Aye, I hope Alexis is OK, a little groin problem at Arsenal is never a little groin problem.Originally Posted by Niall_Quinn
Arteta & Flams are both out at the moment with little muscular problems yet we hear nothing about return dates.
I think if Alexis is not 100% we can just about get away with resting him away to Watford but we'll need him back for the Everton game and especially the Bayern one.
Now that we know the players and manager have a next level to their game, we’re now looking on to the next barrier to our title challenge. Injuries and fitness. We have to pray that Alexis, Coquelin and Theo stay fit otherwise it’s curtains.
You were right about Theo. I was concerned of his play when he wasn't taking chances and he has quelled that the last 3 weeks for me.
Yep, I think if we can keep everybody relatively fit, esp the three you have mentioned...don't laugh! Then we are in with a geniune chance as long as we keep the consistency levels high.
No worries. Just glad to see he’s finally getting a run up front. He’ll grow in that role as he keeps playing. You can see how he’s progressing quickly and is now contributing with assists and creating space for others. It’s looking promising so far and I wish we’d have tried this much earlier.You were right about Theo. I was concerned of his play when he wasn't taking chances and he has quelled that the last 3 weeks for me.
Let's not do this after one game - AGAIN. Let's just relax, enjoy the win and wait and see what happens next time this lot are on a pitch. Then we'll have a much better idea where we really are.
The problem the manager and the team are going to have now is they have shown us what they can do. Hard for them to shirk from here on without getting a ton of stick. As much as it could and should be the step up to where we want to be all the time, it could also be the last straw if we drop down several levels and take Watford for granted. I really hope some lesson have stuck this time.
I also hope we don't get carried away against Bayern. We won't be doing to them what we did to Utd. The two Bayern games are entirely different affairs and we'll need Plans A, B and C to get the results we need. But if we can keep on getting the basics as right as we saw on Sunday, the passing, the movement, the use of the wide players, we'll give them a game at least.
Goes without saying Cech needs to be inked onto the team sheet from now on.
People are going to say it's hindsight, but I had a feeling Theo would step up a level this season. That's why I changed my mind about him in the summer and was glad when he stayed. After Sunday he's looking a bargain at £140k pw (relatively speaking of course). Damn glad he's not tearing it up for the chavs instead. They are the ones with the striking problem now. Falcao
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Whilst it would be wonderful if we could blow teams away like that week in week out, we won't be quite as lucky with the space we were afforded on Sunday, every week. Leicester also showed they were happy to come out against us rather than sitting, and also got punished. Any manager worth their salt will be looking to sit against us from now on, rather than let us play through the inside channels on the counter attack.
Unfortunately, many of our matches will find us playing with 10 men in front of us, and limited space. This will entirely change the questions asked of us. What we need to know, is does this team have it in them to break teams down week in week out? It's an entirely different game when we end up passing sideways across the pitch....which is why a fit and form Giroud is crucial if we want to push on.....
It's better to burn out, than to fade away.
I think Giroud is the worst player to have when a team sits deep against us. The lack of movement doesn’t create space for others and the opposition find it easy to mark him. Despite his lack of pace, he’s better when the game is more open and we’re on the counter. When he makes a well timed run into the box, unmarked and with the ball being whipped in or cut back, he fairs a lot better. But we’ll need him back on form.
But I thought we shredded United open for our first two goals and created our own space even though they were defending from deep. After the first two goals they were pushing forward more. I thought that game was a mixture. We had them pinned back from the opening minutes but we were clinical. We carve open teams that sit deep as well, just as long as we’re moving and passing with purpose. The one thing I hate is when we play with Giroud as the target man, everyone is looking for one twos or the short yard pass back from him. It just makes everything so static and doesn’t shift defenders. It’s very easy to defend against.
It's the tempo that's so important, no matter who plays. The tempo and the accurate passing. Too many times we play that plodding pace and I think it puts the players off, the get lazy and careless with the passing.
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