You either believe in this team – or you don’t.
You either believe Arsene is still a great manager – or you don’t.
I do, but I have to admit my faith has been tested of late.
In the context of what has gone before, yesterdays performance was truly exceptional. So lets take a moment to set the scene.
Last week we were embarrassed and humiliated by Chelsea. Humbled by the least humble manager on the planet, and on the occasion of Arsene’s 1000th game,of all days.
On Tuesday we played with the handbrake on and a parachute open and dragging us back. To top it all we scored the most unfortunate own goal in injury time that saw us drop another two points.
Having failed to buy a really world class striker in the last three windows( for whatever reason ) our good striker looks to be running on empty with lead boots having just finished 40 Capstan full strength before kick off.
The depth of our midfield has been tested with long term injuries to 3 or 4 definite starters, including our most dynamic ( The Prince of Wales) and our world class and record transfer play-maker ( Ozil ). The most pacey of pacey players is out for the season and the best central defender in the league has joined them on the treatment table.
Mikel (aged 32) and Tomas (aged 33) who should be being saved for special occasions, are being asked to play every game. And to be fair,in Mikel’s case at least, it is telling.
So, after 19 minutes we go a goal down against the most expensively assembled team in history, having been comprehensively out played until then, and for the remained of the first half.
Be honest, were you fearing the worst ? I was.
What happened next was everything and more that we could have asked for.
Mental strength, resilience, fortitude and togetherness.
To turn the game around under those circumstances was almost unbelievable.
Make no mistake, we were by far the better team in the second period, and in the end unlucky not to take all 3 points. It was a terrific effort and our lads did themselves and us proud.
I love these players but also accept that there are some obvious weaknesses in the team. However, when they show character and skill like that, I can forgive them anything.
I am proud of every one of them. And proud of the Gooners that have stuck by them in the most difficult of times.
Positively Arsenal 
To fucking true PG and spot on…..great post thanks…..and it was great to meet Anicoll, DC, Hunter and AA. Shame Calamity Jane didn’t find us, show was in the pub and we were standing outside….that’s a frustration….but great game
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Good post george. I thought there were signs of a battle in the 1st half too though. If next season we have arteta, diaby and rosicky all available for sparse use, that’d make the difference between us now and the title chase we all know we have in us.
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I was interviewed by arsenal fans TV outside the stadium before the game. They asked me a direct question: should Wenger go? Guess my answer. Anyway, I thought the girl who ‘interviewed’ me did a poor job disguising her disappointment with my answer. They reassured me that I would appear on their show soon after the game would end. Still waiting. The footage they have posted was mainly negative or unenthusiastic comments. An agenda perhaps?
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Right I’m off to Wembley to watch Chesterfield v Peterborough in some paint pot trophy.
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Yes Els, there was evidence of fight in the first half. But there was evidence of pure class in the second.
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I don’t know what happened at half-time, but it was like the penny suddenly dropped and the players remembered how good they really are. They played with real quality in the second half and there were some signs of the return of Wengerball that we haven’t seen for a while. Could it be the positive vibes from the crowd in the first half released them from the tension that has been infecting their play recently?
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heh goodmorning, great meeting you all, andrew x2 georgaros not georgaki and double canister. george faith in wenger never a concern. faith in our fans to appreciate what we have? hmmmm … but it was good yday, for instance i saw 20 fools holding something outside the diamond level entrance…..nooone paid attention..people just passing them by…
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“So, after 19 minutes we go a goal down against the most expensively assembled team in history, having been comprehensively out played until then, and for the remained of the first half.” – PG
I wouldn’t say comprehensively but outplayed, yes. But I concur fully with PG that we hauled ourselves back in the game by being resilient and mentally strong. I was especially pleased that, based on the crowd noise on my feed, our fans were sticking by the team not only booing Nasri and Clichy but dramatizing every mistimed tackle by City. I have no doubt it had the appropriate effect on Mike Dean (4 or 5 yellows to City and 1 v Arsenal). Most importantly Podolski and Gibbs sorted out the defending on our left side.
During that period I had Lee Dixon on my NBC feed yapping about how we lacked pace to force City to defend deeper. Instinctively I shouted back on my tv – good god man our two speediest players are out injured. Next he started complaining that we couldn’t keep possession because we hadn’t signed players of the caliber of Yaya Toure. I was practically apoplectic. Right in front of his eyes was the answer to this stupid observation. An oil-based team had outbid almost everyone in the world, not to mention Arsenal, for some of the best players in the world including former gooners like Nasri and Clichy. With punditry of this caliber, in this case by a former Arsenal man, are we surprised by the mountainous obstacles we face to maintain a positive climate in this difficult run-in.
