₦airaland Forum

Asides the introduction, have you done anything at all to legalise your marriage? If not, then I'll encourage you to go through the wedding process. It doesn't have to be anything big (so don't worry about being ashamed). You, your husband to be, your parents and his parents and siblings should be enough.

Anyways, I hear there will be a protest at the Grove tomorrow. I remember calling for this the season we sold Adebayour. Anyways, better late than never.. I'm going there in my BLUE jersey! Yes I support the BLUES - Enyimba of Aba!

coded guy: @ Debo

Isn't it possible that Arsenal is paying too many mediocre players high wages than they deserve, hence the high wage bill and the fear of not qualifying for the champ league. Either way its like Arsenal are in tight corner.

Will Arsene and the board also sign the performance contract?

Thank you very much! Its not the players who brought Squillaci to the team. Its not the players who sold our top two players in one season and eventually, our top 4 performers in 2 seasons.

Im in total support of players signing this contract but I need to know what will happen to Wenger and the board if we fail to qualify for the champ's league? Are they planning on making sacrifices too?

Ramsey actually played well today. At a stage, I expected AW to take off Cazorla and then move Ramsey to d midfield proper.

Giroud needs to work on his first touch. Its really poor at the mo. I expect us to start Podolkski ahead of Giroud in d next game.

Overall, considering we played Everton, a draw seems like a good result but we really need to work on our midfield.

debosky: ^^ Resting Sagna is understandable - coming back from 6 months out with a leg break, he'd already signalled he was going to give him a rest. There's a difference between giving a good RB a game to rest your best defender and putting the captain on the bench.

I suspect the same back 4 at Villa will play tonight.

As u can see, a leopard cannot change his spots...TV5 is back

debosky: Something that completely went unnoticed at the weekend. . . .Wenger dropped his captain and played a defence without Vermaelen.

I don't think he's injured, so it's quite interesting to see that happen.

Not really considering he 'rested' other players like Sagna too. Ill wait to see him do same against Everton today. I may be wrong but I don't think he'll play the same CB team over three games (Villa, Everton and Swansea)

As we face Everton tomorrow, I am torn between sending out a defensive or attacking team.
For one, we know that Everton have always proved a hard nut to crack. Their current position on the league table is not a fluke. However, we also know that asides the clean sheets we've kept in past two games, we've not been too comfortable in defending our goal mouth. So do we go all out and hope to win by scoring a higher number of goals than our opponents?

If anything, I would like to see Arshavin either on the left or behind the striker and Carzola on the left with Walcott on the right. Arshavin has shown in games he has played this season that he can create chances for the team. He has also shown he can convert chances too. His major problem is that we don't know what mood he'll be in at 7.45pm tomorrow.

That said, I expect AW's line-up to be:

WS1
Bacary Per, Kos, Gibbs

Arteta

Ramsey Wilshere Podolski

Carzola

Giroud

Good to have Rosicky back in full training. Hopefully, he can bring back some of the creativity we currently lack in the midfield.

Clean sheet ... check

JW slowly getting back to 100% ... check

Gervinho back in the team ..... check

Gibbs fit and ready ..... check

I'm not comfortable with WS1 as no 1 on Saturday considering he has only played 1 reserve game in a couple of months. I don't want a repeat of the game against Chelsea. Manone has not been inspiring of late but he is fit and should stay in goal IMO.

debosky: More like what AW has returned you to where you were previously - how many of our then players were regarded as 'best in the world' before he arrived?

Some Arsenal fans love indulging in pointless hand-wringing though. . . how many West Brom players are 'best in the world' yet they are above Arsenal? Na best in the world we go chop? We need performances - simple! 'Best in the world' Cesc or RVP didn't help Arsenal win ordinary League Cup, so what gives?

Season don end? At the end of the season, West Brom will not finish above Arsenal. We got to champ's league finals with 'best in the world' players.
'Best in the world' RVP single handedly helped us to third place last season. I don't even want to find out where this lot will take us, I'm hoping Arsene brings in 'best in the world' players in January

It's still too early to tell - Chelski's accounts don't include the £57m paid for Oscar and Hazard, or the fees for Moses, Aspilicueta etc, and by converting their current debt into shares before FFP kicks off, nothing has really been circumvented. Roman can't continue converting £160m to shares every season.

debosky: Chelski simply made a few smart decisions which led to a small profit - instead of paying off Ancelotti and AVB, they kept them on their payroll till they got new jobs, so avoiding the large payouts like they did to Scolari. Let's see what next year's accounts look like before you start talking about circumventing or otherwise.

