Least you guys scored. Not many teams this season can say that.

I guess the main thing is that this morning's game and result is not worth getting angry about. Saturday was worth getting angry about. I thought we played fairly well this morning just unfortunately we were up against a scary good Bayern team.

2nd leg will be interesting, mainly because this team seems to play best when they've been told they have no chance. Last season the big turning point at this stage was the 3-0 2nd leg against Milan, we got knocked out but it completely turned around our season. Not saying we will beat Bayern 3-0 :lol: But wouldn't be surprised to see this team put in their best performance this season and turn things around.

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 20/2/2013 02:54:01 PM

Meh ,expected really . Focus now should be on finishing fourth once again

Biggest mistake we made = Letting Lloris get away when we had the opportunity.

Hopefully we can sign Valdes up in the off season.

I suspect that with a consistent top quality goalkeeper for the past 6 or so seasons things would be very different now.
It's supposed to be the position that you don't mess around with and just go for quality. But we've floundered around experimentally for years and it's cost us big time. One of AW's biggest faults surely.

We haven't just hesitated on Hugo Lloris. We've hesitated on Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, Zaha, David Villa, Gary Cahill, Vetronghen, Schwarzer, Diame, M'Biwa, M'Vila... Jesus, this is just off the top of my head from the last two seasons. How many transfers has Arsene Wenger, who has near enough total control of the club's transfers by the way, ballsed up?

A consistent keeper would help but ultimately wouldn't remedy our comedy defending of the past so many years. We have to get it tactically right at the back. Why the hell do we push up so far when we've got a defender, who I really rate, like Mertesacker? Why on Earth did we scrap what Steve Bould did in the early part of the season and did so well? We've gone from a stable defensive unit to comedy central in one decision and there's only one man to blame for that.

True but as I said I think missing out on Lloris was the biggest stuff up of them all.
The gulf in class between him and what we have in that position is the biggest.

Hopefully Szez comes good, but we can't sit around waiting for him to improve till we realise he isn't going to and then promote another GK who was initially brought in to be a #2 #-o

Edited by neanderthal: 22/2/2013 01:52:44 PM

We haven't scrapped anything Bould did. By all reports he had and has very little to do with how the team defends, Arsene still has total control over everything. Nothing much has changed in that department.

As for GK, Valdes is most definitely not the answer. If you want a top quality GK you don't go and get Valdes, I'd much rather keep Szczesny if that's the case.

What changed in the beginning of the season when we defended properly? We went from deep(er) and not conceding, to pushing up stupidly high and conceding loads.

Apparently Wenger is changing his tune . He is willing.to spend 40 mil on a player :lol:

We defended well for 3-4 games at the start of the season, that's it. Not as if we were doing it for ages and it suddenly changed. It also may be hard to believe but as bad as we seem to be we've still conceded the 3rd least amount of goals this season, with just City(24) and Chelsea(29) conceding less.

Anyways, team for tonight

Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Monreal, Arteta, Diaby, Wilshere, Walcott, Giroud, Cazorla

Cazorla on the left then.

Podolski is missing alot of games lately. I wonder what that's about.

Who knows. He's on the bench though.

3 points is 3 points. Didn't think our performance was THAT bad, although obviously could be better. Thought we were a lot better defensively in the 2nd half, just need to stop getting caught on the counter from our own corners, apart from that we didn't have any major problems in the 2nd half. Pretty happy with us going forward, should've been a lot more comfortable than 2-1.

Also good to get the win with Everton losing. Puts us now 5 pts ahead of them and back to 8pts ahead of Liverpool. Now just need Sp*rs and Chelsea to drop pts tomorrow.

Edited by sydneycroatia58: 24/2/2013 03:59:57 AM

Absolutely disagree, something changed tactically. We began to push up higher and I don't think we've ever recovered from that. As for the statistics, are you saying we're the third best defence in the league? Hmmm...

Going forward we lacked penetration until we started getting it wide and putting it into dangerous areas. Even then though, it looked like Poldi and Giroud were hesitant to get a touch to it. Santi saved the day in the end. Walcott and Giroud were both quiet. After the dozen odd corners we had, we really should have scored at least three of them. It's an area of the game we've always struggled in and it's something we have to improve on.

Defensively, as the commentator said, it was kamikaze at times but we all know how shocking we can be defensively. I've never thought it was a personnel problem though, purely tactically.

