What A F*cking Disgrace! (w/ Player Ratings)
Arsenal (1) - (1) Liverpool
Adebayor (23′)
The Emirates Stadium, London
It’s hard not to feel frustrated after that game. Where do I even start?
We knew Liverpool would sit back, and catch us on the break. And even though Liverpool were well organised they were very, very lucky to end up drawing tonight.
Almost everything seemed to go against Arsenal.
We started the game well and got the opening goal when Robin Van Persie whiped in a great cross onto the head Adebayor, who couldn’t miss from that position.
But after being in control of the game we pressed the self-destruct button.
Only 3 minutes later, Liverpool equalised. I have to point this out right now - Emmanuel Eboue is a massive liability. Shocking, he really is. I have defended him in the past but tonight he was a complete disgrace. He made no effort to push on down the right wing and gave the ball away so many times. And the more I watch the Liverpool goal the more p*ssed off I get.
Flamini loses the ball to Gerrard on the right, and Eboue is just strolling back. He gets sucked into the middle where the central defenders are and leaves Flamini to track Gerrard. Eboue is just a coward. He doesn’t get involved in the game and in that passage of play he just left Gerrard - who was running down the left side - to Toure and then Flamini! People say by playing Theo you lose out defensively but Eboue offered nothing to the Arsenal rearguard.
Watch Eboue in the move Liverpool scored from. It’s a disgrace.
And with that Liverpool scored the massive away goal which they wanted. Talk about gifting them a massive boost.
And early in the second half, Almunia was called upon to make an excellent save from Kuyt, but it all stemmed from Eboue’s idiocy!
Liverpool had a freekick on the right side which was hit towards the back post by captain Steven Gerrard. Martin Skrtel won the header and knocked it inside but instead of challenging for the header Eboue decided to dive and give the defender a free header in the 6 yard box!
Luckily Almunia made an excellent save.
But seriously, it’s like playing with 10 men.
Arsenal basically dominated the second half, and we played some excellent football but were let down at the wrong moments. Adebayor still seems to have a terrible touch (does he train?) and Hleb looked like he was dead on his feet. Theo looked lively when he came on but the attacking threat was basically left to Fabregas, Flamini, Toure and Clichy running from deep.
Then two moments which should have given Arsenal what they deserved.
In a congested Liverpool half, Hleb managed to wriggle through and was pulled down by Kuyt and amazingly a penalty wasn’t awarded. When I saw the move in real-time I thought it was a stone wall penalty and the replays have confirmed that. He was in on goal and Kuyt pulls him down. I defy anyone to say that was not a penalty kick.
And then later on in the half, Nicklas Bendtner blocked a goal-bound effort from Cesc Fabregas. Ironically Bendtner added something to the Arsenal attack when he came on (maybe because he can actually control the ball and hold it up) and was really unlucky to get in the way of the shot.
Seriously, can our luck get any worse?
The penalty decision in particular though really baffles me. Would the foul be given if it was at Anfield, Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge? Of course it would. It’s not as if it was a debatable decision, and being the home side you would think things would go our way - not the complete opposite!
And when you see Chelsea’s goal against Fenerbahce you wonder why we can’t get that kind of luck!
People will say tonights result could have been a lot worse, but the fact is our play deserved much more. In a perverse way though a 1-1 scoreline might put Arsenal in a better mindset going into the Anfield clash, since we have to look to score and if we do it will really put the pressure on Liverpool. If we go into the game 2-1 up we wouldn’t be sure whether to stick or twist and let’s be honest, our defending isn’t exactly the best.
Player Ratings
Manuel Almunia: 7/10
Made a vital, vital save early in the second half to deny Liverpool another away goal. Could he have done better for the first goal? Maybe if he doesn’t come out it gives Gerrard a decision to make when crossing the ball to Kuyt.
Kolo Toure: 7/10
Ran up and down the right side all night and looked shattered towards the end of the match. Almost had to play in two positions with Eboue ‘playing’ ahead of him.
William Gallas: 7/10
Tried to rally the troups by pushing forward in the second half and defended well.
Philippe Senderos: 7/10
Torres caused a few problems but didn’t really have a clear chance at the Arsenal goal. All in all kept him quiet and restricted his threat.
