Match Reaction v Borussia Dortmund

[Japan Shaking All Over]

I think a point is OK in the circumstances, but I was gutted, absolutely gutted, that we conceded the late goal. Why do these wonder strikes always seem to happen to - and not for us??? I disagree with people who are intimating that we are basically shit now compared to last season. We are better going forwards than last night showed, but we are so lacking in confidence that it hurts. I've said before that we are the most vulnerable team in the league to a drop in confidence because of the way we are set up to play - and that's why I am so disappointed with their goal, because a win, even when we played ordinarily first half would have been a real confidence boost. A point not so much.

Happy with the effort and desire in defence. Koscielny - for his flaws is a brave defender, and I think he could thrive alongside Mertesacker. As usual - people are destroying Chamakh - and I can see the antipathy given his goal drought - but its so naive to expect a performance from any striker brought on for the last 10 mins against a team desperate to score and playign at home in front of 80000 fans it makes me smile.

I agree, techinically Cesc and Nas could make us look great but I cant help feeling that if this team can grow and gel together we could be looking at a more balanced unit.
I do think we have to be realistic and say the pretty football is behind, a lot of results are going to have to ground out on guts, Jack will thrive in this environment, as will a few others.
Man U are a monster team, SAF has something very special and although we may not reach those heights there is no reason why we cant be dangerius again, with a couple more additions.
Confidence is missing and I said before that it would take more than the summer to get that back, throw in the loss of Cesc and Nas we have some work to do.

BTW NQ is the only one allowed to criticise Chamak because they live together.

[Flavs]

We shouldn't have any concerns on the battling front if last night was anything to go by. Of course it wouldn't be Arsenal though if we solved one problem without creating another, now we seem a bit limited going forward!

Well if someone could have a quiet word with Theo and tell him that doing one thing a game isn't anywhere enough we would be better, he should be watching Gervinho and seeing how he dribbles and runs and passes and kicks and stuff, football Theo that's this game you useless prick. See how when he gets passed the ball he doesn't just let it bounce of him to the other team, see how he tries to go round players rather than through them? See how when he loses the ball he tried to get it back?

[Niall_Quinn]

BTW NQ is the only one allowed to criticise Chamak because they live together.

Kicked him out because he couldn't hit the bowl and kept pissing on the floor.

But please, a striker's game is much more than just scoring goals. Chamakh has nothing to his game, he used to have a few goals in him but even those dried up. When the team is under pressure, as we were last night, the striker has to offer an outlet even if he's on his own up front. He has to at least worry the opposition defenders so they can't pile forward and add to the pressure. Chamakh doesn't do this, he's always a yard behind the play often just chasing the ball aimlessly around. He's not an intelligent player, he's not a brave player. I agree, anyone criticising him for not scoring in the last 10 minutes last night is being unrealistic. But criticising him for not doing the other things strikers should be doing is perfectly valid.

Or summed up - he's shit.

If we want the current team to gel and grow in confidence then every player needs to play a part in that. We can't have ten guys ripping their guts out and one waster undoing all the work. That goes for Theo too, he needs to sort his shit out fast or he should be dropped. It's so much harder to play football when there's a seriously weak link in the team. Chamakh is certainly a weak link and Theo is starting to look like one. Same goes for Gibbs who is an awful defender, in fact I don't think he's a defender at all - he's more a winger and probably better than Walcott doing that job.

[Fist of Lehmann]

Could just be my imagination but Theo's body language looks different this season.
He's always been patchy footballistically but I never once questioned his attitude before.

Maybe he has seen Wenger bring in someone younger and uglier to replace him and feels under threat.
We have better options on the wing now than just Bendtner.

[Boss]

http://www.gingers4limpar.com/2011/0...-unstoppable/?

[Daniele]

In the first 15 mins we could have been 3-0 down, as I predicted. But then, we settled down and played quite a decent game to me. After a shaky start Kos and Song blossomed especially when we defended deep in the SH. Jury is still out on Merts: so far he looks like a player who knows his limits and does his bit. Maybe we need something more.

I think Kos could be a good defender if someone teaches him to be more focused and play with brains: he has pace, anticipation, good heading. he lacks brains, like most of our players....

Gerv worked his socks off but has to be more effective at shooting.

Walcott was piss-poor. As usual, he can only run and shoot sideways.

[Flavs]

Hopefully we will drop Walcott and play the Chu against Blackeye and Shrewsbury.

Really interested to see what the CC team will be actually.

[Joker]

I don't know if Chu is suited to playing in a wide right position tbh. I wouldn't mind if Oxlade is given a go, to show Walcott that his position is by no means secure and he must do more to justify his starting position. At the moment he's extremely one dimensional, and we need more from our attacking players.

[Daniele]

I don't know if Chu is suited to playing in a wide right position tbh. I wouldn't mind if Oxlade is given a go, to show Walcott that his position is by no means secure and he must do more to justify his starting position. At the moment he's extremely one dimensional, and we need more from our attacking players.

Walcott loses too many balls on the cheap. Last night he lost out on the left once in the second half and it sparked a counter-attack. Then he even struggles to beat his marker. I mean, if he's supposed to be one of the players we rely on....

[LDG]

http://www.gingers4limpar.com/2011/0...-unstoppable/?

Every goal is preventable in some way shape or form.

Bit of a silly article.

There are some defensive mistakes we make which are unforgivable. This is taking moaning to an extreme.