I maintain, with our four best players injured and older players having to perform game-in, game out, it is a miracle that we are sustaining our challenge.
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bubu speaks
ahahhhhhhaaaaaa
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no thats the wrong one …wait
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this is bubu
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oh fuck it….im useless… go find in arsenal tv this “legend” bubu speaking ….
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Just back from the game – well almost
What a brilliant afternoon – great to meet up before the kick off and then a feast of football, with two very good sides going at it hammer and tongs for 93 minutes. And make no mistake, in my opinion, that is the second best side to play at the Emirates this season after Bayern (and in front of Dortmund)
After a break of several weeks we finally got back to playing fast, creative football.
Our goal cut Citeh apart and but for Hart’s boot from Poldi’s hammer we would have had the three points that Lady Luck owes us. Yes you do you Lady, although I suspect you may have put the hex of john terry yesterday on Arsene’s behalf.
After the Siva goal went in not tremor of nerves in the defence and we quickly recovered out concentration, and for the remainder of the afternoon kept the lid on what is a very potent set of Citeh goalscorers. Well done Tommy V.
Santi and Tomas fizzed and buzzed, Poldi looked every inch the aristocrat he is with the ball at his feet, Olivier worked and worked and the Flamini/Mikel axis clicked into place perfectly.
Even Mike Dean played well, although I do not think I have ever sworn as much at a referee.
And did you see the substitutions ????
They brought on James Milner …………………….. James ……………………Milner ………………….. a carthorse in carthorse’s clothing.
We brought on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – and the difference in quality and energy between the two was immediately obvious
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Come on Chesterfield
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Well, I believe in this team and I believe that AW is a great manager. I also agree that Tomas Rosicky was superb yesterday…..and as Passenal has already stated the crowd were magnificent. More of the same please.
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I agree with Frank.
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Just finished watching the Fulham v Everton game and whereas we have been kicked in the goolies by Lady Luck, Everton have had loads of good fortune.
A fluke own goal by the Fulham keeper, and two off side goals and bingo, Everton run out 1:3 winners.
We get suckered 1:0 by bloody Stoke, and drop 2 points with a fluke own goal against Swansea, and instead of sharing top spot the team are deemed to be rubbish, as is the manager, in some peoples eyes …. ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous!
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HenryB – Everton’s luck on goals 1 and 2 were absolutely ridiculous. But we all know Lady Luck is very flighty. As gooners, having “known” her we are pained that she has fled us but chuckle to ourselves with the knowledge that the Toffees will soon feel our pain.
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First touch for Dawson (on as a sub), a second goal for Liverpool.
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I agree with Anicoll. Hart’s inner thigh helped them eke out a draw.
The Milner substitution had the same effect on City as bringing in Torres for Eto’o has on Chelsea. Both teams become defensive and uncreative.
Suarez just missed a sitter.
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And to think our doomers were drooling over the Spuds’ squad. While they have Naughton and Dawson we have Jenkinson and Vermaelen. I don’t even want to compare the rest of our squad to theirs because it’s quite embarrassing.
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I always thought Arsenal Fans TV was doomerish.
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Gains – Re Arsenal Fans TV: I saw the presenter doing a self interview after the Stoke game when he practically gave up on this squad Told me all I need to know. You can’t be successful with pop media by being sound and objective. Over-the-top when we win and hysterical when we lose.
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I really enjoyed this post, as it shows that it is possible to be totally realistic and positive at the same time. A great performance from the team and an important one too: line in the sand sort of thing, and a reminder to them and the watching world that they are top players. Fantastic to see Podolski playing with such purpose: he’s great when he’s great, and the signs are that he really fancies a piece of Wembley action.
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Yeah arsenal tv: are the scurge of suggested videos on my you tube account. Always struck me as scaremonger and frankly a little dramatic.
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Darn spudniks… can’t rely on them for notin. out with Timo.
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Brilliant, tell it like it is, post. This game definitely strikes me as a Bayern away type game when this team found themselves publicly on the canvas with one injured hand tied behind there back and it still got up to battle back and stand up face the negative media and shout out we are here.
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And to think I gave up going to the Sony tennis tournament in Key Biscayne in order to watch that shower of shit. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
There’s this guy who wears a Spuds shirt while he jogs and I see him every morning when I leave to work. I’m going to egg that bastard.
Shotta, I despise that Bully idiot like you have no idea. He’s a fixture on that fans show. He’s an authority because he knows all the chants.
