Well done Theo, Poldi and Cazorla.
Arsenal. :bow:
Top of the league. :scarf:
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Well done Theo, Poldi and Cazorla.
Arsenal. :bow:
Top of the league. :scarf:
cracking comeback. Giroud very good when has podolski next to him. podolski a game changer but BFG, Arteta, Ozil all superb but Santi was MOTM.
great win. back to the top
and another thing, how many red cards are teams going to avoid against us? in the last 3 matches, there should have been 4 red cards. toure, ramies, mikel and today o'brien should have gone for a second yellow. its becoming a joke
Come on you GOONERS!
That will have done the boys confidence a world of good.
Hopefully this gets our season back on track.
Sir Ches kept us in it despite a mistake.
Giroud was absolutely awful in front of goal and was struggling with his touch and finishing although he laid a stunning assist for Podolski's goal.
Arteta I thought was brilliant and holding things in the middle of the park after Ramsey went off especially. He was essentially a lone centre mid with everyone else forward.
Podolski made a difference as you know he's always a threat with his shooting ability. And scored a goal and assisted Theo.
Theo - a powerful header and a good (lucky) finish. Stretched them. Looks best when he's coming in.
MOTM though, without a shadow of a doubt - Cazorla. Struggling at the start on the flanks. As soon as he moved to the middle, changed the game with vision, control, passing both short and long range and absolutely sublime.
Wenger now needs to decide on his first team.
For my money's worth, give Ozil a break. Get Ramsey a break with his injury.
Arteta, Flamini/Wilshere, Cazorla in the middle with Cazorla in the playmaker role. Walcott and Podolski supporting the striker.
I hope for goodness sake that Wenger doesn't rest on his laurels and tries to go all out for a striker like Diego Costa.
Santi MOTM.
Feo finally found his shooting boots.
Great cameo for Pod.
Giroud is off form and tired, bench him against Newcastle.
The rest of the team are good but wasteful IMO. Bring on Barcodes :scarf: :jumpnana: :penguin: :coffee:
Didn't see the game.
Much needed 3 points though and great to bag our first win this season coming from behind.
Really tough game against the Barcodes on Sunday now. Come on you Gunners!
Cazorla should definitely starts at CAM role, move Ozil to the left or rotate them. :coffee:
*phew*
Take out the little period after West Ham scored and we were pushing for the equaliser and that was a good performance. One of the best in a while.
The game should have been well and truly over at half time. It was inevitable after dominating that West Ham would score. The response was great.
Theo was amateurish with his passing and basic possession play at times (and with his first-half finishing), but he can now be relied upon to make a difference in the final third. His output has been impressive so far this season.
Similarly, Podolski has looked really good in the little match time he has had and was a real force when he came on. He was direct, involved all over and the cross and finish were expected of a player of his pedigree.
Cazorla was fantastic today and hopefully he has got back into the rhythm of things now going forward.
Gibbs, Ramsey and Arteta had good games too. The defence was fine again apart from Szczesny's mistake.
Giroud and Ozil sadly continued their subdued form, despite a few moments of quality. No harm in dropping Ozil at the moment. Giroud being dropped could still ruin the shape, though.
Arsenal :bow:.
Theo :bow:.
Podolski :bow:.
Cazorla :bow:.
Thats what having athletes in the side does for you.
Pace and power trumps these nimble passing nothing players in the final third in this league. Our plentiful football snob supporters :pal:
Wenger got out of jail. They tried to act as if Ramsey going off was doomsday. Should have made that change ages before.
WE WILL FINISH 2013 TOP OF THE LEAGUE.
JUST LET THAT SINK IN.
Some time machine you got there.Quote:
Originally Posted by She Wore A Red Ribbon
Great result.
I thought Arteta had another steady game....and despite being accused of being inadequate and only passing backwards recently, he had another good game.
I think Cazorla seems back on it although I think too much is being made of him playing in the centre. There were plenty of games where he was devastating from the left last season and he was actually very good in the first half too before he moved in field.
Theo's goal was the catalyst and gave us the momentum to play a bit more freely. West Ham started to get their tails up in the second half and were a lot less organised and more expansive and those were contributing factors in the final quarter up turn.
