“We are top of the league, say, we are top of the league!”
(What can possibly go wrong?)
We stand top of the League, two points clear with six games gone.
That’s six games people not thirty-six.
It is fantastic that we are where we are but I urge caution. I hope we win the league, I do, of course I do.
I want us to win it, but I don’t expect us to win it.
Can we win it? I think so.
However, if we start to believe we should win it at this early stage, then if we don’t, that will be seen as a failure. For me though, if we don’t quite win it yet end up a lot closer, then that should be seen as an achievement, not a failure. Things can go wrong. In fact things WILL go wrong. Just like they always have for every team, anywhere, ever.
In two years time we should see the nucleolus of this team hitting their peak.
Imagine if Jack, Wojciech, Carl and AOC improve in the way Aaron and Gibbs have (although I feel there is much more to come from them and Theo too) . Ozil, Santi, Per and Laurent will still be at the height of their powers. Add to all that a sprinkling of stars bought in and then I will be expecting us to win things. Only a few short weeks ago we could have backed Arsenal to win the league at odds of 20 to 1. So if we were to eventually manage to come out on top, then – given those odds – that would be an incredible achievement.
We do incredible achievement though, don’t we?
17 years of Champions League qualification; one unbeaten season; the move to the finest stadium in the country – all incredible.
So let’s be excited. Let’s be hopeful
But let’s not be calling it a failure if we have to wait a little longer.
The same stupid people who see the last 8 years as a failure will roll out the same tired arguments as to why we have shown a lack of ambition. From what I can see, the crux of this argument seems to be that we should have spent more, sooner.
Clearly the plan Arsene and the Board have been following is not the same as that which these Einsteins would have dreamed up. Of course that plan would have been formed with little or no knowledge of the club or its goals or the financial realities.
A plan that would have been crudely fueled by dangerous levels of optimism. Still, I am sure they would have been right.
Eh? Really?
What are the chances?
So let us not make the same mistake.
Positively Arsenal 
This is crazy. We look so comfortable, it’s uncanny. And you have the feeling that we aren’t even out of second gear yet.
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I am riveted
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Hope Aaron is OK. He may not have had the Midas touch in front of goal (for a change) but everywhere else on the pitch he has been world class. Best player on the pitch by a mile.
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We look a well oiled machine. We did well last year with THEOS contract. Sent the message out that we won’t be easily forced to sell the players we want to keep.
Warning.caution. Goal posts have been moved again. It is now OZI that has save AW and ARSENAL from total chaos and crisis.
You really have to wonder about the mental stability of some people to come up with that line of crap.. Unfreakingbeliveble.
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Well, a sensational first half, a sensational Arsenal, watched by Sensational Arsenal in Chennai, India and me in Chesterfield….come you guys join us!
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GP
I’m at the pub having cockerel tenders. With ranch dressing.
Excellent half. They had one good chance but the GUNNERS seem to be in total control. This has much to do with MIKEL & TOMAS being in the line up. With all due respect to JACK & SERGE…
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STEWW
don’t you have a radio show to do right now??
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Rosicky off, Jack on. Tomas looked really sharp, almost like he wasn’t gone!
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Oh KOSHER. so close. Must do better and bury that.. COYG.
ten more to go. Keep clean sheet.
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Btw. does anyone know why almost all Napoli players wear insanely high numbers on their backs? I’ve seen 88 and 91 amongst others. Is there any history behind that?
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What a performance. This game was over after those 15 minutes. We put the fear of Wengerball into Napoli and they didn’t dare attack afterwards, knowing that if they open up, we are going to utterly crush them.
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I think I can quite fairly describe that as a very good performance from Arsenal, a well deserved victory and a good Tuesday
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What a performance. Total, absolute domination.I have not seen us dominate so completely in many years. My word what a game of football. My only gripe is I wanted more goals….
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CONGRATS TEAM ARSENAL & AW.
Cruise control baby. Well done OZI on his first goal for AFC.
and welcome back TOMAS & MIKEL.
full strength fellows. Fasten your seat belts.
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EVIL
regarding shirt numbers,
I don’t know exactly but if I were to take a guess it would be that they are long time players and were given these high numbers when they were in the reserves.
By and by, first time any team.used numbers was ARSENAL against Sheffield united I think and don’t ask me the year. Me memory isn’t as good as years ago.
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Still drooling.
–
Great atmosphere in the ground.
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Giroud is world class….