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At the pub this morning there were over a hundred pool fans singing they were going to win the league. The amount of over confidence is staggering. The majority piss drunk.
One newly wed spudnik and his wife and a two month old baby boy. All wearing spurs kits. The newly weds had a pained smile on their faces and the baby was dumbfounded with the noise and the chatters. I bet you he was thinking
” really mom & dad. this is the team your setting me up to support for THE REST OF MY LIFE ?? Really ?? I thought you loved me. Say it isn’t so . Please please let me support some other team. ”
Had a talk with the father. With that pained smile still painted on his face he came this close to breaking down. Love is cruel innit. To their credit them pool fans left him mostly alone except for one loud mouthed piss drunk howlerer.
that poor kid. Life time of supporting the spuds. 🙂
You gotta feel for him. Hopefully he will be able to make a choice in a few years. No matter how much this would hurt his parents at least he will have something to look forward too.
Pool is not going to finish first. No way in hell. I’ll be back there smiling ( not the painful one ) when they come a distant forth. I might even by that loud mouth a half pint of sour cider.
I still think it will be ARSENAL, SHITTY, CHELSKI THEN POOL.
Taking into account the opponents for each team in the final few games.
What say you PA ????
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i say stoke and swansea have cost us more than the thrashing.
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The regular guy on Arsenal Fan TV, Moh (Mohamed) gave the best and most articulate defense of AW I’ve seen after the Swansea draw. But Chris, Claude and the BSM guys are pretty negative. There never is a female interviewer, so I wonder who Georgaki met?
What I think is a problem is that they mostly talk to the same people every game–surely if you are walking around the Ems after a match you can talk to hundreds of different people.
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I agree, Hunter. Add Villa. But in such a tight race goal difference can matter and those big losses have killed us there. What is surprising is that we didn’t crush many of the lower table sides this season. 2-0, 2-1, 1-0 were pretty typical scores. Not many matches did we score 3 or more that I can recall.
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Reading an awful amount of shite today. But I just can’t shake a healthy feeling of optimism. I don’t think we’re going to win the title but I can see us getting 2nd or probably 3rd. Historically we’re due a decent run and the only thing that can knock this squad is confidence. Were on the up from the city performance and now have a good chance to cement the feeling by beating Everton. If we do that and get our heads down I honestly think we can pick up maximum points. It’s certainly not possible for all of the teams above us. The cup is looking sooo promising too.
With that in mind I think the team should be celebrating a good season. Progress and an undeniable rock to base next season on. However reading comments and blogs you’d think we’d pissed the EPL away. Hey we were first for a good chunk, that in itself should be seen as a positive and has probably ensure we retain our stars for another summer. We all know that when Arsene does that he’s only going to develop squad understanding and intricate plays. But no, it’s seen as the fact that we have flaked out and lost the league.
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Very much looking forward to Saturday and I just cannot believe our lunchtime hoodoo this season can carry on at EFC – I may be wrong but Goodison is a ground where we have had most success in the PL over the years so it is hardly the trip of trepidation that you might believe listening to the Doomersphere.
No comments on any injuries or knocks from Saturday so a week of steady preparation.
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Limestonegunner @12:00 pm
A black girl. The usual fella (don’t know his name, stocky black guy) shook my hand as the lady raised the microphone and asked “Do you think Wenger should stay or go?”. They were on the roundabout in front of the Armoury before kick off.
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Well thee is an interesting thing – Semi final tickets to go on sale to a select bunch of Silver and Red members based on total games attended over the past three seasons
I live in hope !!
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If not us, I wouldn’t mind Liverpool winning it, to be honest. They aren’t the most expensive squad and their coach is not afraid of playing football.
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It is a terrible dilemma Gains – in terms of quality of football I would give it to Citeh, Silva, YaYa and Aguerro all brilliant – if I had to pay money to watch football other than AFC I would probably spend it on Pelligrini’s boys.
Liverpool I could live with for the sentimental value, an old foe finally clambered off the ropes after two decades – and they too have played some great football at times.
Chelsea ? Very, very, very difficult to find even a degree of respect for what would be an unexpected achievement, especially with no real strikers – the problem is that Jose dirties everything he comes into contact with. every club he has been at he spoils anything that is good and admirable, including Chelsea.
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Not me Gains, Brenda, Goofy and Diver are enough to put me off them. The media would be unbearable if the latter aka Stevie G were to win anything. Even less desirable would be maureen, so despite the financial doping, I would have to begrudgingly go with oil city.
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“Well thee is an interesting thing – Semi final tickets to go on sale to a select bunch of Silver and Red members based on total games attended over the past three seasons”
Could I be in with a hope too?
