Arsenal 2013-2014: Insufferable & Unsuccessful -- And Worse than Chelsea
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I'm glad we have a team people enjoy watching again. The goals today were purely wonderful. Even the second one, which, after the game, I was like "what was the second goal again?" The first goal was, I mean, look at the gif above. The third goal was Ramsey owning like he has all season. The fourth goal was just clinical. It's nice to ease the seat back and actually enjoy football.
Amen to that. They're playing now reminds me of the level they used to play when i started supporting them in the first place about 15 yrs ago. Great to see.sachmoney said:
No Flamoney for Dortmund. Doctor won't clear him by then.
Should be fit for the weekend.
Theo out another fortnight. Don't know what a fortnight is. What else is new, an Arsenal injury setback.
Should be fit for the weekend.
Theo out another fortnight. Don't know what a fortnight is. What else is new, an Arsenal injury setback.
No relation.mikeford said:
Hard to take positives out of that match, but even with the 4 goals which Ruddy was really helpless to do anything about, I thought he had a good game. Arsenal had 11 shots on target. He did a good job either grabbing the shots or perrying it well off to the side (do we call it rebound control in soccer too?). Arsenal was following up on shots (I think blood was smelled) and I thought Ruddy did a good job of keeping that game from getting uglier.Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
Red card was unfortunate. Team clearly wasn't at their best and they will need to be for the next 4 matches. At the end of the day, Arsenal is still top of the league. I love it.
I don't agree with the red card, but I also don't think it was a terrible decision - it was wrong, but not Dana-DeMuth-at-Second-Base-in-Game-One wrong.
Meanwhile, I like how everyone in this forum seems to have collectively agreed that the Dortmund loss didn't happen.
Meanwhile, I like how everyone in this forum seems to have collectively agreed that the Dortmund loss didn't happen.
In real time, I thought it was the correct call. Certainly on the slow motion replay Chamakh ran into contact, but Arsenal also got themselves caught out of position. Arteta should have been running more towards goal, which would have prevented any opportunity from occurring.
As someone who just sat his exam to become a qualified SFA referee, I should point out that one of the Interpretations of Law 12 (toward the back of the rulebook) includes a list of "circumstances referees should consider when deciding whether to send off a player for denying a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity" - the first of those bullets being "the distance between the offence and the goal". Mark Halsey, commentating on the game for BT Sport, said that he thought it should have been a yellow card primarily because of the distance from the goal; that's how I saw it too, also in part because there was another defender tracking back who *might* have caught Chamakh by the time he reached the penalty area. But I think the sending off was defensible.
ConigliarosPotential said:
I agree. Though the CP player actually had an (onside) few yard lead on the next Arsenal defender.
I think that a yellow card certainly would have been a better call than red, but it's not the abomination of a call that mikeford and blueline are making it out to be.
I didn't see this game, so I really have no comment on it. I just want to know if we're brushing this one under the rug too.
I think you can safely brush off Arsenal's interest in any match in which Nicklas Bendtner is prominently involved.
I didn't watch the entire match, but that's a fantastic win in the first real league challenge since Spurs. It's an excellent start to what should prove to be a very challenging November.
I love the strategy of bringing on extra defender (or two) when they have a late lead. I don't recall Arsenal doing that much in the past few years, although they may not have had the manpower nor the leads/opportunity to do so.
I love the strategy of bringing on extra defender (or two) when they have a late lead. I don't recall Arsenal doing that much in the past few years, although they may not have had the manpower nor the leads/opportunity to do so.
Dortmund missed a few pretty good chances, but the game tonight was one that the old Arsenal would typically lose.
You've got something this year.
You've got something this year.
Nice try with the reverse jinx ahead of Arsenal's trip to Old Trafford, Zomp.
But you're right, the Arsenal of the last few years might have crumbled in that one. Very nice win after a tense first half.
But you're right, the Arsenal of the last few years might have crumbled in that one. Very nice win after a tense first half.
Great win, especially without Flamini, who would have been a natural fit for this kind of match. And more evidence that this team is better without Wilshere in the starting eleven.
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1. Totally outplayed in just about every phase of the game. The pressing, slick-passing side of weeks past disappeared and was replaced by a tentative side laying back and forced to play desperation passes. Flamini was so goddamned bad I was surprised he wasn't yanked off at halftime - can't recall a single pass connecting with its intended target.
2. Jack Wilshere might be super-talented but he's a punk ass bitch on the pitch and I'm not sure how opponents resist the urge to punch his whiny face.
3. The head-to-head collisions between Scz-whatever and Jones and then between (forgetting) and Vidic were scary - I'm sure Vidic was seeing cartoon stars and spitting blood and I'm almost sure Scz-whatever was out cold for a few moments but was allowed to continue. The leagues need to do something about the substitution rules to address head injuries, especially to goaltenders.
