Just one word.
Where to start?
I assume you have all seen the game, so no point me going through it blow-by- blow.
It was quite simply a thing of beauty.
Wengerball at its finest. This was not merely sterile possession, oh no. It was quite simply football at its very best. Napoli were going to be the big test, ‘they’ said. Well from the first two minutes right up to the whistle at the end of the first-half, Napoli did not get a foot on the ball.
Remember, this was a side wracked with injury, cobbled together from a paper-thin squad supposedly lacking depth, and a manager, we have been told, who doesn’t do tactics.
It was just devastating stuff from the home team, total domination and a joy to behold.
The poor Sky Sports pundits were left without a twig to beat Arsenal with; critics of the club were left scrambling for crumbs of negative comfort in a cupboard that is patently bare; once again, the sound of scripts being torn up were all but audible.
The second half was Wengerball (Part 2) and you could sense the whole of Europe taking heed of the warning now emanating from North London.
We just slipped back into third gear and controlled the game in a way that really makes you think that this team is the real deal. We waited and waited for a counter-attack that simply never came. Napoli knew we would ruthlessly pick them off if they risked anything and sensibly opted for a respectable defeat, three points lost. The other option did not bear thinking about and had season-ruining potential written all over it.
I really can’t think of one of our lads who were not magnificent.
Ok, I don’t have enough superlatives to do the performance justice, so let’s enjoy talking about it in the comments section.
Have I said I love this team?
Oh, ok.
Positively Arsenal 
Wait a minute… this is not the old Arsenal!
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DC
They had that early chance for Pienaar (a good chance) and that was it! Very strange for a team that was still in with a chance of European football. Not to mention the extra monies that come with every place further up in the league.
Like I said before if I was an Everton fan I’d be happy with Martinez for Moyes.
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George, it was a big test. And Arsenal absolutely aced it! Napoli is a really quality team and they didn’t have a bad night, Arsenal just overwhelmed and suffocated them. That performance had everything you could look for except a glossy goal line fully expressing the level of dominance. But anyone who watched it would know that it was a masterful, essentially perfect performance that showcased the ability of this team to marry beautiful technique in passing and movement, expressive skill, steely tackling, suffocating pressing, organized defending, determined spirit, whole-hearted effort… Everything.
Let’s go crush West Brom, Dortmund, Norwich, Liverpool, United… Alas for the international break!
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double canister October 2, 2013 at 5:51 pm
ha dc..there s only one word to describe di canio …and that word is …..’cult’ ….
LSG .. i remember us play so convinsingly was again i think in champions league aganist another team that was in form ( b2b european uefa winners) and we fielded a 442 with hleb flamini cesc rosicky …ade and rvp up front…the opponents were sevilla and we thrashed them 3-0 ..cant remember which year though
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LIMESTONE
can’t disagree
There is new narrative that is being pushed and it is troubling me very much.now don’t get me wrong. I do like OZI and love the fact that he had acclimated to ARSENAL system of play double quick. I can also see a certain telepathy starting to develop amongst certain members of our midfield and front three. Long my it last. OZI will be a fantastic member of this club for years to come.
Here is the problem. I’m hearing from some quarters that he has saved ARSENAL & AW from a crisis. This can’t be further from the truth. THE GYNNERS have had a very healthy run of form going back twenty some games. Lets give credit where it’s due. The SANTIAGOS, TR7, KOSHER & THE SACKER amongst others. OZI is a fantastic player and I’m super glad we got him opportunistically but he is no savior. We were and still are well on our way of turning the corner to challenge for top spots. Please everyone, try to combat this line of thinking before it picks up any more momentum.
Applause to all great comments today especially my man SHOTTAGUNS. they slate and defame robin van purses but can’t see that they are as guilty for turning their back to the team and AW when the need for unified support was the greatest. Thank god AW IS MADE OF STERNER STUFF.
as he never even flinched while we all were worried for his physical health. Remember Houlier at Aston villa?
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Oi Joe Wakey Wakey
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Another hilarious effort from FlappyHartski
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the amount of bunders commited by hart this year alone is more than what szczesny has commited in his entire career to date. yet you hear it every game how hart is world class and szcz is not consistent.
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Anicoll and Layksite
How the hell is Joe getting away with those piss poor performances week after week?
Fraser Forster for England, pronto!
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Bayern Munich playing like a poor man’s Arsenal tonight.
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Men against boys at the City of Manchester so far
Pelligrini with a serious rebuilding job in front of him – so much deadwood
Home fans booing
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Foster was brilliant last night DC
Hart is in the Paul Robinson category these days
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Anicoll
He’s head and shoulders above Hart!
…. Runs for coat.
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Celtic goalkeeper was most impressive against BARFA yesterday.
JUV 0 – 1 GALA
drogbrth
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Sounds like there playing in Munich, Anicoll.
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Ronnie Whelan on Irish TV
‘There is no team in the premiership who could so totally outplay City the way Bayern are doing tonight’
…oh, really Ronnie?
