How does this grab you boys and girls?
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Would you have taken that after 12 games before a ball was kicked?
I would.
We are in this position simply because, despite a huge injury list, we have played the best football and, so far, have been the best team in the league.
When I used to ask the malcontents “What do you expect?” they would usually say “I just want us to compete”.
Well I say we are doing that okay, wouldn’t you?
Anyway, on to the game.
That was as professional a performance as you could wish to see. After the opening 5 minutes we took control of the game. They were pinned back and we looked like we would score. That we were gifted the first goal is unimportant; it was a deserved lead.
From that moment on I was convinced we would go on to win the game. Our goalkeeper and defence were imperious. Each one of them were an 8 or 9 out of 10. Giroud was most people’s MOTM. Mine too
Now although I watched the game I still can’t tell you what position the rest of the team were supposed to be playing in. If I was going to be critical, I would say Mikel was below his best in the first half. However “below his best” does not mean he was bad, because “his best” is exceptional. He still distributed the ball well and spread the play nicely. This was not Arsenal at its free flowing best, but it was a team that looks like it could move up through the gears if its free flowing best IS required.
I believe we are in this to win it.
So we can pick through it in the comments section. Let’s face it, most of you know more about the game than me.
Happy days.
Positively Arsenal 
Apparently we were meant to drop points yesterday… So a win should shut up the ‘experts’. Well, there wasnt any “debate” on MOTD about whether we can win the league so maybe Alan et al are bored of discssing it too…
Great 3 points and now to beat marseille and qualify from the so called group of death that we werent going to get out of… 🙂
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I’m still baffled by John Cross’s assessment of the game. How the hell can he conclude that Southampton were the better team? It’s important because one would ascribe a certain level of better judgement about football to a sports hack than your average reader.
Does he want to promote an image of objectivity? I have noticed that gooner pundits and ex-Arsenal players tend to be more critical and pessimistic than PA regulars. All the more reason for this blog.
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Alan Smith is another who seems hell bent to paint a dismal picture whenever he is discussing Arsenal. He said the club was in cirisis more than once last season, before the Bayern game, yet didnt hear him back track or compliment the team/manager for turning things around.
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Georgaki.John said that Arsenal deserved the win overall,but he felt they were better in the first half.
Not quite as bad,but still bollocks.
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No surproses you defending that clueless scribe friend of yours PG!
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although many like john cross ive always thought he has an agenda. he is controversial for the sake of it and to enhance his profession rather than giving proper assessments. He is a limp ARSENAL supporter much like robson
As a team we were excellent yesterday, although some individuals were below par, constantly looked threatening and moved Southampton around from start to finish. when you exert that amount of energy in a pressing game and get nothing from it you must be wishing for it to end and I was surprised not to see the saints players celebrate at the final whistle such was our domination. Although the goals come from unorthodox sources any other result would have been a groves/froch error.
More and more people in the media and at the ground are saying we are winning while not at our best and that has the hallmarks of a title winning side the one proviso I would add to that is rarely does a club who leads the table so early stay there and win it so we still have many rivers to cross as it were
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I am fucking clueless? Matt law on the Sunday Supplement just said that Southampton were the better team for 40 minutes either side of half time!!!!!
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JC’s contentious tweet was scribed, I think, about halfway through the first half (George?) and was immediately challenged by several followers including me. It’s all subjective stuff but even after allowing for my own criminal bias, it did seem to me that IF there was any kind of parity (at best) it was only thanks to the leniency of the referee in giving free rein to the visitors to foul at will whilst immediately jumping on the merest suggestion of rule bending by the home side.
So, at best, we had a hack striving for positive bias towards the visitors commentating on a game governed by a ref striving for positive bias towards the visitors!
JC later tweeted his indignation at being called up for this but to be honest, John, what did you expect?
Were you even watching the game properly?
Didn’t look like it.
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Yes I heard that,I think he meant 20 before+ 20 after. Still bollocks.
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Well it’s Sunday morning and my wife is talking about how the Pope has instructed the Roman Catholic bishops of England and Wales to discuss gay marriage, celibacy and whether divorcees should receive Holy Communion. I couldn’t give a shit. What a loads of bollocks. All I want to do is swear at the numpties on the Sunday Supplement.
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Fellas,
John Cross is a tosser. Just ignore him.
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Pellegrini’s job under threat? This is tiresome stuff.
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Oliver Kay is ok
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Poor John,hes a lovely chap you know.
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Southampton worked extremely hard to stay in the game. They received far fewer cards than they deserved. This means they were always slightly late in the challenge or deliberately fouling the opposition to disrupt the flow of the game. This is usually the complexion of a game between a top tier team and a challenger from the lower tiers. In other words an FA or League cup game. We were certainly far from our vibrant best and Arteta was well below par. I trust my ability now much more than ever after listening to so much CRAP yesterday and this morning.
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I like Steww’s real time reports best of all.
