Match Reaction Arsenal 1-1 Shadow Dwellers

[Letters]

Oh, and Cech
Kept us in it at 0-1, was a big part of getting us a point today. He really is making a difference.

[tpyo]

You make some lovely points:

A lot of money sloshing around the place, all from the fans' pockets ultimately.

Or is any sort of expectation an "entitlement?"

However, when you have seen it all before and know where the axe is going to fall and how, you can maybe be forgiven for complaining about that.

This manager should be doing better with the resources available to him.

I would argue though that the value of a supporter's dollar has decreased drastically since originally televisation and much more since all the foreign investment. Newcastle are probably the greatest example of this, having a very large fan base but still being completely unable to compete with the top clubs.
I think the expectation of winning trophies in this climate is _somewhat_ "entitled", especially compared to our position just prior to the EPL. Today as we're not foreign money we rely more on hard work and a bit of luck. For me being a supporter for a club that hasn't been Midas touched is all about hope and I think our position as a club over the past ten years while being frustrating has always delivered that sliver of hope that we _could_ win trophies. For me that's enough, although I don't have a season ticket so I appreciate I have less of a leg to stand on here.

I'm not sure about Wenger _should_ be doing better. He _could_ be better in some areas but then there are always trade-offs. Perhaps if Wenger was more tactical his players would like him less and want to play for Arsenal less or perhaps other areas of our performance could suffer.
I do agree that the squad could do with a bit more depth but I think the current transfer market is a bit strangled and inflated. I read an article this year about the summer transfer window and English clubs having trouble offloading poor performers on high wages.... could this be the beginning of the bubble popping? I hope so because Arsenal are definitely the club that would gain the most from that turn of events.

Perhaps I don't post here enough to be immersed in the culture of this forum to appreciate the nuance and in-jokes (I typically only read the match threads and match reactions) but for me some of the criticism comes across as a bit extreme.

[Niall_Quinn]

Probably true, but you could say that about most games we play. We've won 5 games in the league on the bounce, you're not going to win every game and whisper it quietly but Spurs were pretty good today. They're actually a better side than I've given them credit for, they've have only lost once all season in the league and they've already beaten City. It wasn't a good performance today but we got a point and while obviously I hoped we'd win given our performance a point isn't a disaster.

Most of the people bemoaning the fact we're not 2 points clear were saying we wouldn't be challenging at all this season. We are so far, long may it continue.

Pretty impressive you can type while having your face buried in Wenger's crack.

This was the NLD FFS!

Our biggest rivals.

On our patch.

And we looked like a bunch of pussies.

We were outplayed.

And we were lucky the bumbling idiot finally cottoned on and made the changes that grabbed a point.

However, the bumbling idiot was the guy who claimed there was nobody in the world available that was better than the guy who missed a string of sitters today.

And the bumbling idiot was the guy who lucked into Coquelin but still let another window pass when we need not just backup for the excellent Coquelin but also somebody to add a bit of steel when the 3 foot tall Santi can't do it. (Not his fault the bumbling idiot plays him out of position)

What should our reaction to the bumbling idiot's fuck-ups be?

"Whisper it quietly"

If we can't win these games then we aren't winning any title.

[Ollie the Optimist]

How was Campbell overall? I saw him do both good things and bad things in the second half. Did he play versus Bayern and was he any good there? Do we think he'll stay in the team after these performances?

hes utter crap. Has been all season in the games he has played for us. He scores a couple of goals in dead leagues and some think he is brilliant. All he did today was a couple of stopovers and then lose the ball.

[LDG]

Will settle for that.

Couldn't watch today, but sounds like we were jaded to fuck. Not suprised given the squad is creaking.

Hope they all get some rest the next few weeks.

[Power n Glory]

Eager but out of his depth and badly handicapped by the players around him. He's a decent backup, not a first team player. His ambition outstrips his ability at the moment and this nativity causes problems because he ultimately loses the ball or allows the opposition the time to regroup when we could otherwise exploit them with a quick and accurate pass or a decent cross.

You talking about Sanchez or Campbell? Not the greatest games for either player. The front 3 aren't working well at the moment. They need to play closer together to get the link up going but doing that means we're too congested and won't create space. Play too wide and we get this sort of performance where all of them are isolated and not really playing well.

[Ollie the Optimist]

We were lucky today, but sometimes you have to take that luck, put the performance away and move on with the point. We play again in two weeks where we should (if predictions are correct) have Ramsey, Bellerin and Ox back. We also have a 4 game run of very winnable games. Think its west Brom, norwich, sunderland, villa before we play City. Out of those games we should be at least equal with city, if not above them when we play them.

Spurs were good today, they aren't a bad side but we had the better chances and Giroud should have taken them. We got out of jail, but thats what happens over the season, its just a shame we couldn't beat them. Its november, and we are level on points at the top. I'll take that all day long.

[Niall_Quinn]

hes utter crap. Has been all season in the games he has played for us. He scores a couple of goals in dead leagues and some think he is brilliant. All he did today was a couple of stopovers and then lose the ball.

Bit unfair. He's a mid-table player with decent stamina but seems to be overawed with the expectations associated with playing in an Arsenal team. He's a lot more composed and efficient at International level. Ultimately he's 3rd choice. And he plays like a 3rd choice at this level.

[Slacker]

I fully expected us to blow this one, and after getting played off the park I'm happy with the draw. When you consider the injuries we have it was never going to be easy playing Spurs with every player who has pace sidelined. Sure it was a meaningless away fixture against a pub team that paid for Ox and Theo, and you are right to blame the manager. Sticking rookies in with them was ridiculous and the loss looked inevitable even if Ox and subsequently Theo stayed fit.

I'm not expecting miracles from AW, as you guys have pointed out, he is not a master tactician and his stubbornness and his myopia all get in the way of seeing the bloody obvious. However I still harbour some hope that he might see a chink of light and seize on it, or at worst, he just gets damned lucky and flukes the league by pure accident because we do have some great players.

For me the good news is we will play better at their place and they will be on the back foot. If we win there it won't be bad in the scheme of things. Baby steps though. WBA away next, and please could we have Bellerin and one of Rambo, Theo or Ox as well???

[Ollie the Optimist]

I fully expected us to blow this one, and after getting played off the park I'm happy with the draw. When you consider the injuries we have it was never going to be easy playing Spurs with every player who has pace is sidelined. Sure it was a meaningless away fixture against a pub team that paid for Ox and Theo, and you are right to blame the manager. Sticking rookies in with them was ridiculous and the loss looked inevitable even if Ox and subsequently Theo stayed fit.

I'm not expecting miracles from AW, as you guys have pointed out, he is not a master tactician and his stubbornness and his myopia all get in the way of seeing the bloody obvious. However I still harbour some hope that he might see a chink of light and seize on it, or at worst, he just gets damned lucky and flukes the league by pure accident because we do have some great players.

For me the good news is we will play better at their place and they will be on the back foot. If we win there it won't be bad in the scheme of things. Baby steps though. WBA away next, and please could we have Bellerin and one of Rambo, Theo or Ox as well???

Yeah we aren't where we are in the league this year because he's got lucky and fluked it. We are where we are because Wenger has got his tactics right.