₦airaland Forum

debosky: You are contradicting yourself if despite the supposed lack of motivation we've reached 10 Q/Fs then motivation ain't the problem. Going down 4 goals is a one off - playing an 18 year old gk, djourou, an off form JD and a clueless Frimpong all in the same game is a recipe for disaster whichever way you look at it. Again down to squad quality - Utd could call on Lindergaard, we used a pure rookie.



'brave fight' means nothing - besides was coming back from 4 goals not 'brave'?? This is all about winning, and as long as other teams have better players, you won't win. The problem isn't attitude it's quality. Whether you like it or not, 4th place is like a trophy - just ask Liverpool. I wonder who remembers they won CC last season, or Birmingham before them?

United could call on a 20 goal chicha and Nani, our second string was Chamakh and Arshavin - the very definition of off form players. That's the difference not motivation.

You are focusing on one competition i.e. the League Cup. I've said that we don't have much of a problem in this competition because we've always played a totally different team in this competition. A young team usually out to impress and most times even better than the second rate teams our opponents play in this competition. Yes we called on Arshavin, Chamakh but these are players who are way ahead of any of the players on parade for Reading on the night.

Anyways, focusing on the league (which is d point of this argument), would you ascribe losing to teams like Birmingham, Blackburn, Norwich, Swansea to lack of quality especially considering we've had players like Cesc, RVP, Nasri, etc over the years? For me, its losing to these teams that's cost us not the big (and maybe better in terms of quality) teams. This season alone, we've beaten Liverpool, drawn with ManCity away but lost to Norwich and failed to beat Sunderland at home. When you are better (or even just as good) in terms of quality than the team on the field, then there must be something else that would give you the edge over such teams.

So Chambo is out of tomorrow's game. Possible lineup (4-3-3):

Vito

Sagna Per TV5 Santos

Ramsey Arteta Wilshere

Santi

Giroud Podolski

Bench: Shea, Walcott, Kos, Jenkinson, Arshavin, etc

Good and Bad news
Gervinho is out for another three weeks but Szczesny should be available for Saturday.

I expect us to keep Vito in goal and not make the mistake we made against Chelsea. Gibbs is still out so Santos should still remain at LB and Sagna at RB. With Kos playing on tuesday, its likely we'l have Per and TV5 at CB.

Its the middle that I seem to have a prob with. I don't think we are physically strong in a midfield with Jack/Ramsey, Arteta and Carzola. Im really hoping Diaby would be back soon and back to form too. I fear for our midfield on Saturday considering United are very strong in that area.
I only pray that we'll create and convert enough chances to win us the game. As we've seen, United are also vulnerable at the back so we can take advantage.

edit: Szczesny is not available

I accept there's a big gap between the first and second team but its not really been a big issue in the CC. We've qualified for the QF for close to 10 years now which isn't bad. We got knocked out last season by ManCity, the eventual league winners and the previous season, we lost in the final. In yesterday's game, truth be told, we had no biz going 4 goals down with the team on the field.

For the team, I believe one can help a 'not too good' team put up a brave fight against any team by motivating them the right way and ONE of the ways of motivating them is by harping it into their ears that second place isn't good enough IMO.
I'm not making excuses for our past failures, we just need the manager to instill the right attitude in the players. Even AW harps on about right mental attitude and 'spirit'. Those two don't come if the coach keeps telling the team 4th place is like a trophy.

As for the gap between the first team and up an coming players, do you think its because our first team has improved over the years or because our youth set up has failed to roll out quality players or both?

4llerbuntu: how u saw miquel having a good game beats me hollow. are u sure we saw the same game?

I did state that my rating for Miguel and Jenks was relative to the other defenders. The fact that he didn't have good cover from Gnabry also affected him but he still had a good game compared to Kos and JD20. In addition, Il have Miguel (or even Jenks) at LB ahead of Santos on Saturday.

4llerbuntu: Koscielny was not just having a bad day, he was atrocious. has been atrocious all the games he has appeared in this season. he was the leader, organizer of the defence that shipped 5. this knucklehead was eaten for breakfast by JASON ROBERTS, JASON ROBERTS>!!!!!!!!!!
do u know how many goals arsenal have conceded with him on the pitch? and pls how is it he has this talent for scoring own goals?

Kos has a bad day IMO . He did well last season and I'm willing to give him benefit of doubt. Il play him side by side Per whenever TV5 isn't available.

4llerbuntu: and even much more weirder you are actually looking forward to saturday!! against a razor sharp attack!

Beaten by Norwich, thrashed at home by Schalke, scraped win v 10-man QPR, conceded 5 goals v Reading, Utd away on Saturday. Do the maths.

