Match Reaction - Arsenal 1-2 Watford

[Xhaka Can’t]

I didn't even realise we were playing last night until my brother texted me after Watford's first.

Not on TV and a Cat C or B match and I would have been at this match last season and seasons past.

This Club have finally broken me. I've been to one match this season and that was West Ham v Watford.

Have I missed going? Other than not having seen a few mates this season, nope.

Fuck this Club, right now, Arsenal just isn't worth any investment. Truth be told, it hasn't been worth any emotional or financial investment for some time. But there was always hope.

Misplaced hope.

Stupid hope.

Delusional hope.

But even delusional hope has left the building.

[Letters]

But even delusional hope has left the building.

Will you STOP calling me that

[Niall_Quinn]

I didn't even realise we were playing last night until my brother texted me after Watford's first.

Not on TV and a Cat C or B match and I would have been at this match last season and seasons past.

This Club have finally broken me. I've been to one match this season and that was West Ham v Watford.

Have I missed going? Other than not having seen a few mates this season, nope.

Fuck this Club, right now, Arsenal just isn't worth any investment. Truth be told, it hasn't been worth any emotional or financial investment for some time. But there was always hope.

Misplaced hope.

Stupid hope.

Delusional hope.

But even delusional hope has left the building.

It is negativity like this that is the real cause of the problem. The fans have sabotaged the season. Again. For the 13th time in a row. If they got behind the team, saw no evil, heard no evil, spoke no evil, listened to their master's voice - all would be well. But no.

Thanks a lot.

[Niall_Quinn]

Absolute fucking masterclass in breath control. The way he manages to achieve one continuous noise at an almost unwavering pitch, like a turbine.

[Letters]

Absolute fucking masterclass in breath control. The way he manages to achieve one continuous noise at an almost unwavering pitch, like a turbine.

He's obviously been taking lessons from MrsL

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

I simply can't be bothered to watch most arsenal games, but watching the highlights now the first half was more than poor, it was bizarre......the movement and body language of the players reminds me of a mate who took too much tramadol for back pain.


The second goal is unbelievable, Capoue isn't a speed merchant why does no one muscle him off the ball or pay attention to Troy Deeney ghosting in.

I blame the lack of pace in the side, but again that's heavily medicated defending.

[The Dismantler]

Absolute fucking masterclass in breath control. The way he manages to achieve one continuous noise at an almost unwavering pitch, like a turbine.

Fucking spot on Moh!! I'm with you 110% on everything you said!!

[Power n Glory]

This is a good one.

Disagree with what he said about the first half. It wasn’t even a case of us playing in front of them and getting hit on the counter, we could hardly string a pass together and the midfield was vacant. We were overrun and in the middle and doesn’t help when idiots like Ramsey can’t read the game and just vacates the middle in the first phase leaving Coquelin isolated. Ozil then figures out that he needs to drop deep to help with possession but it’s too late by then and he’s not exactly a leader when it comes to dictating the pace of a game either.

But some good points made about switching Iwobi to the middle which killed our game in the 2nd half. What a joke of a manager we have along with some spineless players.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

Fucking spot on Moh!! I'm with you 110% on everything you said!!

I think he has a point, you can't attribute victory on saturday to steve bould and then attribute defeat on tuesday to Wenger....that's totally ridiculous

Saturday was Wenger, Tuesday was Wenger.....

He's right about the fans at the stadium, and it's ridiculous to blame Wenger for that....the fans have been like that ever since we moved to the Emirates. Get there on time, stay to the end.....no i don't go week in week out....haven't been to an Arsenal game in over a year in fact but been to about 30 games at the Emirates stadium since the move and it's always the same whatever the score....fans shuffling out from the 80 minute mark.

I think Wenger needs to go, he's utterly utterly stale and this club needs some effervescence and a need fresh approach, but we can't keep pretending that it's the answer to all our problems. We need to create a better atmosphere at the Emirates stadium and i don't think getting rid of Wenger will necessarily improve that....the singing section....rewarding loyalty points for people who get there on time and don't leave till the end i think would.

[Niall_Quinn]

I think he has a point, you can't attribute victory on saturday to steve bould and then attribute defeat on tuesday to Wenger....that's totally ridiculous

Saturday was Wenger, Tuesday was Wenger.....

He's right about the fans at the stadium, and it's ridiculous to blame Wenger for that....the fans have been like that ever since we moved to the Emirates. Get there on time, stay to the end.....no i don't go week in week out....haven't been to an Arsenal game in over a year in fact but been to about 30 games at the Emirates stadium since the move and it's always the same whatever the score....fans shuffling out from the 80 minute mark.

I think Wenger needs to go, he's utterly utterly stale and this club needs some effervescence and a need fresh approach, but we can't keep pretending that it's the answer to all our problems. We need to create a better atmosphere at the Emirates stadium and i don't think getting rid of Wenger will necessarily improve that....the singing section....rewarding loyalty points for people who get there on time and don't leave till the end i think would.

Nobody was saying that seriously. It was a joke, in-club humour. Everyone could see Wenger with the earpiece and mic during both games.

What's interesting though is the way we approached both games. Against Soton we fielded an attacking side, played constructive football and everyone looked liked they were enjoying themselves. As if some great weight had been lifted. Probably because Wenger didn't place much value on the game or the outcome. I still say it was a ridiculous team selection, even though the performance was good. It's typical Wenger. Disjointed. No overall strategy. That game was an opportunity to make maybe 3 or 4 changes and see what advantage those changes might bring moving forward. Something we could take and use for the remainder of the season. But what can we really take from a game where 10 changes were made and the majority of those players won't get a look-in anyway, as we saw yesterday.

Against Watford the weight of the world was back. The energy was gone. Everyone was nervous. We couldn't pass. There was zero ambition in the football. For the first half at least. Wenger even said we had mental problems (and he should know). It's most likely him. He takes all his paranoia and fear and negativity and transfers it to the players before the games he considers to be important. I have called him a coward all through this season and I mean it. Afraid players will get injured, afraid players might get tired, afraid to play attacking football, afraid to lose possession, afraid to pick an in-form eleven and let them go out there and play. Then, when his fears are realised and we lose a goal or are trailing with time running out, suddenly we can play. Even though the players should be rightly criticised for unacceptable performance like the first half last night, it's also a testament they can rapidly up their game. Imagine if they couldn't do that. Imagine how many losses we'd have on the books now.

A new manager might not be experienced as Wenger, might not know as much about football as Wenger, but if he played the game without the fear then I'm betting he'd be twice as effective as Wenger.