Same Old Arsenal, Always Drawing…
Arsenal (1) - (1) Liverpool
Bendtner (54′)
The Emirates Stadium, London
Would you put money on yet another 1-1 draw at Anfield on Tuesday?
Today saw a lot of similarities from the first encounter apart from the final scoreline, including the fact that for all our play it was a set-piece and header which gave us our goal.
Cesc, Kolo and Gallas looked tired which isn’t surprising and Liverpool (with 7/8 changes from midweek) looked and performed like the fresher side. They were the better team in the first half an hour and just when Arsenal looked like they might do something Liverpool opened the scoring with a well-taken Peter Crouch goal.
He caused us all kinds of problems this afternoon and if Liverpool want to beat us next week all they have to do is play Crouch. Luckily Benitez will stick with his favoured Gerrard-Torres combination with the two Dutchman out wide which is, I think, a less of a threat than Peter Crouch is.
Arsenal did step up their game in the second half (sound familiar?) and got an equaliser ten minutes into the second period. Fabregas floated in a great freekick and Bendtner made an excellent run and headed the ball home from 5 yards out.
Seriously, we need to cross the ball more against this team!
And just to make the game like a carbon-copy of last weeks encounter we were denied a decent penalty shout when the game was at 1-1. To be honest, I didn’t think it was a penalty when watching the game but afterwards Graeme Souness who was talking to Sky said it was a stone wall penalty.
Maybe we’ll finally get one on Tuesday?
Liverpool are a compact side, who make things difficult and have that abilty to shut out teams. But there is no doubt that they suffer from set-pieces because of their zonal defending. Arsenal need to take advantage of this fact and score goals in the air in the upcoming Champions League game.
Whether Arsene will do this though is another matter.
I’d like to see Bendtner and Adebayor start on Tuesday but we know that won’t happen.
Our team selection is predictable.
Last week I predicted the team selection over 24 hours before the kick off, and it’s pretty obvious what the starting eleven will be next week.
GK: Manuel Almunia
RB: Kolo Toure
CB: William Gallas (captain)
CB: Philippe Senderos
LB: Gael Clichy
RM: Emmanuel Eboue
CM: Mathieu Flamini
CM: Cesc Fabregas
LM: Abou Diaby
FW: Alexander Hleb
CF: Emmanuel Adebayor
Walcott will not start because I just don’t think Wenger believes he’s ready for the big games just yet. I can see Theo making an appearance though in the second half depending how the match is playing out, probably coming on after 75 minutes. Nicklas Bendtner won’t start either because Arsene will put Hleb in the hole were he can link up with his mates Cesc and Flamini in the middle, which to be honest makes a lot of sense.
And with Rosicky out then there’s no choice but to start Diaby and Eboue. Diaby to be fair had a good game in Milan, but Eboue is someone who worries me. Because Kolo isn’t a proper right-back he needs decent defensive cover but Eboue just doesn’t provide it. Then there’s the fact he always loses the ball, makes reckless challenges and is prone to get stupid bookings.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets sent off.
So Bacary Sagna aside, it will be the team that did so well against AC Milan at the San Siro. The theory is with those 2 wide players we will be tough to break down and try to spring with pace on the break.
I guess we will see on Tuesday night.
April 5th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
i thought gilberto was very good today maybe he will start in 4141 formation in the hole in front of the back four were steve g sits and i dont think van persie has been ruled out just yet
April 5th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
i’ve always backed arsenal with whatever they do.but today im gonna have rethink about that.our defending for the last 7 games has been similar how fulham defends.
gallas is not showing his true qualities.i dont know whats wrong with toure either.he has been horrible which is rare from him.
we’ve conceded 27 ,most in the top 4.man u 15?even if we catch up with man u ,we’ll still loose the league
for the past few games u guys have complaint about eboue,and now i know why his that awfull.
we have lost everything now.before this game i thought we had a chance on catching up with man u,and wining at anfield.now it’s just another time where wenger says “we will fight till the end and finish as high as possible”
we need good enough backup players.when liverpool subbed crouch,voronin came on.the pool,man u ,chelski,and even spurs has better backup players than us.