Gael Clichy: 8/10
Up and down the pitch again. One of the few players who gives 110% week in and week out. Like Toure, was almost down the flank by himself. Everyone seemed to be playing the ball to Clichy on the left side in the second half.
Emmanuel Eboue: 4/10
Not sure why he plays. Had a chance to score but the ball was probably just behind him. Almost gifted Liverpool a second goal and offered no sort of offensive threat.
Mathieu Flamini: 8/10
Ran everywhere in the midfield and made some excellent tackles. Showed passion and desire and wouldn’t stop closing down. Excellent engine.
Cesc Fabregas: 8/10
Found it hard going against a congested Liverpool midfield but made some vital openings and almost scored himself. Was left to run the midfield by himself as the wide players were non-existant.
Alexander Hleb: 6/10
In and out of the game. Struggled to make an impact and hasn’t been playing well for a while now. The problem is without any other options Hleb knows he’ll be playing every week and it looks like he is getting complacent.
Robin Van Persie: 6/10
Come off at half time with a thigh problem. Great delivery for the opening goal, and as ever one of only a few players willing to shoot and test the goalkeeper.
Emmanuel Adebayor: 6/10
Found it tough against the Liverpool defence but did come into the game more in the second half. Took the goal well but still struggling with his first touch.
Theo Walcott: 7/10
Replaced Van Persie at half time and looked lively. He was hampered though when Bendtner came on as he was forced to switch sides and play on the right, and with Arsenal’s persistance to play down the left saw less and less of the ball as the second half progressed.
Nicklas Bendtner: 7/10
Showned some good touches and added something to the attack. Not sure if he was trying to grab the glory with Fabregas’ chance or was just unlucky.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:34 pm
Mate, this is a spot on article. I too in the past have defended Eboue, he is however shit. I saw the pool goal exactly as you did, he let Gerrard stroll by him. Evoue dived when he could have started a fast break, gave the ball away every time, again i state he is shit.
I HONESTLY HAVE LOST A GREAT DEAL OF RESPECT FOR WENGER FROM HOW HE TREAST OUR WINGS.We won chapionships/went to CL final with great/good wingers….Pires, Freddie, Overmars, Reyes etc…not fucking Eboue, Diaby etc.
We also played with such a slow tempo it was pathetic, we could have ripped this liverpool team apart, but Wenger just does not see the obvious at times
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Sky were quite fair tonight (particularly Strachan)- however on RTE (Ray Houghton, Trevor Steven and eamon Dunphy) you’d think we were beaten. Absolutley slated arsene for not spending money more or less inferred he had taken us as far as possible.
My observations- we played well and were robbed for the peno. But really all too predictible- had a lot of the ball but didn’t create alot. Conceding so soon after our goal was poor. Our wide men were shocking tonight. Eboue was just himself- disgraceful work rate and theatrics. Are we al missing something? Hleb was really poor and was reduced to playing impossible passes to people and then looking at them when they couldn’t reach them.
Flamini was class and i thought fabregas had one of his better games for a while despite some reports.
Overall you make your own luck and defensively we look out of sorts at the moment (though as an individual Gallas played well). Its not over yet but disappointing given the amount of possession we had- yes we had a ‘peno’ and a couple of chances but overall we don’t work the opposition keepers enough.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
yeah, eboue was bad - but toure was so poor in basic defending during the goal. not good enough. but arsenal will beat liverpool at anfield, their luck won’t last and our bad luck has to change…
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:43 pm
How many times can we repeat it?
Eboue is just simply awful. He can’t or won’t defend — oh, how we missed Sagna on the Pool goal — and offers nothing going forward. Poor attitude, can’t shoot. What else is there?
Please, Arsene, I’ll defend you to the death but what is it you see that this clown might add to a team that was fighting for its life?
Clearly it’s time for Theo. He looks at home now, just missed with that rocket and got involved setting up some other chances.
As for the penalty, I see Kuyt’s first words after the game were to deny that it was a penalty. Doth protest too much? He knows — we all know — that he yanked down Alex.
