Arsenal Banter Archive October 11 2018

11 Oct 2018 20:07:20
There is a stupid debate going on on the bbc about the best prem team. There is no debate. They are trying to use things like points and amount of goals scored, what a load of tripe. The invincibles are the best prem team ever. Not only did they go unbeaten, they had some of the best players the prem has ever seen. The defence, midfield, wide and center and attack had no weaknesses. The only team for me to run them close was the utd treble team because winning the treble is just as amazing but the other two comps don't count towards best prem team. To say citeh are better is rubbish, yes they got loads of points and scored loads of goals but their defence, was and still is suspect. They got humbled twice in the prem and their defence exposed. No contest as far as the prem goes, the invincibles, unbeaten!

11 Oct 2018 20:49:41
It's all about opinion and how you chose to measure it mate.
Of course it's the invincibles for me too because I'm an Arsenal fan and I loved every minute of watching them and their Arsene Wenger predecessors too, sexy sexy football and served up with players who had fantastic style and played with a Cheeky smile quite often too.
But some of the Liverpool teams of the 70s 80s were pretty tasty and of course City last season breaking records for goals and points in much more competitive premier league than when Arsenal and United played out a 2 horse tittle race.
Pele or Maradona
Ronaldo or Messi

Best ever song?
Greatest singer ever?
Best film ever made?
There is no answer simply because it's all just opinion and we all have our own personal opinion that is different others.

Your right Steve it is a stupid debate mate.

11 Oct 2018 21:22:57
Gunner, i agree but it is a league and its over 9 months, different eras, different teams the objective however strong or weak the league is/ was percieved, is to win it. To win it through three seasonal periods, with differing weather types, injuries, referees and good/ bad decisions is the hardest thing you can do to go unbeaten. Until someone does the same and beats them by 1 point, they are not the best prem team. Until citeh got all them points last season, i don't think there was a debate, what does it matter if you are 2 points better off or 15 points better off winning the league, if you are beaten, you have a weakness that has been exposed. No one else in England has ever done it in the top league, ever.

11 Oct 2018 21:41:40
In your opinion that is mate :-)
Just out of interest Steve what if a team played 38 won 37 lost 1 scored 100 goals conceded just 5 all season, would that 1 defeat mean they were inferior to the invincibles automaticly in your opinion ?

11 Oct 2018 21:57:44
Yes because they haven't managed in that season to go unbeaten, they got exposed by someone. Arguably the invincibles didnt, they had a stronger mentality or resilience.

11 Oct 2018 22:16:18
Its different eras so its only opinion but a little experiment for you gunnner. Write both teams down, go through them man for man and see what your ultimate team would be and how many from each team would get in. I've got more arsenal but then maybe i'm biased.

11 Oct 2018 22:23:16
Gunner, i can't swap Lehman, cambell, cole, vierra, pirez, henry and bergy for any of their counterparts. Lol, Even toure for stones, would be hard.

11 Oct 2018 22:35:25
Steve I can't find room for many city players either mate but we are biased, we can't help but be because we watched those players each and every week we lived than season with them, we were memorised by them.
Here's a question mate, what if Perez hadn't conned the ref by diving v Portsmouth and won that penalty that turned a 1 0 nil defeat into a 1 1 draw, would the invincibles have been less brilliant in your eyes?

12 Oct 2018 01:16:07
Definitely, gunner.

12 Oct 2018 07:31:31
It may be harder to be unbeaten now but that’s the yardstick

Everyone has an opinion - hence it’s a debate%? Conclusions aren’t always right ( sure we’ve had a Labour government ) 😉

It’s ckearly the invincibles although may be we had a better team before the invincibles.

12 Oct 2018 07:52:27
Fair enough mate, we are all different which again highlights how ridiculous the bbc debate was in the first place.

12 Oct 2018 09:16:51
Also guys, while being unbeaten in the league we also went and achieved the longest unbeaten run of 49.should have been more.

12 Oct 2018 10:16:17
Hey SY what a game it would be between the 97/ 98 double winners and the invincibles?
Very different debate which was the better side of the two.

12 Oct 2018 18:56:59
G62 - I was a huge fan of the 1998 Arsenal double winning side, which had the keeper and defence of the George Graham era, a superb midfield of Parlour, Vieira, Petit and Overmars, with Anelka and Bergkamp up top, Wrighty was still about too.
Was that the team that only had one defeat, away to Chelsea when Bould went off and we lost?