You just never know with Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger: A career of two halves
Roar Rookie
By Shaunvdl, 22 Feb 2013 Shaunvdl is a Roar Rookie

There’s a plethora of phrases which come to mind when one thinks of Wenger’s early years at the helm of Arsenal FC but none more than “In Arsène we trust”.
Revolutionising the way football was played from the players diets, behaviour, style of play to how the club went about signing new players with Arsène preferring to develop young talent over marquee signings, a model that has been since copied the world over.
However, since Arsenal’s somewhat fortuitous FA cup victory to the detriment of Manchester United in 2005 there has been a painful fall from the sky high pedestal which Arsenal fans had reserved for their manager.
The League and Cup defeats to Birmingham and the loss to Manchester United to break Arsenal’s undefeated run have been landmark moments defining an Arsenal side that have not adapted to the ever changing football landscape as evidenced by defeats in Cup competitions by two lower league sides, the 3-1 loss to Bayern and a precarious fifth position in the league.
How did Arsenal, a club which is valued #4 on Forbes rich list get to this point?
The one man who must take the brunt of the blame is Arsène. As with all great visionaries, their great strength is to follow a path that few can see and even fewer dare to take.
However, Arsène’s failures have not been his desire to win or find the odd bargain in the transfer market but his inability to buy “top top quality”.
This was not helped by David Dein leaving in 2007 who at the time was the go to guy for transfer dealings and was instrumental in keeping Thierry Henry at the club.
Currently, Viera for Manchester City, Zidane for Real Madrid and Leonardo for PSG are all great examples of the importance of having the ability to convince prospective players that their club is the right one.
Notable examples being Varane who Arsène wanted to sign and Nasri who Arsène wanted to keep signed by Real Madrid and Manchester City respectively.
This leads onto an external factor somewhat out of Arsenal’s hands which has been the influx of money in the game.
With billionaires pumping cash into the game this has lead to clubs without a sugar daddy in the boardroom having to compete with a smaller pool of resources and with transfer prices inflated and leaving a lower margin for error.
Transfer flops such as Torres to Chelsea or Kaka to Madrid or a host of signings that Liverpool have made in the last few years are transfers that Arsenal could ill afford to make.
However, rather than push the envelope and go out for players who have the potential or ability to take Arsenal to the top they have opted for players that should really only be squad players at best serve only to increase the wage bill. Ramsey, Santos, Park, Chamakh, Eboue, Squillaci, the list goes on.
The situation has been made worse by statements that Diaby or Rosicky back from injury were like “new signings” and players such as van der Vaart, Mata, and Michu which are all well within our reach only to be bought by rival clubs.
Even the players brought in, who have gone on to be relative successes such as Arteta, Cazorla and Vermaelen are not of the same calibre signings as their counterparts in other EPL sides such as Vidic, Kompany, Silva, Mata etc all of whom Arsenal had the means to purchase.
This has inevitably lead to a vicious circle where players have left for fresh pastures (RVP the latest), prospective players have decided against signing leaving the current crop of players feeling disillusioned at the state of the club.
To those who say the current players should get on and do their job- you are right. To those who say the culpability for losing games lies with the Arsenal players and therefore they have no right to complain-you are right. To those who say that loyalty is due to a man who has given so much to Arsenal FC – you are right.
However, the squad needs strength in depth so that when fatigued they can rest. Next a new acquisition needs to be a genuine challenger for the first team spot, pushing current first team player to perform to his maximum. As for loyalty to Arsène – as Mourinho pointed out Arsène has had it easy at Arsenal, with his blinkers on for too long.
This is not helped by a seemingly weak handed owner dubbed “silent Stan”, who on the surface looks to be more than happy to only compete for the champion’s league spot, which is less risky, potentially providing longevity to the club financially.
On the flip side the long term effects will be seen down the line with more empty seats at the Emirates stadium and weaker commercial deals than competitors due to the Arsenal brand depreciating year on year.
The second half performances of Arsenal this year where they have been 16% more likely to score and 24% less likely to concede has been a direct consequence of a reactive rather than proactive strategy by Arsène for too long.
You need not look further than Arsenal’s Champions League opponents Bayern Munich to see what can be done in response to a disappointing season following a champion’s league final loss and Bundesliga dethroning.
Bayern sacked their sporting director, Christian Nerlinger and replaced him with German legend, Matthias Sammer prompting a summer outlay of £61 million (net) where ten new players were brought in of which three started today’s game.
They now stand 15 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga having conceded only seven goals in the league with a world class manager in Guardiola arriving next summer. Surely something similar could be done at Arsenal with greats like Henry and Berkamp waiting in the wings and reports of a transfer war-chest of £70million?
Arsenal’s only transfer in January was Nacho Real, a left back who has shown promise but was only signed because of a Gibbs injury, when it has been clear Santos was not an able second string left back.
With all that said many still feel that if Arsène clinches a champions league spot and approaches the 2013/2014 season with a more pragmatic attitude to transfers then his tenure may warrant a further eight years and the last eight forgiven, considering the necessary transition brought about by the financial challenges as a consequence of changing stadiums.
The youthful core of Wilshire, Gibbs, Walcott and Szczęsny do provide hope for the future but if he does indeed leave this summer his stature from “In Arsène we trust” to “In Arsène we rust” has indeed been a classic tale of two halves.