Assuming Ade had converted the PK, it would be 2-1 now and I agree that maybe Arsenal would be caught in two minds at Anfield. On the other hand, 1-1 means that Rafa can park the bus again and wait to get a goal on the break.
What is it about Pool getting everything to go right in the CL?
They’re clearly not a particularly gifted team — Gerrard and Torres aside — but they’ve perfected the art of scraping a goal somehow and then holding off far better sides.
Even Mourinho’s magic couldn’t dent Rafa’s European shield. Remember the non-goal by Garcia?
Meanwhile, I suppose with our luck, that’s RVP gone for the year with the same thigh problem.
Whatever we accomplish from here on — if anything — will be down to Walcott and Bendtner. But what the hell, maybe it’s time.
If it weren’t for Rafa’s lucky horseshoe, I’d think we could win 2-0 at Anfield and maybe run them off the pitch.
Doesn’t the luck have to turn sometime?
How about if we dump Eboue and try it that way?
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
I agree with you about Eboue, we really miss Rosicky and I believe Walcott deserves to start the next game. What I noticed at the end of the game was how tired the team looked. Hleb, Toure, Clichy, and Adebayor all looked completely drained. Then I thought to myself, who can come in and give these guys a rest next game. Hoyte? Song? It is clear that out squad is way too small. While I firmly believe that when our first 11 are fully fit and rested we are the best team on the planet. But, during the course of the season, players get injured and tired and it is important to have backup players that can be inserted without sacrificing our strengths. This is clearly where we are lacking. Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, Wenger needs to address this deficiency. I’m not asking for outrageous signings, but we need to strengthen in certain areas.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:48 pm
Eboue is simply not an Arsenal player and has never been.He has no heart and desire. We need toughness and steel.Plus henever scores goals and seems to have to bad left foots. I have had enough of him long time ago just replace with Pat Rice and it would not hurt the team…
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Eboue is horrible and every match he starts I begin watching by saying, WE ARE PLAYING WITH TEN MEN!!!
We need wingers, and we also need adebayor to stay in the middle!!
Unlucky to Bendtner as i dont think he was trying to score but moreso get out of the way….i could be wrong
and lastly, and i hate to say this, RVP must be sold…..we do not need a Saha on our books. Great player, bad luck with injuries……get me a TORRES!!!! (who i was calling for 2 or 3 years ago when REYES was telling wenger to buy him!!)
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 pm
We have a very soft underbelly and unless we improve outrageously we will be knocked out at Anfield.Make no mistake this Liverpool side aint half the Liverpool side that played two cl finals.They are at best workmanlike.We are making to many mistakes defensively i would go as far as saying that we are a shambles defensively.For a top side having so many chances we waste far to much and this is the problem lingering on from Cl of yesterday.Wengers tactically awereness in europe is simply appalling and if it wasnt because i was such a proud Gooner i would have given up on Wenger and Arsenal in Europe.It is so frustrating to see that the manager keeps making the same mistakes in europe and some of the players being woefully short of the needed class to play for Arsenal in europe(when will Wenger realise that Eboue is a liability and not an asset).
Senderos,gallas and Toure had a stinker today and you never really feel they are at ease with each other.In attack we have the same over elaboration that will keep us from getting any silverware.Kudos to Flamini he gives everything i wish eboue had the same mentality.RANT OVER !!!
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 pm
Both Adabayor and Eboue have had significant drops in form lately. The whole team is suffering from the loss of Sagna. The contribution from van Persie since the injury has not been great. Hleb is not sparkling. We really miss Rosicky on the left side.
It is just too much that is not clicking at the moment…
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:56 pm
yes it was a peno but i rem a few years back the arse got a penelty against spurs an it wasnt one ….dont be sour grapes
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Spot on article - and as you have, i have often jumped to the defence of Eboue, but was desperate for him to be replaced by Theo after not many minutes!
There are plenty of rumours about other teams wanting to buy him, and i really hope he is sold.
