Such is our form that a point away is seen by some as a bad result. But is it really?
Since the season kicked off some six weeks ago we have played 4 Champions League, 7 League and a COC game with an injury ravaged squad.
That’s 12 games, 2 per week , with basically the same starting 11. Is it any wonder we were not at our scintillating best?
The Referee was dire. More on him later.
We played a team that had their tails up, having beaten the current champions in their fortress just last week.
And yet, and yet I say, despite going a goal down, we didn’t lose. No, we did not – we drew. That dear friends is a good point, let me tell you.
Ok,there were some less than convincing performances. Such is the nature of sport.
Jack had a bit of a mare. After 20 minutes I wanted him hooked. That’s what I would have done. Off he would have come and up Rosicky would have popped.
That is why I am a dumb-arsed blogger, and not a football professional (well its one of the reasons anyway) because his spirit and drive got us the equaliser. It was his first league goal for 3 years; it took a very lucky deflection for it to go in, but in it went. You don’t win a raffle unless you buy a ticket, and Jack bought a ticket.
The same tired arguments about him not being a wide player are being trotted out. He is a very talented player, he should be able to play anywhere other than defence and centre-forward. He had a bad day. Nothing more.
Let us not forget that someone has to play wide, and in the absence of all our regular wide players, why not Jack? It helped Aaron with his development. Why not Jack?
Also, hard as it may sound, he is not playing in his preferred position simply because there are other players who are better than him taking those places.
As I saw it the problem was that West Brom set out to stop us playing through the middle. That meant the flanks were where the space was, but neither Jack nor Aaron are best suited to that role.
So it became somewhat of a slog.
This is exactly the sort of game we used to lose. But not now it seems. Oh no. This is a different animal, this Arsenal.
Now to Mr Mason, our nemesis on the day.
He was crap. He allowed Jack to be kicked from pillar to post, tripped, barged and bumped off the ball. No wonder the lad could not get into any sort of a rhythm.
Personally I thought Jack could have had two penalties, the second of which was the tackle from behind of the type that has seen penalties awarded against us when Laurent has done it.
As I said, I thought we needed the flanks to be exploited and Carl and Gibbs were not very good going forward yesterday.
Anyway, given all of the above, we have to be pleased to be sitting on top of the league going into the international break.
More troops will be back after the break and we can march on.
Happy days .
Positively Arsenal 
At last the numbskulls have called Kieron Gibbs up to represent England. Those dipsticks are so slow. England will start winning things when they have the Arsenal boys in there dictating the style of play.
LikeLike
DC, think we agree really. What I remember is Flaminis first years with us and it had Song written all over it. He tried Hollywood passes a la Fabregas and went all over the place neglecting his main duties. It wasn’t until his last year he displayed the diciplined defense game we now connect him with and cemented his place in the team. He excelled to the point Milan lined him up as Gattusos replacement. What I’m trying to say is of all our midfielders Flamini is the one most limited to a certain role.
LikeLike
In other words Flamini is the one hardest to rotate. Either you play him as the defensive midfielder or you don’t play him at all. Well he was quite good as full back too 😉
LikeLike
In even more words he can’t play the holding midfield role together with Arteta like Ramsey and Wilshere can do, changing between defensive and creative duties. Ahh I’m tired. Think you get my point now haha.
LikeLike
Pass, perhaps Arteta’s lack of match fitness is why Flamini is playing, but under normal circumstances he should be nowhere near the starting eleven. Ramsey and Arteta gave us the second best defensive record last season and the best points haul of any team in 2013.
When everyone is fit the line up should look something like this.
———————–Szczesny
Bac————Per———–Kos———-Gibbs
—————-Arteta——-Ramsey
Theo—————–Ozil——————-Santi
————————Olive
LikeLike
DC, I don’t think Flamini is a bad player. However, he’s not the type of midfielder whose first instinct is to look up and search for a pass after he receives the ball. And for a team that depends on pinpoint passing, his defending doesn’t compensate for the space he occupies in the middle.
LikeLike
Thinking that Ozil was looking a little grey after yesterday’s match? Take a look at this:
LikeLike
Robbie Savage says it, so it must be true:
“Arsenal have steel – and a plan B in attack”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24422234
LikeLike
gains i think you’ve got it just about right there, although with games every couple of days flam is a necessity. With santi back in will that limit Aaron runs in to the box or give another provider. The other question is in games when we need to sit,work hard, and then explode will it be santi or a more hardworking midfielder needed in that position. Like we were saying the other day we have now advanced to not having a best team but a more horses for courses approach but certainly at home i like the look of that team.
On lee mason, untold warned us just how bad he was and he didn’t disappoint, i’ve long thought money changed hands in football and some of our refs are extremely dodgy or at least biased but you cant accuse mr mason of that hes just shit, probably the most incompetent ref i’ve can think of and so frightened to make a decision of any sorts i’m surprised he gets dressed in the mornings.
