Good Morning Positivistas,
What a night ! A delicious opportunity to reel in Tottingham and Leicester thrown away, three points that is seemed we must pick up during a good first half performance surrendered to Swansea. The evening ended with a number of players slumped, and I imagine that physical deflation was multiplied by the thousand across the fans in every corner. Even the invariably polite and articulate Arsene cracked in front of the camera. I know it took me a moment to compose myself.
Looking at the football we played I thought much of it was genuinely good. Joel Campbell was a constant attacking threat and always involved. His goal was smoother than a ripe little peach. Ramsey and Ozil worked hard and pulled the Swansea defence about all evening, Giroo provided the target around which our efforts pivoted. Did we make chances ? Oh yes, we made chance after chance. The content of the game reminded me of our thriller at the King Power at the end of September. 5-2 that finished, goals galore, Theo, Olivier and a treble from the irrepressible Chilean, a happy afternoon. If the sun shone brightly that day the weather had changed by 9.40 last night !
We find ourselves in the “perfect storm”.
A set of strikers who create chances but manage to batter only the woodwork into submission, who put the ball a millimetre to the left when a millimetre to the right is required, and often run into a keeper apparently equipped with eight tentacles rather than the standard two hands and big gloves. For the moment we can’t get the ball in the goal, or I should say more accurately we can’t get the ball in the goal enough times to overcome the effect of our second current malaise.
Allied with that misfiring offensive equipment we have a defence that seems to have lost its confidence, particularly whichever two central defenders find themselves on duty. Whether it is Per, Kosc or Gabriel when then are subject to direct aggressive attack by the opposition, when their equilibrium is upset, they seem to lapse into panic. If there is a defensive ‘plan’ (and I am sure there is) it seems to disintegrate within moments. And as their nervousness grows the opposition take advantage of the gaps and errors that such skittishness causes. Last night even the great Petr fell victim to the collective madness. Do I exaggerate ? Perhaps, but in recent games there have been a number of grim examples of allowing the attackers to take the ball, and the game away from us.
And yet, despite the footballing equivalent of Scylla and Charybdis, we sit still third in the League. Six points adrift but with ten games to go. To listen to some it might as well be sixteen points. Nonsense I say. With no side truly dominant in terms of form that the Premier League could/should be written off is absurd. If we were six points clear with ten games to go you and I know we would be nervously casting glances over our shoulder, and rightly so. There is much work to be done, to recover confidence, to re-sharpen technique. Do it again, do it better.
The North London Derby but three days away. Always a key fixture but this year….. ! Both sides frantic to secure the three points, both still in the chase for the title. There is no magic pill, no miracle panacea, we face a long march up a steep road, with the precipice of defeat a step away. The players must work hard, regain their optimism, and not give up, indeed never, ever give up. Will you join them ?
Positively Arsenal 
Who do you think you are kidding Mr.Tottenham
If you think we’re on the run
We are the Gooners who will stop your little game
We are the Gooners who will make you think again
‘Cus who do you think you are kidding Mr. Tottenham
If you think old Arsenal’s done
Mr. Wenger goes off to town on the 8:21
But he comes home each evening and he’s ready with his gun
So watch out Mr. Tottenham, You have met your match in us
If you think you can push us, even if you’ve parked the bus
‘Cus who do you think you are kidding Mr. Tottenham
If you think old Arsenal’s done
FOYS!
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We march on!
Can’t let doom & gloom win.
Regardless.
Rest the jaded. Play the well rested. Gibbs/ Elneny/ Flamini/ Chambers
A little tweaking here & there….
Free Rambo..leave him upfront. Play Oz
Start Theo @ RW, Danny on the bench
Rest the jaded. Play the well rested…..gosh, I don’t know
..but we must be patient, we must keep trying
Start the game in SLUGFEST Mode w. Gooners cheering like crazy!
Ospina —————- Lloris
Bellerin ————— Ericksen
Per ——————— Kane
Gabriel —————- Son
Gibbs —————— Lamela
Coquelin ————– Alli
Ramsey ————— Dier
Campbell ————- Alerweireld
Welbeck ————– Rose
Alexis —————— Walker
Giroud —————– Wimmer
+Huddart, Chambers, Monreal, Flamini, Elneny, Ozil, Theo.
Then bring on: Ozil (50′), Theo (60′), Monreal/Flamini/Elneny (64′).
EFFORT IS EVERYTHING for players & fans alike.
Let it all hang out….win or lose!!!
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corr:
Free Rambo..leave him upfront? Play Oz?
Start Theo @ RW? Danny on the bench?
