Victor Meldrew mode:

I don't BELIEVE it!
And I really don't. I've been watching The Arsenal for a long, long time. There were the early years when we were happy if we scraped a draw with our North London neighbours (usually a 3-3 or a 4-4) cos they were an excellent football team. There were other times when the shear blood-and-thunder of the fixture made it less of a football game, more of a battle. Nowadays we usually win because it's a long time since Tottingham have had a good team, let's be honest.
Yesterday was a continuation of that. The Arsenal were so much better in the first half and, whilst we perhaps should have had more than a two-goal cushion the half-time chat was about how many more would we score, just the one or will we continue to humiliate this sad team in their horrible strip (someone likened it to a cheap kids kit you can buy at the market) and get another two or more. "The third goal will be decisive" someone said, if we score it, game over, if Tottingham manage a goal then we'll have to up the pace again. But there was no doubt which team would win. The best team would win at a canter!
What happened?
I'm not even begrudging Tottingham their win - if they can score three goals against a far superior team having spent 45 minutes looking like little boys lost in the school playground good luck to 'em. I just cannot imagine how it could have happened. Is it a lack of leadership, of realism on Arsenal's part?
Oh yes and what is it with that hand-protecting-the-face thing in football these days? When I played I'd protect my privates but if the ball was coming at my face I'd head the bugger for chrissake! Captain Cesc started well yesterday, should have scored the second (which would have given us a three-goal cushion), gave away a stupid pen and then managed to get in an offside position when we "scored" a head-tennis goal, which was rightly disallowed for his being offside. Thanks Cesc!
What a completely sh!te weekend.

I would imagine Arry simply said to the lads at half time.

" Go out there and go for it, nothing to lose, route 1 as mentioned in another thread, looked at the recorded highlights this morning and that's what Spurs did, even Bale was going central and going for goal, its difficult to play against, IMO Arsenal switched of and Arsene must of thought, didn't impress on the players enough not to get complacent.

Arsenal play some of the prettiest football in the world, no question, but when you come up against a team that simply want to run you down its comes down to crude football, and Arsenal don't do crude, i really don't understand why more teams don't adopt that policy when playing Arsenal instead of trying to play football with them.

You miserable old git . Totally agree with you about the penalty, cant believe Wenger saying he didnt see it, he must be Mr Magoo. Idiotic comment

There is another point to this which to me screams obvious.

None of the top teams have been performing, top teams = top players, top players = International duties, World Cup year and World cup hangover for these players, and even more importantly they still insist on continuing the International games without break straight after the world cup,,,,,frikkin mad, I would say when you look at a player like Cesc put his hand up in the box that's more down to a lack of concentration and being focused, probably because of fatigue.

Proof in point, how many Spurs players where on International duty and actually playing at the World Cup....

Well, it's been a couple of days now and I still don't believe it.
As my eldest lad says, after I'd asked him if he'd be watching the CL game against Braga on Tuesday - he can't, he's travelling apparently - "They could win 10-0 in Braga and it wouldn't make up for that "#*!#*!#" performance at the weekend" - also "That result would never have been allowed to happen with the likes of Adams, Keown et al in the team". I think he's got a point but can something be done about it, that's my concern.

jpr60 wrote:Well, it's been a couple of days now and I still don't believe it.
As my eldest lad says, after I'd asked him if he'd be watching the CL game against Braga on Tuesday - he can't, he's travelling apparently - "They could win 10-0 in Braga and it wouldn't make up for that "#*!#*!#" performance at the weekend" - also "That result would never have been allowed to happen with the likes of Adams, Keown et al in the team". I think he's got a point but can something be done about it, that's my concern.

Adams, Keown. Both English. I really think that is what is lacking in this team, players who understand the REAL meaning, for all of us, of getting mugged by the Spuds!!!!!
We started with Wilshire and Walcott on the bench.
My family are devastated by Saturdays feck up. Hopefully, we'll whip up some fight for Shite Hart Lane, that's our only hope of restoring some pride.
What a chance we've had this season of being clear at the top of the PL. Just thrown it away with complacency, inexcusable. This team needs shaking and the manager wants to start effing and blinding at them instead of kicking shit out of his Evian. Come on Arsene, you need to make them afraid!!!!!!

I can see it as a football fan who doesn't support Arsenal so it must be plainly obvious to you Gunners that you need at least one ball winning centre half and a goalkeeper who instils some confidence into the back 4.This season I don't think anyone has an outstanding team,Man U are second despite not really performing and Chelsea and Arsenal have already lost 4 games.Spurs like it or not have a bloody good side even with pretty much their first choice back 4 out injured and will run Arsenal,Man U,Chelsea and Man City extremely close this season.Look on the bright side though Gooners, you're at Villa Park next and our attack is as lethal as Audley Harrison with pom poms

QBVILLA wrote:I can see it as a football fan who doesn't support Arsenal so it must be plainly obvious to you Gunners that you need at least one ball winning centre half and a goalkeeper who instils some confidence into the back 4.This season I don't think anyone has an outstanding team,Man U are second despite not really performing and Chelsea and Arsenal have already lost 4 games.Spurs like it or not have a bloody good side even with pretty much their first choice back 4 out injured and will run Arsenal,Man U,Chelsea and Man City extremely close this season.Look on the bright side though Gooners, you're at Villa Park next and our attack is as lethal as Audley Harrison with pom poms

That'll be a 0-0 then. No, we'll give you a goal of some sort. If Captain Cesc can give away a needless pen then any other of the eleven on the pitch are more than capable of doing something stupid. We're the experts, we actually give games away, we've been doing it off and on for a few years now but this season we're even surpassing our own levels of rank stupidity - my god how has it come to this?!