Just going into the international week this was one of those games that was more important not to lose than anything and so lets hope all our international players come back in one piece and our walking wounded are close to a return.
I see cashley hole has found another way to piss us of pretending to have a rib injury so keiran doesn’t get a rest anyway COYG
LikeLike
———————————wojo/fabi———————————
—-sgna/jenks———PER————kosc/verm——-gibss/nacho
———————————-flamini/art——————————
—————ramsey/diabby——-wilshere/rosicky—————-
—–ozil/theo——————————————-cazorla/ox—-
—————————Giroud/Podolski—————————–
LikeLike
Hunter
and that doesn’t even include promoting some of the youngsters.
Gnarby
Eisfeld
Zemelen
Hayden
Akpom
Bellerin
Frimmy
we can play many games with one of these guys in as cover.
and not so young
Ryo, Park & Bendy.
LikeLike
Flamini played ahead against Napoli too? I think that this was to allow him to harry and harass Hamšík, as mentioned by the manager afterwards. The tackle/toe poke to win the ball and set up the second goal nice, I enjoyed The Flame’s celebration as that goal went in. I had friends who though that in spite of his playmaking that song wentbackwards in his final season. However I don’t think its fair to say that he didn’t do his job, he did, especially during his penultimate season. Every time AFC played against a gifted ten like say, Rooneh, and Song wasn’t playing, you would notice his absence. At least, Rooneh would (he could play). Simples! I think Song got his first good review out in Catalonia this past weekend.
–
Congratulations to Arsene and Aaron on their awards. Well deserved.
–
Rumours that Gundogan, Reus & Sahin all out for the first Dortmund game at least.
LikeLike
Gains
I thought Flamini’s first instinct was to look for a fight.
LikeLike
Hunter13 at 10:44am
that’s about right –
for the 2 or 3 games a week the team will have to play if they get decent cup runs this season.
Having Chelsea in the next round of the League Cup is an unwanted pain in the ass (as if there is a wanted kind),
it means we will have to play a full strength team, as Chelsea’s reserves are all senior international pros. A shame for the kid’s chances to shine again.
Moe won’t field a kid on his team – I doubt Chelsea even have them in the squad, despite having a good youth academy.
Besides – it may be Chelsea’s only realistic way back into Europe for the season.
LikeLike
Apropos
Fair point – Flamini is our street fighter,
but there is silk with the steel too.
If I was Wenger – I’d keep playing him until he collects his inevitable number of yellow cards that is going to get his suspended anyway.
Arteta invariably also collects Yellows – not dirty ones, but he will bring down a man if he thinks there is a danger of a breakaway attack against us.
Cynical? yes, necessary? yes.
I hope Song turns it around in Barca – He is so far down the pecking order – hell even Fabregas isn’t guaranteed a starting place.
LikeLike
i am struggling to find it in the intrAnett but i remember flamini part of france under 21 …whether it was euro or world cup i cant remember..sometime 2004 maybe 2005…he was part of the generation with sinama pongol and a wonderkid that never made it..bourgignon or something..playign against turkey under21 team and flamini was something like an acm rather than a def or central mid…… his versatility knows no bounds….proper footballer. can play any position…even goalkeeper….reminds me of me (muahaa) ….wears black football boots too…..have i said that..?…he wears black football boots…black..not pink..not yellow…black .. yeah baby.
LikeLike
and our new kit seems will have white sleeves only…no other colour…brilliant…ajax vintage..red top white sleeves black football boots ohhh arsenal we love you
LikeLike
nah we shouldnt play a first team against chelsea fo the cc…play the kids..ryo bellerin eisfel;d..theyll do just fine..like the denislon lot who beat liverpool 6-3 inside anfield (?) batiste scoring bonanza..
LikeLike
Hunter
where have you seen our new kit?
I’ve seen lots of fan fakes around.
There is a lovely puma gold away kit some fan made up, nice if it ever happened.
LikeLike
Hunter
Flamini must have a boot contract,
from Dr. Martins.
Can you buy 18 shoe lace hole football boots?
or do you have to earn them.
LikeLike
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2449470/Arsenal-Puma-kit-worn-Thierry-Henry-leaked-Linford-Christie.html
LikeLike
I expect to see the same sort of team against Chels as we had against West Brom in the League Cup, a mix of experience and youth and its timing might well give a couple of our returning injured players a chance of game time without too PL pressure
I also suspect we will have a stronger bench that night as a doing at home to Jose would not be acceptable
If we can beat them that would be great, I enjoy the competition an a Wembley final is a Wembley final, if not then we have a lot of football to play before Christmas and an exit would not be the worst outcome
LikeLike
DC, you made a good point yesterday about Flamini getting forward because he got an yellow. I know it is a small point, but it shows some shrewdness in the players.
LikeLike
congratulations to mr wenger and aaron j ramsey for winning manager of the month and player of the month respectively. well deserved even if the media and the haters refuse to celebrate them.
LikeLike
So mark halsey comes out and says 10 current elite referees are not good enough. And gets attacked by graham poll, not for being wrong, but for betraying the referee fraternity. W t f
LikeLike
Layksite, I was fully expecting them not getting it. I mean come on, the whole world loves Liverpool
LikeLike
do you guys think the picture is sanctioned by the club or it just another means the media wants to use to cause problems between us and nike? since their contract with us is still on, i dont think the club can allow their current players wear another kit company’s cloth.
LikeLike
By the way Gains, that would be my first eleven too.
DC, ya I agree, Flaminis all round play is alright. It’s just that I rather see 2-3 players play ahead of him next to Arteta (provided he starts). If you think he should start ahead of Arteta, fair enough. It’s the managers headache.
As for Song I couldn’t care less about his career at Barcelona. Always defended this guy and felt vindicated when he finally came through. But the way he left us still leaves a bitter aftertaste, given the personal investment Wenger put into him.
LikeLike
Hunter
If that’s the large size, I’m going to have to put in a few KM’s on the bike before next summer!
LikeLike
Apropos.
Oct 7 @ 6:38pm
Ohh, I get it now.
The must have player of the summer, ha ha.
LikeLike
Somebody cancel the orders!
DC, the hate is enough to put sections of arsenal fans to shame. Manure fans wishing him to stay injured for remainder of his contract. On their official website! Backlash
On another note, more dirt floating up to surface now. Turns out mark halsey used to train with Bolton team. Wearing a Bolton shirt with his own name on the back. To his credit thou he thinks lee mason is crap. But that we knew already.
LikeLike
I’m loving this ego clash between halsey and poll.
LikeLike
The silence from überc@nt Mike Reily is deafening.
LikeLike
Just seen TV5 in training with the Belgians. (on telly of course).
It’s one player who needs game time so no complaints.
LikeLike
What did he say about Mike Reilly ?
LikeLike
Well George,
Reily is their former boss and he selected most of these clowns.
He knows how shit they are.
It is just amazing the main stream media aren’t gunning for him.
The Untold crew have done sterling service for years, accumulating the statistical evidence.
camera crews should be on his doorstep. And at red nose’s too.
LikeLike
Going back to PG’s review of the game, I agree that WBA tried to compress us into playing through the middle and that the team we started with was not geared to use the flanks so much, especially with Albion playing with two wingers to put a damper on Gibbs’s and Jenk’s marauding down the wings. That’s why I was surprised that we didn’t sacrifice either Flamini or Arteta and put either Ryo or Gnabry out there to run at their full backs and give us more width. We don’t know of course what the half-time discussion was – for example, whether Ramsey/Giroud were carrying knocks already at that stage.
Sometimes I don’t think Jack helps himself. If he sees a group of 3 opposing players, he seems to have an uncontrollable impulse to run straight at them when he gets the ball. Which is a great idea if you then release it because you’ve taken three men out of the game. But to try and beat them all and then fall down when you don’t succeed is pointless. That’s not to say he didn’t get some heavy tackles directed at him which went unpunished – just that he sometimes invites that treatment. I agree he used the second half space much better after TR7 came on.
As for the no-penalty decision, I also think the Mulumbu tackle was a foul, even if he did play the ball first, because by bringing Jack down in the follow-through, he prevented him from recovering the ball. The problem is that referees necessarily have a great deal of discretion, and they have to make a decision in a split second while we have the benefit of instant replays. To give Mason credit, he didn’t fall for Sessegnon’s dive in the first half (in fact he ran away with a big grin on his face), nor did he fall for Long making a meal of a little nudge late in the game. Albion supporters are no doubt complaining about both of those decisions. Refereeing top level football is a difficult job these days with so much simulation and other forms of cheating (like taking a throw-in 30/40 yards up the field from where the ball went out). So I don’t go along completely with these incompetence or bias accusations. We all have bad days at the office. As for Mark Halsey’s comments, it would be interesting to go through the archives and see how many complaints were made about him in his time.
The positive news is, 1) we did enough to stay top; 2) Spurs are no longer “joint-top” (lol) and the hot air has been released from their balloon; 3) Santi and maybe Theo and Lucas will be back when real football starts again; 4) we clearly have a strong enough squad to challenge for trophies. Can’t ask for much more than that.
An exciting season in prospect.
LikeLike
Wow did telegraph just change the text in the article about Halsey? Quite sure the mike reily part and the naming of various referees were in it earlier. Might be that I was wrong, he used Bolton shirt at referee training camps, but didn’t train with Bolton team. Or did they change that text too?? Weird.
PG yet mike reily part can be found in another article:
http://m.espn.go.com/soccer/story?storyId=1576574&src=desktop
LikeLike
The halsey story on telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/10363890/Mark-Halsey-has-appalled-and-betrayed-his-fellow-referees-according-to-Graham-Poll.html
LikeLike
PG
Some critism of Riley here.
‘Pedantic’ even.
From London Independent, tomorrow’s sports edition:
Halsey believes much of the blame lies with the PGMO as well as its general manager Riley and select group manager Barratt.
“(PGMO) is running the whole show on an apparent power trip while creating an atmosphere of fear and paranoia,” Halsey said.
“That is not helping the weaker officials improve and the system often confuses and frequently frustrates the best referees who get mixed messages about what is expected of them.”
Halsey believes the wrong officials are often picked for big games and blames that on Riley and Barratt.
He added: “Riley had a reputation for being an over-fussy and pedantic ref.
“And his manner as general manager of elite referees – whereby he liaises with the Premier League and League Managers’ Association – appears not to have changed.”
Halsey described Barratt, and the dual role he plays as both their boss and the man who draws up the match lists and offers advice as a “mentor”, as a “big problem”.
He said: “How can he do that (be their mentor) when he wears another hat as head of the evaluation committee, which adjudicates and has the power to mark down referees, axe officials from matches or ultimately kick them off the list?
“There is a clear potential conflict of interest in the two roles.”
LikeLike
Interesting stuff DC, but we should be wary about the opinions of one person who may (probably?) have his own axes to grind, even when what he’s saying corresponds with our own prejudices or what we want to believe. Halsey is as biased as everyone else.
LikeLike
And was Halsey saying this behind closed doors BEFORE he retired? If not, then he’s a hypocrite and the feeling of betrayal from referees is understandable.
LikeLike
Halsey rates Dein and Webb as great refs.
Nuff said said about his brain power.
Apropos got the same links as well.
We can be sure this is serialised in the press, expect a trickle of ‘exclusives’ in the next few weeks.
LikeLike
It is interesting that Moyes was heavily critical of Riley when he was an Everton manager.
LikeLike
Dkgooner, I think we can assume safely halsey has his agenda. But that doesn’t take away that his criticism can be justified. I think we can agree that someone that’s close to referees and might have his own favorite protégées, shouldn’t be the one that draws the match lists. All doubts of impartiality should be avoided.
Also while I agree he should have voiced these questions earlier maybe we should look at it from another viewpoint. Doesn’t the very notion that a referee fraternity exists and might feel betrayed, be a good reason why he didn’t spoke up before? He might have feared isolation, reprisal or losing his job. This would be a common problem for closed institutions, like police force, military, political parties etc. If his criticism can help to break up a malfunctioning fraternizing system, why not? Might help next young referee coming up.
LikeLike
And yes I understand life isn’t easy for referees and we should show more understanding for their profession. But I think an open discussion would help their cause. Poll coming out ridiculing halsey and attacking him for betraying the fraternity, instead of arguing against his criticism is hardly helping.
LikeLike
Here’s a quick summary of Arsenal’s performances so far this season compared to last season.
12/13 P 7 – DDWWDLW Points = 12, Position 7th. F 13, A 5
13/14 P 7 – LWWWWWD Points = 16, Position 1st. F 14, A 8
Not too shabby, but as our critics keep saying – we still have to play some of the other title contenders; Like Southampton.
Last season, games 8 & 9 were against Norwich and QPR – we scored 1 goal in 2 games and got 3 points.
Next up when this season resumes, in a twist of fate is Norwich yet again and this years relegation certainties: Palace. I expect we can score more goals and get more than 3 points.
LikeLike
For example halsey says some referees are not up to the standard and a few might be helped with better coaching. So what’s he basing the standard on, statistics, what statistics? He mentions and critizes that referee performances are measured by statistics provided by an American company. So how should referee performances otherwise be judged, how can the measurement system be improved? How can the measurement system be better integrated with choice of referees for games? And how can referees be better nurtured and coached? How can impartiality be obtained? While halsey is not the person we should turn to to get the answers, these are some of the questions he has helped to raise, intentionally or not. And before dismissing them as a petty egomaniacs crazy act, an open discussion on these topics would help to understand exactly how crazy he is. Or how crazy he isn’t.
LikeLike
Apropos
The gang at untold arsenal have done years and years of work on this subject.
highly recommended.
LikeLike
Stat attack
Wenger win rate in Highbury 70% of all games. (loss rate 10%)
Wenger win rate at Emirates 68% of all games. (loss rate 11%)
And some people want their old Arsenal back.
It never left under Le Boss.
LikeLike