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End of May, not a minute before.
As soon as the season kicked off. All of our rivals are unstable and an opportunity like this might not come back around for a very long time.
Tougher tests to come.
Do Cardiff and I'll believe.
I haven't seen us against the Man Citys and Chelseas.
Well that's a lie. We were aggrieved at our summer spending and pissed off at the beginning of the season. No-one thought we would be where we are.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
I definitely believe we can win it, if we're talking about quality.
That's just one of the requirements though, you've got to have the mental strength as well. Make no mistake about it there will come a time in the season when the wheels come off, so that's the biggest hurdle we'll need to overcome.
We've crumbled in the past when we've had a sniff of success but in fairness I do feel more confident with this team given they are a lot more mature than the squads we had from 08-11.
I'll start believing if we survive our annual february/march breakdown :D. But so far we have been the best team in the entire calender year, so i guess it shows we can do it for a year, so why not for a year and a half aswell? :)
I think a major difference to previous years is that we now have winners in our team.Quote:
Originally Posted by JonasTC
Ozil has won La Liga.
Flamini Seria A.
Giroud Ligue 1.
Podolski Bundesliga.
You have 3-4 players with a winning mentality in the team and it filters through to others.
Speak for yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
You forgot Rozza :sulk:Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
Nah. I'm man enough to admit being negative at the start but changing my views. Posters like you aren't. Hence why the forums fucked :good:Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
:lol: Give it a rest and stop assuming you’re speaking for everyone. Before the whole Suarez debacle, there was a real buzz around the club. I’ve always said we have a real opportunity to win the title this year because we’re the only stable club with the same group of players and manager. When Gazidis announced the money, expectations shot through the roof. When we took a gamble in the summer with transfers, I was pissed because I knew this opportunity wouldn’t come again and we had to capitalise now. It’s why I’m quite happy for Wenger to rest key players for domestic cup games. Something I’m usually 100% against.Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
:haha:Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Yellow Ribbon
SWAYR. :bow:
GW's last great hope.
I wouldn't bet on that. The guy want David Moyes managing Arsenal! No thanks.
I don't think I need to see us against the chavs or City. I think it's more than possible for us to win it and for Chelsea to have our number still. We have open games with City so I'm quite looking forward to playing them and we have the form centre half in the league who especially plays well against City imo.
I do however think so much is dependent on Giroud. In a funny way he is more important to us than Ozil, Cazorla or Ramsey because we simply do not have the quality to replace him. We've already had to plod on without Cazorla, Walcott, Podolski, Arteta, Gibbs and Wilshere for periods at a time and we've dealt with it admirably. As long as Giroud is never out for too long we will be in with a good chance imo.
A wise man/woman/creature once said (it may have been a reference in book of Sun tzu) don't just seek to defeat your enemy....destroy him. That is why in January we should equip ourselves in such a away that absolutely capitalises on our vantage point.
In short, I now believe, but I cannot know what will happen or not to Giroud.
I started to believe but we need consistency till the end . People including the media especially the pundits are under illusion of thinking that to win the league you must beat the so- called big teams . I still remember once when we beat Man U and they got beaten by Chelsea and drew with Man City and ended up with the trophy at the end of the season . We also had a good run against the top four but we reverted to our usual fourth spot .
To win the league you need to beat more team than anyone no matter who you play . You need to lose less game than anyone and also probably draw less game than everyone . Beating Chelsea or Man U will not make you get more than 3 points .
It is surprising that a game against Spurs which was labelled as big test for Arsenal is no more regarded as such simple because Arsenal have had a good result against them .
We are in a good run at the moment . We have to continue and never let ourselves distracted by what others think or are saying .
It may be a blessing in disguise if other teams fall into the trap of thinking they absolutely need to beat the big teams to win something . So Man U getting beaten by West Bromw or drawing with Cardiff is not a problem as long as they can beat a top four team . I find it a big illusion .
The way we've taken two key losses in our stride (Manure and Dortmund) suggests we are stronger mentally than in previous years. Promising signs we have eliminated our streakiness, unless it's winning streakiness.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
The kind of nervousness that kicks in when you get closer to the prize and are leading the pack is another issue, not one we've really had recently. We know we can chase, we've been doing that plenty, but can we lead from the front? That brings it's own pressures.
My main concern isn't mental though, it's in certain areas where if we lost our starter, our backup would cost us points. That is, Giroud, Sagan and Mertesacker, in order of impact. I think the risks to the two defenders can be largely mitigated with some clever transfer business.
But with Giroud - it's going to be very difficult to get someone in January who would be of the required quality and would slot seamlessly in if Bif were unavailable. Even a footballer as good as Ozil still needs time to adapt. Someone already playing in the Prem would have the best chance so the options are limited.