Following another ordinary performance in Portugal with the worst refereeing I have seen in a long time I think we've set ourselves up nicely for a good seeing-to at Villa Park this coming weekend.
It really has been one of those weeks for us Gooners. The ridiculousness of the match against Tottingham now compounded by a referee (and his two assistants, plus the blokes stationed at either end of the pitch, plus the "fourth official" - if ever there was a match that cried out for 21st-century technology it was this one) who dished out at least three yellow cards to Arsenal players without justification (that's Eboue, Djourou and Vela for anyone interested), gave several decisions in favour of Braga (e.g. shot deflection from Djourou diverted for corner - "goal kick"; studs-up challenge on Wilshere - culprit not reprimanded), failed to see a blatant penalty, Vela's legs swept away - Vela gets a yellow card with ref indicationg he dived - Vela tripped in the area, nothing given (could've been worse I suppose, second yellow for acting and Vela sent off). Then just in case we weren't feeling bad enough Eboue gets crocked, stretchered off, meanwhile we concede a goal, Fabregas gets crocked, followed by a your-classic-Arsenal-can't-defend goal - three players look on as Braga bloke takes a pot-shot and scores.
The pits!

Bad news for Arsenal, but great news for us
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_6524328,00.html

Denilson looked really good last night

jak wrote:Denilson looked really good last night

TBH nobody looked "really good" last night, just very ordinary. It can only get better (he said, in desperation)!

jpr60 wrote:

jak wrote:Denilson looked really good last night

TBH nobody looked "really good" last night, just very ordinary. It can only get better (he said, in desperation)!

I've said for ages. Play Denilson and Rosicky in the same side and you've got half your midfield who ball watch when they should be defending. They wouldn't get near any of the other top 6 sides in the PL, so what are they doing playing for The Arsenal. Just watch Denilson's pathetic attempt at defending last night and he was charged with the holding role, unbelievable.
We have certain players who are not up to the job, they've let us down in previous seasons and yet we return to them to let us down again. Denilson is one of those, a young man who has not progressed, at all!!!!
He's had ample chances for The Arsenal and has not had a sniff at the Brazil squad, that says a lot.
Rosicky has had a serious injury and has never really shown us how good he was. He's a non-achiever now.
We are seriously missing Vermaelen. Oh and yes, the referee was absoloute shit last night.

I've been wondering for a while, how about if we play with three at the back - ideally (IMO) Vermaelen, Djourou and Koscielny, with Sagna and Clichy/Gibbs as wing-backs? I've a feeling Koscielny would be a good player to have in front of the two central defenders - he likes a tackle and could play an efficient "Peter Storey" role.
Then the midfield could be constructive - Fabregas, Wilshere, Nasri - with AA, Chamakh/Bendtner/RvP to lead the attack.
I like Song but he seems to be swanning off into attack at times this season whereas Koscielny could sit back there like a pit-bull waiting to take out anything dangerous before the defence is troubled.
I suppose I'm just getting a bit worried - we've got the components of a potentially winning team but seem to be lacking something. Perhaps if we were more sure at the back the clever players could more easily go about their business.

jpr60 wrote:I've been wondering for a while, how about if we play with three at the back - ideally (IMO) Vermaelen, Djourou and Koscielny, with Sagna and Clichy/Gibbs as wing-backs? I've a feeling Koscielny would be a good player to have in front of the two central defenders - he likes a tackle and could play an efficient "Peter Storey" role.
Then the midfield could be constructive - Fabregas, Wilshere, Nasri - with AA, Chamakh/Bendtner/RvP to lead the attack.
I like Song but he seems to be swanning off into attack at times this season whereas Koscielny could sit back there like a pit-bull waiting to take out anything dangerous before the defence is troubled.
I suppose I'm just getting a bit worried - we've got the components of a potentially winning team but seem to be lacking something. Perhaps if we were more sure at the back the clever players could more easily go about their business.

You've hit the nail on the head, jpr. That's what's so frustrating.
The spuds game was very much like last seasons game at Upton Park. 2-0 up and totally dominating the opposition.
Playing tippy-tappy till we're bored shitless and bosh the points slip away. In racing parlance, it's called waiting in front.
We should change our set up at those times so that we exploit the gaps that the oppo must leave when they attempt to come back at us. We've got speedy players to take advantage in these circumstances. The oppo will attack us at their peril.
I think the eleven in the penalty box for a corner is a joke too, it just invites the oppo to come straight back at us, so each corner has to be defended twice.
The something that seems to be lacking is the fight that we've come to expect from our sides. We don't have the fight that Ray Parlour, Adams, Keown, (dare I say) Ashley Cole and many others provided. That something that makes the team fight to the last second. It's just not there!!!!
If we were losing at half time I used to sit and think Arsene will sort it and sure enough a different side emerged for the second half. Now the players don't seem to care a monkeys.
There's too much strolling. It's as if the players have no pride, no fear of losing their place in the side.
Maybe the message they're getting from Wenger is that the world is conspiring against them , that's what Wenger's body language gives out in his touchline theatrics, if that's coming across in the dressing room, who knows?
It just seems to me that some of these players need to be told straight, get your arse into gear or feck off!!!
I don't think Arsene is doing that!!
On top of this we persevere with the likes of Denilson and Rosicky, perpetual failures, while an excellent prospect like Jay Emmanuel Thomas has barely had a sniff. That is bollocks!!!!
Yes, we are so near yet so far away.