Thomas - how much i wish he would regain his fitness, and saturday would be a perfect day for him to come back, oh if only……
i know the furure is all panned out, and having watched a few of of the young guns, it seems quite bright, ok not all will make it but we have a good few who could….
if we win anything this year, then it will be awesome, but dont forget that at the beginning of the season no one gave us a chance, and most fans were shouting about how we would be C**P because we didnt buy big named playeys…
So - we have surpassed all expectations to be where we are, and we have a few players currently on loan who will join us in the summer to fill a couple of gaps - Vela will be an asset, maybe remind us of Bobby… Thomas may finally be fit, and remind us of the fanatastic way Freddie played… Merida, well he has talent and who knows….
Then look at Wilshire, Sunu, Simpson, Randall… i could go on and on naming the players but i suggest we follow Young Guns more…
But honestly - getting a result at Anfield is not beyond us, we should have won tonight, and all but a ref’s decision, yet again, we would have - that is just the way it has gone this season….
All is not doom and gloom Gooners, and certainly, All is not lost, and never will be as long as we have Arsene
Saturday - i think we will get three points, and Chelsea, Man U i feel may drop points
I love our club, and apart from Eboue, I just know they all give their best
Sleep tight Gooners, all will be well
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Wenger is apparently hellbent on bigging up this team but he will never succeed in Europe untill he gets the right players for the job.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:15 pm
i agree with the guy who says 1-1 isnt the worst result,our mindset will be much more positive but physically we looked shattered.i thought diaby might have started,with the walcott change being made later,especially as he would have been suspended for the liverpool game anyway
eboue was a complete nuisance tonight,his distribution and workrate were deplorable.in a game that requires those attributes i was disapointed in wenger not starting diaby.
just where is rosicky,and is rvp really 100%.
our key players just look shattered and we dont seem to have the same zip in our play as we did earlier this season.
wenger has great belief in his squad but his only mistake was not augmenting with new players during the window,this would have allowed him the latitude to rotate especially this weekend
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:32 pm
eboue is the worst player by far in a tired team.
wenger needs to buy players for this tired squad and if we dont get conventional fuckin wingers soon im gunna have a fucking stroke.
why the fuck did u give eboue 4 out of ten if u thought he was so bad
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:35 pm
danish - your negative towards our boss, the same boss who has brought us super football - please dont become a fickle fan like many clubs seem to have when things dont go our way
look at newcastle, spurs under martin jol, the mancs when manu u were not at their best, liverpool under houllier, and many more
i know we all want it now, but be patient
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:37 pm
I feel the same way about Eboue - he used to show some good touches but is now a waste of space.
Think you arew rong about Ade though - I agree with the BBC ratings which made him the Arsenal MOM. Its not just his goal but his overall link play and he raely loses the ball.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Another gripe- if wenger rates walcott so highly how can he play eboue ahead of him? To add insult to injury- when he does get on its rare that a teammate gives him the ball- he came on and started left side with hleb thru the middle. As soon as bendtner came on he moved right side and everything arsenal did came down the left- he barely got a touch. Whats up? I haven’t rated the lad- thought he was another overhyped english lad but the last few games he’s looked better and better- so give him the bloody ball !!!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:33 am
Its easy to slate eboue yes, but let’s be tactical here.
The combination of hleb,adebayor and clichy on the left of the field is quite deadly.The right however,is a different case.We dont have a natural link up player on the right the way it is on the left.
Adebayor and hleb do a lot of link play with clichy,cesc and flamini that simply dosen’t exist on the left.Eboue was loved by many last season and earlier ’cause hleb,then, played on the right with him and they linked up quite well giving him(eboue) the opportunity to cross those sumptious balls into the D. It is the same with theo,on the left he gets more of the ball(chelsea goal,carling cup)but the right is pants.Reason? Adebayors strike partners tend to be disintrested in link up play.
Had rosciky (another good link man) been fit hleb would have been switched right and he would instantly reactivate that side, linking the central midfielders (cesc and flamini) to the co-striker and LB.
In case some don’t know ,a linker is simply a playmaker,and neither of eboue, walcott,sagna or van-persie(to some extent) are play-maker but all can feed well off one.
Hleb on the right and rosciky on the left will only make it even more difficult for teams to gain possession cause both are capable of holding the ball and linking both central midfielders,full backs or strikers.
So stop slating eboue, he has simply been exposed as a full-back in no man’s land.we all know his abilities a telling cross or a powerfull drive to the bye line for a short or pull-back,but he needs cover from the winger.
