So there we have it, Arsenal are in the final of the FA cup. Again.
OK. not the most scintillating performance , but not half as bad as people like to say.
Quite how a team with 71% possession , twice as many efforts on goal, while committing half the number of fouls and hitting the wood work three times, can be seen as lucky. beats me.
When Arsene picks the team he has to consider everything. Players returning from injury have to be reintroduced. Otherwise an injury means they wont play until another injury lets them in. Players battling for a place must be given a chance to shine and keep match fit. Players need rest. Its not as simple as picking the best eleven.
Its fairly clear that the team plays better when Giroud plays, but it really is not as simple as just putting his name on the team sheet every game.
Would Arsene have wanted Debuchy to play 124 minutes in his first game back ? No ! But he is our best right-back, and he is fit and has to be brought back.
Credit has to go to Reading too. Every one of them to a man played like their life depended on it. They were set up to stop us flowing. and it worked. But its not like they offered much going forward. Because Arsenal didn’t win easily and with panache does not mean we played badly. That’s just not the case.
Musut Ozil was once again magnificent. Of course he was less impressive than Sanchez. But only because the pundits see what most fans also see. In the same way they saw Reading’s effort over effectiveness as a reason to think they deserved better.
Personally I’m not sure I like Ramsey on the right. But I don’t know enough to say its not the right thing. He seems to be playing the Ray Parlour role. That worked just fine, so perhaps Aaron will grow into it, like he as to every other possission he has been asked to play in.
Anyway, the final it is then ! Roll on Wembley.
Positively Arsenal 
Well said George!
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Morning George, Ronan sends his regards.
Plucky Reading were playing the game of their lives, and with Atkinson in charge they knew that h wasn’t going to blow for very niggling foul – this really disrupts our style and gives teams a foothold against us.
With two minutes to go and the two on one by Reading in front of our goal I thought our number was up – lucky Arsenal.
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once Giroud came on we seen a much improved Arsenal and in particular a much improved Ramsey, he had someone to run off, someone he knew would hold up the ball, Welbeck is a runner who wants to get in behind all the time, great to have this option, a plan b if you like, but plan a with Giroud is so much better.
I would love to know peoples opinion on the penalty claims against Debuchy for handball, as I have seen loads of Gooners claim it was a clear cut penalty, for me the only clear cut penalty shout was when the Reading defender grabbed Ramsey with both hands when he was clean through on goal, he went on to hit the post with his second shot. Debuchy had his arms in a natural position, ball struck arm, not arm to ball,
very good write up george, I agree that yesterdays game was the right time to bring back Debuchy and to give Szczesny and Gibbs game time, and to rest Giroud with Welbeck given a game in his favorite position, I would have even gone one better and started Walcott, I’m really not sure why he is being frozen out so much, not only from the starting 11 but he is getting so few minutes in games.
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ozil was execptional
hey edy on the ‘penalty’ issue. Do you remember how people were slating the liverpool defender for approaching bellerin with his hands behind his back? the kid got slated for it but if you dont want to risk giving away penalties thats what you have to dop. the english media of course were furious ‘ how can a defender ever do that’
debuchy may not have intended it but ive seen them given on the basis that, deliberate or not, it changes the direction of the ball, thus alters play. it would have been harsh, then again thats why most defenders will keep their arms as close to their bodies as they possibly can. you cant rely on ref’s interpretations so you go with safety first. thats my take.
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I dont think we were lucky far from it, however for the fourth time at wembley we have turned in another below par performance and that is a worry in anyones book. many said before the game that each year we are getting better and this is a better team and squad we have now. I too thought this was a “different team” and one that had picked up that all elusive consistentcy, one that could deal with all that was thrown before them. Yes we won but reading huffed and puffed rather than playing well and on a big pitch losing the ball was more down to our bad passing than reading pressing on the constrints of playing surface we had faced the week before.
While I understand Arsenes thinking with Debuchy, it was a mistake or at least a gamble that went wrong. With Aaron drifting into the centre, as he had at burnley last week, the full back needed to have a good engine to bomb up and down and on a big pitch a player coming back from months out with only half a U21 game under his belt was not the choice. This lack of potency down the right did clip Dannys claws especially with the lack of decisive passing round the box.
Alexis might have scored two goals but his all round game was way below the standard of a player nominated for player of the year so when i see people, not just A5, say he was a stand out performer im baffled. Sanchez frustrates me so maybe im the one with the blind spot. The fact that Oliver made such a difference when he came on highlights not only how good a player he is but how ordinary the team had been up until then. There is one thing for sure if this squad is really on the verge of big things and I believe it is then it will have to learn to play well at wembley whoever we are facing.
