Arsenal Banter Archive April 13 2014

13 Apr 2014 22:42:16
God I'm so fed up with reading that Sanogo didn't do too bad. He didn't touch the ball more than 10 times and 6 of hem was when the ball hit him. I'm not trying to sound like a know all but the fact is Sanogo in my opinion is a liability. He is nowhere near good enough to be an Arsenal player. Maybe some day down the road a miracle might happen for him but I wouldn't keep taking a chance on him coming good at this stage of the proceedings. If I didn't know better I would think someone had taken a back hander to put him on the pitch.

To be fair mate he's no more of a liability than giroud offers the same but has more speed

don't get me wrong I ain't a fan of either its our real weak point in the team above and beyond any other

Sorry Golds but I have to disagree.

He is by no way the finished article, but considering how little he has played, he has more drive than Giroud, more pace than Giroud, he is more willing that Giroud.

He has the attributes to possibly get to ab acceptable level. He is quick, strong now (in comparison to when he arrived), willing to put the work in and actually looks more like a number 9 than Giroud.

Giroud would not have even got to some of those "half chances" he would have been complaining to either a) the ref, b) his team mates, c) a blade of Wembley grass, about things not going his way.

Giroud has gone from an asset to a liability.

If we bought Batty Trolley, Lukaku and had Sanogo as potential front men next season I would not be unhappy.

Sell Giroud for £15m by Lukaku for £25, buy Batty Trolley for £30m, bring Campbell back to compete for the right wing position with Walcott (who could also be seen as a striker if need be) and sell Poldi (who I love) for £10m and buy Draxler for £35m.

All of a sudden we have a very very capable front line. It does not take big big changes to have the affect we all want on our team.

That would be £65m out.

Leaving us say £35m plus what we get from selling Sagna (sadly) Vermaelen, Arteta.

I think people should give Sanogo support as he has had a tough start, but unlike some others, he has passion, potential and heart.

Shame some of our "bigger" players don't have the same qualities in the same amount.

Just my 2 pennies.

J

Oh, and hi to everyone. :)

What ever your opinion, we need him in the next five games to be brilliant, lucky or a magician. Next season the manager can decide what's best for him.

13 Apr 2014 21:28:30
Been looking over some posts since yesterday's result and a few things have been spinning around in my mind.

1) Callum McManaman - How many of you guys see him being at Wigan next season if they miss out on promotion? He's only 22 and got a decent amount of potential to warrant a spot in a premier league team. I actually think that if Podolski goes and hopefully Cazorla as well, provided we sign someone like Draxler, Reus or Griezmann, McManaman could easily convert to a left winger and be the cover on that left side we need. Anyone else agree?

2) Yaya Sanogo - Why is he getting so much stick? I thought he had a pretty decent game yesterday and he did fantastically to set up the Ox to provide the assist for Mertesacker. His first touch is fantastic and he seems more composed on the ball than Giroud, and he's got the pace. With our remaining games if I were the gaffer I'd give him a real shot ahead of Giroud for the rest of the season. He's by no means the finished article but he doesn't deserve the stick he's getting. He could really show us what he's got these last 5 games if given the chance.

3) Managers - Obviously if Wenger leaves my top choice would be Jurgen Klopp. I was thinking how earlier we were linked with Joachim Low as well. And if we're looking for a new manager during a world cup year and Low is on the shortlist I think this could really play to our advantage if the Germans have a good run come June.

Just throwing these points out there. What you lot reckon?

Not sure about mac but he did rip city apart last year. personic to slag sanogo of, he's better than some are making out, just a bit raw. Yes klopp or simionne for me.

Simeone, Van Gaal (been there, done it), Joachim Low then Klopp - just wondered about the pressure of Arsenal for Klopp.

And read next post up for my support of Sanogo. He deserves our support.

J

I really think Klopp would be fantastic but I definitely feel we need a David Dein style negotiator in transfers. Allow Klopp to manage the team, Klopp identifies the targets and the negotiator gets them in whatever it takes.