Rest the jaded? Play the well rested?…..gosh, I don’t know
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this just shouldn’t happen:
http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/03/arsenal-fans-frustrations-swansea-jack-cork
totally unacceptable!
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The silver lining is that at least you have not had the alleged sayings of Einstein on mental health inflicted on you again and again and again
On the subject of stolen literary observation and football supporters I was taken with a paragraph I read this morning that reflects on the stupidity of a man who plants a fruit tree but waters its roots only with sour vinegar and acid, then complains loudly when the crop is neither abundant or delicious.
Clever these writers
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A letter that Sir Archibald Clark Kerr (Lord Inverchapel) sent from Moscow, where he was Ambassador during the Second War, to Lord Pembroke at the Foreign Office. The letter was dated 6th April, 1943.
My dear Reggie,
In these dark days man tends to look for little shafts of light that spill from heaven. My days are probably darker than yours, and I need, my God I do, all the light I can get. But I am a decent fellow, and I do not want to be mean and selfish about what little brightness is shed on me from time to time. So I propose to share with you a tiny flash that has illuminated my sombre life and tell you that God has given me a new Turkish colleague whose card tells me that he is called Mustapha Kunt.
We all feel like that, Reggie, now and then, especially when spring is upon us, but few of us would care to put it on our cards. It takes a Turk to do that.
Archie.
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From that thra Grauniad article:
“Arsenal had Sánchez, Özil, Giroud, Ramsey; such good quality. But when the crowd turn on you, it makes it hard to play. We’ve had it at certain times this season, when we weren’t doing too well and it does affect your confidence, at times.”
Something all positive sites have known for years!
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Cech out for 3-4 games. Not sure about Kos.
UA did an article recently which concluded that we dont get any more injuries than average….but compared to the likes of Leicester, Spurs and others, it certainly…somethimes seems like we do.
Especially unfortunate having Caz, TR and Jack out for so long….or a fit Arteta, we could really do with any one of those at the moment, essential to our play.
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The narrative being peddled by Martin Keown and eagerly seized on by others is that Arsenal have been trying to win the Premier League for 10 or 12 years – but that Spurs will do it at their first attempt.
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Mimi @MimiGooner 12h12 hours ago
Players whose first thought is to leave if they dont win a title the first time they’ve got closest are the ones who haven’t got the bottle
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Adam Matthews
@MrThaiBox123
@johncrossmirror @arseblog Everyone is entitled to stand in the street screaming at the top of their voice but only a retard actually does
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I doubt it will do Ospina’s confidence any harm to know he probably has the gloves for the next few games. It is absolutely vital for goalkeepers to enjoy real game time, to ensure their reflexes and instincts are as sharp as they need to be. If they spend game after game on the bench, and lets face it how often is a keeper subbed, then inevitably it takes some time for then to pick up the pace.
For the period from January to May last season David Ospina was a good keeper and did well. Given the opportunity there is no reason I can see he cannot be that good keeper again.
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Daniel Cowan @thedanielcowan 5h5 hours ago
The conduct of your typical ‘WOB’ and how they are all seemingly unintelligent is what makes it so hard for me to agree he has to go.
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The whole “Jack is 3 or 4 weeks away”, thing has become a joke, he has been 3 or 4 weeks away for 2 or 3 months, yet Wenger insists that there is no set back and that his recovery is going as planned. Well sorry but if that is the case then why the fuck lie about the time frame, and if he has had a set back why lie about it either. One of the two statements is clearly wrong, either his recovery is on schedule and so the 3 to 4 weeks time scale has been bollocks, or he has had a set back that keeps delaying his return. its contradictory info like this that pisses off so many and leaves people doubting any info given
TEAM NEWS: CECH, KOSCIELNY, WILSHERE
Arsène Wenger has revealed the latest news on his squad ahead of Saturday’s north London derby away at Tottenham Hotspur.
on team news…
Petr Cech is out and Laurent Koscielny is not back. We have to check this morning that everybody who played on Wednesday is a available tomorrow.
on Cech…
It is a calf injury. He had a little groin problem but he declared himself 100 per cent fit. Then you have to trust the player. He’s 33 years old and he knows his body. If he says he’s fit then he is available.
on Koscielny…
Koscielny is out. He has a small injury but he is out tomorrow and Tuesday next week. It’s a grade one, so it’s a very short period. I don’t think he’ll be available on Tuesday but next Saturday he should be alright.
on if Jack Wilshere is running…
Not yet. He is going to plan. He is doing well but we think three to four weeks. Maybe he will be available [after the international break].
on Jack’s chances for Euro 2016…
He is an important player in the plans of Roy Hodgson. We know that because I spoke with Roy about Jack. We need to do everything to make him available for us.