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he had already changed 3/5 of the defence …it made sense to keep midfield unchanged and only switch welbeck with giroud..its the least risky position out of the 6 forward ones. the other 5 need to do specific things. only if those specific things didnt work would it be necessary for a substitute. Mertesarker’s forced sub had an effect in wenger’s pre-game planning. ther bbc moaning for ‘lack of action’ from our bench are typical fools who dont understand that weve just conceeded, mert is going out, debuchy is tired..but we still need a goal and welbs not playing that well. far too many decisions to make…and wenger is not rash. he can sacrifice 5-10 minutes till he finds the sollution….
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With only one sub left and half an hour to play, you’d be an idiot to make a rash decision and then find out that another player needed to come off with an injury.
Theo came on and caused exactly the problems to the Reading defence and midfield that we know he is capable of, their whole team had to push back 20m to cover him and that took massive pressure off our own defence, and he was still causing chaos at their back line.
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I’m mildly concerned about losing Mertesacker at this stage of the season. I think Gabriel will end up being a better defender once he’s fully adapted to playing in this league but he’s currently making a few of the sorts of mistakes Koscielny used to make in his early games for us, which is basically not expecting/accounting for the strength and tenacity of the forward players in this country, which led to him being caught in possession or being brushed off too easily at times. Like Koscienly, Gabriel has the pace, strength, mentality and overall ability to be a top defender in this league, and I think he’ll emerge as our best defender soon enough, but at this stage of the season and his stage of adaption, I’d rather we had Mertesacker for the upcoming matches; the Chelsea and Utd games in particular.
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whisper it…gabriel the new lucio….. winner!
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Pricks on bbc were refusing to show Özil’s assist for Alexis’s first goal.
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cannon just cos a penalty has been given for such an incident in the past does not make it a penalty, its all got to do with what is considered having ones arms in a natural position, you say Debuchy may not have “intended” to block the ball, well that is the key point, for it to be a penalty it is meant to be “deliberate” or “intended” to gain an advantage, that is the key point on most fouls, deliberate or intended to gain an advantage. Its such a pity that nearly all the pundits and commentators and also the media don’t actually know the rules. its like the “he got the ball” argument”, when in fact it does not excuse a foul or mean its not a foul.
A defender putting his arm out to make himself bigger and harder for the ball to be put by him, who then gets hit in the arm by the ball, has committed a foul, he “intended to gain an advantage” by spreading himself wide as he could, not a natural position. Yes the liverpool defender got slated for keeping his arms in, I remember both Senderous and Djourou always done this too, after a soft penalty was given against Senderous when the ball struck him on the arm – think it might have been against fulham – he also had one given against him v Liverpool for it – and I recall cesc getting a penalty for AFC by what looked like a deliberate kicking of the ball against a defenders outstretched arm, Cesc scooped the ball up and was claiming a penalty nearly before it had hit the arm at all. and as I said earlier, just cos refs have given such penalties does not mean they should have or that yesterday’s should have been one, as it should not.
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DC I agree that Wenger was right not to bring on Theo sooner as an injury etc could have led to us playing with 10 men for extra time. My concern is how little game time Walcott is getting for the last two months, not just yesterday. I find it odd, as he so helps to pin back opponents. I will say though that I can see why Wenger does not want to have both Alexis and Walcott out wide at the same time, he has always preferred one wide man and one who is more of a midfielder type. As someone said, ramsey is playing the parlour role at the moment. Both CM’s but doing a specific role outwide
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well thats what im saying…the decision relies with the ref’s interpretation of the play. if you want my opinion…..a ball deflected to a defender’s arm can never be given…but a defender crossing or shooting and hitting the defender hand…it depends where the hand is…thus i prefer to see my defenders to keep them back.
just cause you aint aiming to stop the ball with your hand dont mean a penalty cant be given…the box is an area where advanatge is to the attacker..thats why the defenders need ot be extar careful with their legs and arms.
put it this way…a defender slides for the tackle..going for ball but misses ball..he is not intending to tackle the player..but he does..its a penalty. deliberate or not
remember there is always the argument that the handball …deliberate or not…ruins a goal, an assist or a crucial set of play….why should the attacking team lose its adbvantage for a clumsy defender….’oh he didnt mean it’ …bollocks ..imagine sanchez trying to cross in the cl final and ivanovic running carlessley and stoping the ball with his un-intentional handball………. id be screaming for a penalty and rightly so/…ivanovic should know better and maybe he does and ‘plays’ the undeliberate when he knows 100% whats he is doing.
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a defender sliding in for a tackle is an unnatural position, that is why if he fails to get the ball and gets the man its a foul, Debuchy running upright with arms in natural position when ball hits is not a penalty, and you seem to have missed that there are three points to the handball, one is “deliberate” the second is “trying to gain an advantage”, this is where its down to the position of the arms, if they are in a natural position or close to the body its no foul, if they are in an unnatural position or outstretched its a foul, Debuchy had his in a natural position, not out seeking to block the ball. the third part is ball to hand or hand to ball.
