Good afternoon Positive Arsenal,
A 0-0 draw against the Championship leaders was certainly not the result that I and probably any Arsenal fans were expecting, and it would have been the hardest of Hull die-hards that have predicted they would escape from the Ems with draw. But there we are, that is football, ever unpredictable. The underdogs sometimes have their day, and as often is these they earn their reward through hard work, playing to the limit of their abilities, and with a sprinkling of luck. So it was for the East Yorkshire side today. The term often used about a 0-0 draw is “stalemate”. The game was never stalemate, and into the 95th minute the result could have been ours. Entertaining, played in a good spirit. No obvious injuries and no red cards for either side. Most welcome.
Of our own lads I thought everyone put in a good effort. Six of our usual starting side rested and three more on the bench but I was impressed with what we produced. Defensively we were just about rock solid with the visitors barely able to get a strike on target from open play. The occasional free kick that gave them the chance to bring up their tall defenders we nullified early and decisively by Kosc and Per. The Flamster and Elneny worked well together, moving the ball forward and picking passes. Alex Iwobi had another confident 70 minutes, further forward and probably more influential than against Burnley though with less space and time today. Theo started well although he faded later I thought. Joel and Danny looked bright, with the latter looking surprisingly fit after his long lay off. Last week the substitutions resulted in the perfect turnaround against the resolute Leicester defence, this week the three early changes brought no such lever to overturn the visitors.
Clearly the gaping chasm of the afternoon, the abyss into which Arsenal fans on social media are flinging themselves like lemmings as I type, is lack of early afternoon activity for the scorer, that the goals ‘for’ column ended the day as blank as it started. We got so near so often, yet could not quite make that final breakthrough. The afternoon demanded was that unpredictable goal, like the screamer that started our success against Burnley from Callum Chambers. Such thunderbolts do not arrive to order.
As for Hull a very decent team performance from all their players, with the City goal-keeper yet again the cherry on the cake of their particular display. It would be a hard heart that did not acknowledge Steve Bruce’s spots of luck in the face of 90 minutes of almost unrelenting Arsenal pressure. We were Jakupović’ed today, as we had been Forster’ed and Schmeichel’ed recently. Thank God Hull did not play their first choice keeper MacGregor or we might really have found it tough to get the opener.
The sure consolation I have is that one day a goalkeeper will visit the Emirates who will have a nightmare of a display from minute 1 to minute 90. (Manuel Neuer may have fulfilled that Faustian transaction earlier in the season but I am unconvinced).
The second aspect of today’s result that appear to be causing some consternation among the Arsenal faithful is the fact that we will be playing a replay at the KC, as you do. Presumably we will be playing a similar side to that we played today, with a lot of players rested, and the opportunity for the likes of Elneny, Chambers, Gibbs, Alex Iwobi and even Theo to get some game time that otherwise they would not enjoy. Unless Steve Bruce changes his priorities the home side will also be adapted to met their other commitments in a busy schedule. I note the jumping up and down has started about the actual date of the replay! I am looking forward to the tie. Both clubs are busy, both are vying for their respective honours. We have better players, and more of them. I enjoy watching Arsenal. Bring it on.
Enjoy your Saturday and the remainder of the weekend. DC will be our man with the biro on Tuesday.
Positively Arsenal 
The old fart’s thoughts
Well we could hardly call that an “After the Lord Mayor’s Parade”, but the aftermath felt like it. Sure the Hull keeper deserved his MOM award but in truth. had any one of 10 out of 12 saves been let in at our end, many would be the brickbats aimed at Oos. 2 of his saves however were amazing especially that from Campbell’s free kick which was tipped onto the post.
Looking back on it, at least 6 of his saves were courtesy of great chances being hit/headed straight at him. Another 10 or so went wide. And that’s not wise. But did it matter? Surely with all the possession, one way traffic and shots being taken, none of our boys playing badly and no threats from the Hull forwards, it would come good? Elnany, Iwobi and Campbell looking good, now the reinforcements of Alexis and Olly, a goal in seconds rather than a few minutes, definitely a home banker even with 10 minutes to go.
At 90 minutes though, my thoughts went back a few years, Arsenal having much about the same possession and shots on target, playing Fulham fer rice cakes. Who breaks away and scores the only goal. Yep. My confidence was at zero and they almost did the same. But we survived and despite the fixture pile up, it won’t do these kids much harm to gain more experience.
Now for more minnows on Tuesday. Keep the faith Gooners.
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Pellegrini “I think it’s not a real game, of course. I wouldn’t pay for a ticket.”
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Well the Spuds wont be doing the double. Nice work the Smeagles!
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We are not surprised…
http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/19/stats-show-arsenal-would-top-premier-league-if-video-replays-were-in-use-5706207/
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Well I am sure the Poch Out Brigade (no doubt thy exist, just dormant) at Spurs would have preferred a replay rather than a 1-0 loss today.
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Is there a Black Scarf brigade at Spurs whingeing about draws?
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I assume Citeh are entitled to some cash for their televised thrashing at the Bridge
Even they are they should use it to refund the cost of tickets to the mugs who followed them down there expecting a serious game – bloody joke
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Not getting any better at the Bridge for Citeh – 5-1.
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To be fair to their academy players it isn’t their fault – deMichelis, Zabaletta, Willy etc have been dire. Easiest win Chelsea have had all season.
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Pellegrini didn’t seem to give one hoot. Nothing to lose. Already fired. But if he wins either Capital One or Champions League that would bolster his cv. The City bosses treated him like shit, time to take care of El Numero Uno.
