Match Reaction - man u v ARSENAL!!

[fakeyank]

They can settle on anything.. we will settle on a SF spot.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Yeah I'd go for that. It should depend on the game and the qualities of the opponent right now. Teams that sit back may require Ox whereas teams that may try to press high, Theo is your man.

Mind you, if the Ox adds more end product to his game, namely more goals and has the Gareth Bale explosion season we all know he's capable of, I think he'll soon become one of the first names on the sheet and comfortably the better player.

That's quite a fitting distinction there and I would totally agree. This season, surprisingly we have come up against a lot of teams trying to press us high after years of moaning about teams sitting deep and frustrating us. In light of that alone it is strange Theo isn't playing more.

Also I don't mean to sound churlish but obviously when a team wins you can't criticise the manager's decisions......but we don't know that starting Giroud or Walcott would have resulted in us NOT winning the game. For all we know we might have beaten them by more. It's one of those things in football we sometimes seem to accept as an absolute when you win...but actually we don't know for sure that different players wouldn't have resulted in an even better result.

Either way though, you can't criticise the manager if you've just won, I can appreciate that, because what he did did NOT lose you the game.

Many Utd fans seem to have settled on the idea they gifted us the win. I guess it hurts like hell and they are trying to find a way to soothe the pain. They ignore the fact a series of defensive errors led to their goal, we had a penalty denied and De Gea kept the score respectable. Vitally important we go there in the league and beat them again. They'll have nothing to cling to if we can stuff them twice and essentially they'll have swapped places with us as the big club going nowhere fast. If Liverpool and the gypos can beat them too, fuck that would be so sweet.

They will always try and cling on to something....

[Bumble]

I heard a theory today that the reason Theo isn't playing as much is because of the Debuchy injury and the risk of having a non-defensive Theo with Bellerin behind is a bit too risky. Sort of makes a bit of sense but also does show that Theo cant be trusted to adapt.

There are also rumours that contract negotiations have stalled, if that is the case as I can see perhaps someone like Liverpool coming in for him otherwise he really isn't going to anywhere decent. As he will get game time, he is just unlucky that he got injured when Giroud was also injured but he is no fit where we have options.

Also as we have been winning more often than not and don't need to chase the game but also normally only protecting a one goal lead Theo is not really an option off the bench.

[Penguin]

Ox has well and truly overtaken Theo IMO. He does so much more, and the only thing missing now is the goals.

Theo is a niche player who's good in his own unique role, but limits himself so much. It's all well and good that he plays on the shoulder and tries to break the offside trap, but why limit himself to that role? He doesn't even try to get involved at all in the build up any more, it's like having Pippo Inzaghi on the wing.

That might be good for us in a way because we don't have many runners in our team, but the best wide forwards can make those runs and drop deeper and make something happen depending on the situation. Even centre forwards have evolved now and are rarely 'just' poachers. Maybe it's a planned tactic because Theo isn't blessed with great skill on the ball or passing ability, but I still don't like it.

Ox on the other hand is developing into a beast. He takes the initiative, takes risks and frightens defenders when he's running at them. If he adds goals to his game I can't see Theo getting his place back.

[Power n Glory]

'Overtaken'..... How is that even possible?

[Penguin]

[adzzzbatch]

How the times have changed!

[Injury Time]

How the times have changed!

Some things haven't
http://metro.co.uk/2015/03/09/this-p...senal-5095629/

[Niall_Quinn]

How the times have changed!

Riley is the most extreme example of a Utd ref. 7 pens awarded to Utd in the previous 7 games he reffed at OT? That should have been enough to get him kicked out of the game but Utd owned the refs, the media, the pundits and the authorities back then. Or rather Ferguson did. One day maybe somebody will go through every one of their matches from that era and figure out how many titles and cups they would have missed out on had the refs played by the rules.

Through it all, the one constant, Rooney's diving. What a fucking disgrace of a player he is and always has been.

[AFC Leveller]

Ox has well and truly overtaken Theo IMO. He does so much more, and the only thing missing now is the goals.

Theo is a niche player who's good in his own unique role, but limits himself so much. It's all well and good that he plays on the shoulder and tries to break the offside trap, but why limit himself to that role? He doesn't even try to get involved at all in the build up any more, it's like having Pippo Inzaghi on the wing.

That might be good for us in a way because we don't have many runners in our team, but the best wide forwards can make those runs and drop deeper and make something happen depending on the situation. Even centre forwards have evolved now and are rarely 'just' poachers. Maybe it's a planned tactic because Theo isn't blessed with great skill on the ball or passing ability, but I still don't like it.

Ox on the other hand is developing into a beast. He takes the initiative, takes risks and frightens defenders when he's running at them. If he adds goals to his game I can't see Theo getting his place back.

Thay is key. He is on the peripheral during the game and although he does get goals, his game is all about making runs and beating the offside trap.

When the alternative (ox) offers you so much more, its no wonder wenger doesnt use theo no more.