Match reaction vs Schalke

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Originally Posted by Charlie the Gooner

Ramsey playes cause who else is there. Can't play Arshavin he is poor, Jack is out. Love him or hate him we have missed Diaby and that is the truth, we missed Gibbs, we missed Theo and not giving Theo a new deal will cost us big. We missed Ox. Id say we missed Jack but he ain't played in so long its going to take time for him to get match fit.

Gev is not a striker and should not be played as one and this is not the time to expriment, unless Wenger sees this season as a write off. Poldi well he has been poor the last 2 games and for me its not down to where he played as he has done well there this season.

Giroud was always going to take time to settle in, was always going to happen. Still think we need to buy another quality CB and CF.

Theo/Giroud/Poldi/Gev none are good enough to replace RVC and be our top striker.

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Arshavin is a better option over Ramsey, regardless of his poor work rate. He can actually dribble, pass and has a bit of pace. On a poor day he could still get an assist from a corner, cross or sneaky pass. We're getting no defensive cover or an advantage on attack by playing Ramsey. Gnarby is also an option, even though he's pretty raw. We could have played Giroud up front with Gervinho on the left and Poldoski on the right so he's at least able to cut in and rifle in shots. Gervinho is miles better on the left as well. Play Coquelin in the middle instead of Ramsey. We had options.

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Originally Posted by server too busy!

With the formation we play, Podolski and Ramsey or whoever have far too much ground to cover running forward and back constantly. It means they basically do neither job of attacking or defending. We need to change the formation because we basically have no width as it is.

Also time to buy a Jenkinson for LB, Santos would clearly be suited better to the Podolski role. Gibbs is good enough for first choice but he will always get injuries and can't relied upon for the whole season. A decent youngster would be enough.

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Good point about Santos. He's good going forward but he was double and triple teamed at times because Poldoski couldn't make the ground up. Maybe Charlie has a point about playing Verms as left back. We could at least then push Santos further up field to get some proper width. Podolski out wide doesn't work because he's not a dribbler and can't beat his man.

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Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory

Arshavin is a better option over Ramsey, regardless of his poor work rate. He can actually dribble, pass and has a bit of pace. On a poor day he could still get an assist from a corner, cross or sneaky pass. We're getting no defensive cover or an advantage on attack by playing Ramsey. Gnarby is also an option, even though he's pretty raw. We could have played Giroud up front with Gervinho on the left and Poldoski on the right so he's at least able to cut in and rifle in shots. Gervinho is miles better on the left as well. Play Coquelin in the middle instead of Ramsey. We had options.

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Only trouble is Arshavin is just as likely to give the ball away as Ramsey. That's what hurts us most, possession breaking down around players who are incredibly indisciplined in the simple stuff. If Ramsey could just retain possession and shuffle it along to somebody capable of doing something with the ball we'd be a lot better off. Lots of people are saying Coquelin had a good game but he's the same as Ramsey, gives the ball away all the time. These are workmanlike players being forced into a comedy version of the Barcelona style. Can't work, they don't have the talent or awareness, in split second decision making they can be relied upon to make the wrong decision. Direct opposite to Cazorla who knows what to do with it when he has the ball. Shame he only has Gervinho ahead of him, he might as well kick it into touch as pass to that guy.

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Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn

Only trouble is Arshavin is just as likely to give the ball away as Ramsey. That's what hurts us most, possession breaking down around players who are incredibly indisciplined in the simple stuff. If Ramsey could just retain possession and shuffle it along to somebody capable of doing something with the ball we'd be a lot better off. Lots of people are saying Coquelin had a good game but he's the same as Ramsey, gives the ball away all the time. These are workmanlike players being forced into a comedy version of the Barcelona style. Can't work, they don't have the talent or awareness, in split second decision making they can be relied upon to make the wrong decision. Direct opposite to Cazorla who knows what to do with it when he has the ball. Shame he only has Gervinho ahead of him, he might as well kick it into touch as pass to that guy.

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Cazorla gives the ball away sometimes as well and the fact that he's able to get marked out of the game so often shows how badly we miss Fabregas. Fabs was a difficult player to mark because he already knows which player he's passing to before the ball even reaches his feet. In an ideal world, we'd have both players. Cesc is more like Xavi, while Caz is more like Iniesta.

Coquelin is way better than Ramsey. He doesn't give the ball away as much and he's better at intercepting the ball and making tackles. He's not a brilliant but he's a better option over Ramsey.

As for Arshavin, he may give the ball away but for all the high risk stuff he tries, there is a good chance that a few of them will come good and lead to a goal. Ramsey is just a risk and none of what he tries leads to anything positive. He is that shit. If hadn't have sold Song, we wouldn't even be having this conversation.

Mertersacker was at fault for the 1st goal, he drifted away from the scorer.

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Originally Posted by ItsMe

Mertersacker was at fault for the 1st goal, he drifted away from the scorer.

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I haven't seen it on TV so maybe you're right but every player will make mistakes here and there.
First half he was brilliant and he's generally had a good season so far.

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Originally Posted by ItsMe

Mertersacker was at fault for the 1st goal, he drifted away from the scorer.

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It wasn't Merts' man. Merts had his guy covered but Verms didn't have his man.

http://cadfael.tv/image/src/1351109929672.gif

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Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory

It wasn't Merts' man. Merts had his guy covered but Verms didn't have his man.

http://cadfael.tv/image/src/1351109929672.gif

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Aye. Twas Verms man....

Plus we didn't move out as a line.

Basically, we defended very very shitly.

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Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory

It wasn't Merts' man. Merts had his guy covered but Verms didn't have his man.

http://cadfael.tv/image/src/1351109929672.gif

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:gp:
Looking at that makes it pretty clear. Merts is marking the other striker. Wasn't his man. He did his best to get across when the ball got to him but the Verm should have had him. Mistakes happen, Shalke are a decent side. The lack of chances and shots is more of a concern.

Should have signed Huntelaar years ago.

Would've killed Bendtner though.