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Strange I had a decent night’s sleep but I’m fuming this morning. I need a visit to the gym.
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What the hell is Robbie Keane wearing?
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That is the worst shirt I have ever seen.What a melt.
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I suspect we are in for an entertaining game at Eastlands today
Nothing nicer than seeing two rivals scrapping to get a finger on that important 4th CL place
Surprised also to see Spuds have conceded just 1 (one) goal away from home this season in the PL – now come on that is ridiculous
The goal was the decider in the NLD admittedly but they are very poor at the back – I predict a hatful for the Sheikh’s men and the shouts of #AVBOut to reach new volume
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This Sunday morning is getting even worse. How do I find these fuckwits. Read this from ‘Sandy Doherty’ emailing Kevin Witcher at the On line gooner:
“We need to keep the momentum going – and hope that Giroud, 1-2 centre backs and 1-2 midfielders all get injured mid-Jan so that AW actually signs some players in Jan…”
This shit head is hoping for up to 5 players to get injured…….fuck, I think I’d rather listen to wife’s religious rants….
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Anicoll – yes, Middle Eastlands should be a riot of entertainment.
Again, neither side will be exactly out of the chase for the Championship should they lose but anything less than a victory is hardly going to do their credentials too much good.
Same with a rumoured van-persieless Manure v Cardiff …
Should be a nice relaxing day for all concerned.
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Georgaki – so to clarify, we need to keep the momentum going AND suffer half a team’s worth of serious injury. In the best interests of the club?
These people really do need to take a good look at themselves.
And those still indulging them should do the same.
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I’m apoplectic this morning. Arsenal are top of the league. I’ve seen nothing fragile or precarious about this team. Yes, there’s plenty of football to go, but do we require 5 new signings? I suspect Witcher posted that email because he agrees with it. I heard a podcast by him and Peyton toward the end of ten transfer window. It was full of mockery all the manager and the board. His decision to share such a stupid email with the gooner world reinforces his arrogance. I think PG would simply call him a twat.
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like I said yesterday 5/6 penalty shouts more than ive ever seen in a game, if the ref had punished them early, as is always, they would have to have stopped. their defending is “cute” but its nice to ignore the hacks and listen to their manager who said ” we done our best but I think we’ve seen the champions here today”
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I found the Southampton performance interesting. I was intrigued before how and why they had reached this point, even having played the fewest top 6. It turns out it’s very simple, and effective. They are very fit, they press extremely effectively all over the pitch. They keep their shape. They don’t give up. They have good runners. And they pass simply, in the right area.
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woke up at 14:00 ….14:30 was still trying to find wallets, tickets, keys, phones, my mind etc….luckily the 15min delay meant i didnt miss the start…so good that. ramsey oh boy what are you doing? del pierro you!! so unlucky… yes arteta wasnt at his best, gibbs mom, scezney excellent, dealt with everything. giroud is master targetman of europe, yes he is. jack very mature performance, sagna is the currently the best player in the world. credit to soton who saw their keeper do that thing and then pressed us big time, great responce, bravo to their fans as well. fuck you chelsea.
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Ok I understand now. To understand a numbskull you must think like a numbskull.
A team is better than the opposition for five minutes if they have momentum and string a good few passes together for 5 minutes.
Well then, the best player in the world is the player that makes the most incisive and well executed pass at any instant in time. Then that same player can become the worst player in the world for a very poor pass at any given instant later. Great. Makes sense. I still didn’t see Southampton dominate in any meaningful way for any protracted length of time yesterday.
Well, I can safely say that I just let rip the best, most stentorian fart this world has ever heard about 10 seconds ago. It’s very likely that some Yankee lard arse has out performed me in the flatus stakes in the last 5 seconds…..
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contrary to my earlier statement, apparently the team going into December top in the last four seasons has gone on to win the league so what the fuck do I know
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and..hey!!! we won a penalty!! at home!! we broke another tradition/record!
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and ..and…north bank : one arsene wenger ..fuck yeah…plus i saw 20-30 heroes down low trying to create a standing section..well done ..one step at a time…the team grows, we grow.
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Bollocks to all the skeptics and non-believers.
We played a very good Southampton team and while not at our fluid best we displayed our resilience and professionalism especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Saints had their moments but they were never going to win this.
We may have had our wobbles in the past but frankly worrying about the past is designed to drag us down in the mire. Our focus must be exclusively on the games in front of us. Win them games and the skeptics will go mental worrying about our not playing anybody above us.
PS: I think Jack played a very mature game yesterday. Fewer unforced errors than in the past and doing everything necessary on the defensive end in particular. Wenger showed the faith by keeping him on for all 90 minutes and even letting him play a holding role after Arteta had to be subbed. This is a very good sign as this could signal another Ramsey-like transformation of a young player.
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Re: Jack – Somebody posted some stats of Jack’s performance confirming what my naked eye saw. (http://thepremierleagueowl.com/jack-wilsheres-arsenal-performance-stats-and-graphics/ ):
– Played all 90 minutes.