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hey edy you say this : ‘well that is the key point, for it to be a penalty it is meant to be “deliberate’
thats not right buddy…… it does not need ot be deliberate to be given as penalty..it all depends on how much if has altered the play and previous direction of ball. that is the key.
you may not mean it but you are ruining my chance…..football ..feet…no hands involved….
do you see it now?
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but a tackle is a perfectly legitimate way to defend …hands are not.
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im not saying debuchy meant it …absolutely not…all im saying is that had it been given i wouldnt complain cause i can see the reason behind the justification of giving it.
it alters play..
anything that alters play in a non legal manner ( handball) can be given…so in order to avoid this massive 50-50 and grey area is it not best to keep your arms behind your back at all times? or do you want ot rely on the geneorcity and interpretation of the ref?
id rather be safe and…if it happens ..ride our luck and hope the ref is lenient.
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cannon , i explained that it had not only to be deliberate for it to be given, I gave you three things that can lead to a foul being given, deliberate is just one,
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yes but you go into areas like the english media…hand in natural position..too close..deliberate ..etc
all that is irrelevant
if your handball ruins my pass or shot it can definitely be argued for a penalty and i dont care if you meant it or not..this isnt charity. be careful in the box.
natural position…what does that mean? that because youre running and need your hands to run faster and push the wind back that you can run like that in the box while im trying to cross/shoot? and if it hits your arm i lose my phase of play?possible goal? possible assist?
realistically speaking..in a football context… the only natural position for a defender’s hands while inside the box is behind his back or close to his chest. nowhere else….
anything else can be given…intention goes out the window,,,,its about ruining the natural phase of play with a part of yoru body that is not allowed to use in football.
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Hunter. Eddy is right
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Ok boss. Got it.
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you are wrong cannon about how close, position of hands etc being irrelevant, and as for the media, you actually make my point for me, you like them clearly don’t actually know the rules, or the guidelines used to adjudge these things, but are going on and on about your own views of what these rules or guidelines should be. Inside or outside the box the criteria does not change as to what is a foul and what is not, what is a natural position for hands to be in etc, Go check out the rules and guidelines it might stop your confusion.
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no edy i ve just explained how deliberate or not ..it can still be given and that i understand why it would be given, for it alters natural play. beyond that i have nothing else to say. you win. ….. 🙂
have a nice weekend.
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As George said.
Most of the post-match assessments is either wisdom through hindsight or typical anti-Arsenal whinging by the usual suspects. Reading was always going to make it very difficult for us in this one of the biggest games in the English club calendar. We on the other hand could not be at our very best with the changes to the starting XI especially without Giroud and playing literally two “new” fullbacks. As Arsene said, at this stage of the competition it is not the performance that counts, it is the performance. Arsenal showed the patience and bloody-mindedness to prevail and while showing the team has more in reserves to win the whole shebang.
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If I played footy again, I’d aim shots just wide of my opponents forearm. When I played I was shit. No skill. Just speed and great tackling ability. (Providing taking man and ball is “great”). I could neither kick the ball straight, nor bend it, but I could hoof the ****er. (Or is that a “hoick/hoyck”)? My excuse: I never had any kind of coaching.
I now do something else on the sporting front, but I’ve been properly coached. It’s perhaps ironic, but now that it’s too late, I could play football much better, simply through learning to play summat else properly, and when strolling through the park. I’ve “kicked someone’s ball back” – to them, including sumptuous lobs over high fences.
I’m ****ing brilliant! well, in my mind.
And on reflection, or to use the oft spouted phrase; To be fair – I’d still be sh*t.
Hope this helps…
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Sanchez just needs to practice the odd pass here and there. On occasion. Heh. It’s coming, don’t worry.
2-1. The score line was easy to predict, this season. I hope Mel cashed in his chips down the bookies. Nope, I’ve remembered that like me he’s not a punter. If only I had a dodgy tache, a name like Vincent and a liking for wearing shades indoors, could’ve been billionaires. I could as predicted in my babbling rantings have also had a punt on an Arsenal player being injured by a simple foul that wasn’t even called. And yet my middle name is not Ebeneezer-Nostradamus.
Two great reviews for the price of none. Thank you.
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If you missed it Anicoll5 posted a review that is way better than mine earlier this morning http://wp.me/p37nXa-1eA
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Two reviews? Like bloody buses. Shame that Andrew’s superb writing is being overlooked.
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Not that there’s anything wrong with George’s of course.
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by time we play Chelsea next Sunday we could well be down to 4th in the table, all be it with two games in hand on Man Utd and Man City.
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Doug Nichols @TheTXI · 1h 1 hour ago
2014: Vigorous debate over playing Fabianski in final when he’s 2nd string. Fabianski starts over Szczesny
2015: F*** Szczesny
Basically.