but there was some bright side to the game,Flamini,Clichy,Fabregas these guys has been top top players for us especially Flamini,today he played as an xtra centre forward,defender,winger i mean i could go on and on.i think if wenger was to tell him to replace almunia ,i believe he’ll do it.
it will be very dissapointing for these player for not wining anythin this season.
walcott has a long way to go from here.im just worried he’s gona be like bentley or pennant,do badly here and do fantastic in a another club.
wenger must give gallas away,and get another powerful and commited centreback.and give the captaincy to flamini or toure.
im a very dejected supporter.i’ve never been so dissapointed at arsenal in my life as i’m today.
simple,wenger virtually must buy another 11 players,and sell a few
if he wants the league or the CL .i wonder when that will come..hmmm
April 5th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
arse blew it when it matters they fail al lthis pretty passin gets them no where…..no end product an u can see likes if diver arrogent cesc is a tired little boy now……..ye will win nothin this season….wenger need to buy ……or it will be another 4 years till ye win some silver ware……..bet yer kickein ur self now…..cause we won a cup…….better then notin…..bet the arse wud take it now…….its all about glory no point in fin 4th every season an win nothin….
April 5th, 2008 at 6:03 pm
we don’t belong to the class of manu,barcelona,madrid or milan we have to believe that one league title in 5 years is good enough and manu is god if they show mercy after winning 2-3 titles may be we can won one league title and you know mourinho was really great because he wanted to win everything every year maybe managing chelsea a low class club that shows his great mentality but wenger is a fuckin sick mouse it is ridiculous he said that people expected us to finish 10-12 but we are beyond expectation that is ridiculous sack this mouse
April 5th, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Wenger is a man who built a house, but refused to renovate it. Looking at him shaking like fowl on the touch line makes me laugh, he will simply rationalize the whole scenario after the game and forget his mistakes and stingy nature. Untill he is booed the way the fans did today, he wont wake up. A lot of people have given up on arsenal because of this predictable pattern of awful finishing every year. This is simply due to the fact that wenger and his board of old cargoes refused to spend money and beef up the team. The boys have done their best this season, but they need some good guys to help them when they are tired, as can be seen in recent games.
However, let us continue to support the club, wenger will go one day, but the club stays. i have never seen a funny coach like him in my life.
April 5th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
have to say I agree that the failings we have seen are down to wenger. the players get my backing. they have done their very best. they have dragged us as far as they could ever be expected to. wenger did not supply enough ammunition to do the damage. he has the resources but wants to do it his way with patience and building. he may think thats OK but as a fan who parts with well over a grand every season, he is playing with our money and should be investing it in quality players to bolster what is a very thin squad.
April 5th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Exact
April 6th, 2008 at 1:05 am
Have to agree with an earlier post, Gilberto was excellent today. He was easily our best player. It surprised me his performance because he hasn’t performed all season but he did well against Liverpool. Pity we couldn’t rely on him earlier on this season when it’s obvious Fabregas and Flamini need a rest. I just fear Fab and Flam will be jaded for the Champions League game.
April 6th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Fucks me off something chronic when diehard idiots defend Wenger because he changed that, because he changed this. Errr. One major flaw with that. What has a successful past got to do with a shite present? Brian Clough bought success to Forest then got them relegated. Prime example of making and breaking a team. If Arsenal win nothing much within the next 5-6 years, you’d still get wankers defending Wenger because he changed the dietary methods 20 years ago, and won league titles 15 years ago lol. Remarkable. And I hope Arsenal do win the CL this season, Wenger deserves it. But he should still be booted out or given one more year of winning the league. Afterall, the title is the big one, and even Wenger himself said something on the lines of Porto winning the CL in 2004 was like Millwall getting to the FA Final of the same year.
I used the same scenario once before. If your married for example of 20 odd years and your wife has bought you so much happiness and changed your life etc etc, and one day you found out she was fucking other guys recently, you gonna defend her and keep ahold of her because of the happy past? Or are you gonna consider the present and cut your losses? Maybe work something out, Wenger has had 3/4 years. Plenty of time to deliver but hasn’t. In football, you judge someone in the recent past and present to be fair. And Arsenal’s last 3/4 seasons have been in general shit and trophyless.
