Wenger's lame excuse for taking off Ox:

"I can understand the fans were upset about the substitution, especially when it doesn't work. He had started to fatigue."

   

the Euros? Just a thought, "
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on seeing his decision to take off Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for Andrey Arshavin being booed by Gunners fans: "In last 15 to 20 minutes we had players who have given everything, players like Oxlade-Chamberlain and he was playing on the left and it didn't work out. You do not need to agree with it (the decision), you can understand that. I dont know how many thousands of substitutions I have made over the years, the fans do not always agree with them. I make decisions and I stand up for them, that's

this guy na oponu

nateevs:

United weren't even fantastic. It's just shows how average Arsenal were.

complete rubbish in the final third. . . . .
i cannot count the number of times giggs gave it away - i kept telling my mates giggs would play rubbish all night and then cop an assist or even a goal and his disgraceful performance would be forgotten.

proudly9ja:

Im hoping he was injured as thats the only excuse that will save AW. There was NO reason at all for bringing off Chambo. Walcott was just a passenger on the field. Chambo did more than twice the job TW14 did all through the game. What's more annoying is that he brought off Chambo for Arshavin, a player we all know would contribute zero to the defence and who's last good game for Arsenal was, well, I can't remember!

he turned his back on valencia - disgraceful lazy decision.
he just came on for feck's sake, he should bursting his guts and staying in valencia's face.
there's no way chamberlain would have turned his back there and not match valencia with pace.

As usual, the moral of the story is Arsene Wenger is an idiot

Abeg make i go play GoW3 small before i swear for person family!

So y'all are claiming Chambo would've stopped the goal?

Delusion of the highest order. We lost the game because of our defensive flaws - Where was Vermaelen when Valencia danced all the way to the penalty spot? Why didn't he push out to confront Valencia seeing he had beaten Arshavin?

First goal - Vermaelen also made the mistake allowing Valencia to stream in and score behind him.

To blame Arshavin for allowing Valencia to pass from the penalty spot is a joke.

Bottom line - fix the defence or we will continue to lose from winning/drawing positions. This isn't something that started today - we've lost the last 2 games for exactly the same reasons.

duduspace:

I did say last season that our problems were in the wide positions. It is crystal clear what qualities are needed to play that role and we've had square pegs in those round holes. The difference is clear when Gervinho and Ox are there compared to when Arshavin and Theo are there. One has the pace but not the skills the other has the skill but not the pace or bottle.
I agree with Debo that we might still have lost with Ox on the pitch but the lad earned the right to stay on. Even RVP was surprised and ultimately unhappy and that doesnt bode well for the future.
We should have at least held on for a draw today but today I learnt which players in our team can deal well with pressure. Koscielny has a lot of it but Song and Ramsey could do with a bit more.

Didn't you say Arsenal would win?
Have you ever gotten any prediction right Mr Dudu?

debosky:

So y'all are claiming Chambo would've stopped the goal?

valencia wouldn't have won a foot race against chambo. . . .metresacker has a better chance catching chicharito in a foot race.
he did nothing against vermaelen who matched his pace all night. . .

valencia is such a one-dimensional player. the only defenders he can beat are the ones struggling with pace as he's so predictable.
match his pace and he offers nothing from the wing.

valencia wouldn't even try what he did with arshavin.
he would run it on the bye-line and hope to get a throw-in/corner off a deflected cross from his attempt!

debosky:

So y'all are claiming Chambo would've stopped the goal?

Delusion of the highest order. We lost the game because of our defensive flaws - Where was Vermaelen when Valencia danced all the way to the penalty spot? Why didn't he push out to confront Valencia seeing he had beaten Arshavin?

First goal - Vermaelen also made the mistake allowing Valencia to stream in and score behind him.

To blame Arshavin for allowing Valencia to pass from the penalty spot is a joke.

Bottom line - fix the defence or we will continue to lose from winning/drawing positions. This isn't something that started today - we've lost the last 2 games for exactly the same reasons.

Errors abound. So as a team, we should have pressured Manure into making their share of errors but Wenger made that impossible for us by takig off The Ox. Verm may have committed errors but no one will crucify him cos he clearly did well. Valencia rarely got past him and he (Verm) gave a overall brilliant display.
I think if the Ox stayed on, we could have gotten another goal so the match woulda ended in a draw or we could have even won with the confidence we had when after we got the equalizer

coogar:

valencia wouldn't have won a foot race against chambo. . . .metresacker has a better chance catching chicharito in a foot race.
he did nothing against vermaelen who matched his pace all night. . .

I see - was Vermaelen off the pitch at this time? Why didn't Vermaelen come out to help Arshavin?

valencia wouldn't even try what he did with arshavin.
he would run it on the bye-line and hope to get a throw-in/corner off a deflected cross from his attempt!

Tell me where was Vermaelen to show him to they byline?

proudly9ja:

^^^^
Are u sure uve seen Freeman play? I don't know what other wow factor you are looking for but barring the unforseen, Freeman will turn out well. I agree he's not ready for first team at Arsenal for now but given 2 to 3 years, Im certain he'l be ready. That's why I thought he'l be loaned out not sold.