2. Jack Wilshere might be super-talented but he's a punk ass bitch on the pitch and I'm not sure how opponents resist the urge to punch his whiny face.
3. The head-to-head collisions between Scz-whatever and Jones and then between (forgetting) and Vidic were scary - I'm sure Vidic was seeing cartoon stars and spitting blood and I'm almost sure Scz-whatever was out cold for a few moments but was allowed to continue. The leagues need to do something about the substitution rules to address head injuries, especially to goaltenders.
Meh, I'm guessing it was more than just two players who were sick.
It was a shitty performance, but all of our main rivals lost except Liverpool (who I don't rate anyway). You could have a worse week.
All it shows is that the squad needs a bit more depth, which everybody knows anyway.
It was a shitty performance, but all of our main rivals lost except Liverpool (who I don't rate anyway). You could have a worse week.
All it shows is that the squad needs a bit more depth, which everybody knows anyway.
Eh, a lot of poor performances from individuals (I didn't think Özil, Ramsey, or Cazorla were at their best), but I don't think United looked particularly good either. I'm not exactly discouraged. It sucks heading into the international break with these results, but Arsenal is okay going forward. A lot of guys will be back post the Interlull.
If they don't get hurt during this pointless shit first.
They gotta stop wasting Ramsey on the wing. He's never effective out wide.
They gotta stop wasting Ramsey on the wing. He's never effective out wide.
Neither team looked all that impressive today, but credit to United for taking a good chance and then defending effectively.
I can understand the logic behind playing Arteta and Flamini against big teams away from home, which means Ramsey on the wing, but the squad selection just played into United's hands given their midfield pairing of Jones with Carrick. That's a recipe for a midfield stalemate and, in that kind of game with few chances, you have to like the team with the better finishers up front, which is obviously United. The other problem that we've seen previously but reared its head again is that, with Cazorla back, you already have one "wide" player who wants to operate inside and when you have Ramsey doing the same on the other "wing" then the only way that the team gets width is by Ozil adjusting and moving outside, which is great in some ways but really decreases his capacity to influence the game. I'm looking forward to seeing how Arsenal look when they can put either Walcott or Podolski wide right, which should open up more space for Ozil, and keep Ramsey playing central in the double pivot.mikeford said:
On a different note, I didn't like leaving in Szczesny after he was knocked out. I called out Spurs for leaving in Lloris last week, it would be hypocritical of me not to do the same for Arsenal.
I understand that with substitution rules, soccer can never have the same policy towards potential concussions like the NHL's quiet room. I understand that taking a keeper out is a major, game changing action. But that looked like a solid hit, and when the stretcher comes out and a player is knocked out for any length of time, it may be time for mandatory substitutions (Probably will never happen barring a major tragedy). At the very least maybe keepers should all wear the same type of headgear that Cech does.
I understand that with substitution rules, soccer can never have the same policy towards potential concussions like the NHL's quiet room. I understand that taking a keeper out is a major, game changing action. But that looked like a solid hit, and when the stretcher comes out and a player is knocked out for any length of time, it may be time for mandatory substitutions (Probably will never happen barring a major tragedy). At the very least maybe keepers should all wear the same type of headgear that Cech does.
SidelineCameras said:
I understand it would mean messing with the rules of the game, and there is a risk of fakery, but maybe it should be permitted to substitute in a backup keeper when the keeper suffers a concussion, without having it count as one of your official substitutions.
I can't imagine that Cech's headgear helps that much.
OilCanShotTupac said:
You'd be surprised.
I had to wear that headgear briefly when I had a laceration on the side of my head. I happened to take a bump not dissimilar to Szczesny's while wearing it- the crown of the striker's head to my temple. It certainly didn't eliminate the pain, but it absolutely dulled the impact. It also seems to further lessen the potential by "pushing" the heads away from each other at the point of contact.
The bigger problem for me was... It's uncomfortable as all hell and distractingly hot. You also look more than mildly ridiculous.
During the Newcastle broadcast the commentary spent time on the fact Krul wouldn't even wear a hat to combat the sun. Ten years ago it was absolutely the norm- it does seem to be a fashion choice to avoid headgear of any sort these days.
Szczesny was examined by the Arsenal medical staff and given the all-clear to continue. Did that happen in the Spurs match with Lloris? I thought the latter was more a case of Lloris insisting upon continuing, in a manner which caused the Spurs medics to bottle it.
As for the Man Utd result, it sucks, but good teams are allowed to lose away to the defending champions and still be regarded as title contenders themselves. Especially (as several others have suggested) when you consider the mitigating circumstances of the flu bug. It happens.
As for the Man Utd result, it sucks, but good teams are allowed to lose away to the defending champions and still be regarded as title contenders themselves. Especially (as several others have suggested) when you consider the mitigating circumstances of the flu bug. It happens.
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