How did you infer that Im looking forward to Saturday's game from "...now to plan towards Saturday's match"? Unless you have a secret memo from the FA that says we will be allowed to skip the match, I believe we have to play that match even if we were "Beaten by Norwich, thrashed at home by Schalke, scraped win v 10-man QPR, conceded 5 goals v Reading". As far as I know, there's no such memo and as such, we have to plan towards the match.

4llerbuntu: as Piers said and i concur

I agree AW is not the manager he was. He may have lost his hunger but as long as we have the same management board with their philosophies, AW is the coach Ild rather have in charge of Arsenal.

Positives from the game
Walcott showed AW again he's a good finisher. Good to see he was finally given that equalizing goal and thus got a hat trick from yesterday's game.
Downside is he will be too knackered to start against ManU on saturday. With Gervinho off, AW would probably start the Ox who only recently returned from injury.

Arshavin again reminded us of the Arshavin we used to know. If he's up for a game, there are few defenders who can play against him. Maybe playing out on the wings isn't for him. Overall, had a good game.

We got out of jail last night, now to plan towards Saturday's match.

^^^ good for his confidence but I don't think we'ld see him again on the pitch till next League Cup game (barring injuries of course).

Back to yesterday's game,
We were really poor defensively. JD20 was well,... JD20. Ive seen Kos do far better than he did last night so I can give it to him and say he had a poor night. Martinez at 17 will def improve but I don't know why AW prefers him to Shea. Shea is a better GK and has more experience at the top level than Martinez. Miguel and Jenks did well (compared to the other defenders) and I was almost tipping Miguel to replace Santos on Saturday before he had that injury. Hopefully, he'l be back soon.

In midfield, Gnabry needs to work harder on his defensive side. He provided very little cover for Miguel last night. Frimpong needs to go on loan again and really needs to up his game. At the mo, he's prolly playing because we don't have much options in that position but Yennaris is not far behind him.

Upfront, well, good to see Chamakh scoring again, not one but two goals. He's also shown that maybe that top man position isn't for him. He plays better when he has a strike partner. Laying off the ball and passing are his specialties. He also finally listened to my instructions! Shoot Chamakh! Shoot! It will make you a better striker!

^^^^
I have been saying this for years about Wenger! Even if that's how he feels, he shouldn't be saying it in public! He shouldn't be saying things like 4th place is like a trophy, Carling Cup is not a priority, etc. How do you motivate players to put in their best? United came second last year and Fergie said its unacceptable. It doesn't mean they would win the league this year but it sends the message to the players. That's how to motivate players.

From BBC

"Just as an interesting side note Francis Coquelin and Olivier Giroud both threw their shirts into the crowd at the final whistle thinking the game went to a replay. Embarrassingly they had to ask for them back. Luckily the Arsenal fans obliged."


I actually saw James Shea running to Giroud to inform him we still had extra time to play

jude33084: Assistance coach how market today

Market never close nah...

I don't know how come Arsene favours Martinez over James Shea. Shea is better and has more experience. Having said that, can't blame the GK too much today. Its like we are playing with no defense and no midfield and the forwards are probably still sleeping.

AW, for us to have any chance in this game, take off Chamakh and put Walcott upfront. Please DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT replace Chamakh with Giroud.

Please can we make 11 changes?

@Poster,
I don't have a job for you but like someone outlined, you need to check why you are not attracting employers. The first port of call is your CV. If you don't mind, I can help with this. Send me your resume and I can help edit. You may remove your name to remain anonymous.

Secondly, once you have a good CV, cross check your performance at interviews. Look through the internet. There are many sites that help with sample interview questions and answers.

May I also ask what you have been doing whilst looking for a job? If you haven't, may be you should start volunteering. I used to volunteer at a secondary school in Naija before service year. Whilst my intention was to work without pay, some parents appreciated my efforts and directed the PTA to pay me some little money at month end. Yours may not be at a school (if you don't like teaching), try walking into an organization that you feel you can add value to and offer your services. In fact, if you don't think this is extreme, look for a good reference (or surety) who can vouch for you, walk into a bank and tell the manager you don't mind working as a bulk cashier for free. Some of these banks hire ND grads and with your degree, you should be able to do the work. This is just an example, think of other options.
Only thing is, wherever you volunteer, try to make sure its close to where you live to save you cost of transport.

Finally, I believe by now, I wouldn't be the one to teach you patience but please, hang on and don't lose hope. Trust God and someday, you'ld look back at this experience and smile.

We truly need to keep Walcott.

Poor game. No excuse. We played Norwich not Stoke

Arsenal: Mannone, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Andre Santos, Ramsey, Arteta, Cazorla, Gervinho, Giroud, Podolski. Subs: Martinez, Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Djourou, Coquelin, Arshavin, Gnabry.