Where I would agree is that Podolski should play more than he does and when he does play, he should go wide left with Cazorla naturally coming in field. I'm not sure where that leaves Ozil, if everyone is fit and there is no need for rotation though.....
Perhaps we simply have to choose between Ozil and Cazorla.
:haha: Excitement got too much for me.
Delighted with the the win today, but Wenger has really shocked me with his tactical ineptitude over the last 2 games.
I was stunned he played 10 out of the 11 who played all 90 minutes 3 days ago. Obviously Cazorla was the bright spark because he was the only guy who hadn't been run into the ground. I feel that Ramsey's injury was preventable, and it's no surprise that Ozil and Giroud are receiving so much flack when they've carried us for must of this season.
Poldi came on for Ramsey on minute 65 DUE TO INJURY and changed the game. You all know he wouldn't have come on until closer to the 75th minute if Ramsey didn't get injured. The outcome may not have been the same.
Having said that, I'm delighted the team managed to win and over-turn what was looking like a lost cause. Great display by the guys out there by the final whistle.
Poldi, Cazorla and Walcott just have such a beautiful balance about them. They all look to shoot and finish when possible, and Giroud constantly looks to play them in. It just works.
Not to rain on the parade but I think we should have come off the blocks looking for the win. Dont see the killer instinct a team needs to win the PL.. I can see us losing steam very very soon. Dont see much different in this squad compared to the last 6-7 seasons.
Good win though. 4th place should not be hard to secure.
Should have been comfortable at half time but could easily have been three down in the second half. We have there keeper to thank really. Had he not fluffed the easy save then I think it could easily have turned into one of those games. That goal sparked us in the second half.
3 points in the bag so that's good. Think Newcastle game could be a cracker.
Made the point somewhere else, but when was the last time we had a proper pacey winger like Navas?
Pires and Overmars are probably the only ones in the Wenger era. With the change in players we have, I wish we had a quick and pacey tricky winger. Someone like Di Maria I really wonder whether he'd be a better buy than a proper striker.
Hmmm
What I would ask mate is whether replacing Cazorla/Podolski/Theo with a Di Maria/Reus/Navas would make us stronger than replacing Giroud with a top class / world class forward, ala Suarez/Higuain/Benzema?
Good point mate. You're right. On balance I'd go for a top class striker. But who's available?
Diego Costa is the one I'd go for. Or possibly that young Anderlecht striker with pace who looks very very useful. Not sure whether Benzema/Higuain would be available.
Who'd you think is the best team we have?
Di Maria might be available, it's well known he is not happy warming the bench at Real Madrid. No way we will get Reus in mid season, he will probably be going to Barcelona anyway. :coffee:Quote:
Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice
I thought we played pretty well in the first half, we dominated it but failed to take our chances.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeyank
Whilst I agree that we lack a killer instinct to win PL I do believe this squad is better than the last few seasons, possibly on par with the 10/11 squad.
I personally think we'll finish 3rd behind Man City and Liverpool.
We need both, but yeah a CF first. Some people turned up their noses at Reus when he was linked to us a few weeks ago but he would make a world of difference to us, a genuinely world class talent with an excellent goalscoring record.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice
Having said that, I'm not going to say no to someone like Reus who I think is a special talent but obviously he'd come at some cost.
A forward of the quality we are talking about isn't going to be easy, which is one of the many reasons I like the idea of signing Costa.
I like the Italian Bergkamp (forgive me!) Giuseppe Rossi who is a very dexterous player, with a fantastic touch and can obviously score a goal himself. He isn't the biggest player but I reckon he would make up for it with his clever play.
I would still be keen to test the waters with Lewandowski. What do we have to lose? Long term wise I would like us to keep an eye on the progression of the Belgium two too.
I don't know anything about the Anderlecht dude.... what's his name?
We will finish above Liverpool, they look good but is a one man team. :coffee:Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
The answer is Draxler.
The Germans will not sell in mid season. The players (Reus and Draxler) are content, they are still in CL and the clubs are fighting for CL spot next year. No way they will leave mid season. :coffee:Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Coca Cola presents GP'
So? Get him in the summer, then.