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goonerkam March 31, 2014 at 8:56 am
ok…since you asked …
Liverpool Arsenal Chelsea Man City
West ham (A) 1 Everton (A) 3 Stoke (H) 3 Southampton (H) 1
Man City (H) 1 West Ham (H) 3 Swansea (A) 1 Liverpool (A) 1
Norwich (A) 0 Hull City (A) 3 Sunderland (H)3 Sunderland (H) 3
Chelsea (H) 1 Newcastle (H) 3 Liverpool (A) 1 West Brom (H) 3
C Palace (A) 1 West Brom (H) 3 Norwich (H) 3 C. Palace (A) 1
Newcastle (H) 0 Norwich (A) 3 Cardiff (A) 0 Everton(A) 1
A. Villa (H) 3
West Ham (H) 1
4 18 11 14
Plus 71 Plus 64 Plus 69 Plus 67
75 82 80 81
positively positive squared on the 13th degree, voodoo, rabbitfoots, horse shoes,, whatever you got……
the above will of course not happen, that would be crazy, it will never happen, its ridiculous, never ever can this sequence of results ever play out, it cant happen. forget it. it is unrealistic. foolish even. dire and hopeless.
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I suspect you should be well up for a chance Pass – you go to a lot of games
I heard the average number for Red members is three a season
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I had a short stroll around a few Arsenal sites tonight
The big excitement tonight seems to be the Summer transfer window and who are the key men to sign
Another fucking planet most of them
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I never even considered it might be possible anicoll5, so to even be in with a sniff of a chance! I’ll try not to dream too much, but let’s see what the universe has in store for me!
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Definitely favor Liverpool for the reasons Gains mentioned. If Liverpool can win, there is hope for teams not financially doping at such levels as City and Chelsea. I do like Pellegrini but City is the epitome of oiligarch sugar daddies. At least Chelsea actually made it to 4th place before Abramovitch bought them, didn’t they? Without Sheikh Mansour, City would be hoping to get to the Europa league, basically Newcastle.
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Couldn’t have Chelsea for oh so many reasons. Thought I might have gone for Liverpool until their insufferable fans reminded me of why I have disliked them for so long, although I remain for ever thankful that they took the stance that they did over LS. That whole business (for me) was close to bringing George’s hypothetical question uncomfortably close to real life. I don’t mind City so much, although it irritates me no end to see Nasri charging about as if he is the very reincarnation of Alan Ball and other non-stop midfield dynamos when I recall the sulky lassitude that characterised his latter performances for us. But City do seem to be breathing new life and investment into the Manchester area in a way that reminds me of the largely positive good that the Arab investment into the UK horse industry has brought, so if I am required to plump for anyone else then they will do for me.
Fascinated to hear of Andy Nic’s foray onto other sites: which would you all recommend for humourous light-reading? I am glad the transfer rumour-mill is cranking into gear as it is such fun looking at videos of players that I have never heard of. It is perverse of me, I know, but I always get more excited about a Sanogo or a Drmic (think some kind of vowel share might be in order if they end up at the same club) than the big established names who are touted about so regularly.
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It will be fun to watch this take currency during the morning: excellent story.
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/467974/EXCLUSIVE-Arsenal-and-Spurs-agree-to-STUNNING-Emirates-groundshare
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It’s an April Fools day joke foreverheady! You nearly got me though!
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If we can;t get it then its the Oilers for me. They will have bought it, but we are coming to get them. I can’t abide the other two contenders. Revolting idea.
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Remarkably there are already people stating that Liverpool haven’t spent any money to get their success and any title win would be a stick to beat us with.
If ARSENAL don’t win it this year then it has to be our rejects that take it.
For now our finish is the most important thing with everything to play for and still it could be on paper the best or worst season for years.
Strange how in the league we have not yet been rewarded for some fantastic football this season. We have shown everything that the critics have berated us for in recent years. The keeper, the Cbs, the defensive midfielder, the team defending as a whole, the fighting spirit have all been excellent for most of the year. We are very close to having not only a team but a squad that will be all conquering. The injury list is probably the only area where we have not improved and my only explanation for that is the way English refs allow teams to get away with what I call muscle tackles, if your calf is hit several times a game its recovery rate must be compromised and is therefore more likely to fail.
We have had many most important games of the season so far and this week we have another one although I think a draw may suffice as far as fourth place is concerned. I tend to think most years you don’t know the most important game of the season until they have all been played. The main point is we have eight very important games left win then all and I will be very happy.
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