by Callum » Sat Nov 23, 2013 7:15 pm
by RowdyRoddyPoppins » Sat Nov 23, 2013 9:18 pm
by srd1886 » Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:16 pm
by Yago » Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:23 pm
by srd1886 » Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:30 pm
by Apollo » Sat Nov 23, 2013 11:55 pm
Yago wrote:Cazorla was our weakest player...
by Sims » Sun Nov 24, 2013 12:17 am
by Pudpop » Sun Nov 24, 2013 7:28 am
Hans Gruber wrote:Best defence in the league vs Olivier Giroud.
0-0 in my book.
by Trina » Sun Nov 24, 2013 7:38 am
Royal Gooner wrote:Hans Gruber wrote:Royal Gooner wrote:Hans Gruber wrote:Royal Gooner wrote:Callum wrote:Royal Gooner wrote:It's not that he scored for his country, its the fact it was country that he scored against that annoys me.
What a load of nonsense. How can you possibly hold that against him?
I'd understand if he'd dived or acted like a bit of a dick, but I really do not see how any logical person can be annoyed at Mertesacker for scoring against England.
Because I'm a fiercly patriotic Englishman, who despises losses.
You're a nationalistic old windbag who gives gooners a bad name.
Less of the old please Kyle.
OK, my apologies. But you make it sound like you support England more than you support Arsenal?
Surely you should be delighted for Mert, as an Arsenal player, he scored a good goal, and as an Arsenal fan, we should applaud him for doing so, regardless of opposition.
I support them both the same. But when it comes to internationals, club alligence goes out the window.
by Trina » Sun Nov 24, 2013 7:41 am
Arsène Wenger spoke to the media after the victory over Southampton. Here is what he had to say:
on winning with no problems…
Yeah, we can go home if you want!
on the midfield resembling one of Arsenal's great sides…
We have a long way to go to do that but we have the ambition and I think the focus, the concentration, the desire are there. We played against a good Southampton side today who tried to stop us from playing. They did it well and in the end we couldn't take our chances but we took advantage of their two mistakes. Overall you could see why they have played a draw at Man United, why they had won at Liverpool because they conceded only five goals until today. They are a team who is very well organised and our technical quality helped us to get away with a win today.
on Giroud surprising Boruc…
He maybe surprised the goalkeeper certainly or did the goalkeeper glide a little bit? I don't know. He did that very well and Olivier [Giroud] is a positive character who is always ready for a battle. He is maybe a little bit different to the rest of the team. He gives us so much with his physical presence, with his link play which he has improved tremendously. He has the mental qualities and a positive attitude.
on Giroud breaking into double figures…
Other strikers will tell you ‘I am not obsessed by scoring goals’ but if they don’t, they are sick! It is a relief on their shoulders. I believe as well that he didn’t expect himself to score so many from the start of the season, but it can only boost his confidence.
on enjoying the physical challenge…
It was a very physical game today and we had to be patient and intelligent not to make the first mistake, because it could have been a very difficult game if we had conceded the first goal. That is where maybe we have improved in our defensive stability when the game is difficult.
on Giroud relishing it…
He has a big frame and he uses his upper body well.
on penalty takers…
Giroud is designated third penalty taker, Ozil is second.
on finding strikers…
I have said many times that Europe still produces many fantastic football players, but if you look well we do not produce strikers well. vVery few, all of the big strikers come from South America. In the summer, you had Falcao going to Monaco, Cavani going to PSG in a big transfer, Suarez everybody wanted to buy him, Higuain has gone to Napoli for a lot of money, but in Europe that is an area where it is difficult to find. In Germany, I can remember in every club you had a big striker, they produced some fantastic ones, but they do not produce young strikers. Is that a consequence of the way we coach? Of modern life? I do not know.
on Giroud’s success with France…
That helps of course. If France had gone out, maybe he would not have chased the ball on the goalkeeper today, I don’t know, maybe pyshcologically it helps.
on whether he’s told Szczesny to avoid it…
Yes - I told him to kick it to me on the bench!
on keeping clean sheets…
We have improved our defensive stability. After an international break you have always two challenges, one is to get the team to focus again as a team because we have been spread all over the world, and you have very little time to get the focus point right. The second is physical, because they all come back in different levels of fatigue, some have not trained a lot. The first point we got right, the team were highly focused, we suffered a bit physically but overall the concentration was there.
on a strong response…
I am convinced that after a break like that, the character is tested. Can you win when you have to in a season like that, straightaway again after a big defeat [to Manchester United]? That was really at stake for us.
on Walcott…
He has been out for seven weeks. You could see he is still a bit short physically, but he has not played at all for seven weeks and only one day training with the group, so that will come back quickly.
on Ryo…
He has a hamstring problem. I think it will be 10 days.
by Angelito » Sun Nov 24, 2013 10:09 am
by AAIRE99 » Sun Nov 24, 2013 12:35 pm
by Callum » Sun Nov 24, 2013 12:43 pm
Angelito wrote:Giroud and Sir Chesney were IMMENSE. Sagna was great as usual. Arteta was poor for his high standards but picked up as the game went on. Hopefully, the injury isn't a severe one.
And thank God for Rosicky. You look at the bench and you see our most consistent player of the past 2-3 seasons there. He was solid after he came on too.
Wilshere was brilliant too.
by Angelito » Sun Nov 24, 2013 1:03 pm
Callum wrote:Angelito wrote:Giroud and Sir Chesney were IMMENSE. Sagna was great as usual. Arteta was poor for his high standards but picked up as the game went on. Hopefully, the injury isn't a severe one.
And thank God for Rosicky. You look at the bench and you see our most consistent player of the past 2-3 seasons there. He was solid after he came on too.
Wilshere was brilliant too.
I love Rosicky but our most consistent player of the past 2-3 seasons? Really?
by Callum » Sun Nov 24, 2013 1:19 pm
Angelito wrote:I'd say so. 2011/2012, his return in January really ignited us and we started firing from there on until the season end. Then he picked an injury in the Euros. He again returned in 2012/2013 and drove us forward--playing consistently well and was one of the reasons we made it in the top-4. This season, he's been consistent but we've seen the same from Giroud, Ramsey, Arteta, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Sagna, and Gibbs, so it's wide open this season.
It's arguable, yes, but I don't think anybody has performed at the level Rosicky has, with such consistency over the past 2 seasons, at least. You have Cazorla, who looks so out of it this season. There's Ozil, who started brilliantly but seems to have fizzled away lately. Ramsey started firing during the end of last season. Wilshere has been on and off. In fact, it comes down to him, Arteta, and our defenders basically.