– Had 77 touches of the ball.
– Had 2 shots, 1 of which hit the target.
– Completed 85% of his passes.
– Won 2 aerial duels.
– Made 3 successful tackles.
– Committed 2 fouls.
– Attempted 1 cross (inaccurate).
– Completed all 3 of his attempted long-passes.
– Was fouled once.
– Was dispossessed 3 times.
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There’s a Southampton fan I started following yesterday on Twitter, I think a few of you already know him, and he is very good on the tactical side of the game. He is full of praise for the way Arsene sussed what makes Southampton tick and utterly negated all of their strengths with the way he asked Arsenal to play yesterday.
Sometimes we think we were below par, or some players not fully in the game when actually the players were following a careful game plan to prevent the opposition taking the game to us.
Here’s an example (click on link to see picture)
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how can that be steww? wenger dont do tactics….
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it was not arsenal at its flowing best but that is one of the best game we’ve played this season. we were not flowing because southampton were a great side. one of the best we’ve played this season and they brought the best out of us. even cazorla was playing as if he is possessed by the spirit of flamini. arteta probably wanted to slow down the pace but it was impossible in the first half. all our players were great yesterday. special mention is sir szczesny.
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Maybe it’s some of our fans that don’t do tactics, Hunter.
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I think someone hit the nail on the head somewhere earlier by suggesting that whilst a number of our wins have been workmanlike and ‘not at our best’, there is the marked similarity to the many instances over the years when Manure won the league despite not playing an especially devastating brand of football.
In other words, we are effective rather than flamboyant although we all full well know the potential for the beautiful game is never far away; i’s this willingness to do what it takes to a) avoid losing and b) going on to win that I’m finding especially exciting this year.
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spuds start townsend from the sub bench! haha! they are begining to see the fitility of the runs and shots of this overhyped guy.
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Tottenham:
Worth every penny Mr. Levy. Priceless.
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Nice one George. Top of the league, and we deserve to be. (I never get bored saying that. Top of the league. There, I said it again). I still think we were robbed of the points in that opening day debacle, so if this was anything even approximating a fair and just world there would be more distance between us and the rest. That’s by the by now of course….
Fascinating stuff Steww. Unlike AW, I actually am tactically inept (not proud of it, just being honest). If only the majority of pundits and hacks could display an ounce of that kind of footballing nous.
I do agree with Andrew though, the things they often praised Man Utd for in recent seasons, we have been showing similar qualities in abundance. The great difference being, is that yes we can be pragmatic when the moment dictates, but we know that some truly glorious Wengerball is never far away. Arse.
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ArsenalAndrew November 24, 2013 at 1:17 pm
come on , dont be so cruel…the arsenal fan knows exactly what is going on, look at the number of blogs…if we dont know, who does? ….
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Both FBs were brilliant.
The confidence in this squad to play to the pace of any game was born in the run last season. They had next to no room for error for so long, none at all after the 2-2 with Liverpool.
Clattenburg was truly awful. He’s supposed to be one of the few good ones. Finally he ceded and gave what looked like the softest of all the penalty shouts. But for not giving a foul for that foul on Özil in the first half he deserves to be pelted with mouldy maggots. It takes real effort to not call something like that.
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ahaaaa.ha ha !
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What a finish from Navas. Respect.
I didn’t think we would be leading by four at this stage in the campaign, but I knew we’d be among the top teams. The big transfers made by our opponents didn’t concern me and I always thought the managerial shuffle would work in our favor. Another factor which has helped us, is the number of quality managers across the league. West Brom, Swansea, Everton and Southampton have all nicked points from the top teams.
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spuds are being butchered at etihad stadium. 3-0.
adebayor, remember him? is warming up. pffff.
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Apparently Abu Dhabi City are still paying approx. £100K p/w for Adebayor. Good business for both the Emir and the tax haven where the tinies hang their totts.
What do you all reckon? Are the city and Tottenham blogs (all two of them) full of righteous ire directed at the obscene wages of the modern footballer/agents gimp, blaming specific managers? I dunno. I’d have say that they are slightly immature if that is the path they have chosen. Just saying.
So. Adebayor is warming up for the Tinies. Soldado. Levy really knows how to splash the cash. I wish I had his wonga. And I’m glad I’m not one of those Arsenal fans who were induced into foaming from the mouth in August by disingenuous ones who masquerade as Arsenal football fans because someone had moved a lot of money from one tax haven to another.
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Predicting a Citeh win by a hatful of goals I admit I was thinking more in terms of a trilby or a bowler – something Jeeves would have approved off
It appears however Tottingham are determined to go for the XXL ten gallon Stetson headgear
They never fail to entertain
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Spurs were the better side for 30 seconds after the start of the second half…..
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In all seriousness, this is a very strange performance from Spurs. I never expected them to suffer such a heavy defeat. Things must be very unsettled in their camp…..
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