Making smart decisions isn't same thing as finding a way around a problem? Na foolish decision them wan take circumvent the problem before? Their accountants are not paid top money for nothing.

candieangel12: Im currently on day 2 of a 60 day water fast. Its not for religious or spiritual reasons though. Its more for my personal benefit. Wish me luck

Ure doing the 60 day weight loss thing? All the best. I know someone who did it (if that's it) and turned out well for her

mystikal: If someone said to me 3 years ago that we would miss players like Gibbs, Rosisky and Diaby I would have laughed but its become the reality

Its sad but its the truth. To think that we used to have players like Henry, Cesc, Pires, players who in their time could be classified as one of the best in the world. Look at what AW as turned us to?

But its our team and as we fight for a better tomorrow, we must also still continue to support the team.

mystikal: Arsenal will struggle to achieve anything with the current policy. After all the exhorbitant spending, Chelsea say they made a profit!!! Where will FFP challenge them? Any hope ppl like Duduspace had of a level playing field is dashed esp as ManCity will also be announcing a profit next year with their owner's sponsorship of M£400 a year!!! Honesty is only for the poor and not for the rich I guess. they only achieved it by being dishonest and getting away with it.

Back on the field matters, I'm beginning to see the sense with Ferguson's obsession for traditional wingers. It might even be the sole reason they win d league dis year as most teams are so narrow.

I remember telling dudu that these big teams will find a way of circumventing the FFP thing. The guy no gree.

coogar: -----------szczesney------------
sagna-koscielny-vermaelen-gibbs
-----diaby-------------arteta-----
walcott---wilshere---podolski
-------------giroud---------------

i don't see any weakness in this team to be honest and i am sure wenger would get his mojo back! arsenal should have won that game but for arteta's brainfarts - it's not panic stations yet but you have to start copping 3 points now cos the gap at the top is widening!

The problem with that team is that players like Diaby and Gibbs who are key to that team playing at optimal level will not play up to 2/3 of season games. And Arsene Wenger will continue to depend on them rather than get adequate backup not Santos and Frimpong

^^ Even if we finish outside top four, I can almost hear PHW telling us fans to go hug the nearest transformer (there's one very close to the Emirates BTW )

Results will improve over time. If the EPL is still what it is, the teams from no 4 - 10 will soon lose their momentum and we will climb back to the traditional top four. We may struggle for that no 4 position with Spurs,Everton and maybe another team but even IF we end up in top four spot, I hope fans won't let AW and the crew get away with his usual top four is like a trophy story

debosky: What do you miss about Song? Will Song teach the CBs how to defend simple crosses? Or is he the one that installs anti-slip studs on the players boots?

Arteta needs a rest - thankfully he won't be going away for internationals so he'll be able to recharge his batteries. With Dembele potentially back for Spurs next week we can't afford another weak performance.

Giroud's improving performances give me confidence for upcoming games. We just need the team to feed him more.

You agree that Diaby added some sort of support for our defense whilst he was fit. That's a role Song playrd quite effectively whilst he was around. Another thing is Song is hardly ever injured.

Have u noticed our defenders pass the ball amongst themselves too often sometimes leading to errors like we saw with Bacary in the last game and Per in the game against Shalke? Its most likely because these days the midfielders hardly come back to get the ball from them to launch an attack. Diaby/Song/Cesc/Nasri/Rosicky used to do this for the team and its a missing part of our game now. Or have you forgotten so soon how Song/Cesc used to lob the ball from our half of the field to RVP/Walcott? We need Diaby and/or Rosicky back asap. They are the only two available in the team who can link the play between attack and defense.

Its no excuse for conceding all the goals we've conceded in past few games but its a missing factor in our game and something that needs to be remedied.

[quote author=kay_pumpin]Different team,same mentality.There is one common denominator though,the gaffer.

I fear though,even if Wenger is asked to leave,will the board change it's disposition of frugality?[/quote]This is the question I ask all those who want AW to leave. Why don't we let AW spend some money whilst at the same time, keep his best players and see if we don't do better than what we've done in past 8 years. AW has his faults but as long as we have the same people at the helm of affairs, he remains my best choice as manager of Arsenal FC for now. The way things are going we may lose at least one of Sagna and Walcott by the end of this season.

What's with our players slipping all over the pitch? It started with TV5, then Per joined him. Now Kos and Sagna have joined the fray.

And YES! We miss Song!

If Rosicky returns to the form he had last season, Il gladly play him ahead of Santi at least until we get our midfield rhythm back or at worst, move Santi 'behind' to play alongside Arteta (if he can play the role) and bench Jack.