Missed last night’s match, did you?
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To be fair Bayern are a class act
I wonder if Mansour watches this ?
If he is watching he must wonder wtf he has spent all the cash on
Fernandinhiouoohioiooo – how much ?
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Oh my Dennis
City 25% possession, Bayern 75%.
Lucky bastards to be only 1-0 down.
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Hunter, reminds me 0-2 away to Milan–statement game, saying: watch out!
Kam, the obvious answer is that we were on a good run before and didn’t lose players, that Flamini has been very important for the balance, and that Ozil has made a strong and solid team play that much better at Wengerball in particular. And that last bit we haven’t seen as much of the last couple years but we are now capable of that sort of football with a settled side and the addition of another top creative player.
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Dzeko is on the pitch
Just heard
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If Bayern had a stricker playing, they would be müllering City now.
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Anicoll 8:55pm
Hehe.
City just got Müllered.
Dzeko is off now, in case anyone notices.
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Dzeko gets his second mention of the evening as he is substituted
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ooh, look – even our kids beat Napoli!
http://www.arsenal.com/match/report/1314/post/youth/arsenal-yth-v-napoli-u19
@ goonerkam
It was inevitable they would take that line (that Ozil is Arsenal’s saviour). They love a “hero” narrative, it’s sexier. And ignoring our previous run of form and the four games we won this season before Ozil joined means they don’t have to admit that we were not in crisis after Aston Villa. People will go to great lengths to avoid having to admit that they got something wrong.
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That Bayern team cost a fair bit to assemble. Rich man’s Arsenal?
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Come on Eduardo’s team!
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It’s ridiculous how bad City are in Europe. Another season of European failure awaits. And in all honesty, the way City are playing right now, I don’t think we have to fear them.
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I expect Citeh will turn them over at the Allianz
I honestly have never seen YaYa made to look so totally irrelevant
And I revere YaYa – great player
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Fungunner
It’s keeps the narrative that Arsenal were in Crisis.
It’s like the bullshit that our defence is terrible.
Oh, and we need another striker too. Apparently.
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Right I have seen enough humiliation in Manchester tonight
Off to the Donbas
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Bye bye Sami.
Didn’t even know you were on the pitch.
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Whenever I see a team being utterly destroyed by Bayern, I just smile and remember that in 2013, they have only lost one game, To us. Back when we were “shit”, according to some.
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Anicoll
9:07pm
Yaya’s been a no no.
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LIMESTONE
right. That doesn’t make OZI the all savior of the club as being presented by some and taking credit for him even being here saying it was their ” pressure” that forced AW hand. Laughable stuff if it wasn’t so sad.
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Get in Taison you beauty
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Yesssss!
Taisonn (? Me neither)
The Ukrainians are going nuts.
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15 minutes of Moyes ring twitching
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Spot on FUNGUN & DC
is EDVARDO on? I’m watching EBOUE and he is playing like a stud..
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I got tired of watching the League Big Boys getting the piss kicked out of them by Robben and co.
GK: Haters gonna hate. It’s not like Koscielny became a better defender or Szczesny a better keeper because Ozil arrived. He’s a wonderful addition to the team, but his teammates aren’t chopped liver, as they say. If people want to think we wouldn’t be anywhere without Ozil, so be it.
Hunter, can you imagine if Jackie learns how to buy himself space like Ozil does with his tricky turns?
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Ozil: “You can see in training how technically good this team is and that showed on the pitch, too. The team supports me so well. We’ve got some great players in our ranks. They make life easier for me on the pitch and I am thankful to them for that.”
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I got Eboue in my champions league fantsay team. Woooo Hooooo!!!!!
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Bernard is coming on, remember him? He was the hot thing for us for about a week in the summer.
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1-1 result in Donetsk.
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GAINS
I understand . its just so pathetically unfair to our team of last year that put in alot of hard work and continue to do so. If the media picks up on this in less than a month they will turn this around to
OZIL FC and no longer ARSENAL FC.
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Manchester United are in the group of death. Hahahahahahaha.
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Last 20 minutes at the Donbas I watched was spent viewing two sides for whom the idea of passing was foreign
A mediocre point apiece
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How’s our lad Campbell doing for Olympiakos?
Vela scored for Sociadad.
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Unnecessary giddy optimism.
likely second place teams in the last 16 we could be drawn with:
Shaktar
Juve
Olympiakos
Basel
Porto
Milan
Not bad, eh?
Definately worth trying to top the group.
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Bollox – let’s have the Bavarians
Let’s just do Dortmund first though
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‘coll
we have nothing to prove to bayern. i’ll rather have them in quater or semi. lets top our group for a change so as to show them haters that we are actually the death in the ‘group of death’.
give me milan. i still haven’t forgiven them for what happened the last time when we played them without a single player on sub bench. unfortunately they are not as strong as before. and you know the the haters will say.
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