609 replies to this topic

[ifmanis5]

After going into the hafl down 0-2 at home, they come all the way back. 2-2 in a very entertaining FA cup game

Make that 3-2. Fun game. Just hope people don't get to thinking that Walcott is actually good.

[ElUno20]

After his goal, he runs over to the bench to do some dumb dance right in front of AW. The look on Arsene's face was priceless.

[Snakebauer007]

Make that 3-2. Fun game. Just hope people don't get to thinking that Walcott is actually good.

He may not be great, but he is a good player, people are just too quick to call decent players shit these days.

[mikeford]

He may not be great, but he is a good player, people are just too quick to call decent players shit these days.

No he isn't.

He can't dribble, he can't shoot and he can't cross. All he can do is run fast. He's garbage. He's Aaron Lennon.

[BostonJack42]

Just hope people don't get to thinking that Walcott is actually good.

Not doing anything to prove you wrong today - how did he miss that shot?

[mikeford]

Woj is up to all sorts of fuckery today.

[JimBoSox9]

Eat that, Walcott haters.

[mikeford]

He's still shitty and that goal was like 95% on Song's pass through the defense.

Ox >>>>>>>>>>>

[Zomp]

This is ugly and is turning hideous.

[JimBoSox9]

Hats!

This is really, really unfair, especially after the red card, but this squad could use the ego boost.

[mikeford]

Hats!

This is really, really unfair, especially after the red card, but this squad could use the ego boost.

Fuck an ego boost, we needed to fix our goal differential. This went a long way to helping that cause.

Now to sit and pray that Chelsea lose.

[sachmoney]

Goals from Ramsey and The King save Arsenal from defeat and lead them to victory at the Stadium of Light. Sunderland got their goal when Mertesacker went down on the terrible turf. Per was stretchered off, and it did not look good.

Great victory for the Gunners with Chelsea getting dropped at Goodison and Liverpool losing earlier this morning. Hopefully, this is something they can build on heading to the San Siro before coming back to the Stadium of Light next weekend. Milan will be The King's last game on loan at the Emirates.

Edited by sachmoney, 11 February 2012 - 11:59 AM.

[SidelineCameras]

Really an unbelievable season for Arsenal. After such a miserable start, if you had told after losing to Fulham and Swansea, then blowing a winnable game at home to Man U, that's we'd be sitting in fourth, I wouldn't have believed it. Throw in the top three teams being out of both the FA Cup and the Champions League. The League title is completely lost, but after the way this season started I would take fourth, the FA Cup, and a good showing in the Champions League.

Oh, and I wish we could keep Henry.

[mikeford]

Thierry Henry > God

[sachmoney]

If Mertesacker comes back this season and leads up to a fourth place finish, someone might have to start "The Story of Purple Right Ankle" account. This looks absolutely gruesome. Mertesacker went down like he was shot. Now we can see why.

[SidelineCameras]

The League title is completely lost, but after the way this season started I would take fourth, the FA Cup, and a good showing in the Champions League.

[mikeford]

Have to finish 4th if they want any hope of keeping RVP and staying relevant going forward. Absolutely CANNOT slip from 4th.

[ElUno20]

Good now they can soley focus on winning the league.

[SoxFanInCali]

The League title is completely lost, but after the way this season started I would take fourth, the FA Cup, and a good showing in the Champions League.

This may be the biggest jinx post in the history of this forum.

[mikeford]

Nah, this squad just isn't good.

Kroenke has been the angel of death for this club.

[SoxFanInCali]

Kroenke has been the angel of death for this club.

I may have the Sox ownership in charge of Liverpool, but as a Rams fan I can offer some sympathy when it comes to Kroenke.

[mikeford]

Yeah, he also owns the Avalanche, who are the most under the cap team in the NHL.

[ifmanis5]

Talentshmalent, just a terrible effort today. Sunderland out-hustled them from stem to stern pure and simple.

[SidelineCameras]

Yeah, I don't think I can jinx a team that already dropped an 8-2 game at Old Trafford, can't beat Fulham or Swansea....this is getting too depressing to keep typing.