However, I think Rosicky would be benched unless unless one of Jack/Carzola gets injured. Rosicky will play in the league cup and FA cup competitions for now and maybe a few EPL games.

Rosicky back in training..finally..now this is a good 'problem' for Le Prof

Sure, we need to sort out individual errors. I for one don't really get what's wrong with TV5. In addition to his mistakes, he keeps slipping all over the field. Wrong boots maybe?
I too hope Gibbs will be back this weekend and stay fit!

Overall though, if we can bring back the form we had when we played against ManCity, twill be fine by me. So far, it just seems we can't keep the ball, we can't pass but I know we are better than that

Up till we conceded that first goal yesterday, our defense coped with everything they threw at us. In fact, I was about to post on NL when they scored that goal. IMO, I believe the problem is the midfield not the defense. When you allow your opponents so much possession and they continue to press and create chances like we allowed Norwich, QPR, Man U and Schalke, then we are bound to concede. Even in the ManU game, its still a surprise we didn't concede more than two goals.

Question is, what's the difference between the midfield that started the few games at the start of the season and now? We all know even though some people don't like to admit --- one word/name --- Diaby. We've missed Song but he's at Barca now so no point discussing but Diaby did well linking up the defense and attack and thus allowing Arteta do his job properly i.e. help the defense.

I admit we have individual deficiencies - TV5, Kos and Santos but I believe when we get Diaby back in form (or when Jack hits form again), some of the frailties we've seen will be covered.

Santos was missing yesterday and I hope all those asking for Podolski's head would now understand why he's been quiet since Gibbs got injured.

Did I click on the ManCity thread by mistake??

From BBC website

"Good news Arsenal fans. In the four games Olivier Giroud has scored for the Gunners, Theo Walcott has also scored and Arsenal have won them all. Walcott has scored eight goals in 13 games, only four of those he has started."

Team list:
Walcott starts, Santos dropped

Mannone, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen; Arteta, Wilshere; Walcott, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud

RVP loves you all


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ENHyMrRpA4

And Santos has apologized...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2228260/Andre-Santos-sorry-Robin-van-Persie-shirt-swap.html

[quote author=Kay-Dee]After playing 120 mins on Tuesday, I expected Walcott to come off the bench.[/quote]Beyond the ManU match, Walcott has not started a league game for us this season. Reports (whether true or not) have it that Theo is hinging the signing of his contract on AW starting him in his preferred position while Arsene has decided not to make him a regular in his team until he signs....time will tell

At least I know AW is looking to sign one of three BIG strikers in January. I won't name them because as much as my source is reliable, mentioning the names would make the story incredible (considering its Arsenal and AW involved). That said, I think beyond getting a striker (on loan or otherwise), our problem in past few matches goes beyond scoring. We hardly create chances!

On Saturday, TV5 made fundamental errors. I expected to see his apology after the game, if not for anything at least for that assist he provided for RVP.

Santos was also poor. When Santos plays, he gives the guy in front of him too much work to do. Is it a coincidence Podolski has not been 'effective' since Gibbs got injured? Maybe he's (Santos) out of form) or maybe he's just poor, dunno but for now, unless AW stops trying to be a father to these boys and plays Bacary/Jenks/Miguel on the left, we will have no choice but see him in every game.

Also I don't understand why we didn't resort to plan B when Plan A didn't work. All through this season United has shown a weakness in long balls pumped in their box. We had Giroud on the field and I thought we could take advantage especially in the last 10 minutes. The 'only' good ball we played into their box caused panic and resorted in that goal. We should have done more.

Game is over though, Schalke is next. With our current form, I do not see us beating Schalke on Tuesday but hopefully they would have a poor game against us and we'ld win . The struggle to create chances. Why Arsene still insists on starting Walcott from the bench is a mystery for me.

"We should have put it to bed a long, long time ago and you look at that scoreline 2-1 and you think it was a close game, but it wasn't a close game.
--- Alex Ferguson

"I think we were a bit unlucky, especially with the penalty decision. We had the better chances but overall in a game like this you ought to not put yourself on the back foot when you are one down." --AW

"I think the start did not help us. It was important not to put ourselves in trouble, which is what we did. Then, when we were 2-0 down and down to 10 men, it became difficult. If it was 11 against 11 then we could have come back." --- AW

One of these two must be lying or must have watched a different game...guess who?

Quote from BBC website:

Most worrying sight for Arsenal fans today may have been a team that never looked for one second like it thought it could beat Man Utd.