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Sam @spud284 · 3h 3 hours ago
The boiled piss when Arsenal get even the slightest whiff of success really is something to behold.
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The difference between the 2-1 pattern this season and the frequency of the 2-0’s last year arises in my humble and entirely speculative opinion from CM. Anicoll is right and we’ve seen this team looking to find the right balance when taking a lead in a game.
The successful pairing of Arteta and Ramsey knew how they wanted to play. Coquelin has had maybe fifty games at the CM if that, only a dozen (two dozen now) in the PL/championship?
It’s coming. I’d prefer to see Cazorla and Rambo swap, but the last four results have been victories, so…!
The a same eleven as of late but with Ozil floating wider and a CM three of Coquelin, Ramsey and Sant took the game away from City in January. Be interesting to see what happens next week.
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A 17km trudge across the Norfolk plains and I return to a double dose of Gooner joy !
A fine Sunday all round
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Limpar33 @Limpar33 · 4h 4 hours ago
Has “master tactician” Mourinho ever actually changed his tactics?
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Well deserved win for Villa. If they play like that in the final it will be a great game.
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Andrew Nicoll – You did a very good review, only to be usurped by George’s late bus. As usual I love how you get us focussed on our performance rather than the ref’s. So long as we we play to our full potential in the final, Villa be damned.
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does villa v arsenal final mean Anthony Taylor gets the Final
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the one good thing about Villa making the final is that we will likely be spared the non stop drivel about Stevie Me. Maybe the BBC will hire him for their panel
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Rodgers the first liverpool manager not to win a trophy in his first 3 years in charge, super power of football. No league title in 25 years, one league cup in 9 years, and they remain the darlings of a large section of the media.
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Arsenal Fixture News @AFCFixtureNews · 3h 3 hours ago
Last season both Clubs received an initial 25,000 ticket allocation for the FA Cup Final; expect the same this season but with no extras.
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Ian Wright is a clown, just listening to him on BBC Radio 5, telling Newcastle fans to boycott their games, why is it that these self entitled fans are not told what they really are and why pander to their view that they are some kind of super club, they have not won a league since 1927, last won an FA Cup in 1955. they have hounded out manager after manager.
laughably wright has now told west ham fans not to boycott west ham games, it seems its alright to boycott cos you don’t like the owner, but not ok to boycott cos you dislike the manager.
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Will Benn @WengerBoy1 · 2h 2 hours ago
Cue the plethora of articles centred around the mistaken belief that everyone is ‘gutted’ for ‘England legend’ Stevie G
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PG, if you are still trying to decipher Finsbury’s screed on injuries, try this:
©Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2007) Suppl. 10
http://www.jssm.org
2. MOVEMENT ANALYSIS
O-007 Deceleration movements performed during FA Premier League soccer matches
I will not bore you with…… or…… or…..
It will help to give you a framework, to hang, tilt or plunge, Finsbury’s handiwork?
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Glad we won. A few things stood out for me, like our keepers performance and the lack of sharpness or was it a will to win. We almost seemed slower than that lot. I was relieved when it was over, didn’t make a beautiful watch other than some slick work by the midfielders, especially the ÖZ.
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I listened to 606 tonight too eddy and I thought it was absolutely hysterical.
Angry nutcases phoning in one after the other, cursing this manager, telling the next one he knows jack, my impression of Wrighty is that he was just pouring on the unleaded to keep the blaze leaping higher.
Not listened to it for years – funny as hell though
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normally I would agree that result matters however I am still worried about our wembley performances. I hope villa dont park the bus and are more suited to our style but we need to up our game whatever. The mystery is we are playing at an extremley high level at the moment so the blip seems to be just wembley orientated and historically based. Its a good thing I have a while before I need to start worrying about it again.
I hope we realise we only need to draw against chelski and dont over attack the bus leaving the back door open. we are better than chelski but I think we need to be cagey.
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lol..someone killed silva i see…. i laugh out of despair.. not mocking the lad…
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yeah anicol its absolutely hysterical, i rarely listen to it, but in recent weeks I’ve listened to bits of it a few times, apart from how funny it is the one conclusion I’ve come to is that its not only Arsenal that have self entitled fans. I think it was pedantic george who recently pointed out that if every club managed to achieve the demand from their fans to go to the next level, we would all be in the exact same position we are in now.
I find Liverpool and Newcastle fans as the most deluded out there, closely followed by tottnum fans. clubs that have not won the league in 25 years in lfc’s case, nearly 90 years in newcastle’s and over 50 years for spuds, but they act like they are entitled to be classed as the biggest club out there. Liverpool have won just a league cup in the last 9 years, but we never hear this, why is that, and why was this not pointed out to Rodgers last week when he claimed liverpool to be a super power of clubs.
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