[wildebard]

Wenger should get fired for yesterday's inexplicable use of substitutions alone. I have nothing against sebastian as a person, but on no planet is a pairing of him and Djouru good enough. Arsene needed to bite the bullet and have moved Song back to CB from the get go, which he had to do anyway after the first sub was burned. Next he brings in Mozart off the bench when Ramsey had no business starting with his recent form. Suddenly, he is left with one sub between Theo and Arshavin.

I know Shava has been awful this year, but honestly, Theo is worse. Shava has had 3 assists in his last four or five games also.

I don't know how many of you go to whoscored.com, which is the nearest thing to a SABR soccer site, but look at Theo's ratings. He'll have one game with a 8.0 and then follow up with a lengthy set of 5.4's or something that bad. He is the most frustrating player on the planet. Arshavin has been worse overall, but at least he's had a recent string of several 7 point games.

Finally, with the last cup and whole season on the line, who would you rather have on the pitch? I know they've both disappointed, but this is sudden death. Do you take the Russian captain who scored the winner against Barca or the shitty ghost writer who got passed by another south hampton kid who hasn't even been here a whole season?

Edited by wildebard, 19 February 2012 - 01:36 PM.

[DLew On Roids]

If we assume that Arsenal won't break the bank for a replacement, it's hard to see who they'd bring in who'd be an improvement.

I think it was the second day I started reading EPL news that Bruce Rioch was fired.

[AusTexSoxFan]

Here's my latest ESPN.com article. Interview with Patrick Vieira. Some good thoughts on Wenger and Henry.

http://espn.go.com/s...w-arch-bell-epl

[mikeford]

So long Andrey Arshavin.

I choose to remember your goal against Barca and very little else about your stay in North London

[SoxFanInCali]

Since it seemed like every goal he scored in England was against Liverpool, I'm glad he's gone.

[Zomp]

That Liverpool performance is still one of the best I've ever seen.

4 shots. 4 goals. Left foot, right foot. Bullets.

[soxfan121]

I will miss his fan chats. I think it's a near certainty that Arsenal just lost their funniest player. (Frimpong's on loan, right?)

[SoxFanInCali]

That Liverpool performance is still one of the best I've ever seen.

4 shots. 4 goals. Left foot, right foot. Bullets.

Making it even crazier, those were the only 4 shots on goal Arsenal had in the entire game.

[mikeford]

I will miss his fan chats. I think it's a near certainty that Arsenal just lost their funniest player. (Frimpong's on loan, right?)

Need I remind you of Woj's hilarity?

[soxfan121]

[Apisith]

What a match. Football is so awesome sometimes.

[mikeford]

Pretty sad I was too hungover to watch this one live. Will have to catch MOTD highlights instead

[ifmanis5]

Shocked and amazed we put 5 past Friedel. The RVP bender goal was special. Alive!

[sachmoney]

The more I watch that RvP goal, the more I'm impressed by it. Regarding the Rosicky match winner, what have I been saying about making near post runs? Rosicky attacked the near post, beat the keeper to the ball and was rewarded for his efforts. I think Rosicky has played really well in the last few games and I've been hoping he'd get a goal to reward his good form.

Really like the way this team got together and overcame adversity today. It's always nice to beat your rivals, but this was especially important. May be this will be the turning point in the season, right Terras?

Has Gareth Bale become the Welsh Wayne Rooney (or Stevie G or...) as far as dives go?

Edited by sachmoney, 26 February 2012 - 08:15 PM.

[sachmoney]

Can someone explain to me why Arsenal is making a huge profit and Gazidis is asking the supporters to be patient with Wenger? Shouldn't he be asking us to be patient with the board? They had a six month profit of £49.5 million. That's at least one top player. Why isn't there more encouragement to spend? Supporters don't care about profits. They care about results. They want the team to do well. They want the team to win silverware. How is the club making that much money and not putting it back in the club? It's clear the club needs an infusion of talent. It's infuriating. I honestly don't think it's Wenger's fault. He is the figure head for all of the frustrations. By Gazidis saying what he's saying, he's deflecting the attention towards Wenger when it should be on the board.