(you would hardly see eboue diving if he is feed a ball into space,but, since he can’t get past a man he just goes to ground)can’t blame him really HE IS NOT A WINGER.
If i were wenger i would use him only as an attacking RB, when we are chasing a game….Phew..
THE FUTURE IS RED AND WHITE(surely it is next season if not this)
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 am
Ok so Adebayor scored. But he is the main reason Arsenal do not score more goals despite continually taking the ball near the oppositions goal. Whenever a chance is created Adebayoy is either offside (does he have a brain!) or he loses the ball when his legs grt tied in nots. He is absolutely useless.
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:37 am
CORRECTIO PLEASE
Its easy to slate eboue yes, but let’s be tactical here.
The combination of hleb,adebayor and clichy on the left of the field is quite deadly.The right however,is a different case.We dont have a natural link up player on the right the way it is on the left.
Adebayor and hleb do a lot of link play with clichy,cesc and flamini that simply dosen’t exist on the RIGHT.Eboue was loved by many last season and earlier ’cause hleb,then, played on the right with him and they linked up quite well giving him(eboue) the opportunity to cross those sumptious balls into the D. It is the same with theo,on the left he gets more of the ball(chelsea goal,carling cup)but the right is pants.Reason? Adebayors strike partners tend to be disintrested in link up play.
Had rosciky (another good link man) been fit hleb would have been switched right and he would instantly reactivate that side, linking the central midfielders (cesc and flamini) to the co-striker and RB.
In case some don’t know ,a linker is simply a playmaker,and neither of eboue, walcott,sagna or van-persie(to some extent) are play-maker but all can feed well off one.
Hleb on the right and rosciky on the left will only make it even more difficult for teams to gain possession cause both are capable of holding the ball and linking both central midfielders,full backs or strikers.
So stop slating eboue, he has simply been exposed as a full-back in no man’s land.we all know his abilities a telling cross or a powerfull drive to the bye line for a short or pull-back,but he needs cover from the winger.
(you would hardly see eboue diving if he is feed a ball into space,but, since he can’t get past a man he just goes to ground)can’t blame him really HE IS NOT A WINGER.
If i were wenger i would use him only as an attacking RB, when we are chasing a game….Phew..
THE FUTURE IS RED AND WHITE(surely it is next season if not this)
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:12 am
looks like spurs will be only club ti win silver ware in london…..oh it must hurt the other cl teams chel…an arse……..well theres alwasy next season…..
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:55 am
My stomach was in knots when i saw Eboue in the starting line up. He really is not playing well and i am upset that Wenger keeps starting him (what happened to him/guess he was better a left back). Its simply time for Walcott, his guy puts fear in the defence because he runs at them. I realize that when a ball is played to an Arsenal player they look first to pass it back rather than turning and speeding forward to try to catch the defense off guard. By passing the damn ball backwards we give teams time to position themselves defensively. We play way below our pace because of this and Waclott is the player that seems to want to change this. We must stop over passing and waiting for space and run at defenses and cause holes to open up.
Hey we should have won and it was a clear penalty but i am pointing what i think our offences deficiencies are. I believe this will also help out the defense when we attack with more pace.
WALCOTT IN, EBOUE OUT KNOW!!!!
God Bless u all!
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:29 am
I tend to look at this team as I have every other season. I tend to judge the team individually or collectively in terms of consistency rather than one game at a time. It’s riduculous to completely slate a plater (or coach for that matter) one game and knight them the next. This happens entirely too often in these discussions.
At the end of the day, regardless of what happens in the next week, I would judge this season as a relative success. Relative because of the obvious exceeding of expectaions, however not quite good enough to satiate a hungry fan base.
Let’s face it, Wenger will not buy big in the summer. He will live and die with these players plus or minus a new face or two (unproven “talent”). The old days of power and finesse are gone. We are left with inconsistent finesse. However if these boys become men under Wenger and resist the temptations of moving on (Flamini…Fab….Hleb….etc), they will only get stronger as a unit and thus our perverbial light at the end of this tunnel.
