Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

tony1kenobi · 15-04-2009 09:15PM

Frisbee wrote: »

Sooooooo.... United ey?

Just looking at the run in:

Chelsea FA Cup
Liverpool (A)
Boro (H)
United (A) CL
Pompey (A)
United (H) CL
Chelsea (H)
United (A)
Stoke (H)

Champions League Final
FA Cup Final

Parade Cups round Islington

Summer holidays.

gosplan · 15-04-2009 09:23PM

Tough run of games but:

If another couple of league games go our way, then we have no pressure left in that regard(we can't win it and fourth will be solid).

We have a huge squad as regards attacking players. In particular, I'm thinking of Arshavin who'll be rested for the Champions League games but an automatic starter for the others. While we're on the subject, it's worth remembering both Eduardo who took no part tonight but who I'd be happy to have on any starting teamsheet and the fact that when Fabregas plays, we have to bench Diaby and pick between Song and Denilson.

:D

I don't want to sound over confident but I really believe that if we stay on form, we can simply outplay this Man U team in the Champions League. They've struggled against good sides all year and provided we don't hit a dip in form we should continue that run for them. Essentially, Man U have a good attack and a good defense but we have a midfield that can dominate posession and they don't. Over 180 minutes I'd expect that to make a difference.:D:D:D

And if you think we're not looking forward to the run-in, think how happy an out of form Man U team are to be in a position where every result counts in the league and they now have to play us twice more.:D:D:D:D*

In fairness, when you consider it all, the league and CL double is an enormous achievement.

Racing Flat · 15-04-2009 09:29PM

redout wrote: »

Tuesday, 21 April 2009
Barclays Premier League
Liverpool v Arsenal, 20:00

Is this on the telly?

Thanks.

jank · 15-04-2009 09:30PM

4th place is pretty much in the bag. The cups are pretty much in the bag!
We are in 2 semi's. I would be happy with only one, obviously the CL is better then the FA cup.
We need to get Alumina, Djourou and Clichy back ASAP.

Elonex · 15-04-2009 09:30PM

Arsenal's run in isn't that tough, they really don't have to give two sh1ts about the league.

redout · 15-04-2009 09:33PM

gosplan wrote: »

I don't want to sound over confident but I really believe that if we stay on form, we can simply outplay this Man U team in the Champions League. They've struggled against good sides all year and provided we don't hit a dip in form we should continue that run for them. Essentially, Man U have a good attack and a good defense but we have a midfield that can dominate posession and they don't. Over 180 minutes I'd expect that to make a difference.:D:D:D

And if you think we're not looking forward to the run-in, think how happy an out of form Man U team are to be in a position where every result counts in the league and they now have to play us twice more.:D:D:D:D*

Ah here brother. We have beaten Chelsea 3-0 and Inter 2-0 over the past three months.

OPENROAD · 15-04-2009 09:33PM

Elonex wrote: »

Arsenal's run in isn't that tough, they really don't have to give two sh1ts about the league.

Why not? I'm sure they will want to win every match in the league, still our position to play in the lague, six points behind Chelsea.

Royale with Cheese · 15-04-2009 09:36PM

Ah shít, I've an exam the morning after the Champions League final. Will have to take a hit on that one so.

cashback · 15-04-2009 09:51PM

gosplan wrote: »

In fairness, when you consider it all, the league and CL double is an enormous achievement.

Let's not get carried away just yet!
It's a massive task, but one that's definitely possible. As has been said, a lot will depend on how quick Clichy, Djourou and Almunia can get back.

DenMan · 15-04-2009 09:55PM

Hiya lads

Should have put a bet down on tonight's score. Delighted I got it right and we deserved it on the night. Man Utd next over two legs. Going to be awesome. Roll on Chelsea on Sat.

tony1kenobi · 15-04-2009 09:56PM

cashback wrote: »

Let's not get carried away just yet!
It's a massive task, but one that's definitely possible. As has been said, a lot will depend on how quick Clichy, Djourou and Almunia can get back.

Not really....As already pointed out by me and others, Gibbs, Fab2 and Silvestre did just fine.....and Sagna only has a bit of food poisoning or whatever....

.....if our poor sub defence can perform that well we have little to concern us.

15-04-2009 09:57PM

i so want to beat united. i believe we can but they can be such a lucky shower of c*nts (and also a great team to be fair

) & you'd have to say they are slight favourites. Id take 1-1 at old Trafford + 0-0 at the emirates if you offered it to me now.

On tonight i have to say Song MOTM, he was brilliant and followed closely by kieran gibbs who was fantastic given the lack of support he was given by nasri.
eboue played very well. Fabregas and Adebayor by their standards were very poor and will have to be better on 29/04 and 05/05.

On a last note given the day we have 15/04/09, RIP to he 96 men women and children who tragically died in hillsborough 20 years ago today. being just under 6 at the time i don't remember anything about the day of the tragedy probably because i was shielded from it by my parents. I can remember the arsenal/liverpool 26/05/89 finale of the season in fragments as my dad being an arsenal fan was watching it with great interest. the truth is i didn't even know the rules of soccer at that time. my memory was so vague i used emulate michael thomas goal by picking the ball up in my backyard at the time and kicking it hard as i can out of my hands into a nearby hedge. the flowers carried on to the field by the arsenal team seemed unusual to me at the time but i took it for granted they were customary sportsmanship. only years later i discovered the horror of what had actually happened. god rest those poor souls and hope that they get the justice they deserve.

i felt that our club were fantastic on their sympathy tonight just as they were back in 89.

Royale with Cheese · 15-04-2009 10:02PM

The defense did fine tonight because it wasn't really tested. I wouldn't be confident playing at Old Trafford with that defense.