I believe, yes.
Ibuleve
one moment that said to me this team could be special was beating Bayern back in march. we were down and out of that tie, and the race for fourth, and both cups, yet we went to the best team in europe, at their home ground and beat them. I don't buy this argument either that they had already won the tie so didn't care, that was pretty much the only game they lost all year.
that gave the team the belief they needed that they were good enough to beat the big boys but needed that run of form, and thats what happened. 7 points behind spurs, but they fought back and we beat spurs to 4th (spurs :haha: ) and i remember thinking at that time, that next season, we would be champions. we just looked like something had clicked, the defence refused to concede, we ground out some tough wins in that time and although it wasn't pretty, the basics looked to be there. a solid defence, a good midfield and Giroud seemed to be coming good.
Then the summer happened, we watched as other clubs spent money, looked to have good squads and we added a postman. we got to villa and the hope that some of us had of a title challenge after newcastle, had all but gone. it was the same team minus the deadwood but we hadn't grabbed our chance, it looked like the other clubs had made their move and we would be fighting for fourth again, and then we lost to villa. what a horrific moment that was, despair everywhere and we all felt that was it. another season of fighting for fourth except unlike previous years, we didn't think we would make it.
Then the champions league qualifiers came, and we won. a tough game in turkey, yet we comfortably won. Ramsey suddenly turned into messi out of nowhere but this is what we failed to see but AW didn't. We only see what happens on the pitch during the games, and while Ramsey worked hard, it just looked like he wouldn't make it, but AW saw him everyday on that training pitch and believed in him by giving him a five year deal, knowing that if he could do what he did in training during the games, we would have some player. he was right, we were wrong. Other players came on too, Gibbs, Szcesney, Giroud for example, players we had written off but came back stronger, belief among the players started to come back. We had injury crisis after injury crisis, no wingers, a right back having to play centre back but yet we still kept on winning.
The moment that i think belief really came back to the fans and the players was beating spurs. all summer we had to listen to how they were spending so much and therefore they were better then us. all this mind the gap shit, pundits writing us off and calling spurs potential champions, and they came to play us. the crowd were fully behind the players on that day, (it was the best atmosphere at the emirates ever IMO) but it wasn't the result that caused the belief to come back to us as fans and players, it was the attitude of the players. they simply refused to lose, the crowd never stopped singing, we were united together for the first time in a long time as a club who simply refused to lose to spurs. thats when IMO as a club we started to believe but after the game, we signed Mesut Ozil. That signing said to the rest of the league, we're back. we want this title, we've just spent the money too. after beating spurs, there are not many things that can make Arsenal fans happier, that was one though. the rest of the league suddenly took notice again, and were slightly fearful. That was the moment, that we all started to believe again.
since then, we've had some tough games, swansea, united, liverpool etc and we've only lost twice this season in the league. Ok we went out the carling cup, but if we win the league i couldn't give a shit about that. we lost, we lost to dortmund but we came back. in 2013 we've beaten munich and dortmund away. no other english club has done that in one year before. those two clubs put 11 goals past madrid and barcalona in the champions league yet we beat them at their home grounds. not bad eh? in 2013, we have been the best side. we've won the most points. if you took the last 38 games, we would be champions by 5 points. suddenly this side looks like it could win the title. everyone says we haven't been tested yet, yet we just seem to keep wining. we will be top of the league at the start of decemeber. its time to believe. this team can be special. we've been told all season that we would fail when we play a top side, we've beaten dortmund, napoli, spurs, liverpool and only lost to united. we've been told we won't cope with injuries yet we've missed arteta, vermalen, BFG, Theo, Podolski, OX, Gnarby, Flamini for periods this season and still we keep wining. we've asked the club to spend on world class players, they did. we asked the players to fight and show pride while wearing the shirt, they've fought every minute of every game since villa to win. they've done what we have asked, lets get behind them now, believe in them until may because that title, could be our first trophy in 9 years and it would be Arsene's greatest achievement and its looking more and more likely every game.
FFS.
Nah, good post.
But FFS.
I'm going to answer this in Ramzee mode. We're playing ever so well at the moment. In the last couple of seasons we haven't started well but we know our form from March onwards has been second to none. We've had some tough games but the boys have pulled through ever so well. We're just feeling confident right now. We were always getting into the right positions but lacked composure. But this season we're feeling a lot more confident. We're really enjoying our football right now and we have Ramsey who is doing ever so well. The important thing now though is that we continue enjoying our football and playing with confidence because we have some tough games coming up but if we play ever so well we may finish the season second to none.
