Arsenal Banter Archive March 14 2015

14 Mar 2015 22:21:59
Good evening (it is in Ottawa, anyway). First post.

Its shaping to be a fantastic weekend! I see a utd-spurs draw tomorrow, blues to win.

But I also believe we'll begin april in 2nd. City to draw with west brom next week (pulis will make them hard to beat), and we'll beat newcastle (without cisse) to nick 2nd by a point.

15 Mar 2015 17:37:04
Hey 613 welcome aboard mate, all looking good so far, nice to see the spuds knocked out of the race for top four and another season of misery.

No idea what City are up with Chelsea kind of bumbling their way to the title.

All doors are open from 2nd to fourth so hope the boys keep their foot on the gas.

14 Mar 2015 21:04:06
Le Coq! Just goes to show you can have the most stylish top of the range motor with the widest of wheels and all the go faster stripes in the world but with the wrong fuel in the tank you ain't going far, we could have to fight off a big bids from Ferrari and McLaren this summer to keep him.

14 Mar 2015 21:16:42
I think we are safe in that respect gunner, he's come in and done well, very well, he still has a lot to prove yet to say he's top class, but he's giving it a good go. Him and sniderling would be great away in big games next year, if he keeps improving.

14 Mar 2015 22:02:41
Agree mate he still has a lot to learn and do before he's absolutely top notch but even at 75% of what he maybe become he's made such a massive difference to us.
I don't think things would be looking as good as they are right now for us if he was still with Charlton, he does for us what no other player in our squad can do and as you say Steve is doing it very very well.

14 Mar 2015 23:03:05
If arteta didn't get injured he would of left on a free. Fact

14 Mar 2015 23:29:20
isn't he out of contract in the summer? don't remember him actually signing a new deal yet

14 Mar 2015 23:37:14
I think your right Derby mate but football is full of stories like that, if Steve Copel wasn't palace manager at that exact time when a 23 year old non league player was recommend we'd have never known who Ian Wright was. Fact. Well he might have been 22 so possibly a fact but if not close to a fact in fact very close if not already a fact in its own right

14 Mar 2015 23:59:38
D16 i believe he's signed. Derby i agree he's ended up in this position, to our benifit, by default. Wengers bacon saved again.

15 Mar 2015 09:45:01
Arteta has signed a new deal, not sure why, but he has

15 Mar 2015 10:13:50
Wenger spotted him and helped develop him. He also never sold him like other players and kept loaning him out to see what he had.

Think he got lucky as did Le Coq but you got to make your own luck.

14 Mar 2015 19:32:24
That pelle over at city. Don . Theyl go out to barc . There season is over. They can now be caught. He's lost the players they know he's gone

14 Mar 2015 20:10:02
Missed fair few letters out ther .

14 Mar 2015 20:51:31
And you have a pop at Giroud for missing from 5 yards :-)
Love ya really but couldn't resist, sorry mate :-)

14 Mar 2015 23:29:53
i'll have some of that Russian vodka too please :).

15 Mar 2015 09:03:58
G62 and D16, you jut killed me right there

15 Mar 2015 11:12:40
Derby, gu nk mk rj dgh ouu? Comprende?

14 Mar 2015 19:24:39
Get in there Arsenal.

Oh, and get in there Burnley.

Great weekend, thus far.

Happy Dags.

14 Mar 2015 19:53:18
Yea and with spurs v united and Chelsea v Southampton tomorrow, things can only get better.

14 Mar 2015 20:06:18
A nice brace of draws between spuds and utd plus Swansea and Liverpool would do very nicely, let's get 4th mathematically singed sealed delivered ASAP then aim to do the same with 3rd and so on.
If runners up happened it would be fantastic but in real terms 3rd would be almost as fantastic taking away that CL qualifier that makes for a chaotic start to each season.

15 Mar 2015 09:15:05
Where is the faith G62? For no logical reason whatsoever, I see us coming first

14 Mar 2015 18:35:47
2 wins and a draw from the next 3 and we will have caught up with our points total at the same stage (32 games) as last season, 3 wins and we'll be ahead of last season for the first time since August.
Sounds easy if you say it quickly doesn't it :-)

14 Mar 2015 18:57:55
We are also just a point behind man city who are getting beat with 20 mins left.

14 Mar 2015 19:29:44
Good stats G62.

Looking good at the moment.

14 Mar 2015 19:44:48
Things are looking so much better 2015 than 14 that's for sure, all we need to do is combine our 2013 and 2015 form and avoid the whole 2014 annus horribillis thing altogether and life would be cushty

14 Mar 2015 17:28:44
Great win for The Arsenal, showing some great consistency now for the final run in. Let's hope it continues.

Few observations from the game.

Ramsey was fantastic on his return to the starting line up, contender for Man of the match for me. His build up play was brilliant and took his goal fantasticly. His link up play was at times mesmerising.

Giroud is at times world class with his link up play and aerial ability. If he showed more consistentcy throughout the 90 minutes he would be unplayable. Took his goal fantastically and contributed brilliantly for Ramseys. He is our main man upfront no doubt.

Ozil is an artist in the number 10 role, I'm a big fan of his and really think a lot the criticism he gets is unwarranted. He keeps things ticking with such ease that it somewhat goes unnoticed, the guy runs his socks off aswell. Thought he had a great game today with his all round contribution and is showing a good run form. Showed class for the first goal.

Coquelin really has given us another dimension and it's something that we've evidently lacked for some time. His screening of the back four was again exceptional today and gives us such a solid foundation defensively. So happy for the lad.