Sometimes, players have slipped through the net due to Wengers valuation and negotiating. Also, Ivan Gazidis is about as helpful as a chocolate teapot.

13 Apr 2014 19:58:49
NI Gunner, sorry but if Arsene had left us and gone to Real he could have negotiated a better paid deal. If they had sacked him he would have negotiated a nice pay off then piclked from a number of clubs who would have been clamouring for his services.

Then there is always the possibility of international management. He works on a different basis to you and me. Job security doesn't matter when you're in demand as much as he would have been. Added to that he would have been rich enough not to need to work many years ago.

I agree the future is different though. If he buys well and can still motivate the dressing room and still has the hunger then him staying is viable. If he can't do those things then it's not.

I'm in two minds about his future. I respect him for what he's done but only want him to stay if he can deliver
None of us can answer that one as we can't see the future but if he is staying I will support him and whatever players he sends out in every single game.

The core issue I have right now is the abusing of players during the game. How can the crowd doing that help? Booing and slagging players off makes them nervous and makes their job a lot harder plus it encourages the opposition.

Booing and jeering are players just does not seem right. Arteta stated that the fans have a right to boo the team, which they do, but I do not believe any of our fans want our Beloved Arsenal to lose, so why build the pressure on them during the game?

We should always look to be the 12 man, not dilute the confidence of the 11 on the pitch.

If people are unhappy after the game, use social media or some other medium to vent, as we have a right, but support the team and drive the onwards and upwards, not downwards and out.

We all get frustrated, we all want to win, but if any of you have ever managed anything you know you support those you manage from others in the open, and deal with the problems behind closed doors.

You only state your negativity on a member of the team you mange when you have decided enough is enough and are going to be cutting them lose, and then you state this in the open to stabilise the other "members of the team" - basically saying you see what is wrong and you are making changes to remove the "issue" a la Wenger on Giroud this weekend.

J.

{Ed025's Note - booing your own players is despicable J..

Absolutely agree ED025. I just wanted the rant and to try and make people understand what negative impact it has, you just said it more succinctly. ;)

J

13 Apr 2014 16:04:02
New poster, afternoon everybody

Just wanted to say, I'm quite shocked at the amount of stick that Sanogo is getting from people on here. In my opinion, he has been effective whenever he has played. I remember him starting against Bayern and he won every challenge in the air. Sure, he's no Anelka at that age but 'useless' he is not. Good target man and backup, plus he's got time on his side.

Well said mate, I think the problem with being a striker at this level is that if your not at 100% all the time it is more obvious. you can't score at anything less then 100%. if he was a right back then he would slip under the radar as a standard player with bags of potential

Welcome on board TSL good to have you mate.
Personally I thinmk some of the stick has got way out of hand bordering on obsessive about a young lad in a few games.
Ready for the job? No of course he's not, but neither was Ox last season or the season before that but he got game time.
I guess people have their favorite players and others they don't take to such is the world

Hi TSL,

You have to understand mate, the criticism is not directed at Sanogo directly.

He is a Gooner and while he wears the red and white he will always get our support.

He is a young lad learning his trade and he gives 100 percent and never stops running and trying.

The problem is he is not yet good enough for first team action.
He should be thrown on from time to time, given 20 minutes here and there or at worst, sent out on loan to get experience, although I do not favour that idea.

He is being put into a position that he shouldn't be in.
Yes, he lead the line against Bayern, and did well, nobody has said otherwise.
Yes, he lead the line against Wigan and did well, again, nobody is arguing that point.

We only have one main striker and he is decent, pretty good in fact, but we need(ed) more to sustain a challenge.

Look at the league table, look at Arsenal's current position, there, you will find any answer to any question.

I believe the problem is we are all frustrated by the non signing of a striker. So when Sanogo (btw imo he is no where near good enough) plays badly we all give him stick but its more anger at a lack of quality striking options.