I think that is debatable. Having said that, you always make room for exceptional quality in a squad I believe.Quote:
Originally Posted by Penguin
In regards to the quality we are talking about if it is a question of 40 million on a wide man or 40 million on a forward then it is an easy choice for me.
That is since, most of us believe we will not spend 40 million on two individual players, neither do I think we need to unless they are both of a quality which is quite exceptional.
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Coca Cola presents GP'
Agree with all you guys and gal (milla?).
Would love to get Reus - a player who we can seriously mould into either a nippy number 9 or a 10 in my opinion or a wide forward.
But as you say, I think Arsenal should go all out for Costa in January and try and activate his buy-out clause. A big striker signing in January will re-energise this team. And if we could get a fast out and out winger then that would be a sensational team.
I think Ozil has performed great but no doubt he has not fully lived up to his potential. I'd forgive him a bit given it is a completely new league etc. But even today, he orchestrated some fantastic moves which Giroud couldn't finish with balls across the box. The first move which he orchestrated with Cazorla was sublime.
You can't help but think he would benefit so much from having some runners to release on either flank.
The Belgian young striker who I think may be a diamond is Michy Batshui (sp.?)
I respect your opinion and all but they genuinely aren't a one man team. Sure they have the league's best player in incredible form, but their supporting cast is not to be laughed at, Sturridge is an established PL striker who score for fun, he would walk into our team. Coutinho is a great young player, Sterling is pretty decent too. Their midfield isn't great, but Gerrard has the experience and the odd world class performance in him, Lucas and Henderson are just grafters but they know PL. Defensively they are solid, no real stand out performers though I do like the look of Sakho. They have a very balanced team IMHO.Quote:
Originally Posted by milla
The reason I believe they will finish above us is because they thrash the lesser sides and generally fare OK in the BIG games, their record in the big games is better than ours, has been for a while even though they haven't made top 4 for years!
I maybe wrong, I just have this feeling that they will strongly challenge this year.
OK :penguin:Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Coca Cola presents GP'
I have to disagree with Gerrard though, the reason their midfield look decent is because Gerrard is not there. This is a similar case for Raul last few years in Madrid. :coffee:Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
I agree with you Selassie. The defense is the weakest.
Their attacking options are excellent. Agree on Sterling and Coutinho and Sturridge who all can produce the goods if they are set up to their strengths. Sterling is fast with no fear and will easily get in between defenders, and so will Coutinho. This is especially true when you have a player like Suarez who will pull central defenders left right and centre due to his quality.
The biggest concern with them is that Suarez is playing on such a higher plane. There are very few players - putting aside Messi and Ronaldo - who I've seen play at that level. The original Ronaldo for Barcelona, Titi for us in 04, Pires in 02, Bergkamp in 98. And Suarez is playing at that level no doubt. You only have to look at the goals he is scoring. They will challenge no doubt.
Agree with Milla regarding Gerrard.
He doesn't have the energy or the legs anymore. He is just too immobile and just relies on spraying long passes now.
They look a far better team without him.
I would love us to sign Reus. I think he is ripe for converting into a Centre Forward and has pretty much every attribute we could wish for in a player. I genuinely believe we could sign him but we would need to be pay the market rate and move fast. I think he could be the one big signing we crave for in the Summer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice
I don't really understand the school of thought that he could be a CF here..... and how much do people think he will cost out of interest?
I think he could be a CF in the mould of someone like Aguero - he's very quick on his fit, can play long and short passes and reads the game beautifully. Like Mueller (Bayern), he's very clever in terms of the positions he picks and the space he gets into. Think Mueller is one of the most under-rated players around. And I think Reus is like that.
I don't think Reus could ever play up by himself. He doesn't in my opinion have the engine or the strength to do it. But off the shoulder of another striker, he's got all the attributes as Selassie says.
He'd cost north of 40 million in my opinion.
I agree about Muller. He is underrated and very clever.
I guess how I should phrase my question is, can Reus play CF in a 433 since that is the formation we play currently. Let us assume for arguments sake it will remain.....
I imagine if we were going to play a formation that allows for 2 forwards, that a number of our players would be able to slot in and occupy one of the positions.