?

I suppose you could say they have done the absolute zero, critical, right on the edge minimum to get the job done.

But it's an embarrassment for the entire club nonetheless. Unless you think the fans aren't part of it anymore.

[Niall_Quinn]

Hello Boss

Have you tried switching off and on?

What? I demand you take my credit card details!

[Niall_Quinn]

We have ads. Then they do the CL jingle. Then they have more ads. Then another jingle. Then more ads. Can't get enough of those ads.

[HCZ_Reborn]

What? I demand you take my credit card details!

I’m sorry sir I cannot hear you

No sir that is not an Elephant you are hearing in the background, why would you be having elephants in a call centre in Norwich

[Niall_Quinn]

I don't actually recognise our players anymore. Partey off, obviously. Timber on, but didn't know who the hell he was. Probably don't watch enough these days and they all look the same to me anyway... oh shut up, I was joking!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Nearly a crazy OG.

[Niall_Quinn]

Almost 1-3 from a deflection. Just wide.

[Letters]

It's on Amazon Prime (meaning sub-standard) where you have to take out another subscription to watch.

I thought you meant it was free on Prime.
£31 a month :haha: Piss off!

[Letters]

Neto. :haha:

:gp:

That was hilariously inept

[Niall_Quinn]

:gp:

That was hilariously inept

If you liked that, you missed a lot of epic comedy moments in the first half.

I can't see the point of this, just to qualify. Is there any expectation at all we'll go on and win it? Or is it now the top 8 trophy?

[Niall_Quinn]

The zimmer frame paced banter on GW is far, far better than this match.

[Mac76]

Another pointlessly 'clever' FK from Ode, I wish he'd give that up

[Niall_Quinn]

Girona are fucking awful. That poor bastard Asprilla, he's got the ball and all his team mates send him a post card from somewhere nowhere near his vicinity.

[Letters]

I’m quite impressed that we’re now passing it sideways from free kicks :lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Girona sub the whole team. Try again.

[Niall_Quinn]

What is this? What's the point of it?

[Niall_Quinn]

My commentator has just stated Partey was fouled, when Partey is not on the pitch and it was Calafiori that was fouled. I can see the similarity.

[Niall_Quinn]

Forget Calafiori as new striker. Miles wide.

[Niall_Quinn]

Girona - how did they even get in the CL? This must be a joke of some sort. What an atrocious team.

[Niall_Quinn]

A half that has provided, no exaggeration, ZERO entertainment.

MLS on, Havertz on. Calafiori and Trossard off.

[Niall_Quinn]

Sterling done for a dive in the box. But it actually looked like contact and a soft pen.

[Niall_Quinn]

Nah, probably a dive. Hardly anything in it.

[Niall_Quinn]

I can't believe how bad Sterling is.

[Niall_Quinn]

I hate the back passes so much. Robbing those fans who have paid [s]good[\s]extortionate money.

[Niall_Quinn]

Oh, 2-2

How embarrassing.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Disallowed. :lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Well, we only needed a point so still achieving the absolute bare minimum.

[Niall_Quinn]

Oh no! We've gone back to exceeding expectations. Still 1-2. We fucking rule!

[Niall_Quinn]

Their weird VAR system keeps on calling the correct result. What's that all about?

[Niall_Quinn]

Girona player booked for doing Braveheart impersonation.

[HCZ_Reborn]

Girona player booked for doing Braveheart impersonation.

Throwing his son’s lover from the window of a high castle ?

Oh no that’s Edward the Longshanks

[Niall_Quinn]

What is the fucking backpass all about in modern football? Girona had a bit of steam, it looked like we might see some football finally, but they halted and started passing it backwards! WTF?

[Niall_Quinn]

Rice on, somebody off.

[Niall_Quinn]

Very exciting backpass to our keeper by some Girona bloke. So inept it's creepy and kind of perverted to watch it.