Either way, silverware would be great, but it is not what motivates me towards supporting Arsene and Arsenal. I love the ethics of Arsene, the values and philosophy of Arsene. Hell I even relish the fact that the media loves to hate us, the slating of the “foriegner” aspect of the club, etc… It personally makes my love Arsenal even stronger.
April 3rd, 2008 at 9:55 am
I completely agree with you on eboue. He was a pile of rubbish and looked very lazy. He should be replaced by walcott in the next game.I cannot however agree with you on giving bendtner 7/10 for his contribution. At first I thought he made a mistake for cesc’s effort in trying to get out the way. In slow mo however I think it’s very clear that bendtner tried to control the ball with his left foot and back heel it in so that HE could score the winner. I think last night was a disgraceful show of arrogance by bendtner. He’s not a team player and if we didn’t have 4 first team players out I would want him dropped from the squad.
Only he knows what he was trying to do. If I am wrong then I apologise and will accept he made a mistake in trying to get out the way. If not then he deserves to be booed by the fans for what he did.
Another disgrace was the ref but that’s a whole other story!
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:13 am
guys enough of your complaints!!!it’s not finish yet
you people are so inconsistent…if eboue were to score a goal last night i dont think you will be saying this?
but he didnt…and so did Fabregas,Hleb,Flamini,Clichy.Toure.Gallas,Walcott.Robin.Almunia,Bendtner!
so no point arguing be a team ..get bhind the team…were small swuad doesnt mean we dont have quality!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:31 am
We need to sell
Gilberto
Eboue
Justin Hoyte
Denilson
Diaby
Traore
These players all need to be replaced by top class players.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:33 am
And Huntelaar to temporarily replace Eduardo, when Eduardo is better, sell Bendtner.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
I’d like to see Wenger try playing 3 strikers up front in a 4-3-3.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:12 am
I do belive Denilson, Diaby and Traore have great potential. Need I remind you of their age, born ‘86, ‘88 and ‘89 consecutively. As far as Gilberto, Eboue, Bentner, Song and Hoyte go I think they need to leave.
Bentner Isn’t the top class player we need him to be. His first touch is terrible, and all in all he’s not Arsenal class. Seeing that Eduardo will be out for a year and V. Persie’s constant injury threat, I think we need an accomplished striker. And with the supposed funds we have, we need to go all out. I’m talkin Benzema or Aguero. That’s the only way we can keep up with Man U.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:33 am
Yes Darri, at least the ones you mentioned should leave apart from Bendtner, he also has potential, and has already scored more than Adebayor did last season.
COME ON ARSENAL!!!!!!!!!! WIN THE CHAmPIONS LEAGUE!!!
The best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Arsenal are better than rock and roll!!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:35 am
WHO ARE THE BEST?!!
A
R
S
E
N
A
L
Sing it now….ARSENAL, AR SE NAL, AR SE NAL.
Don’t stop!
We will win!!!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:38 am
Lets discuss. Who is your favourite player?
Mine is Fabergas, he is a great attacking midfielder.
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:40 am
I have a McDonalds voucher, if you want to win it, send some interesting news about transfers and events. The best comment today wins. Big juicy Big Mac…YUMMY!!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:50 am
Are you mad?
Bendtner is our best forward.He has a great first touch and a good footballing brain. He can hold the ball up and link play well - something that RVP and Ade fail to do.
RVP is cac. He always has been. Even when fit he misses to many chances and has a shit first touch. He scores ocassional great goals but he cannot be our main striker or even our second striker.
Do not sell Bendtner!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Good comment Carl, but saying RVP is cac will NOT win you a Big Mac….next!
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:33 pm
eboue is a joke, he has been shit all season. he is a cheat with no brain/capacity to focus or concentrate. he is a waste of space. i hope he never plays for us again.hes done nothing all season…and its a joke that he keeps playing week in week out. fuck off you useless cheating prick.
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
We just never had men in the box AGAIN - we can have all the ball we want, no men in box 4gt it…
1 goal open play in 540 min
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
you will win NOTHING all you do is pass a ball without a killer pass at the moment you could not break through a strong liverpool team. hleb is a diving twat as well just bscause you get touched does not make it a penalty you . How did arsehole wenger see the pen hes fucking blind as a bat the rest of the time. And nice to see the arse players flying in with studs up. must have forgot all the shite talked about the lad who broke his leg..