Oh, and maybe stability breeds success, after all, look at the incredible success and trophies Dario Gradi bought to Crewe after so many years of being manager.
People also wonder why on earth Wenger plays Diaby and Eboue etc all the time, and call the man a genius. Answer is, the bloke is an idiot. Why would a genius make the same old simple mistakes eh? Bunch of Wenger asshats. And does a so-called genius go a total since they have been at a club of around 6-7 years without a trophy? And does a genius who has had such wonderful, world-class players at their disposal have such a shit general record in Europe and never won a CL?
Don’t worry guys. Remember one thing, you’ll have the last laugh over me when Wenger (in your eyes) will deliver league titles galore etc soon lol. Yeah right. Might get one, but I very much doubt it. Bloke wants to admit defeat, gain respect by fucking off to Japan or France. Prove how good he is by building a youth team with a small club over there. Then if he makes them worldclass, then we can say he is a genius. What a prick.
Maybe I was quick to jump the gun by slating Wenger in 2006. But in 2007, and 2008 same old shit. Slating is justified. Nuff said.
“It is unacceptable for a big club to go 4 years without a league title.” - Arsene Wenger on Real Madrid.
No league title for Wenger for 4 years and counting.
April 6th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
20-20 hindsight is so simple. Then you build a rage at circumstances out of your control, and what do you get — someone ready to throw a terrible two tantrum on a website like this. Gotta say, Gelbs, the quality of your rant is something special, even if it says more about you than about Arsenal or Arsene Wenger. You are just so wrong about everything, especially your comments about Wenger’s judgements and decisions. I think he made the best decisions he could at the time — so they didn’t all pan out. Unlike you, he cannot project his 20-20 hindsight wisdom forward into slam-dunk never wrong choices.
Successful managers need judgement and resources. Few teams have both. (Think Spurs under Jol.) I suspect Arsenal have not had a lot of resources for a few years, so judgement mattered more. On the other hand, look at the revolving door at Liverpool, where the manager clearly has a poor ability to figure out beforehand whether a player can help him or not.
Maybe someone can tell me how many January acquisitions made significant impacts for their teams — since the answer is not “zero”, I suppose its not stupid to challenge Wenger’s conclusion that they rarely help. So, after getting rid of what must have been a cancer on the squad — Diarra — he decided not to gamble, not knowing, as you do, Gleb, that Eduardo and Sagna would go down, Rosicky would never recover, and that Song and Toure would be gutted in different ways by the ANC.
It started out as a young squad, clearly better than the Spoors fantasists thought, but probably a year away — yet now you gripe. Boring boring and childish is my view.
Right now, its hard to draw conclusions about any player’s true value to the club. They are all so tired. Even before he went down, Sagna was not half as much an offensive threat as he had been earlier, and he and Eboue were doing less, wide, than before the ANC.
When you’re frustrated, blame Eboue — he got a shit yellow yesterday, because he’s supposed to. How many of you thought it was a bullshit call? No. You’re too angry at Arsenal and you take it out on the designated whipping boy. I don’t know how he overcomes his reputation — check the number of fouls he’s caused vs his teammates and the rate at which they generate yellows before you challenge me — but without fan support he surely won’t. Maybe he cannot make it at right wing, but I have yet to see the poster who ever gave him half a chance.
Now, another myth: Arsene doesn’t spend. Hmmm. About half the preferred starting squad has 2 years or less with the club, so that sounds like another shite comment.
That said, he needs to do more than add two great players this summer. I think its likely that one of Gallas or Toure may have peaked as a player; Gilberto must be replaced. Insurance against Van Persie and Rosicky playing 30% of the games again is needed. A replacement for Eduardo is needed — he cannot be expected to contribute next season — if he does, great, but should he be rushed back to risk further injury?
And how many of the youth can be expected to continue to mature next year and do better? I’d say yes on Theo, Traore and Song, with the jury out on Bendtner, Diaby, Denilson, and Hoyte.