Some players come at the wrong time and really Freeman doesn't have a wow factor, I would put him behind Ox, Campbell, Ryo and Wellington (in no particular order) as developing forward players in our youth setup of about the same age. I believe as you do that he'll find his way back to the PL most likely at a low to mid table team which is why I compared him to a player like Larsson.

proudly9ja:

As for the present team, from what Ive seen, that Olsson guy is the next Jack Wilshere. Infact I think he'l be better. His passes remind me of Cesc but he's just 18 and we'l have to see. Not sure any goalkeeper will be willing to wait for WS considering his young age so keepers like Shea, Cooke, and the Argentine will eventually be sold IMO.

Olsson looks a gem but he has a lot of physical development to do, like for like I wouldn't compare him to Wilshere but to Cesc. Wilshere can go past people and I haven't seen Olsson do that much but he picks unbelievable passes. One thing Cesc and Wilshere have above talent though is a mental belief in their ability. I saw them both come into teams of grown men as 16 year olds and grab a game by the scruff of the neck, it remains to be seen if Olsson can do that.

We'll keep Damian Martinez till he's about 22 but don't put it past him to overtake Tech9, if you ask me, I think he is better than Tech9 was at his age particularly in his reflexes. In the wide forward positon, I find Gnabry (the german boy) interesting and in MF Toral and Ebecilio might lead to us having to let Chuks Aneke go early not to hold up his development.

dipo+:


Errors abound. So as a team, we should have pressured Manure into making their share of errors but Wenger made that impossible for us by takig off The Ox. Verm may have committed errors but no one will crucify him cos he clearly did well. Valencia rarely got past him and he (Verm) gave a overall brilliant display.
I think if the Ox stayed on, we could have gotten another goal so the match woulda ended in a draw or we could have even won with the confidence we had when after we got the equalizer

You're being economical with the truth - Valencia scored by outjumping Vermaelen - error #1.

If even you and I know Arshavin is useless at defending, why didn't Vermaelen go out to help him? error #2.

Only a biased Arsenal fan will say Vermaelen gave a 'brilliant display' when his two errors led to two goals that lost us the game.

I'm not hating on TV5 or anything like that, but let's be honest.  As per the fantasy that we'd have won with the confidence, that's utter nonsense. We equalised against Spurs and still managed to lose. We equalised against Swansea and still managed to lose. Ox or no Ox we were going to lose the game.

debosky:

So y'all are claiming Chambo would've stopped the goal?

Not sure anyone can claim Chambo would have stopped the goal but Valencia passed by Arshavin quite easily. Defensively and offensively, Chambo offered more than Arshavin in this game. There was really no reason to take off Chambo. And after listening to AW's excuse, I find it even more incredible. Yes, we may have still lost the game but Chambo was the only player on the field who showed any sign of being able to get the ball past their defence.

debosky:

I see - was Vermaelen off the pitch at this time? Why didn't Vermaelen come out to help Arshavin?

help arshavin? does he help him spend his weekly wages?

Tell me where was Vermaelen to show him to they byline?

vermaelen couldn't come out and help cos he was watching ji sung park.
the goal came about because arshavin didn't do enough to knock valencia off his stride.

as for the first goal. . . .
[img]https://twitpic.com/show/iphone/8af0ba[/img]

djourou should be blocking the cross from giggs.

As for TV5 being out of position, until I see the replay, I can't comment but the fact is, we had a player on Valencia and that player was Arshavin. We didn't lose to a 2 against one. It was Arshavin vs Valencia and he lost easily. BTW, this isn't the first time.

debosky:

Only a biased Arsenal fan will say Vermaelen gave a 'brilliant display' when his two errors led to two goals that lost us the game.

I'm not hating on TV5 or anything like that, but let's be honest.  As per the fantasy that we'd have won with the confidence, that's utter nonsense. We equalised against Spurs and still managed to lose. We equalised against Swansea and still managed to lose. Ox or no Ox we were going to lose the game.

I wouldn't call TV5 brilliant in the game but he largely did his job. Djorou should have made it more diffcult for Giggs to deliver such a good cross by gettin closer.
TV5 had little to do with the second goal though, Arshavin was pickin up Valencia and should have stopped his man end of.

TV5 was out of position no question about it. It was so obvious that Valencia was going to beat Arshavin (as you said it's not the first time) - so why didn't Vermaelen stop him after he beat Arshavin? Till Valencia reached the penalty spot?

Even for the first goal - Chambo did nothing to prevent the pass from Nani to Giggs - he failed to prevent the pass and didn't even attempt to intercept the ball. Look at Sharon's gif and see what happened.

That's more than enough evidence that Chambo didn't offer much defensively either.

Y'all are clutching at straws and nothing else.

@ Sharon

Why will a short man like Valencia outjump Vermaelen in the box? That is unacceptable for a CB of his quality.

We were not good enough defensively - our back four made too many errors, especially the fullbacks.

