Easy win
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Easy win
1-1
Heroic and brave, oh so brave.
Sure will be.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kano
Depends on the fans. If they give it 100% then it's a guaranteed win. The players have the spirit and quality to do their part. Do the fans have what it takes? Do they really want it enough? Anything less than 100% from the fans and they'll have let the club down and yet again deprived the players and the manager of a CL trophy.
Unfortunately we've been here time and time again. The fans are the one constant, which is why I don't expect a different outcome. In truth, it's a farce.
Jesus wept this is going to be grim.
Kos should be back which can only be a good thing. Then it's just between two disaster zones recently, Gabriel or Merts. The former is prone to rash tackles and bad positioning and with us camped in our half, pace won't be key. Merts is also prone to bad positioning and less reckless tackles but I think he has a better partnership with Kos, more experience and just about the better choice.
Welbz should be back, so drop Giroud and keep the team the same everywhere else.
And pray. Lots.
0-3
Dont forget we beat Leicester so we have done our bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
Gonna watch Corrie instead!
Surely even Wenger gets the reality of how big this game is. I know he's bored of fans questioning his metronomic mediocrity, I know he views any questioning of his absolute authority as farcical. But if we take a moment to guide him back to the real world, a hiding on Wednesday will be the press relations equivalent of throwing chum to the sharks.
We aren't winning this but we at least have to get back to the glorious failure routine. Something positive has to come out of the game because what we are facing this week is iteration 10 of the Wenger collapse project. Get hammered here and then lose to Everton and we've done it again, the complete and rapid disintegration of a season.
Rescuing some dignity in Spain and then getting 3 points against Everton can paper the cracks, which is the best we are left with from a diabolical season. Finish out the season with a bit of pride, do what we all know is going to happen and confirm Wenger will be here next season and then (the essential ingredient) commit serious resources and a firm intent to the transfer market and perhaps this plunge into the pit can be slowed or even reversed.
Anything less and the players will be gone, the fans will be gone. That will make it twice as difficult when the new guy eventually comes in, which has to happen. Not even Slithery Stan and his gang can be thinking they can get away with a new contract for Wenger. So now it becomes an exercise in damage limitation and preparation of the ground for Wenger's departure. It starts on Wednesday.
How can we play our strongest team here in what is surely going to be a defeat overall and most likely on the night as well and then play Everton less than 3 days later at Goodison ?
I don't see how it can be done.
I know it would upset some people but I would play a much weakened team here and put fresh players out against Everton.
We are not going to beat Barca 3-1 at the Nou Camp are we.
The only thing left now is to finish in the top 3 hopefully above Spuds but probably not.
I think we'll just take a sound beating tomorrow, like 3-1 or something like that, I do agree with what you are saying though, we need to come out of the game with a bit of pride and dignity, nobody thinks we stand a chance so we have nothing to lose.Quote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
The Everton game on Saturday is the one that worries me, if we lose that and West Ham win we could find ourselves out of the top 4 and given our remaining schedule I'm not so sure we'll force our way back in, our home form is horrid ATM and we have some very difficult away fixtures which right now I can't see us getting anything from.
Sad to see that we are now looking over our shoulders - in this f*cking season too!Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
Tell me about it IBK, I don't even think I'm being pessimistic with what I'm saying either, I've been waiting and waiting for this team to start performing but we've been getting worse not better, it's tragic :(Quote:
Originally Posted by IBK
You have to play the strongest team in a game like this. It sends the worst message about what we are as club otherwise.Quote:
Originally Posted by dostoy
We have to go there as a team believing we can win, otherwise what's the point of existing as a club?
What we believe as fans is a completely different thing alltogether.
If we play our strongest team here I cannot see us doing anything other than losing on Saturday. The scheduling is a bit shitty this week.
The only thing we can hope for is a decent performance and maybe that will give us the spark needed to finish the season strongly. Like it did after the brave and heroic efforts against Milan, Bayern and Monaco.
We'll be lucky to get nil.
I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.
without sounding negative.... I don't think we will win this. Also with the TV going up next season does it really matter qualifying for the CL as all teams are going to be loaded from next season. And what is the point of being in the CL only to fail against the first decentish side you play each season. Being outside of the CL really shouldn't affect investment as being inside the CL hasn't really affected investment.
Perhaps being out of the CL for a season might actually get the players realising what they are missing and instill some pride in them instead of complacency.
Anyway Sanchez to haunt his old club with a hat trick as Barca have 3 sent off for diving and generally rolling around. 4-0 to us.
5-2
7-2 aggregate loss. Sanchez with both goals in second leg.
A agree with most re missing out on the CL shouldnt be a disaster. We had CL money this season (automatic qualification) yet we were the only club in the top 5 leagues NOT to sign an outfield player.