Pepe LeFrits · 15-04-2009 10:10PM

Nasri gave Gibbs loads of support (covered about 11k), Villarreal just played with loads of width.

PHB · 15-04-2009 10:42PM

Personally I think with all that has gone on this year, either of the cups would be a darn good season for Arsenal.

shano_88 · 16-04-2009 12:37AM

What a run into the season we have in store. 2 months ago i would have taken 4th place in the league and woulda been delighted. Now we have 2 semi finals, 4th place nearly wrapped up and were playing some great stuff. This is what being a supporter is all about. I cant f*cking wait!!!!!

16-04-2009 02:56AM

I'll be honest lads, not looking forward to the semi's at all. Will be watching them with my heart in my mouth at all times! Man U can be so jammy sometimes. And of course a lot will depend on how much extra time is played in OT! :P

cooker3 · 16-04-2009 04:08AM

Racing Flat wrote: »

Is this on the telly?

Thanks.

Yep sky sports.

I think you have 4th wrapped up. Villa are not going to win the all their games, not even close.

I must say a Barca Arsenal final is a most enticing prospect. I would like to see it.

gosplan · 16-04-2009 08:29AM

cashback wrote: »

Let's not get carried away just yet!
It's a massive task, but one that's definitely possible. As has been said, a lot will depend on how quick Clichy, Djourou and Almunia can get back.

I included that ion recognition of Man U's achievement last year and in 1999. We've no hope of the league this year.

yahoo_moe · 16-04-2009 08:59AM

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

The defense did fine tonight because it wasn't really tested. I wouldn't be confident playing at Old Trafford with that defense.

Exactly. They were missing Santi, Cani didn't look fit, I'm not so sure Fernandez was either, Pires got very little ball and Senna wasn't there to win ball back for them. Add to that the fact that their other first-choice midfielder was sent off after an hour and it's nowhere near the test we'll get against Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez, Berbatov, etc.

And I can guarantee Drogba, Lampard and Ballack will cause more problems on Saturday, which is what I'm really concerned about right now. The main plus point is that Chelsea have shown very little defensive solidity recently.

Also, anyone else think that there's a lot less going through Nasri recently since Fabregas/Walcott came back? Not surprising really but he looks a little bit lost at times - he might need to adjust his game a bit to join in more...

Royale with Cheese · 16-04-2009 09:05AM

Nasri has been fairly quiet as of late, still has 8 goals for the season though. If he gets into double figures it would be a fairly successful first season in the premier league.

With Walcott providing pace one one wing, and Arshavin on the other, I'm not sure I see Nasri playing all that often when both are fit. Don't forget Rosicky might actually be back next season too. It seems odd that a player that cost Arsenal so much might end up being 4th choice next year.

yahoo_moe · 16-04-2009 11:21AM

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

It seems odd that a player that cost Arsenal so much might end up being 4th choice next year.

Yeah I've been wondering about what our first-choice lineup will be next year alright - it's going to be an interesting summer seeing it all get sorted out anyway.

If none of our attacking players go, we're going to have a ridiculous amount of options - though as we've seen, maybe it's the least we need to cover for injuries, etc. But I know I'd much rather have Nasri as cover playing 20 games a season or so than Nani or Babel, that's for sure.

Big thing we need is Ramsey to keep progressing so we've some viable cover in the centre for Cesc - we fall apart way too much when he's out/in need of a rest.

cson · 16-04-2009 02:58PM

Christ yeah, Ramsey, I'd forgotten about him

Pepe LeFrits · 17-04-2009 08:54AM

Diaby and Denilson can play in Cesc's position when he's out, they aren't as creative but we've got Arshavin now to offset that. DM is a bigger concern.

I reeeeeally hope Sagna will be fit for Saturday.

MBC · 17-04-2009 09:14AM

Jaysus this really crap..........gibbs is out now aswell :rolleyes:

Kirnsy · 17-04-2009 10:49AM

MBC wrote: »

Jaysus this really crap..........gibbs is out now aswell :rolleyes:

What??

what happened to him?

it never rains...

MBC · 17-04-2009 10:55AM

Kirnsy wrote: »

What??

what happened to him?

it never rains...

Picked up an injury against villareall..............thought it was a free kick to us but ended up against us...........he looked in a bit of pain at the time.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/gibbs-and-sagna-both-doubts-for-wembley

yahoo_moe · 17-04-2009 11:56AM

Ugh. Song's played fine a few times before at CB in the Carling Cup but Drogba and co could be a different story completely. Then again, it's going to be Silvestre anyway so we need a big team performance either way.

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

Diaby and Denilson can play in Cesc's position when he's out, they aren't as creative but we've got Arshavin now to offset that. DM is a bigger concern.

Absolutely - but I wasn't suggesting signing anyone. I'd just much rather a fully-developed Ramsey doing that job than Diaby or Denilson. While Denilson's improved a lot since he first played Carling Cup, his game has changed a fair bit too. Back then, I thought he'd be cover for Cesc but he doesn't really cover that job as seamlessly as Ramsey looks like he could.

DenMan · 17-04-2009 02:37PM

Sweet Jesus.....I have just been sifting through the Liverpool thread and was going to ask the lads about the big game on Tues.....'till I realised after pages and pages of the whole Fergie/Benitez/Allardyce/Moyes controversy it might be the wrong thing to do. What the hell to be on about over there? If Torres dyed his hair black today it would probably result in a 30 page dedication. :rolleyes:

yahoo_moe · 17-04-2009 02:55PM

DenMan wrote: »

If Torres dyed his hair black today it would probably result in a 30 page dedication. :rolleyes:

Or just stopped dying it blonde

Arsenal Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread

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