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There was no man of the match….there were MEN of the match….
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Where is PG?
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Hey Goonerkam
Where are you?
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Wow, we played some wonderful football tonight.
Patient, organised, disciplined and tough when we needed to be but beautiful on the eye also.
What also seems clear is that we haven’t seen anywhere near the best of this squad yet. We still have our player of the season to come back in (Santi)
Giroud was remarkable tonight. I said on Twitter and I will say so again. Is there a better passer with his head than Giroud right now?
Loving this, long may it continue.
COYG
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Writing tomorrows blog Georgakl-thats where
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Good to see Mario Balotelli the same cheating shite he was in Manchester
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What Mean Lean said.
That 1st half was just about as complete a performance as I’ve ever seen from the Arsenal. Just sublime. I’m rendered speechless (which can only ever be a good thing). Blew a more than decent Napoli side clean out of the water. And then wonderfully composed and professional in the second to see it out.
Theo, Santi, Podolski and the Ox still to return. Pinch me (but not too hard).
ARSENAL.
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BOOM SHAKASHAKA BOOM
Goodness me. The passing was orgasmic.
made Napoli look average which is far from truth.
THERE IS ONLY ONE ARSENE WENGER!!!!!!!!
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I love it…….
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Billy’s Boots:
“As I passed a television this morning, I saw on Sky Breakfast News (or whatever it’s called, Daybreak, Wake Up, etc) they were discussing something like “Are we happier when we have a good moan?” Based on what I read elsewhere (not here), my view would be, “Evidently not.”
The problem with having a moan is that humans, by nature, fully commit to whatever position they stake until they’re proven right or it’s no longer tenable. Once a person decides they’re moaners, they will hold that position until they can exit it without their egos being bruised. Right now, all the Arsenal doomers are looking to backtrack from their current positions without looking like the massive cocks they have been all along. This is why there are still assholes writing negative
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Good night Positivistas. I have a business trip to Paris tomorrow……can’t wait for PG’s post and the next Talking Through the Arse…….
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Back from the game and I can barely find the words to describe what I have just witnessed! It was spectacular, breathtaking, draw droppingly awesome – some of the best Wengerball I have ever seen. We were so good, we completely dominated Napoli and made them look average, which they are not by any means. I don’t think the presence of Higuain would have made much of a difference as we barely allowed them to make any real chances. Colour me impressed!
I expect Ozil will take all the MoTM plaudits, but for me Ollie G was the stand out performer. He was held down, pushed, had his shirt pulled constantly, but his hold up and link up play was outstanding. And that touch for the pre-assist to Ozil’s goal was amazing. How am I supposed to come down to earth enough to sleep tonight so that I am at least coherent at work tomorrow?
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Hay GP.
I was at a sports bar in Pasadena. Have a safe trip mate and say hello to Joey b. For me. Right in the kisser with a betchamit sandwich. Tell him the bar-codes miss him something awful.
All those waiting in line for humble pie servings ,please no pushing. Plenty for all.
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So many questions asked of Napoli and I personally didn’t see any answers…
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Just back, that was rather marvellous!.
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It an exceptional display this evening, with both the team and the crowd in scintillating form. The first half was as dominant display as I have seen from the Arsenal, right up there with the level inflicted on them by Barcelona and Bayern in recent years.
Playing Ozil and Rosicky in the same side shouldn’t be allowed. It is cruel and unusual punishment for the opposition. At times, the Arsenal men seemed to be playing a brand of football that ignored the laws of physics. Their passing was full of impossible angles, their movement was spellbinding, and the speed of thought and pass was simply astounding.
In bellowing out the call and response of “We’re the North Bank…” and “We’re the Clock End…”, the crowd set a new benchmark at the stadium. I missed out on hearing that at the old ground, but tonight it was easy to imagine what it must have been like.
It feels like all the hard work and the (relatively) hard times of the last several years is starting to pay off.
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PASS
we won’t be getting any sleep when our injured are back and we have full strength. Scary really.
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Yep PASS agree with all you said and definitely regarding OG… motm for me too.
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Oh, my goodness. Passenal, you lucky thing, you always pick the best European nights to go to! The only one I’ve been to at the Ems was that uber-boring grindy-outy 0-0 v Marseille a few seasons ago.
We just can’t stop winning can we?
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PASS
I thought OG had a great game. So did AARON & the SACKER. I’m with GP on this. This game we had MEN OF THE MATCHE. OZI was also very good. MIKEL & MATHEW super solid.