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:42 pm
agree with you 110% about eboue, although iv been thinking he’s s***e all season!something which is backed up by his stats!hes started around 25 games this season with a total of 0 goals and 2 assists which is a disgrace especially considering he plays for one of the most attacking teams in the world if not the most!!!He is simply not good enough to wear the red shirt and is at best if even a squad player!plus he’s a f***ing cheat!
April 3rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
i hate wenger for playing eboue i hate wenger for not strengthenin i hate wenger for been stubborn and make us the laughing stock of england i hate wenger for sellin diarra and not gilberto i hate wenger for been incompetent in europe and league i just hate him
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
re the last article from ihcu-you neanderthal hub cap stealing prick-as for studs up what about stevie g * mascherano & carragher-instead of watching a top class side why don’t you spend your dosh on a)brain transplant or b)shell suit-shame because there’s usually a good report amongst fans of either club & a mutual respect between the players-maybe your a closet manc???
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:06 pm
re: i hate cockney cunts
fuck ure mum
April 3rd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I thought Man United were one lucky team but Liverpool were so stuffy last night. It was ridiculous! A stonewall penalty denied and then Bendtner blocking a goal bound Fabregas header.
3-1 would have been a much fairer result.
The fact is now Arsenal need to win at Anfield which they are more than capable of. The problem is gifting the Scousers a goal which we did last night. The first goal in the second leg is going to shape who moves on to the next round.
And can we get a referee who isn’t shite next time? These retarded officials are really costing us games!
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:08 pm
how dare you accuse Hleb or not trying? The guy has run his heart out for the team this season, and by and large has been excellent. So he didnt have his best game last night, that doesnt give you or anyone else the right to question his commitment.
April 3rd, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I’m not ready to write off Bendtner. If he had had the playing time of Adebayor I think you would be writing a different story. I will repeat what I have been saying a long time, we will not win anything as long as Adebayor is our main striker. He is not good enough to wear our shirt. Number one in offsides, fumbled plays and poor passing decisions. I don’t even like his positioning - he needs to stay near the box and quit running back into the midfield. What about the goals? Look at his playing time with such a great team around him.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Well we all seem agreed then on Eboue don’t we !
All unfortunately except Arsene Wenger. I get very tired of the ‘Arsene knows’ brigade. Whereas he is undoubtedly a genius, over his time with Arsenal he has always had these blind spots. It’s almost as though he cannot admit he has made a mistake with a player like Eboue and that it will all come good some day. Well with some players it never will and Eboue is one of them.
I have read much of how Wenger uses computer technology to judge how a player performs in a match, succesful pass rate, tackles made etc etc. All it needed last night was a fairly well focused set of eyes to see he just does not perform.
I agree with several fellow Gooners above who say it like starting with 10 men - when Oh when is our genius of a manager going to realise that too ??
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:25 pm
FULLY, you are spot on mate, we go on the attack and Adebayor standing on the wing, same against the Chavs, whats that all about, thought he was a center forward!
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:43 pm
totally agree with your match assessment. yes we are playing with 10 men eboue can go now as far as im concerned. what does wenger see in him. he wouldnt get anywhere near the man u 1st eleven or bench. we can still do it on tuesday but we need to be more clinical in attack and more solid at back. keep the faith
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Arsene has to be partly blamed for his refusal to spend big to buy quality players. Why did he keep Eboue in the 1st team? He’s really not good enough.
April 3rd, 2008 at 8:40 pm
You lot are probably the same people who only a year ago were slagging off Hleb, Flamini, Adebayor, Senderos and Song.
We all need to realise that some players take time to settle in, and Eboue and Diaby could be these players. I’m not trying to defend Eboue for one minute, but let’s not forget that Wenger works with these players in training every day and if anyone can spot potential it’s him.
Before Sagna arrived, Eboue was one of the best right backs in the premiership. He’s been a scapegoat this season and he’s playing out of position. I for one, hope, and am convinced that Wenger will get the best out of him and turn him into another great player eventually.