For such a slow player Mertersacker doesn't half commit himself into challenges when we have a high line, don't know if it's because he has massive confidence in his ability or the fact he knows his pace will let him down if he doesn't win the challenge. Or maybe it's just he knows that Koscielny will cover him regardless. The amount of times Koscielny covered at the back and cleared lose balls was brilliant. Top defender, his ability to bring the ball out from the back is great to see aswell.

Chambers play going forward was fantastic, he linked up so well down that right with Walcott, Ramsey, Giroud and Ozil. At times he was caught out to easy when defending which was a shame to see. There's definitely some great competition for that right back spot though.

Monreal is definitely our best left back, he has come on leaps and bounds this year and is showing great great form

Cazorla was rested today but came on at the end produced some magic for the third goal. The guy is a genius and has become our most trusted and consistent player. Is he a contender for player of the season...definitely yes from me.

Great all round performance from the whole team, good times indeed. I'm one happy Yorkshire lad.

5 wins on the bounce, and as of now we are 1 point behind city and 6 behind chelsea in top spot. Things are definitely looking up and if we continue to shoe this form who knows how our season could end up.

COYG.

14 Mar 2015 18:24:37
Didn't see the game but sounds good, I think the trick is to concentrate on 3rd and if there's games to go after that's achieved look again at 2nd place.
As for the Monaco game I think obviously we have to have a go but if we don't do the impossible let's just accept its probably for the best long term and go for the best league finish we can get plus retaining the cup.
3rd place with the FA cup would take us into the summer on a high and give Arsene a chance to strengthen ready for his final two seasons in charge

14 Mar 2015 15:49:24
What a goal that is why Giroud is our main man upfront. Quick build up by ozil helped which is what we need in second half, hopefully West ham will come at us more to give us more space.

COYG

14 Mar 2015 17:16:28
Yep

I will say again Giroud is quality and will always get us goals, yes he will miss chances

Show me a striker who doesn't

Nice to see 2 midfielders on the score sheet

14 Mar 2015 08:35:00
OX out for 4 weeks, don't we have bad luck?

Flamini back with the squad

Paulista back after the Hammers game

14 Mar 2015 09:46:05
Weird one with the ox. Some deep problems there

{Ed025's Note - it is not that he is injury prone derby, he a growing lad who is putting a lot of strain on his body, lots of young players suffer with similar issues its the rigors and demands of top flight football...give the lad a break and be patient he is wonderful talent mate..

14 Mar 2015 09:48:14
We should be buzzing today I just hope we don't hold back too much in anticipation of Tuesdays paint job.
Go for what's real now 3rd place and retaining the fa cup and worry about making our usual 2nd leg dignified European exit when Tuesday gets here.

14 Mar 2015 09:57:15
I thought Gabriel was back in the squad?

14 Mar 2015 10:26:04
Our youngsters do spend to much time out injured and they can't all just be injury prone, Ox like Aaron Jack Gibbs Theo never puts a run of games together because if they play 90 minutes they get injued, I don't pretend to know why but at guess I'd say the training is too intense for young players bodies.
Other clubs like chavs with Hazard Liverpool with Sterling get 30 games plus out of them, it can't be coincidence year after year our youngsters are our so often and for so long

14 Mar 2015 04:40:33
This stalling on Walcott really throws me. We can talk about all the players we want to bring in but when you lose a difference maker like him you are going to pay a fortune to replace, no thanks! For me not sure who we would sign that would take the sting out of losing him.



Come on AW get the business done!

14 Mar 2015 08:38:07
Pedro please, or someone of equal calibre

14 Mar 2015 09:57:42
He doesn't track back very often, is injury prone and to lightweight to hold a ball up.

Wellbeck does track back, thus him getting a game instead. It's why milner gets a game at city also.

Given a choice between him and sanchez for an attacking winger I know who I'd choose...

A good impact player in my opinion

14 Mar 2015 09:59:11
He seems difficult to negotiate with. From what I've read he was guaranteed first team football and we can't offer that. I think it's different now as we aren't desperate to keep him. We have ox Sanchez welbeck who can also play there. It's not like 3 years ago when we had no one. Saying that obv hope he stays

14 Mar 2015 10:04:39
Theo's lack of urgency to sign a new deal could explain his lack of game time or maybe its vice versa and he won't sign unless he gets games, maybe Arsene believes the time is right to cash in on Theo to fund positions less well covered.
I've always thought he should play down the middle with his pace and eagerness for goals I think he's POTENTIALLY a 25+ striker but I don't think we'll that out in an Arsenal shirt.

14 Mar 2015 10:18:35
Wenger made a comment about players not defending not getting game time but bear in mind Walcott is recovery from a serious injury and getting full fitness back, then maybe he'll be in a position to work as hard as he now needs to.

He did talk about Sanchez setting an example so he knows what is required.

Also let's not forget a certain Serge Gnabry who is back in full training and has a future with us.

Walcott has his work cut out.

14 Mar 2015 14:05:28
As much as I like Walcott, especially off the field where he really comes across as a model professional, I just don't think he has moved forward and improved as much as he should, especially if you compare him with the Ox. As Stoner says, we have cover in the wide position, so maybe it's time to cash in, especially if the cash was used to upgrade a signing elsewhere, for example going for Pogba rather than Schenderling? I just don't get Walcott sometimes. If I could run as fast as him I would never leave the shoulder of the last defender, waiting for Ozil to slip the ball in behind. However time and time again he either is standing still or coming towards the ball, completely negating his massive pace advantage. Perhaps to be fair to him, it's the style we play, so maybe he needs to go to a team where the manager will want him to play up top waiting for a ball over the top......