[quote author=Kay-Dee]Hmmmmmm, goal.com ? ?
Anyway, Monsieur says Szczesny is 2 weeks away, Theo's out for Sat. and Gibbs will return for the QPR clash.[/quote]When it comes to Arsenal injuries, I find it easier to believe other sources (even goal.com) than Arsene Wenger.

Specifically, this was what Arsene said earlier today:

on Szczesny and Fabianski...

Fabianski sees a specialist today [Thursday]. I don't know what will come out of that. It's an ankle ligament problem - a new problem. He was back in training before that. Szczesny I think is two weeks away.

Note that goal.com yesterday gave us a breakdown of that 'ankle ligament problem'. Also remember that as far back as Oct2, this was what Arsene said about the same Szczesny:

Speaking on October 2, Arsene Wenger said: "He is injured and will not be back for two or three weeks."

Also on September 28, Arsene said this about Rosicky:

Speaking on September 28, Arsene Wenger said: "Rosicky is two weeks away, he is not far away."

Today Arsene, on the same Rosicky said:

Rosicky is still a few weeks away

So its up to you to choose who to stand with

HNIC: Almunia

U no serious... Il take Dele Aiyenugba

Not too good news from goal.com

Fabianski ruled out for three months and Szczesny suffers setback and may need three more weeks.

Vito still no.1 for now with Shea and Martinez as back up. (My opinion, Shea is a better goalkeeper and is at a higher level than Martinez at the mo).

If the GK injury issues persist, Il suggest we get an experienced back up in January (NOT Lehman! )

Team list is out. Arsenal will be playing same first team that played against City except that Per will be benched for Kos

Team list is out. Arsenal will be playing same first team that played against City except that Per will be benched for Kos

BTW,

During the Arsenal / Coventry game, it was announced at half time that Arsenal Ladies beat Barcelona ladies 3 - 0 in Spain!

sheythemendeyhear!?

^^^ There would be no excuse cos we would win something this season!

ADURA!!!!!!

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta might get his first full Internation soon. Hogson might call him up for ENGLAND! U heard it here first!

Im glad that Giroud scored his first goal for Arsenal on my first trip to the Emirates this season. More goals to come (don't wait for me to visit though )

Arshavin made three assists and scored one goal but his usual laziness still showed. Il play Podolski ahead of him until Arsene decides to play him behind the striker like he did last night. There were times during the game that I practically screamed at him to run with the ball even though I sat only three rows away from 'row Z'.
However, Arshavin showed that he still had his touch plus he played in his prefered position last night. Here's what Arsene had to say about Andre

"Arshavin's best position looks to be behind the striker now because that's where his vision, the creative side of his game, can be very efficient. When he has to work on the flank it is sometimes working against him because he has to work too hard up and down. But when he's central he always had an influence on the game."

I personally don't get how come Wenger is just waking up to this reality. Something many have been saying for years now. Sadly, at 31 and with so much competition for spaces in the team, it seems a bit too late for Arshavin.

As for Theo, good goals, especially his second goal. He should have got his hatrick though if he had converted his one-on-one with the Conventry keeper.

Miguel had a good game, so did Gnabry when he came on, Santos, Coquelin. Angha needs to improve on his crossing. He's ok defensively though.

Overall, good game tainted by the goal we conceded but good run out for Walcott and Arshavin who haven't had much chance with the first team this season.

Chelsea is next

mystikal: I am almost sure his substantial wages is what makes his sale near impossible

Zenit were willing to take him off us last summer but according to Zenit's chairman, "only Andre can tell why he is not with us now"

I heard Arsene categorically told Walcott that he wouldn't get much playing time if he didn't sign. I guess its a case of not wanting to build his team on a player who may leave mid season. January will tell

From what I heard, Arsene wanted to sell Arshavin during the summer but Andre loves London and his children are well settled in. I suspect he will be leaving in January alongside Theo Walcott.

mystikal: Jenkinson, most improved Arsenal player

I must confess, I never thought Jenkinson had it in him. There are players you watch and you say, this one has potential. Jenkinson was poor last season, he didn't seem to know anything about defending. BUT this season, the guy has shamed his no 1 critic -- moi! Hopefully he'l continue to improve

debosky: That wasn't surprising TBH. . . at that point Citeh were parking the bus with two banks of four behind the ball. It's credit to Wenger and Bould for taking off Diaby and Poldi which gave us a new focal point in Giroud and Walcott's pace made Citeh think twice about breaking out against us.

When I saw our starting 11 I felt we were a bit too cautious because in 2 of the three games we played against them last season, we dominated the games. But then again, the CC game we lost to them, their goal was scored via a counter so maybe Arsene made the right call.

Hope Giroud plays against Coventry. He needs a goal badly. I'll be at the Emirates to cheer him and give him some much deserved goodluck! (not the Jonathan type!)