This summer I'd be happy to let Giroud go and loan Sanogo to the Championship to get games. Then get in two proper world class strikers to fire us to the title.

Have the two incomers with Akpom as our strikers.

I'm afraid I have to call it as I see it sanago ain't arsenal standard, and i'm 95% sure he never will be

giroud - ain't arsenal class - and i'm 100% about that

arteta - legs are gone I think everton did well getting 10 million for him we've had maybe 1 good year out of him

rosiky - always been arsenal class we need to start looking for his successor

jack - jury out for me, he's too much of an injury liability, think we need strong cover for him

aaron - need time to grow stronger I think this is the season he now needs to push onwards

gibbs - good backup option not sure why we don't look at having him on the wing as he's better going forward than defending for me

sagna - don't wanna stay get rid and find a new lad

monreal - complete liability looks like his heads gone, missing out from first team

vermalen - I say get rid and get 2 quality centre backs I personally would be looking at 2 youngsters 20/21 sort of age who can push bfg and kos

theo - looking forward to getting him back and can't wait to see him link up with ozil

podolski - I say we need to try him upfront and see what happens

santi - I just don't know what gone on with him this season he's been pony for majority of it ever since ozil signed santi been poor

ozil - let's get him some serious fire power to link up with, need pace power and a hell of a shot

shezza - need a keeper oh how I would love iker to come or valdes

so I count that as 2 strikers
3 midfield 4 defenders and a keeper - but I would settle for 1 striker 2 midfield 2 defenders

so by my count we shuld be getting 9 players to strengthen

but need 5 to fix the urgent issues

74 I'd wouldn't be disappointed with
Szczesney
Sagna mert kos gibbs
New top holding mf
Theo Ramsey Ox Ozil
New top top striker
Plus some decent squad additions to replace the likes of Artetta Poldolski Betner Vermuallen Giroud.
Maybe not enough to win it but to close the gap considerably

I wouldn't be disappointed i'm just calling what I think needs to happen

our first 11 needs only one or two tweaks we all know what they are but I think there are other changes that are need or to be consider

sagna I think is off, if he wanted to stay he'd have signed already, not many peeps can ask for 66% payrise these days but I forget they in a different world

its ultimately the backups that are doing for us we all know and accept we have the worst injuries on record

what is criminal is running a paper thin squad with poor backup options

we need to get back to 2 quality options per position

and I genuinely think gibbs is better going forward than he defending and would be more aware of covering and filling in for the left back. maybe we should try gibbs infront of monreal we all know left side is our weak spot attacking wise

and well should this window only bring me 2 players I agree 100% a hold mid and a star striker would be the critical positions

{Ed025's Note - are you happy with anything G74?..

GOONER74. Love that post mate. Spoken as it is. Well said.

Ed025 mate i'm calling it as it is I see the weaknesses of the team

i could say we don't all rely on loans good sir :) i'm just pointing out the deficiencies of the team that has been collected

end of we've proved yet again first 11 is a good side, they go off for their mid season break at the treatment table and it falls apart that spells first 11 = doing ok

couple of injuries upto 11 which was last quoted we're fooked I defy any team to be able to cope with 11 injuries but i'm accused of making excuses but 11 is a big number half of the average squad of a premier league team

{Ed025's Note - i understand your concerns G74, i just thought the posts may have been a bit more upbeat with arsenal reaching the cup final mate..

13 Apr 2014 14:28:02
please lord get citeh back into the game I don't want another monday of scousers giving me grief, worst possible thing to give them hope as all of a sudden I find out how many people support liverpool now they have a shot

74

I am in the same boat as you, I will never hear the end of it form Liverpool fans that haven't even discussed footy during the last 4 or 5 years, they are all putting their shirts on now

Its the worst possible result I was thinking 2-2 they might pipe down a bit, oh how I was wrong, turned my damn phone off lol

how citeh never got 2 pens for that tackle on dzecko and the punch out to clear the ball by skrtel

lol nothing like blatant decision Mr Clattenburg is always your man completely blind I do wonder where his guide dog was today

I think the ref did fine, there were penalty shouts on both ends. If you'll remember we had an offside called on us at their place that was awful. Lost by one goal. The skrtel hand thing was never a penalty; Flanno admittedly shoulda been called for a penalty.

Anyways, you know there are those fans with every team right?

13 Apr 2014 13:13:16
LG1, spot on mate.

Like you say no one is above reproach but its how and when that reproach is delivered. In the middle of any game let alone a cup semi at Wembley it is out of order and only serves to demotivate our players and give the oppositio encouragement

Yes, every one is entitled to their say and I totally support their right to say it but there's a time and place.

Also there is a right and wrong way to do it.
Whatever your view of him Arsene is up along Herbert Chapman in our history. He has had a similar impact on the club and will leave a legacy when he goes and he deserves respect for that

I agree with you about the younger guys being drawn to the club by the early Wenger successes too. Many supporters only know a Wenger Arsenal and they don't remember the dark days of the 70s and 80s. They don't know much about the tripe we were served up in the late part of the Graham era. (We were signing players like Pal Lydersen and had become a mid table bring team!)

Arsene has had to deal with the sugar daddy phenomenon whilst building the club for the future. He could have left at any time but he has put the club ahead of personal interests many time. Ok he's been paid well but he'd probably have earnt more if he'd gone to another club.

Yes, we all have the right to question and critcise but let's not do it in a dispespectul way and definitely not during a game!

During the game, every man, woman and child who supports the club should do what supporters are there to do - support every single player wearing the shirt!

COYG

"Ok he's been paid well but he'd probably have earnt more if he'd gone to another club."

No. I hate statements like this. Yes, he could have left for Madrid etc. Why didn't he? JOB SECURITY! Here at Arsenal he's allowed to fail, fail, fail and fail again. At Real Madrid et al, you can't fail and that's why Wenger didn't leave, stop harping on about how loyal he is.

He's deluded. He genuinely thinks he's the ONLY man that can do the job. He incessantly jabs at fans or pundits who tell him where he's going wrong. He's an egomaniac. Stevie Wonder could tell you Cygan wasn't good enough, Stepanovs, Senderos, Almunia, Bendtner, Denilson and countless others. They stayed at the club 3/4 years too long, out of nothing other than Wenger's stubbornness, not wanting to admit he was wrong.

". definitely not during a game"

Okay. Fine. When should we make our collective voices heard. All Skype him together?

Even IF, and given the squad and manager we have, even if we win the FA Cup and finish 4th Wenger has to go. Tactically woeful. Stubborn. Abysmal team selection. Abhorrent in the transfer window, considerably more misses than hits.

The sad thing is, our club is set up so well for a manager to succeed. The stadium is there, the finances are there, the commercial value of the club continues to rise. and all that's left is an ambitious manager with fresh ideas who is prepared to put the club first, not his or his darling players ego's.

Pal Lydersen,

Wow, there's a name from the past and if memory serves me right, and I think it does, it was his transfer that caused the 'George Graham bung' scandal.

All that for a player who was utter sh*te, lol.

Probably the best post I have read on here in a long time, NI Gunner.

Hit the nail right on the head.

Dags

Wasn't it the John Jenson transfer?

Spot on N1 gunner

Banbury, i'm sure it was Lydersen transfer but you could be right mate. can anybody clarify?
The beers are on Banbury if i'm right, lol.

13 Apr 2014 12:48:26
If we don't win on tues, I don't see us getting fourth place. That after where we were a few weeks ago would be shocking. The brand of football we are having to endure is not taking us anywhere but down. This club if it doesn't finish fourth is not set up to recover to the top four. We will be competing with second tier reams for second tier players, we don't think big we think value. If we win fa cup and don't get fourth after all this time waiting for me it would be like winning the lottery and the company going bust and not paying out. There has been posts about the fans attitudes during games and correctly we should support the team while we are playing but the fans are turning on wenger and the players and there will be no room for failure of any kind. People are losing patience, with this club.

We HAVE to win as Everton play the next night, It is hard to believe how we have been so comfortable and now it is out of our hands

Having to endure?

i wouldn't describe mesmirising football as something I have to endure, its the mistakes and results that are sickening.

with our fully fit squad this brand of football is beautiful. and now with the ox pushing his way into a nailed on starting place we have some long shots in us too

13 Apr 2014 12:18:49
So pleasing to read the supportive and sensible comments on here this morning.

In a one off cup game the "better" side should win but the truth ois that the "lesser" side find reserves of commitment energy and effort that isn't possible to deliver every game and they can see glory which also drive them on.

Wigan couldn't lose yesterday. Get beat 5-0 and it would always be "it was Arsenal, it's to be expected". Fight like they did and they were brave losers

It is always the opposite for the "bigger" team- and let's not forget Wigan found the depths of commtment etc required to beat ManC so they have the capability to upset any domestic team on their day

Unfortunately too many (mainly younger) supporters buy their tickets in the belief that it guarantees them a win. Football never has and never will be that.

We're all entitled to our views but let's put them aside whilst the team is playing and get behind them. If you don't want to support the guys wearing the shirt and just want to slag people off do something useful and buy a spurs or Chavs season ticket then you can slag the players off to your heart's content!

Then after the game we can go to the pub and express our opinions. All the boos really do in the game is upset the mood of the team and give ammunition to the media and muppets like a certain Durham that leads to more supporters questioning things because they believe the so called experts and it's become a vicious cycle

The othe thing- before you boo just ask yourself 'could I do better?'. Honest people will always understand they couldn't and will appreciate the high level of players and the small margin between success and failure at that level

We have 5 league games and one Cup final left this season so let's all get behind the team and help them get the best outcome we can. We can vent our spleen as much as we want once the seaso is over.

After all we're not critics we're supporters . so let's support

COYG

13 Apr 2014 11:00:57
Let's be honest it was a bad performance but the right result. You could see the pressure mounting on wenger and the knives sharpening with 10 minutes to go. As soon as BFG scored it felt as though the whole weight of the world had lifted of wenger and the team and Wigan went into their shell looking for penalties.
To be honest I don't care about the performance . WE ARE IN THE FINAL.I just hope now the players realise this is what arsenal is all about - competing in finals and winning titles. the easy bit is getting there the hard bit is winning!
I'm glad wenger will now get some slack because certain sections of the crowd were baying for blood. with ozil Kosci jack coming back soon we need to carry this feel good factor into the premiership and gain a top four place. that is a priority the last five games must mean 15 points nothing less!
A big up to fabianski, ox and Ramsey they were our star players.

Fabianski. apart from one mistake running out the box he was the hero
Sagna. actually got some crosses in and played well
Monreal.less said the better
Verm. was good nothing special
BFG. villain turned hero. distribution was good
Arteta. got in some tackles but against a quality team his pace would have been exposed
Ox. motm was direct, shot on target, ran his socks off
Cazorla. in and out of game was lost first half, took penalty well
Podolski. not at the races, for such a big game didn't look up for it. seems he is trying too hard.
Ramsey. we looked more composed in the middle, bought some penetrating movement to the team, him and ox were our best players
Sanogo. ran his socks off, but first touch was bad, should at least had a hat trick, needs to hone his skills before he can be called a arsenal player
Subs. Gibbs. gave us much needed attacking option on left, looked a different team when he came on.
Giroud. looked more composed than sanogo but didn't really do much
Kallstrom. did his job came on and scored penalty. looks confident when on ball
Overall well done lads. Job done, now get us a top four place.

COME ON YOU GUNNNERS

Hulk Hogunner

{Ed025's Note - you must be logged in hulk!..in future unregistered posts will be deleted..

Ed, don't make Hulk angry, you won't like him when he's angry.

(come on Ed, it would have been a waste not to post that, lol)

13 Apr 2014 10:14:06
All joking aside Sanogo? He runs, maybe not very elegantly but the boy gives his all, if a few others gave as much we would perhaps be having a better season.
Give the kid a break he does his best and who knows maybe with a bit of a run and some confidence he might calm down, compose himself a bit more and become a decent player.
There are plenty of targets to shoot at in our squad, he is just the easiest to hit because of his lack of experience playing in the highest profile position.

{Ed025's Note - he is only young G62, and it shows the lack of depth in the squad that he played in a FA cup semi, its time to spend big money, or be left behind..

Ed025 ii couldn't agree more mate, but between now and mid May we can do nothing to change what we have, manager, medical team, players are all up for debate come summer, but for now we just have to salvage what we can from what looked like a very promising season at one point.
Very little has changed we are chasing for 4th but have a cup final to look forward to, come this summer is the time to fight for real change

{Ed025's Note - your right G62, im just pointing out that the summer is critical, if arsenal dont strengthen significantly..they will be left behind, and it wont be easy with the WC inflating prices of players..

Ed025 your 100% right CL places will be tougher than ever next season let alone a title challenge.
If we fail to add two or Three quality players over the summer we will pay a very heavy price next season and maybe much longer.
Keep Sagna and our other best players add 3 very good players and we will have real chance I think. But if we don't top 8 might be good 2015

Agree mate, 2 or probably 3 players should make a massive difference next season.

13 Apr 2014 09:28:35
Got back from Wembley at 11 last night and had a great day with my son on his 21st

Thoughts on the game.

Wigan - all credit to them. They knew they couldn't outplay us so came with a solid, aggressive and strong game plan. They employed it well and used the low confidence in our team well. Respect to them. They played well.

Us - nervy and edgy due to low confidence but we were the better team and you have to remember how many 1st choice players were missing. I've always thought the Flappyanski jokes were unfair. He is a top drawer keeper who would walk into most PL teams (not all)

We showed some spirit and we got the result and in a cup semi that's all that matters. Not a great overall performance but good enough

Our fans - generally great but a few persons who seemed to be from the FIFA electroni game age and started slagging our players off if the didn't beat 8 players and put a screamer in the top corner every time

People shouting at AW to change it AFTER e'd bought Giroud on and gone to 442!

One guy slagging off Sanogo who clearly didn't see the runs the kid was making or know he's still learning the game. I was getting showered in spittle of this kid and eventually had to ask him to put a stop to it.

His answer was 'you think this is good enough?' When I said I was saving my thoughts till after the game because until then there were 11 players who needed our support he said they were crap if they couldn't beat a champioship side.

I pointed out Wrexham had happened and they were bottom of the whole league at the time and in one off cup games lower league teams make it difficult so he started with "I'm only 30 I don't remember that, I got more hair than you anyway."

I just told him he is typical of the prawn eating glory hunters who fail thew club and if my hair was his issue he needed to mature up and decide if he supports the club or just likes bragging at work on Mondays and, if it's the latter, he shouldbecome a Chav

Please guys, support the players during the game. 50000 people slagging them off during a game doesn't help them

Anyway now for the second part of my son's 21st birthday present - a cup final ticket! Praying we can get them as it looks like only about half our season ticket holders will be able to!

{Ed025's Note - good post that SG..

13 Apr 2014 05:29:06
Congratulations to Wenger and the team for getting to the final. We were the better team and played without the following first choice players in the starting eleven: Szczesny, Koscielny, Gibbs, Wilshere, Ozil, Walcott and Giroud. Never mind injuries and suspension robbing us of Flamini & Abu Diaby. Virtually any team would stretched in such circumstances.