[Niall_Quinn]

Dive by some Girona guy in the box. Worth a try but Oliver safely tucked up at home.

[Mac76]

I’m quite impressed that we’re now passing it sideways from free kicks :lol:

Well we just played backwards from that one :doh:

[Niall_Quinn]

Horrible cheaty dive by Merino after a tap. Cringy.

[Niall_Quinn]

Hope the scientific community is observing the clock on this one. It must be circling a black hole. Please let it end!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Neto. :bow:

[Niall_Quinn]

Martinelli has popped up, don't know when he came on.

[Niall_Quinn]

Should have been a goal for Girona but they decided to defend for us instead.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Pelanty!

[Niall_Quinn]

5 light years extra time.

I'm not sure Havertz has had a touch.

[Niall_Quinn]

Silly handball, definite pen. Strange fucking ref, insisted on applying the rules all night.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Sterling has it saved. :lol:

[Marc Overmars]

Sterling. :haha:

[Niall_Quinn]

I mean Jeez. Is there anything Sterling can't fuck up?

[Niall_Quinn]

I would say this is Arsenal's worst performance in the last 40 years. I honestly can't think of a performance worse than this, or maybe I've just blotted them all out.

[dazthegooner]

Make him fucking walk home.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Girona 1-2 Arsenal, FT!

What a performance. :lol:

[Marc Overmars]

Job done.

On to more important matters this weekend.

[Niall_Quinn]

Thank the Lord - it's over.

FT Shit team 1-2 Shit team

That was as bad as it could ever get. The abuse on display here is unforgivable. They should refund every single fan for the ticket, travel and accommodation.

[Mac76]

Dodgy keeper aside, decent all told and good runouts for some squad players

:good:

[Niall_Quinn]

Dodgy keeper aside, decent all told and good runouts for some squad players

:good:

Go on then. The decent bits. What were they?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord or Juventus for us in the last 16.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord or Juventus for us in the last 16.

I really don't get how this playoff thing works.... shouldn't our next opponent be the winner from a single match?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I've got to be honest, I'm just about clinging on in my understanding.

Us and Inter are paired together so whoever we don't get, Inter will.

It's all a bit wild really.

[Niall_Quinn]

I really don't get how this playoff thing works.... shouldn't our next opponent be the winner from a single match?

Good point, how do they know it's going to be one of those three? Couldn't they all lose in the play-offs? Or is it set up in such a way that at least one of them must go through, as in they are playing against each other? In which case why are there 3 possibilities? Who knows?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Everyone is boxed off in to their own little groups I guess.

[Mac76]

Go on then. The decent bits. What were they?

Well there was the lack of Bremner-style thuggery and girly Keegan hair for a start ;)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Once I can see a full bracket of it like the Euros or World Cup I guess I'll understand it a bit more.

[Niall_Quinn]

Well there was the lack of Bremner-style thuggery and girly Keegan hair for a start ;)

And a lack of everything else too. That was probably the biggest shitshow I've seen in 40 years watching Arsenal. And absolute travesty, bar one moment where the kid whacked in a decent goal. You could have mentioned that.

That was a bona fide appalling performance.

[Marc Overmars]

The format turned out to be incredibly shit.

Please bring back the normal group stage.

[Mac76]

And a lack of everything else too. That was probably the biggest shitshow I've seen in 40 years watching Arsenal. And absolute travesty, bar one moment where the kid whacked in a decent goal. You could have mentioned that.

That was a bona fide appalling performance.

*sigh* And just when I thought you were beginning to sound a bit more sensible too

The tendency of people on here to dimiss anything that isn't a 7-0 marvel performance as rubbish is so pathetic

It was a perfectly decent performance from a mix of players who don't get so much game time and others who've played a game every 3/4 days for a month, they dealt with an inferior opposition without overreaching themselves

as MO said, job done

[KSE Comedy Club]

Can I just give NQ a massive round of applause! :clap:

His posts were far more entertaining than the game last night :lol: