I honestly cannot remember being so nervous before a Liverpool game. Not for ages. They’ve been in fine goalscoring form and we struggle to keep a clean sheet these days. I blame Mike. Ever since he put Wojciech Szczęsny in his fantasy league team we seem determined to leak goals win lose or draw. He will be all smiles when I return to work tomorrow though, thanking me for the points, which is a little insane but when you’re as unpopular at work as I am you have to take it where you can get it. The bizarre thing is of course that hidden behind the quite breathtaking talent that is Aaron Ramsey, Wojciech Szczęsny has actually been one of our very best players. The defence in front of him looks as settled as I can remember it and the midfield generally work their socks off to deny teams room in which to operate when they enter our airspace. And yet I was nervous that we would not keep them out yesterday. In my defence I kept my jitters to myself and didn’t pollute either this place or twitter with such pathetic weak kneed negativity. There was one other reason that I was concerned, not just for Mike’s fantasy league side but for our very real team as well.
Let us be perfectly honest we have been in a small dip, a minor depression, operating under a briefly passing black cloud of late and Liverpool have been in rampaging fine spirits. Our blip, as I sincerely hope it will prove to be, has been at once entirely understandable and at the same time extremely interesting. Understandable because we play in a fast hugely competitive league where players are usually only good for about four matches before they start playing in the red zone and given our injury situation we have had to wheel out the same old faces for just a few more games than has been desirable. The blip, or dip if you prefer coincided with some players returning to the side. I never expected such crucial personnel as Santi, Tomas and Mikel to simply glide back into their best pre injury form, who would predict such a thing? They didn’t of course, all players need time to find their groove, and with Mesut still adjusting to the frantic pace of the EPL and still finding the pushes and shoves shockingly under punished by lenient refereeing it was no surprise that we have struggled of late. This little period has been interesting though hasn’t it? Interesting and telling because we have somehow contrived to come through it five points clear domestically and joint top of our Champion’s League group. Oh and I ought to mention we’re shot of the pointless fixture clog of the league cup as well. Which I consider to be a result. How often in the past have we turned in below par performances, lost a couple of home games and been in such a powerful position?
Happy days to be an Arsenal fan.
Yesterday I was proved wrong. I had no real need to worry did I? I don’t need to tell you what happened of course. This isn’t the nineteen fifties where you need the written match report to tell you how the drama unfolded, but I shall at least share the moments which stood out for me.
Per’s ludicrous level of calm insouciance as he intercepted, dummied a Liverpool forward before instigating a counter attack. It was simply gorgeous.
Wojciech Szczęsny playing a one two with one of their player inside his area with the relaxed attitude of a man who meant to do it.
Giroud’s entire performance. Yes, yes I know he fluffed his lines in front of goal a couple of times but he made more dribbles than anyone else on the pitch, was a tower of strength in our goalmouth whenever they had a corner, he bothered and pestered their defence into errors all afternoon thus relieving the pressure off those behind him and he tracked back, closed down and generally made a nuisance of himself all day long. A fantastic, skill filled, gutsy, tireless performance.
Santi’s goal. What can you say? The guy scored and got the assist. Not many players can play a thunderous one two off the opposition woodwork and then crash home an unstoppable volley.
Aaron’s goal. I laughed out loud. How else could you react?
Koscielny’s performance. All of it. Suarez must still be smelling Kos’s deodorant on himself. The young man not supposed to be Arsenal quality continues to keep our club captain out of the team and world class strikers in his back pocket.
Arteta’s tackling. No individual moment stood out but the slight of foot with which he gently relieved his opponents of the ball was just a joy to behold.
Arteta late in the game making Stevie G look so very past it.
Arteta dragging/back heeling/side flicking the ball to Gibbs next to the corner flag while under pressure.
Arteta’s hair.
Tomáš Rosický spinning, running, injecting urgency wherever he went and looking like a man ten years younger. Long may it last.
There were many other moments – I’m sure you have your favourites, but before I go I have to credit Liverpool for making a game of it, they had their chances and on another day might well have got something out of the match. However their strength is their attack and we neutered that strength for the most part by keeping the ball in their half. Can you imagine how good we will be with Podolski and Theo back in the side? It is a terrifying prospect. Oh and while I’m gazing with my red tinted spectacles into the future how about when Mesut Özil catches up to the speed of the EPL? It’s like we have this unexploded bomb ticking away in our midfield. He already has an understanding with Aaron, he just needs to adjust to the crazy pace of the English game, and, well, boom!
Positively Arsenal 
position? whos position? your freinds friend or the shop owner’s?
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Klopp may like his back handed compliments and his Heavy Metal. I hope that doesn’t include the Hoff. The knight rider was a big star in Germany. And Germany is known for techno and electro, possibly some chap called Beethoven. Not metal. Sort it out Klopp. He’d be one of those dudes you find sunbathing by the Wansee with a proper mullet on. Dear oh dear.
It will be the Arsenal who have the guitar slinging rock and roll star in their line up tonight. Come on you footballing furies. A winner for Tomas.
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mandela shouldnt have been in prison at all. he is enjoying everything today because he is in south africa. not because the white just suddenly change and realise that mandela is a legend.
everything obama is today is as a result of the struggle led by martin luther king who was bruttally murdered. for what? for trying to fight racial discimination.
i gave up on the fight against racism in uk during terry vs ferdinand saga. when it was revealed that maximum sentence is a fine of £2000. £2000??? how is that going to be a deterrent to a millionier john terry even if he was convicted. the less we talk about fight against racism in the west the better.
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finsbury
November 6, 2013 at 1:59 pm
yep we thank him for his fine comments but lets beat him and reply for two weeks ago….and fuck the violins we bring the drum and bass …plus the laser…
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the toures, the friend of my friend, and those countless low level individuals and groups racially abused and insulted every day.
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“how ridiculous we are to feel more concerned about a footballer getting racially abused on a football pitch than the actual racial discriminations taking place in everyday life…”
I understand Layk and Hunter and that is what is getting my goat
The point I have been ranting on about, today at least, is that the football authorities, and in our own way us fans, have it in our power to do something about what happens in stadiums and on the pitch. The behaviour of fans can be altered in respect of attitudes to race and as far as I am aware it has been in England and most if not all of Europe.
Ask the Arsenal fan who hefted the banana at Bale ffs ?
So the argument that I should not feel, or feel less, concerned about what abuse Toure or Rose has to put up with does not stand up with me.
I am concerned about racial abuse of footballers because it is something that can be, and should be dealt with. It can be deterred, driven underground, atomised.
I am not a hand wringer, a breast beater, I try to be a pragmatist.
I do not waste my time being most concerned, as Barnes apparently does, ineffectually about the BIG PICTURE concerning racism – a picture he suggests no initiative or strategy in his article to tackle.
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Good point about the racial abuse v racial discrimination Hunter
The link might be that racial discrimination is made up of a 1000 forms of, sometimes in themselves are inconsequential, social rules based on ethnicity and culture, sleights, crude words, exclusions from buses or washrooms, poor quality school buildings etc which bundled together create the BIG PICTURE
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sorry layksite i dont understand…your friends friend was racially abused by the shop owner ? or just looked at in a certain way? i dont follow…..
++++
anicol, it is that exact bigger picture that i think barnes is talking about rather than the isolated incidents of footballers getting verbally abused due to colour in terraces..
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Fin, it has always been thus. When players have to cover for other players they are bound to get injured. We’ve seen that movie play out year after year.
Gibbs, Gnabry and Flamini are available. Theo, Jack and Poldi are back after the break. Oxo comes back late Novemeber or early December.
Anyone catch Olive in the press conference? Dude’s been here a little more than a year and he is already killing it in English.
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Hunter, your point on categorising people is a key point in this rascism debate. My understanding of history and people is that ‘rascism’ is a bit a of a bullshit that was made up to keep all us poor people fighting amongst each other. As far as I’m concerned, everybody gets discriminated against, regardless of race or gender.
But there’s football in a few hours. Damn, its a shame I have work in a few hours as well.
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Shall we start a new post so we can talk about tonight’s game? .
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Sav, the poor fighting the poor has been a halmark of American politics since our founding. Now they’re exporting that nastiness to the rest of the world.
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ALL YOU GOONERS , GET READY TO RUMMBEL!!!;;;
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Light rain forecast for Dortmund throughout this evening’s game
From my recollection of the excessive amount of falling over both sides did at Schalke last season in similar conditions could I suggest long long studs please
In fact no falling over – none at all – not the night for it
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hunter! a blackman entered your shop, touched an article with his black hands and then dropped it without buying it. and you a white man looked at the blackman with some hatred in your eyes, picked the article the blackman touched with his black hand and dump it into the bin right in the presence of the blackman.
what is it you dont understand!
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Fins
Klopp is definitely a double denim, blue stratos, opel manta coupe, leopard skin car seat cover kind of guy.
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There is a football match tonight.
Lets set the world to rights another time..
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Although fascinating, I didn’t mean to start a debate on race issue. And my only offering, since it (racism) is not an issue amongst PosA brethren and sisterhood, something I love about this space, is that, for us (Africa, but the example is the same elsewhere), it is not about racial abuse at individual level, easily enough dealt with, (Suarez makes a stupid remark) but about history of institutionalized economic and social alienation (social “engineering” in another sense) on mind-boggling scale, and the aggregate result of that. The other way, about momentous struggles and sacrifices to overcome. The sneer from a Terry thug is not the issue, or is, but that’s personal.
Let’s talk football!!!!
Options like Gibbs and Flamini, as well as Serge, available makes this and Yoo on Sunday start to look like a sumptuous feast, a beast of a match times two. We will give a good account of ourselves, let’s hope the football gods and the little gods too (refs) give us luck and fair play.
Go Gunners!!!!!
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DC @ 4.14
Haha!
–
1-1 on the last visit to Dortmund, they were lucky to equalise in the end. The previous round of games between the two were airbrushed from history by the disingenuous critics in recent times. For that reason alone I would,love it, just love it, if Arsenal won tonight. But I’d take a draw!
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Ok chaps and chapesses
There is a game of football tonight but I would like to direct your attention to the following (forgive me if you are aware of this stuff). It is important and supports ZimPaul’s comments about racism being an institutional problem:
The legacy of slavery in the UK:
http://is.gd/7TVkVx
The legacy of slavery in the USA
http://is.gd/OMvKUO
Come on you gunners all all shapes, sizes, colours and creeds…..
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Wassup POSTIVISTAS!
ARSENAL squad to face BVB tonight…
Szcz
Sagna – Kos – Per – Nacho
Arteta – Rambo
Ozil
Rosicky- Cazorla
Giroud
+Fabianski, Verm, Gibbs, Bendtner, Gnabry,
Fins, I’d settle for a draw BUT would much rather an ass-whooping to atone for the sheer impudence of a fortnight ago
COYG! COYG!! COYG!!!
..oh, and welcome back Dexter.
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UP WE THE ARSENAL!!!!!
UP WITH THE RED & WHITES!!!!!!!!
racism sucks . So does sexism and fascism. As individuals do your part to combat on daily bases. In any walk of life even football. These isms thrive when the majority stay quite and on the side lines.
NOW LET RIP INTO ZE GERMANS
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Hahaha.
Fiver with a friend that AARON gets a goal today. Go on stud. Make me proud.
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We can get a win with this line up.
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goonerkam November 6, 2013 at 6:07 pm
lol i agree 100% but i have thought of another theory just for the laughs
it is the woman’s fault…. they have the final say on who they reproduce with ..and they are more attracted to the macho uneducated bullish macho dangerous type stupidly and romantically thinking ” i will change him”….
🙂 … 🙂 i will sign autographs after the game 🙂 🙂
now we need to lubricate them harowitz barrels so that hummels doesnt hurt much….. we dont want him to run to hospital for stitches we are classier than that…. we are gentle….
🙂
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Hahaha. can’t say I disagree with any of that strongly. Oh wait. I’m a mucho silent type. I know , it’s the money. Lol. And power.
ANDrea did well. Zenit should have won that. Saved pelanty.
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Hummels out, not on bench?
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Aman you left out Jenks and Isaac Hayden
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Gibbs starting.
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Hayden must be doing something right.
This is Tomas’ game.
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COYG
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Hayden over Yennaris? Interesting.
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Hayden seems to be our new back up dm after Arteta and Flamini.
Same team as against Liverpool. Makes sense considering our injury list. Should be ok with players coming back for the weekend game.
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With this team we should be going for a win.
COYG
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slightly second best in the first half.Not much in it though
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Arsenal holding back
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Dortmund are excellent through the middle on attack. Arsenal defending well.
Mature game.
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Brilliant contest – two of the best football teams in Europe nose to nose
And both canceling out the other so far
Something really clever, really lucky or unlucky will spring the lock
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WOO-HOO
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HAHAHA
AARROONN FUCKING RAMSEY..
I win.
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Safe bet mate!!!!
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What a game plan. I LOVE AW…..
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You got it Kam
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Well well well
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Well done Wenger, not bad at all
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Fucking epic.
Brilliant.
YES!
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Get the fuck in!!!! Now what will be your excuses fuckers
Thanks team thanks arsene!
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CONGRATULATIONS ALL.
SPECIALLY THE PLAYERS AND AW…
count ARSENAL out at your own peril.
This team is for real……
Safe bet? Yah , never bet against a streak. Aaron is amazing.. so proud….
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Fuck my old boots !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Lads and Lasses
Fantastic night….great performance…..
Join Sensational Arsenal and me next time it’s fun on a global scale….get the google hangout app and let us know…..
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