Says it all really

I guess our definitions of big and small teams differ. If Bolton should buy Suarez, Gerrard, Reina, Sahin and some other top players at Liverpool today, they automatically transform from a small team to a big team IMO. That Liverpool didn't do well last season means little. Over the course of last 5 to 6 years, they have still maintained a level of consistency in terms of playing in Europe and finishing in top 6 in the league.

debosky: So what would be your argument today Proudly? Wenger calls this competition the first priority, yet this is the performance that results - quality will shine through any day of the week.

But didn't I say earlier that beating/losing to the big teams isn't the problem? Its losing to the smaller teams and for me, that has nothing to do with quality. If we lose all games to all the big teams i.e. ManU, Chelsea, ManCity, we will only lose 18pts out of the available 114 leaving 96pts to play for. Even if you add Liverpool (or Spurs) to that list, we will still have 90pts to fight for. The real big teams don't struggle with this that's why the league winners usually end up with close to 90pts at the end of the season and we struggle to get to 70 because we keep dropping points to the Norwich of this world. That's not lack of quality.


So what? If you play Messi with the defence and midfield we had, even that team would concede bucket loads. Chamakh and Arshavin eventually showed they were better than Reading in the end. The results in the CC are analogous to those in other competitions - we are lacking quality at the crunch points.

debosky: Secondly, Citeh struggled to beat West Ham tonight - was it also 'motivation' that prevented them from winning? Every team will have occasional bad results against both good and poor opposition over the course of the season e.g. Citeh lost to Sunderland last season. The culmination of the season reflects the side's quality.

The issue is undoubtedly one of quality - Citeh despite struggling tonight fielded Tevez, Balotelli, Aguero and Dzeko, throwing two of them on from the bench (and still not scoring). All those strikers are better than ours and you think the issue isn't quality? United have RVP, chicha, Welbeck and Rooney and you think the issue isn't quality? Even Chelski, though not having many strikers, can call on Hazard, Oscar and Mata - they can call on Cech to make magnificent saves to keep them in a game and you think the issue isn't quality?

You say City had quality tonight yet drew with Westham...should that not tell you some games need more than quality? They have better strikers than we do yet we scored three goals against the same Westham and you still don't think there's more to it than quality?

debosky: Who were we able to call on today when things got tough - Walcott? Is he a miracle worker? What about the guys we had on the pitch - Mannone? A player we were willing to let go in the summer now being the No 1 by default? Not dissing him in any way, but quality doesn't lie. Our captain's form is so poor he would be warming the bench at our rivals and you think the issue isn't quality?

Quality is relative. Against ManU, ManCity, Walcott may not be quality. Against Reading, Norwich, midtable and bottom teams, Walcott is 'world class'. Even Arshavin showed his 'quality' against Reading. And like I said, above, its the games against these teams that matters. If we struggled to get 70pts from 90pts, it means we dropped at least 20pts to these teams....common...a team with RVP, Song, Walcott, TV5, Arteta, Sagna, Kos, can't be that bad against teams like Bolton, Villa, etc (note Im assuming we lost home and away to top 4 teams which wasn't the case last season or seasons before but its ok to assume for this purpose).

debosky: Naming RVP, Nasri and Cesc isn't good enough - a sprinkling of quality in a sea of dross will not change the eventual fate of a team. In that same period of time, your rivals would name 6-7 quality players (who they've kept) and you don't expect them to perform better?

Because I didn't name them all doesn't mean those three were all we had. We also had Adebayour, Walcott, TV5, Toure/Gallas, Clichy, Song, Arshavin (in form!). But this isn't consequential anyways because you talk as if we only play these 'rivals' all season long. I don't expect us to beat all the mid table/bottom teams but losing more than 20pts definitely has nothing to do with quality. The ManCity match today should tell you its not only about quality. AND its definitely NOT ALL about motivation too. Quality will win you some matches but quality + motivation and I think Allardyce led Bolton showed us many times that sometimes, motivation without quality could win you some too. will win you many. Fact is there are coaches who know how to motivate their players in certain matches and telling your players 4th place is good enough isn't just the right way of motivating them.

There were days when losing to ManU was unacceptable and the players gave their all on the field and even when we lost to them, you could see it in the game that they gave their all. Those were men who were properly motivated for the game and understood that losing a game shouldn't be considered at all. Not these days when your player goes to beg for a jersey during half time.

If we sell Walcott in January and the fans don't physically march down to Ashburton grove, then Il conclude AW and the board members have used 'jazz' on us

We need Walcott in this game..

We have created little so far

From http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/team-news-arsenal-unchanged-from-qpr-win

Team in full: Mannone, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Santos, Arteta, WIlshere, Ramsey, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud.

Subs: Martinez, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Coquelin, Walcott, Arshavin, Chamakh.