It was only kamikaze on our own corners though really. Apart from that it was much more solid than recently. Monreal got caught out being to far forward a few times in the first half but fixed that in the 2nd. Apart from that though thought the rest of the back 4 had really good games, especially Jenks who more than made up for his red against Sunderland.

Theres clearly a problem with our midfield defensively though. Too often was Aston villa running at our back four with our midfielders on the wrong side of them.
Our transition from attack to defence is the problem. We're never prepared to lose the ball and get back in shape quickly enough.

Also pretty standard that Szczesney lets in a goal every game that a better keeper would have saved.

Yeah, something definitely needs to be done about our midfield. Whether it's buying another midfielder or finding the right partnership I don't know. Leaning towards the former though.

Reports that Jack could be made captain as soon as nest season.

Hmmmm. I think I'd prefer Mikel for a while first if Vermaelen is going to be struggling for game time or something.

Wilshere's attitude, playing style and ability just scream captain, and for many years to come.

I honestly can't see why he isn't captain. He is the only leader I see out there when they play. He obviously will captain the side, he is their best, he leads the team, simple really.

Probably something to do with being out injured for majority of last season and the fact that he's only just turned 21.

Only kamikaze during corners? You've been watching Arsenal too much mate because it was kamikaze for about 90 minutes/the whole season. Villa had several good chances during the first half which were not the result of a corner at the other end.

We need a defensive midfielder. Mikel Arteta is not a destroyer. Links to the likes of Tiote, M'vila and Diame don't happen without a reason. We need one.

Jack Wilshere is young, let him play football without that burden. Besides, we always sell our captains. Let's just not bother making our best player captain, please? He needs to be given a rest at some point by Wenger, I don't think he's managing him well.

Obviously injury plays a part. But Vidic is our captain, he spends most of the time injured, well he has for the past two seasons. And for the age, I don't see that as a point really, he is one of, if not the only one who plays like a man every week. He shows the others up constantly in work ethic, commitment and drive.

Yeah, should've said it was only really kamikaze from our own corners in the 2nd half. First half we were getting killed down our left with Nacho getting caught forward way to much. We fixed that in the 2nd half for the most part and did look more solid than the first.

The captain situation is interesting. There are definitely pros and cons to making Jack captain, although imo the pros outweigh the cons. It's also clear Vermaelen's form has been affected by taking the captaincy and something needs to be done, not this season, but definitely in the summer. Also don't think his age is such a problem, Cesc was the same age when he was made captain, and Jack is a much better fit for captain than Cesc was.

The only possible reason I could think of to not make him captain is that bar the armband, he already is. He is the on field leader, and maybe giving the armband to someone else would inspire them to play with a similar attitude. I don't think it would add much pressure, the media are already labelling him the future of the side, and even the national team.

Injury plays a huge part when he didn't make a single appearance last season. And at the age of 21 you have to ask whether he can handle the added pressure, duties and expectation of having the armband. After all, people at the start of the season were applauding Vermaelen being appointed captain.

I don't know anything about the inner workings of the players, but to me it just doesn't seem that even if Jack has the arm band that he will be the go to guy that everyone looks up to as their captain.

I'm sure it would feel a little uneasy for some senior players being captained by a junior who has less than 2 seasons experience under his belt.

Give him something to work for over the next few years, he doesn't need that responsibility while still heavily in the development part of his career.

Mikel seems like the true leader of the team if Vermaelen is out of favor.

Wasn't a fan of Cesc being captain and won't be a fan of this if it happens.