Give him a chance people. If wenger listened to all Arsenal fans, then all of the players above would not be at Arsenal and three of them have been amongst our best players this season.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:19 pm
I maybe mad but like Mr puffin stated Eboue was one of the best right backs in the prem before sagna arrived. Unfortunately Ebs has been move out of position and that is where the problem lies. I can’t understand why most of the squad play out of their natural playing positions. Sure I can understand the benefits but wouldn’t make sense to buy players who are totally comfortable where they play. I believe we have to many similar players who are having to play out of position to accommodate them in the squad. The like of Hleb, Diaby, Rosicky all naturally play down the middle which would leave us no real wide men. Dare I say I sometimes wonder if Arsene realy knows!!!!!!!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:27 pm
I appreciate and totally understand what you’re saying Rudecat, and you’re totally right, he is playing players out of position.
I do believe that Wenger likes to “try things out” for a while before he really knows where the best position for a player is. He clearly saw something in Eboue last season to believe he would make a good right midfielder - he is a great attacking full back but no right midfielder. He’s a similar player to Ashley Cole and Clichy in that sense, everyone believed they would be good wingers but really there best position was as attacking full backs.
Wenger is a master at converting a player into a new position, and if he don’t try then he’ll never know.
Walcott is always played on the wing, but we all know Wenger has him lined up to be our future striker, and Eduardo was playing on the wing now and again. The problem with the non-versatile players like Fabregas, Denilson, etc is that once they’re fit they would expect to start in the middle every time. Versatility gives Wenger the option of not upsetting too many players.
I hope some of that makes some sort of sense, as I typed it fast!!!!
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:30 pm
P.S
Sorry for the grammer but It’s been a long day and at this moment I’m a little intoxicated.
But seriously drugs are baaaaaad on.K
April 4th, 2008 at 7:57 am
Agree with Carl. Bendtner will be our main striker in the future, not Ade or RVP. He has great potential. Ade has power but not enough skill and brain, RVP is as fragile as an egg and has a desperately clumsy right foot. He can only score occasional goals with his left foot. He seems to have a wooden right foot
April 4th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Puffin mate, eboue has been terrible all season, and the statistics back it up- 2 assists and 0 goals- aside from that he is a cheat, who tarnishes the reputation of the club. I for one was not one of the people to slag off hleb, flamini, adebayor.. etc…and there is no other player in the arsenal team who i am genuinely displeased with, but all season, without fail, eboue has been very sloppy, lacked discipline, passion and focus- the number of times he gives the ball away/wastes opportunities is disgusting. While he may have great athleticism and potential, he should not be getting anywhere near our first team - regularly, i might add - on the back of his atrocious performances.
Furthermore, I always believed that at right back he was fantastic going forward, but could not defend to save his life - the problem is he has no brain - footballing or otherwise - he is a clown, and he should be in our reserves until he bucks up his ideas.
April 4th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Liverpool’s game really -perfect result for them. Make no mistake this was a lost opportunity. Particularly disappointed in Cesc. RVP is not fit and should not be starting. Performance does not matter as much as result. Yes the biggest problem is our defence- and they did not play Crouch who will play in Liverpool. Can we win up there- unlikely. Eboue is not as bad as you think- he is just as likely to score the winner.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Great article - I thought prior to the game that Diaby would start as he will miss Saturday and Eboue slot into right back, Kolo and William central. Fair play to Kolo he worked hard but he has not featured wide that often (I remember his debut on the left wing) recently. I ask you this - what is the point of playing Eboue with his questionable temperament and inability to score, bring back Jensen the goal-machine! Theo has played well enough and has a lot of confidence, despite being a one-trick pony (thanks William Gallas for pointing that out) - he is the obvious replacement whilst Rosicky is long-term. I am concerned at the second leg as it is last men standing after this weekends game and our squad is not dwindling but the Carling Cup boys i.e. Gilberto, Hoyte and Denilson might have to figure if we are to have maximum effort at Anfield. Diaby is an obvious starter for me on Tuesday but we have to se what is left hopefully RVP better and Ade no recurrence of slight ankle tweak. We have the ability to do it but away in Europe follow Cesc example and have a pop from distance if you have the time - COYR