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Sam @samuelJayC 46m46 minutes ago
Since @MCFC announced Pellegrini was leaving & Guardiola was replacing him:
P4 W1 L3
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FA Cup 6th round Draw
Reading v Crystal Palace
Everton v Chelsea
Arsenal or Hull v Watford
Shrewsbury or Man Utd v West Ham
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really could not ask for more than that if we get past Hull in the replay
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Not a bad draw at all – assuming Hull are safely despatched
Looking at the draw we might just see the first all London semi finals
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JG @WilshereEra 2h2 hours ago
The delicious irony of money being thrown in a game between Chelsea and Manchester City…
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Red Hot Chilean @ArsenalsCannon 57m57 minutes ago
Scenes when Pellegrini fucks up 4th place also so that Pep has to play Europa next season.
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CFC played like a mid-table team with only a cup competition to save their season. Full strength too.
PS: Not a bad draw if we can get by Hull. Can’t afford to look beyond that game.
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Loftus-Cheek needs to leave CFC, if their most highly rate youth product of recent years can’t even get on for 15 minutes when the team is strolling to victory to a very young Man city team, then when is he ever going to get game time.
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I really don’t know why someone has not hired Thierry Henry as their manager yet, he is so insightful, demonstrated again by his latest advice to Arsenal, he says if they want to beat Barcelona on Wednesday all they have to do is score every time they get in the Barca box. Its such a mad plan, it might just work.
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every time i think of that announcement, i get more and more annoyed on behalf of pellegrini… so rude of them… not in making the appointment but in announcing it right in the middle of the season!
it will really be nice for city to finish 5th! good way for pep to start his prem carrier in europa!
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if we want to beat Barcelona, we must score and not concede… so insightful that rocket scientists the world over will be drooling… its a superior observation even to Micheal ovwen saying something along the line of if arsenal had not score against Leicester, we would have drawn the game!
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Wonder of Pellegrini could end up at Chelsea next season?
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All the hyperventilating from yesterday seems a bit silly now, doesn’t it?
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Yes strange that F.A. cup Sunday was better for us than F.A. Saturday the day we played.
Those who were running around shouting all is lost have suddenly stood still and are now saying hang on!
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but ian spurs city and lcfc all now have the advantage on AFC cos they don’t have the distraction of the FAC, oh and this is Wenger’s fault.
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Alex Bruce @AlexBruce84 Feb 20
Alex Bruce Retweeted BT Sport Football
Yep got away with one!! Alex Bruce added,
0:53
BT Sport Football @btsportfootball
.@HullCity’s @AlexBruce84 appears to handle the ball in the box following @ElNennyM’s shot for @Arsenal. #AFCvHCFC http://snpy.tv/1QQnoHp
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Keenos @KeenosAFC 4h4 hours ago
If Arsenal get through, it will be the 9th time in 16 FA Cup ties that they have played a Premier League team. Draw hasnt been kind recently
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Arsenal’s next 8 games in the space of 26 days
Barca H
Man Utd A
Swansea H
Spurs A
Hull A
Watford H (if we beat Hull) – or – WBA H (if we lose to Hull)
Barca A
Everton A
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It seems the FA Cup replay date has not been set yet, the FA want it to be played on the Monday, just two days after the NLD, which AFC are understandably not keen on, with CL games on the Tue and Wed it can not be staged on either of those days as UEFA rules do not allow fixture competition, it will either have to be played on the Monday, or not till the QF weekend, meaning the winners match with Watford would then have to find a new date.
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despite the possible Monday fixture being only two days after the NLD it would still appear to be the best of a very bad option. If we win the replay, the BPL game v WBA has to be found a new date too, so not playing Hull till the QF weekend would mean having to find new dates for the Watford FA Cup game, and the WBA BPL game
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Embarrassing blunder from France boss Deschamps who tells Canal + he’s keeping tabs on Napoli’s Koulibaly and thinking of calling him up to the French squad – the only problem with that is, Koulibaly has already been capped by Senegal, 5 caps.
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Quite a series of games Eduardo. But think we will do ok, Utd are in a mess and to be taken advantage of, as they transition into Mendeschester Utd next summer.
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Pellegrini for all his managerial genius got his priorities mixed up. Why would you play your first eleven in the Capital One Cup and play your second string team in the FA cup, which is in my opinion the competition that carries more weight? That team selection and defeat would be excusable in the Capital One cup but in the FA cup, he will undoubtedly be heavily critisized and rightly so. Am I the only one that thinks FA cup > Capital One Cup?
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Should fit and mostly good quality footballers be capable of playing an important Cup tie on a Sunday lunchtime then be able to play on Wednesday evening in another serious game ?
Yes I think they probably should – perhaps someone could clue me in why Joe Hart was rested ? Is this goal keeping malarkey exhausting ?
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Off subject. Somebody just reminded me of a tweet I made in August:
“8 Aug 2015: Feck me. Mourinho taking it out on his medical staff. Doing a Pep there. The man is going to piss off everyone by December. #Breakdown”
Damn it. My prediction was off by 2 months
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like i said earlier it would be nice for man city to finish 5th just to annoy per
not the one he came to take over a treble winning munuch
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afcstuff @afcstuff 22m22 minutes ago
Mesut Özil, Joel Campbell and Olivier Giroud will miss the 2nd leg at Camp Nou if they are booked tomorrow. #afc
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Team news – Gabriel, Arteta, Wilshere, Rosicky, Cazorla all out of tomorrows game.
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Wenger: “Cech will start the game”
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some reports that the date and time for the FA Cup replay is being delayed till after tonight’s FA Cup game, as if it goes to a replay then BT/BBC will each have a replay to show, and if there is a winner tonight, then Hull/Arsenal will have to have talks with whoever has the replay option, before a date and time is agreed.
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