12 Oct 2018 20:54:23
Hi RG I think if remember right it was under George we had that one defeat at Chelsea mate, I remember George response when asked what happens now the unbeaten run had come to an end, he simply said " we go on another unbeaten run " and we did.
Personally I'm not much of one for being swayed by stats 100% only and although that 97/ 98 side weren't invincibles in my opinion they were every bit as good.
I'm in no way trying to diminish the amazing achievement achieved by our 2003/ 2004 side but sometimes the difference between going unbeaten or losing just 1 game isn't always about ability or greatness, a refs mistake, opposition player scoring a worldie from 40 yards or a striker missing an open goal from 2 yards out can be the only difference between the 37 or 38 unbeaten.
Uniteds treble winners got the rub of the green here and there and so of course did the invincibles at certain points too.

12 Oct 2018 23:37:13
Pretty sure only lost one game in 1990/ 91 season remember my daughter born 1st Feb that year same day or weekend! Almost invincibles 20 years earlier! ( son made up for it born on 26th May! United won the treble and fair play but a bergkamp penalty miss a giggs worldie and two last minute goals even George Best had left the stadium early for! Great team but spawney as! COYG.

13 Oct 2018 11:01:46
62 - that would be a game and a half. I feel the defence was stronger in 97/ 8. I loved Overmars and thought he was our best finisher when under pressure but Freddie was super cool infront if goal and Robbie was just super. I feel going forward and midfield that the invincibles have it. The attack would make the difference. The defence of 1998 and the midfield plus the attack of 2003/ 4 would be an interesting team. Pires Silva Vieira Freddie - that midfield has everything. Skill, goals, power, defence, speed, coolness.

13 Oct 2018 11:54:24
One things for sure SY mate none of Liam Brady Stapleton O'leary or any of today's players would even get on the bench if we picked a best Arsenal 18 from the last 40 years and every player that did make the 18 man squad would have played under Arsene Wenger, obviously some would have played under George and Arsene but none would be totally George players.
The last 14 years have made it easy to forget just how brilliant Arsene was at his very best and how lucky and spoilt we were by him in those first 8 years.

11 Oct 2018 07:29:01
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Review Of The Day 11th October 2018

11 Oct 2018 08:54:06
I hope Henry doesn't get the Monaco job.
It's a near impossible job for any manager, especially one just about to start, unless they invest money back in.

11 Oct 2018 02:29:15
I really like everyones optimism surrounding the club, but really, we lost to City and Chelsea so far, we have had a run of fixtures we should win and have won, great, that being said, let's see where we are at come January, after we played the Spuds and Liverpool a couple times, Ya have to beat the teams ahead of you - I like where the club is headed and think in a year or two under Uni, we will be realistically challenging for the PL Cup. COYG.

11 Oct 2018 05:28:46
I agree that after the 2 defeats, we have won all of the following matches, that we should have won. However, under the previous regime we often failed to win such matches consistently.
Under Emery there is a definite and noticeable improvement in fitness, strength and endurance. The players appear to be enjoying life under Emery and are playing with a freedom that wasn't permitted under Wenger, who became increasingly controlling as time passed.
Of course there is a long way to go. More signings are needed as Emery only brought in 5 to date, of which one is a veteran as cover for Bellerin and Guendouzi is a teenager, an impressive one albeit. I can't say I will be sorry to see Ramsey leave, apart from one season when he scored regularly. He hasn't really impressed, flattering to deceive.
The test will come when we play the top clubs, with Liverpool and Man U on the agenda. As long as we keep beating the teams that we should beat, all looks promising. The injury situation doesn't appear as bad as under Wenger. Emery inherited an injured Koscielny, whose recovery seems ahead of schedule. Maitland-Niles has an impact injury. It looks like we could enter the busy December and January period with a full squad, bar any new injuries suffered.

11 Oct 2018 09:47:27
The only 2 teams liverpool have failed to beat so far are the same 2 teams we have failed to beat so far so what does that say about us and them?
Liverpool are obviously a far better side than us but they are 3 years into their rebuild but still a work in progress while we are just a couple of months into our rebuild but already showing signs of huge improvement.
Liverpool will challenge for this season's title and we obviously won't but there would be something very wrong somewhere if it was the other way round.
Enjoy this good run of results for as long as it lasts (hopefully the rest of the season:-) but don't be to despondent if we lose to Liverpool City Chelsea or even spuds and United because Dick inherited an Arsenal in a state of total disrepair and with an awful mentality. The other big clubs all have managers in their 3rd season or longer at their clubs apart from Chelsea who although like us have a new manager but they were runaway champions just 2 seasons ago not 14 seasons ago like us.
we started this season at the back of the grid a very distant 6th behind teams much more advanced than us and anything that shows that gap closing this season has to be a tick in the plus column for me, 5th would be good 4th incredible and anything more would simply mean we were all asleep and having the same dream because top 3 is such an unrealistic even if possible thing to imagine this season.