Match Reaction Arsenal 1-1 Shadow Dwellers

[Globalgunner]

How did City, with all their money, get on against Spurs this season?

What does one game ever prove.United beat Spurs, Spurs beat city, We beat united, Spuds beat us on our black and blue on our patch. Try and get to the heart of the matter for once instead of writhing and squirming defending Wenger from any imagined slight.

We have won nothing yet, have been in better positions than we are now and still ended up 3rd. Bottom of a CL group that includes two pushover teams. The only team in European football that could not buy an outfield player. All you ever do is argue that things could be worse. Not really, not with a competent, forward thinking manager.

[Dein-machine]

How did City, with all their money, get on against Spurs this season?

How many league titles have City won or contested in the last 5 years - when I refer to us Im talking about a period. Its why unlike you & others, I don't get excited by beating Man Utd 3-0 because I know whats coming next. We don't have to argue - the proof is plain to see for all, Wenger is not able to put together a squad with enough quality to win enough games. We will lose & draw games this year that a side with our resources should be winning - its been this way for a decade. Nothing Wenger has done, especially in the transfer market suggests this year will be any different & performances like the 2 this week (3 if you count the 1st half at Swansea) simply show our weaknesses.
Forget about the results for a minute - what about the quality of football you are watching.

[Letters]

What does one game ever prove.United beat Spurs.

You're the one over-reacting to one game

We are 10 years on from the stadium move but only 2 years on from the new financial details which have mean the stadium move is working for us - for much of that 10 years we've been hampered by the repayments just at the time the billionaires got involved and started buying up titles. The stadium move was supposed to keep us competitive, I don't think we'd still be in the top 4 had we not moved and the new financial deals have pushed us on, we're signing a higher class of player, the immediate result has been the 2 FA Cups and this year we're keeping pace with City at the top.

I agree with PnG, it's too early to be getting carried away but it's too early to be doom-mongering after dropping 2 points for the first time in 6 league games. For now we're challenging, at this stage of the season that's enough.

[Letters]

We will lose & draw games this year that a side with our resources should be winning.

As will City - see yesterday for more details.

[Letters]

Its why unlike you & others, I don't get excited by beating Man Utd 3-0 because I know whats coming next.

I didn't get 'excited', but I was pleased we won a game which I know that a couple of years ago we'd have lost.
A team we've got a poor record against who are a top 4 rival and who were 3 points above us when we played them.
Would we have won that a couple of a few years back? Would we balls.

So things like that - and it's not the only one - are tentative signs that we might finally properly challenge this year. Whether we will remains to be seen but we're level with City right now, I think we'd have all taken that at the start of the season. While we stay in touch I'm not going to hand in the towel. If you want to then go nuts.

[Dein-machine]

As will City - see yesterday for more details.

yes - as did Chelsea last year but not on the same scale as us - we all know that quality = points, its why we would normally beat the lesser clubs. The lack of quality we have, so obvious with the likes of Merts & Giroud results in less points than the teams with quality in these areas - quite simple really. We can all see the added quality that Ozil & Sanchez brings, why then would we not want top quality defender & a striker. If Giroud or Walcott are good enough as strikers, why bother with Sanchez just give Campbell the left hand role. Where would we have been last year if that was the case?

[Dein-machine]

I didn't get 'excited', but I was pleased we won a game which I know that a couple of years ago we'd have lost.
A team we've got a poor record against who are a top 4 rival and who were 3 points above us when we played them.
Would we have won that a couple of a few years back? Would we balls.

So things like that - and it's not the only one - are tentative signs that we might finally properly challenge this year. Whether we will remains to be seen but we're level with City right now, I think we'd have all taken that at the start of the season. While we stay in touch I'm not going to hand in the towel. If you want to then go nuts.

Don't understand why you look at individual games so much. So we beat Utd, didn't do that very much a few years back. - We got outplayed by the Spuds yesterday & couldn't beat them in 2 league games last year. a few years back we were beating them every game - don't understand where your logic is coming from. We are the only team Chelsea have spanked this year, took our worst ever European beating last week - you are so single minded when it comes to these things its actually funny.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Flamini isn't shit either. He's just not title winning quality. But damn glad we had him yesterday, he got stuck in and stemmed the bleeding. He also got the goals last time we played the spuds. Shame a few of the other players, like that bloke we have up top who couldn't hit the Boeing factory from 6 inches, and the 1110 who stepped out to stroll the first half don't have the same enthusiasm as Flamini. We'd be flying if they did.

EDIT: Should be 10 not 11 because Cech is always a professional and it stands out a mile.

What you just said there is the problem with the english game. if you around a lot then people think you are doing a good job. yesterday Dellie ali was given MOTM because he ran around a lot yet if you compare his stats to Ozil he wasnt even on the same pitch. Ozil created more chances, had better pass completion, completed more take ons and made more tackles, and ran further I believe yet because he doenst "look" like he is running around he cant be very good whereas if you look like you run around a lot, then it makes you good. The fact taht the media are now praising Ali for his game and give Ozil 4/5 out of 10 sums them up.

Several players actually did turn up all game, Monreal was always running, making tackles and helping the attacks, Sanchez never hid nor did Giroud. Ozil was creating chances easily (third time this season he has created 7 chances in a game) but just because they didnt look like they were running around like lunatics which is what Flamini does so well, you dont think they are putting in effort.

[Özim]

What you just said there is the problem with the english game. if you around a lot then people think you are doing a good job. yesterday Dellie ali was given MOTM because he ran around a lot yet if you compare his stats to Ozil he wasnt even on the same pitch. Ozil created more chances, had better pass completion, completed more take ons and made more tackles, and ran further I believe yet because he doenst "look" like he is running around he cant be very good whereas if you look like you run around a lot, then it makes you good. The fact taht the media are now praising Ali for his game and give Ozil 4/5 out of 10 sums them up.

Several players actually did turn up all game, Monreal was always running, making tackles and helping the attacks, Sanchez never hid nor did Giroud. Ozil was creating chances easily (third time this season he has created 7 chances in a game) but just because they didnt look like they were running around like lunatics which is what Flamini does so well, you dont think they are putting in effort.

Now I'm a big fan of Ozil and think he's a great player (always have) but the fact is we were played off the park yesterday so on that basis you'd have to pick a Spurs player as MOTM, they dominated for large parts and at time we could barely get ouf our half, we were poor in most departments and got out of jail with a draw.

[Letters]

Don't understand why you look at individual games so much.

I hope you appreciate the irony of you then going on to talk about some individual games...

And I don't, but there are some individual games which I know we wouldn't have won a few years back, we're starting to get results in them now. If it's a one off then yeah, so what, but I've given a few examples - enough to have some optimism that we're getting better in that regard.

And Chelsea didn't spank us It was 0-0 till Mike Dean stuck his oar in and handed them the points, even then it was only 1-0 when Dean sent off the 2nd player, just to make sure they got the points. Even at the time people were pretty much unanimous in agreeing that we can't conclude anything about our chances from that result.

End of the day we're 12 games in and we're level at the top, that's the only thing that matters right now. I think we'd all have taken that at the start of the season.