Ollie, credit where it is due - it was pretty dark when even you lost patience with the Club.
the summer was horrific but with hindsight, id take that summer again if it meant signing a Mesut Ozil with half an hour left. Flamini too. at the time it was dire, but looking back, its still a good summer IMO but yes, i lost faith completely but like the fickle bastard I am, when we won a few games, all was well again :lol:
CK, you know what to do.
:haha:Quote:
Originally Posted by Syn
I must say, you have given an exceptional Ramsey impression.
Are you a better Ramsey than I am a Wenget?
We must be humble.
GW's best poster :bow:Quote:
Originally Posted by ollie the optimist
Cripps :haha:
http://replygif.net/i/173.gifQuote:
Originally Posted by ollie the optimist
Great read that. Agree with everything in it.
If you back to the summer transfer thread over the summer, you'd see that I (and a few others) wanted Wenger to meet Fellaini's release clause and pay him more than what he got at Everton. Thank fuck we dodged that bullet now :haha:. Its just how we were all feeling in the thought that we just wanted to see some investment into the squad.Quote:
Originally Posted by ollie the optimist
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7RgN9ijwE4Quote:
Originally Posted by ollie the optimist
In a 'normal' season I'd say the league was just a step too far. But this is anything but an ordinary season with most of our rivals changing managers and struggling to settle in. Anything can happen this season and it would be stupid to say we can't win it. It's our best chance since 07/08 and this squad is better equipped with more maturity, steel and experience.
I would still have us down as third favourites behind City and Chelsea but with a bit of luck with injuries and a shrewd signing or two in January I don't see why we couldn't.
I agree. This isn't a normal season and I'd write us off otherwise. There has been a complete turn around in attitude and belief at the club and in the squad. They sense the opportunity at hand and are playing accordingly. It's not as if we're playing our most beautiful football or we're at our free flowing best, I still feel we have a few more gears to go through. It's just the change in attitude that's turned things around. Our rivals have been inconsistent but we haven't. It's like the belief is there for once. The instability at other clubs has shaken things up. Top that off with the Ozil signing and the club saying we have money to spend....it's given the players confidence.
Its obvious who will win the league.......Tottenham, cos Michael Dawson says so.
We have a chance but to do so we will need to play well in the derbies against City Chelsea and United. I know people think its simply a game of numbers and the most points will win it regardless of whom you get them against, but mentally it is so soul destroying...to the players even, to keep losing against the other main contenders, it is easy to pick yourself up after a fluke loss against Hull or Villa, but to continually get brushed aside by your so called equals means so much more. More over we need more goals from all over the park. Gibbs Sagna, even Chezzer.:jumpnana: Yoonited get so many points from that turd Evra, when it counts, but we dismiss it as not being essential to us. Every player needs to know how to score. Especially those who do it on the pitch....If you get my meaning##
This. Even now I'd be surprised if any Gooner in their heart of hearts is confident that we'll win the league - as opposed to being a challenger this season.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fist of Lehmann
A bit of context perhaps?Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
Season : Leader After 12 games : Final Position
13-14 : Arsenal 28pts : ???
12-13 : City 28pts : 2nd 78pts
11-12 : City 34pts : 1st 89pts
10-11 : Chelsea 28pts : 2nd 71pts
09-10 : Chelsea 30pts : 1st 86pts
08-09 : Chelsea 29pts : 3rd 83pts
07-08 : Arsenal 30pts : 3rd 83pts
But it’s not as if we’ve never beaten Chelsea and City in recent years. We’ve had seasons where we’ve beaten massive teams including Barca and AC Milan….our season usually falls apart when we lose to lower league teams. The teams that sit deep, soak up the pressure and then hit us on the counter or with a set piece. I think that messed the team up more than anything else psychologically. We had no answer for it and throws serious doubt upon our philosophy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Globalgunner
I’m not sure what you’re getting at. When I say this isn’t a normal season, I mean in regards to the managerial changes we’ve seen at Chelsea, City and Man Utd.Quote:
Originally Posted by Fist of Lehmann
I'm getting at a few things really.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
Those include but are not limited to:
a) the fact that irrespective of other other teams, our form to date is consistent with 12 game league leaders in previous years, albeit at the lower end of the scale
b) that if this isn't a normal season, how many points we are likely to need
c) where 12 game leaders tend to end up
I don't believe yet, yes we're top and 4 points clear but we've got a lot of hard fixtures to come and for me how we do against City and Chelsea will be very important.
I think as we get into the 2nd half of the season we'll tire as well with our lack of depth (due to the usual suspects being injured), I think City and Chelsea will have too much for us and may well beat us in our fixtures against them (might get a draw at home against City).