Debo, haba Nani's pass to Giggs wasn't towards the direction of the goal where Ox was coverng, it was away to the flank where Giggs was. Ox might be fast but he is not a Djinee

this debosky na mumu. . . .

djourou should have done better to close giggs down.
he literally invited giggs to cross the ball when he should be throwing arms and legs to block the cross.
djourou should watch how micah richards does it.

the moment that cross went in, the outcome was inevitable!

chamotex:

Didn't you say Arsenal would win?  
Have you ever gotten any prediction right Mr Dudu?

YAAAAAWN.  
You haven't answered my last question.

debosky:

TV5 was out of position no question about it. It was so obvious that Valencia was going to beat Arshavin (as you said it's not the first time) - so why didn't Vermaelen stop him after he beat Arshavin? Till Valencia reached the penalty spot?


Why will a short man like Valencia outjump Vermaelen in the box? That is unacceptable for a CB of his quality.

We were not good enough defensively - our back four made too many errors, especially the fullbacks.

Balls like that are difficult to defend, dipping right in front of your post, not high enough to flick over your head and not low enough to clear with your foot. Any contact from TV5 wld have been an OG.

Not blaming only Arshavin for the second goal though, its not guaranteed you'll win every tackle (@ least he went for it), but Wenger just took the bite out of our attack.

duduspace:

YAAAAAWN.  
You haven't answered my last question.

Why did you edit your post?
Mr predictor!!!
Admit it you are clueless when it comes to making predictions . . .

chamotex:

Why did you edit your post?
Mr predictor!!!
Admit it you are clueless when it comes to making predictions . . .

Becos I chose to or is there a law against it?
Admit yu're clueless at turning irrelevant issues into hot topics Mr Radio without battery.
No one here can say I made any firm predictions about this particular match beyond hoping my team wins.

If Chambo had stopped that pass from Nani to Giggs, meeen, that would have been interception of the decade.

As for the second goal, you do realise that we had a man on Valencia, TV5 going to mark Valencia would mean leaving whoever he was marking? (Im assuming he was marking someone and not just idling on the field). Il pipe down a bit until I see a rplay of that goal but what's glaring to me at this moment is that Arshavin made it easy for Valencia.

Singling out Arshavin is not my way of blaming him solely for the loss. Im just pissed that we had a Chambo who was our only bright spark and who AW decided he had to be taken off due to fatigue (of all reasons!)

duduspace:

Becos I chose to or is there a law against it?
Admit yu're clueless at turning irrelevant issues into hot topics Mr Radio without battery.
No one here can say I made any firm predictions about this particular match beyond hoping my team wins.

Hehehe . . . now you've switched it to 'firm' prediction? Typical!

chamotex:

Hehehe . . . now you've switched it to 'firm' prediction? Typical!

Quote the prediction or for ever remain a solar powered radio.

duduspace:

Quote the prediction or for ever remain a solar powered radio.

U don vex be that?
I dont need to embarrass you any further . . . it's too easy

chamotex:

U don vex be that? 
I dont need to embarrass you any further . . . it's too easy

Me vex ke? I always knew yu were on a wind up mission. Na today? 
The only one embarrased is yu

Abeg lets cut TV5 some slack. The game was his first in a while and as at Friday, AW said he wasn't sure if TV5 was fit enough. Yes we have defence issues, AW has to fix it and soon too.

BTW,
WS13 don vex o

@13Szczesny13 Wojciech Szczesny
Its just about time for me to grow up, delete twitter and focus on football! Thanks for all the support I have received here.

Life goes on. On to the next match.
I doubt it if AW will now go out and get a LB so hopefully, Gibbs returns soon and doesn't get injured again. From what I hear, Sagna is already training with the first team so we won't need to see JD20 at RB again. Yennaris should get the nod next week against Villa.

Didn't see much of Park today and I hope he gets a chance now that Chamakh is in EG.

duduspace:

Me vex ke? I always knew yu were on a wind up mission. Na today?  

Hehehe. Nothing do you.

BTW . . . Happy birthday A-40. Shame Wenger and his boys couldn't give you a birthday win.
Enjoy!

proudly9ja:

WS13 don vex o

@13Szczesny13 Wojciech Szczesny
Its just about time for me to grow up, delete twitter and focus on football! Thanks for all the support I have received here.

Na that rapist jibe wahala cause am. Easy to be taken out of context and things blown out of proportion as is usually done on NL.

Well, the way him sef dey don talk am say he needs to grow up and focus on footie. He's a good lad though and great future ahead.

Our next four matches - Villa, Bolton, Blackburn and Sunderland. All winnable matches for Milan's visit.
One match at a time. Top 4 still achievable with Chelsea's form.

proudly9ja:

Well, the way him sef dey don talk am say he needs to grow up and focus on footie.  He's a good lad though and great future ahead.

Our next four matches - Villa, Bolton, Blackburn and Sunderland. All winnable matches for Milan's visit.
One match at a time. Top 4 still achievable with Chelsea's form.

Top 4 is doable but might need Chelsea to fumble this season like Tottenham did in 06/07 as I don't expect Tottenham to fumble. I hope some people are already preparing the Lasagne for the final match. 
Too many things changing about the team at present and difficult to call until we have most of the injured back. Success is built on stability. Not a stellar season by any means.