Totaly agree rob
wasnt class but its the end result that counts today.i mean so many times I've come away thinking how did that happen
We were the best team by a mile

{Ed025's Note - the best team..yes..by a mile...no..

ED. lol
yes we won clearly, mate .
if you watch the local wigan news their only had 1 maybe two shots they came for a draw

{Ed025's Note - as a neutral taffy, i thought wigan done ok, your lack of confidence was there for all to see, and you did panic!..but i still hope you win it..

I forgot to mention that we also had Rosicky & Gnabry out!

Welsh, love you to bits boyo but have to agree with Ed025 on this one. we had more clear cut chances but I thought Wigan were always in with a shout, not a lot between us in my opinion mate.

13 Apr 2014 04:56:35
congratz lads on reaching final. got to say feel for wigan but hopefully u can go on and give wenger last trophy b4 he goes

Wlaton
Mate I like wigan as a team but the came for penilties,
their had about one shot on target .
they are looking to come back to the prem.they have had a great cup run

Thanks Walton.
Hope you give Citeh a good stuffing mate.

{Ed025's Note - speak for yourself dags.. :)

Come on Ed, cheer on your neighbours mate, lol

{Ed025's Note - im afraid you have the wrong guy dags..i dont do neighbourly love mate...i wont ask you to cheer the spurs on either!.. :)

Point taken Ed, lol

I hear you Ed025, lol

13 Apr 2014 04:03:41
Cheers to Wigan Athletic!

Folks, that's a football club.

Class permeates always

They were leviathans tonight and deserved more

On our end, pathetic football. Win doesn't mask the fact that somewhere between Christmas and now our squad lost their balls

What kind of football is this?

So after a month of the most putrid football I've seen in ages, the long ball philosophy was supposed to be our answer? What else do you call the pathetic spectacle that was our first half?

I felt dirty winning this match. Our losers don't deserve it. If anything, I realized today that playing for arsenal means nothing to them. Absolute zero.

Sorry.

In American terms, it took us penalty kicks to beat a division 2 team today. This is my lowest point as an Arsenal fan. Unacceptable. Pathetic.

We are a world class football club. We cannot tolerate this caliber of football at our club any longer.

I wish Wigan won. Our boys don't deserve to celebrate this win.

Ike. I'm in. I get it.

An embarrassed Gooner.

It was the worst game of football I think I've ever seen. Can't believe how emotionally detatched I felt the whole game - even when it got to penalties.

Us lol
man you must have watched a different game.
wigan created 1 chance on goal, well two at most.
stick to throwing the ball bud, if yr not happy with getting to a finale,
Shamefull

The atmosphere was fizzing and the ore-match drink with the Wiganers in Watsons Folly was a craic. US Gooner, I agree that the footie wasn't pretty but we got the best result today. We went through and set up a great last day of the season. At the same time, even Le Prof would have been convinced that the cheque book has come out. To call it your lowest point as a Gooner is a bit much though. You clearly weren't around in the 80s when we were truly pump! I remember when Stewart Robson was considered out 'flair' player. We need a right back, centre mid and a couple of strikers with pace and rod ourselves of Sagna (can't cross), Arteta (legs have gone), Bendtner and we're there. We need also to lose the tippy tappy football experiment. When it works it looks lovely but it takes 6-7 players to make it work and allows teams to counter at will. And with Arteta and The BFG we don't have the pace to cope. Now the BFG should stay but we need pace and power back through the heart of this team. I want a team that looks at the other one in the tunnel and thinks if you (1) play footie against us you're in trouble; and (2) fight us and you're also in trouble! We'll know in July whether Arsenal have finally got the message! But, to finish up - sorry fellas. Well done Wigan; great game. She wore, she wore, she wore a yellow ribbon, she wore a yellow ribbon in the merry month of May.COYG!

{Ed025's Note - good post that herrick..

I was around in the 80s

We did not field this many so called "world class" players either