3-0
I hope.
I think you mean 0-3 don't you.
We will certainly be out of the CL after tonight and we are bound to expend so much energy that winning at Everton will be even more difficult.
All I care about now is finishing in the top 3 and for Wenger to leave with a very good manager coming in to replace him.
I hope Leicester win the PL of course.
Only Palace and Villa have worse home records than Everton, who have lost 7 at home so far, while we have the 3rd best away record. Definitely feel more confident taking them on away than at home at the moment.
The only two things I can see happening? Either we are thrashed at the Camp Nou to no ends or we do end up getting 2 goals which then might give some tiny glimmer of hope only to be sent out of the competition just like against Bayern in previous competitions.
Either way, I think everyone and their pet cat knows we're out tonight. :shrug:
Can see us getting a draw, one of those defeat with honour results which will be hard fought and crock most of our players for Saturday.
On the other hand our ratio of chances to goals is like the channel 4 quiz show 15 to 1Quote:
Originally Posted by Kano
And our defence is being bypassed at will. Lukaku will have a field day with us
Also we may have the third best away record but we have also only won two out of the last nine games away from home.
I fear that we will get thumped so bad that we will need to be resurrected this Easter.
I can't stand my cat and we disagree on everything.Quote:
Originally Posted by JaneEmily
Well there goes my bubble...Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie
Seriously I can't see us losing five on the spin. A draw at worst on Saturday I think.
That won't be five on the spin it will be three on the spin and six in nine (assuming we lose tonight)Quote:
Originally Posted by Kano
I think we will draw tonight and draw on Saturday.
1-1 tonight and 2-2 Saturday
That's still one win in nine (an FA cup tie which in hindsight was the most futile win in the history of football)
To be fair your cat posts on another forum and he's a bit of a titQuote:
Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
You can tell when you haven't fed him for a bit because it starts creeping into his posts
"Wenger deserves more respect than he's getting, the whiskers pouch on Tuesday night at Hull was disrespectful"
Hope to see Elneny, Campbell and Welbeck starting. Giroud on the bench. Walcott bench. Monreal also needs to come back into the team.
Pretty much, although I'd try to experiment with putting Sanchez up top and Welbeck on the left, Sanchez is doing that cutting inside shit too much to be effective and would be interested on seeing him being the recipient of chances created.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
The guy was given 45 minutes in his Arsenal career to play as a striker, I think we have nothing to lose by giving him a second chance.
As much as I like Welbeck for his industry he is arguably just as wasteful in front of goal as Giroud.
Me too, I mean we all know that's what should happen.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
So expect the opposite from Wenger and then you can't be disappointed.
Shut. The fuck. Up. Theo.Quote:
There have been only eight occasions when a side has overturned a 2-0 deficit in the knockout phase and no team has done so after losing the first leg at home but that is precisely the task the Gunners face here in Catalonia this evening.
Arsenal have already defied history this season as they became only the second team to reach the last 16 after taking three points from their opening four group matches, completing that revival with an impressive 3-0 win against Olympiakos in December.
However, the Greek side offer only a fraction of the threat posed by Barcelona, who lead La Liga and are on an unbeaten record of 37 matches in all competitions — a Spanish record.
They have lost only one of their past 36 Champions League home matches — 3-0 against Bayern Munich at the semi-final stage in May 2013 — but Walcott insists there are enough positives to draw from the first leg to suggest Arsenal are capable of causing a huge upset in the Camp Nou.
“To be honest, looking back on it now, it was there for the taking,” he told Standard Sport. “It really was. We have to be very positive.
“We need to be the same sort of attitude we had in the Olympiakos game — we went for it, were fully committed and caught them on the break. We are going to have to play that same game. We are going to have to be very patient obviously but the most important thing is to keep it 0-0 for as long as possible and who knows?
What Arsenal must do in Barcelona
“Everyone wrote us off at Olympiakos — I know it is a completely different opposition — but if the confidence, spirit and work rate is there, then why not? It was only a few costly mistakes that meant we ended up losing the first leg but we can’t dwell on that.”
Even Enrique is having a laugh before the game
Quote:
Quality players, like Ozil, Alexis, Walcott, all their attacking players.
I agree on Sanchez up front. Heck, I'd even experiment with Campbell up front. But Wenger is very conservative and predictable. We won't see anything radical tonight.Quote:
Originally Posted by Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie
In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he started Giroud, Walcott and Flamini instead of Welbeck, Campbell and Elneny.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUC2wRMIxlw
DT :bow:
The hero that we need but don't deserve :lol:
You were right about Flamini, what the actual fuckQuote:
Originally Posted by Power_n_Glory
And iwobi playing as well.