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@ Billy Boots
I can’t wait to see the clips now. I have just finished working, so all I saw was the score.
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@ goonerkam October 1, 2013 at 11:30 pm, G-P
“I’m with GP on this. This game we had MEN OF THE MATCH”.
That’s our secret weapon.
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Spotted this brilliant post in the Guardian comments section on today’s game:
chocolato
01 October 2013 11:21pm
You’re deluding yourself.
Ozil arrived after Arsenal had already beaten Fenerbahce and Tottenham. The second point to make is that the player we bought is nothing like the sort of player that most Arsenal fans were calling for… Wenger had said consistently that Arsenal needed a top, top player… and the fact is that such players are very difficult to attract to a club like ours as, believe it or not, we’re not Real Madrid or Barcelona…
Most fans would have been overjoyed if we’d signed someone like Willian! The amusing thing is that it is Wenger who was really ambitious when he looked at who he needed to sign and it was the fans were mostly just eager for some money to be spent. That’s why he went after Suarez rather than just settle for Higuain… meanwhile The Grove cry babies just wanted Arsene to sign any old body with a collection of clips on you tube for a squillion pounds.
The reaction of our fans after the Villa game was pathetic. I said it then and I’ll say it now. Bottom line is that Wenger was right all along… he was right about Walcott, Ramsey, Giroud, Kosceilny and Mertesacker… let’s be clear, Arsenal just outplayed Benitez’s Napoli who have spent royally in the transfer market with a team that didn’t contain Walcott, Ox, Cazorla or Podolski. If you actually contemplate that fact you can only come to conclusion that you were wrong about Arsenal’s strength in depth and there was nothing very necessary about the overreaction to the Villa loss. Too many of our fans are spoilt and delusional IMHO
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@G69 at 10:57 pm
Yes, well said.
I may be reading too much into this and looking for what I would like to see, but it seems that there are some encouraging signs that the crowd is evolving in the same way as the team. On the pitch tonight, especially in the first half, the players puffed out their chests and demonstrated that they believed in themselves. At times it seemed that they were giving the ball to Napoli just to prove they could win it back whenever they wanted. In a similar way, the crowd seems to be losing its inhibitions. There was a passion in the vocal support tonight that has not been there for years. It’s unrealistic to expect things to change overnight, but it seems the tide is starting to turn.
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Am I wrong to think this could easily have been 4 or 5 nil.?
ARSENE doesn’t do tactics???
PFFFFT , get the heck out of here. And stop talking s•••.
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I wonder what Rafa had to say after the game??
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@FG
I hope the clips do the first half justice! For most of it, the Napoli players were just chasing shadows.
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“the crowd seems to be losing its inhibitions. There was a passion in the vocal support tonight that has not been there for years. It’s unrealistic to expect things to change overnight, but it seems the tide is starting to turn.”
I loved that about tonight as well BB – the ‘North Bank/Clock End’ back and forth was great and the number of early leavers seems to be dwindling. There were enough of us left at the end for the ‘we love you Arsenal’ chorus to not seem sad!
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I wonder what Rafa had to say after the game??
FUNGUN
” we just can’t stop winning”
Spot on and long may it continue. My stocks in companies making humble pie are going through the ceiling . I’m rich, I tells ya. lol.
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I think OZI really like to play football with OG & AARON the ARSENAL WAY.
they are developing some kind of awesome telepathy.
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GK – you could see tonight that MO and TR7 have not played together before as a few things didn’t quite come off, but when they click, man oh man are we in for a treat! Just got to say a word for Thomas tonight, considering this was his first game back after injury, he was fantastic. There was one tackle that he won in midfield that I will not forget in a hurry! It completely killed an attempted counter attack by Napoli stone dead. I also thought AW got his tactics spot on today.
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Agree with every word.. PASS . and thanks again for the post match analysis. Always detailed and always honest. Well done.
This is going to be a hell of a year. I just hope the epl referees don’t step in as in the past and try to f••• us over again.
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I’m glad the crowd was truly exceptional and supported the team to the end. I hope it continues this way for the foreseeable and in those games where the team isn’t this great also. That’s when these guys need to hear the crowd at its loudest for a emotional and physical boost.
I’m so glad OZI’S first goal for the team was so exquisite. Years down the line when he scores his one hundredth we will look back at this one with great fondness..
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