/ranting

[mikeford]

How is the club making that much money and not putting it back in the club? It's clear the club needs an infusion of talent.

[wildebard]

Can someone explain to me why Arsenal is making a huge profit and Gazidis is asking the supporters to be patient with Wenger? Shouldn't he be asking us to be patient with the board? They had a six month profit of £49.5 million. That's at least one top player. Why isn't there more encouragement to spend? Supporters don't care about profits. They care about results. They want the team to do well. They want the team to win silverware. How is the club making that much money and not putting it back in the club? It's clear the club needs an infusion of talent. It's infuriating. I honestly don't think it's Wenger's fault. He is the figure head for all of the frustrations. By Gazidis saying what he's saying, he's deflecting the attention towards Wenger when it should be on the board.

/ranting

It looks like your message might finally be getting through to the board if twitter and dirt sheet sites are to be believed.

http://www.goal.com/...-arsenal-report

Podolski would be a huge upgrade to our attack. Whoscored.com has his seasonal rating at 7.2. This still falls short of RVP's 7.8 and Mikel's 7.5, but is sadly still ahead of every single other person on our team's rating. Not to mention that 15 goals in 18 games thing can't hurt.

To do business this time of year (for a player this talented) does not seem like Arsenal. I have to wonder if the early aggressiveness is being done to please Robin/ the fans/ both.

[Lukiewerle]

For anyone interested in actual analysis of Arsenal's recent financial results, The Swiss Ramble has a new post up doing just that.

Or, if you prefer, you can download the full financial results here.

Edit: relevant quote from Swiss Ramble post:

Given that Arsenal have been so profitable for so long, it begs the question what the club has done with all that lovely cash - £389 million from operating activities in the last six years. Looking at the cash flow statement, it is clear that very little has been spent on bringing in new players with net player registrations of just £14 million.

Unsurprisingly, it’s all about the new stadium, property and other infrastructure (e.g. the new medical centre at London Colney) with £180 million going on capital expenditure and £111 million on loan interest. Since these loans peaked in 2008, another £156 million (net) has been used to repay debt.

Edited by Lukiewerle, 29 February 2012 - 09:22 AM.

[sachmoney]

The two key things highlighted in that post that Lukie linked are:

1. Commercial deals - Arsenal's deals are terrible compared to market value. Liverpool and Manchester United make a hell of a lot more on both sponsorship and kit deals. Arsenal has a lot less sponsors than Manchester United as well. They're clearly not doing enough work in that regard. The shirt sponsor deal expires in 2014, so the club needs to maintain its brand prestige until then in order to get top pound.

2. Fringe Player Contracts - Arsenal pays way too much for players who are not making a contribution. Two of the players mentioned aren't even playing for the club right now (Denilson and Bendtner) and Diaby has made two appearances all season. Djourou just got a raise even though he's the fourth choice center back. The wage structure is messed up. I'm all for rewarding young talent to retain them, but they have to do a better job of finding those players and they need to make raises more incentive based. They definitely do need to trim the number of players in the squad to allocate that money for quality. I'd certainly trim a few fringe players in order to raise the number of quality player in the squad.

Edited by sachmoney, 29 February 2012 - 11:44 AM.

[goyangfc]

Chu-Young Park as well. He was god awful against Kuwait this morning.

[sachmoney]

It's tough to go from facing the top reserves in all of England to playing a lowly WC qualifier.

Headed to the Phoenix. I'd rather be at Lir. Van Persie, Verminator, and Tommy Roses all passed fit. Ox on the bench. Put two bullets between the eyes.

[Terras]

This first half has included some of the worst passing I've seen from a side. I have no idea what is going on with Arsenal, but kicking it directly into defenders' shins and making heartstopping passes in their own box needs to stop.

[mikeford]

Terrible fucking half.

Please be better.

[sachmoney]

Need to boss the midfield. Song and Arteta are getting dominated. Benayoun has been a ghost.

[Terras]

Great. Arteta just got Ference'd.

[Terras]

SONG TO RVP IS MAGNIFICENT.