Copyright 2016 The Arsenal Football Club plc. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to http://www.arsenal.com as the source
Read more at http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20160304/team-news-cech-koscielny-wilshere#9ukZcykOvj4t9UP8.99
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Liam Brady on North London Derby: “If we lose on Saturday, we’re gone”
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Cazorla on Spurs: “It will be a key game. If we have any chance of winning the title, we have to win this match.”
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Tim Stillman @Stillberto 3h3 hours ago
Wilshere’s gravestone will say “back in 3-4 weeks.”
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Conceivably eddy, just conceivably, the manager is listening to those who know about Jack’s injury, orthopaedic experts, physiologists, physical rehabilitation and conditioning specialists, physios who have been monitoring the player, testing him daily and weekly, assessing his progress, scanning him non invasively regularly.
If you have a massive mob of medical experts and therapists in an organisation that is what you do, usually.
My suspicion would be that probably if Arsene is asking these people for their opinion, and presumably receiving it, that is where the regular updates on Jack’s progress come from.
Now admittedly I man be wrong and as you say Arsene might just have decide to start to “lie” about Jack’s injury, about setbacks or timescale about all of it.
The thing is though – what would puzzle me – why would Arsene, or any manager, do that ?
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Arse v the scourcers tonight Come on you Junior Gunners.
Arsenal v Fulham U15 was a very good game last night, it Finished 1-1 but as usual ARSENAL hit the crossbar twice and the Fulham keeper was impressive with many good saves.
Hutchinson scored our goal and he was one of many players who were very impressive. Good to see the one touch, pass and move stuff being played at every level.
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Hit the crossbar twice – Keeper played a blinder ?!!?
You are winding us up Ian
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well anicol, I’m not saying Wenger is lying, but if he is not, then clearly if the timescale keeps staying at 3 to 4 weeks, either he has had a set back or the medical people are not up to the task, and if Wenger is not lying we rule out the set back, then its time to replace the medical people who are saying 3 to 4 weeks
cos if the timescale is staying at 3 to 4 weeks then the orthopaedic experts, physiologists, physical rehabilitation and conditioning specialists, physios who have been monitoring the player, testing him daily and weekly, assessing his progress, scanning him non invasively regularly, clearly are not up to the job.
Whichever is the facts of it, that still means its a fucking joke
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ian is that Hutchinson the 12 year old in this video, or an older lad, and what position did he play
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Eddy if you replaced every doctor whose prognosis was not strictly accurate in relation to every patient they were treating and responsible for then you would replace all of them every few months
While I am sure we would prefer it not to be so medicine is really quite complicated, more complicated even than football !
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ian I seen a rumor that Dennis Wise’s son has been released by Arsenal
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anicol either they are not up to the job or jack is having set backs, I was involved in several sports for many a long year, and have seen enough of all sorts of long terms injuries, to know that when the prognosis comes down to 3 to 4 weeks, and two months later its still 3 to 4 weeks, that either the medics have got it wrong or the guy has had a set back.
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Sutton @sutton_01 2h2 hours ago
In future when Arsenal sells tickets they should guarantee the result of the game it would stop the confusion of what a ticket entitles you.
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the result of care in the community
Osman Arsenal
@Osman_Gunner
I’m not #WengerOut now anymore. I’m #WengerDead now. He needs to die
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Well I read dozens of expert medical reports a year Eddy in which eminent doctors provide prognosis that is sometimes on the button, however with two experts their opinion is frequently contradictory, or provisional, or subsequently proves to be inaccurate, or too optimistic, or too pessimistic. Every patient is different.
If predicting the future on systems as complex as the human body, or in this case Jack Wilshere, were easy then any half wit could do it.
They provide an informed opinion, usually based on a few decades of clinical experience, and provide the best effort they can.
Sack em – problem is you will sack the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that …..
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Eddy (post at 1.14pm)-LOL! Thats exactly how many people want it!! Theme park world!!!
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Thats one shocking tweet from the derailed bloke from your 1.18pm post Eddy.I hope it gets reported.
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Mills look at the comments posted on Arsenal.com, we must have one of the most vile and stupid shower of fuckers following Arsenal, I say following, as they clearly don’t support Arsenal.
Arsenal FC @Arsenal
The boss is here… Watch his #THFCvAFC press conference LIVE here: http://arsn.al/watchlive
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Arteta was in the training photos today, some rumors that Chambers is out injured.
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Eddy, cant do it anymore(read all that crap),used to be a regular blogger/poster at UA,until I just had enough and lost my rag big time with a with a wanker,I also used to keep eye on other blogs for them and have seen utterly similar disgusting stuff,the level of negatvity on some places is pretty shocking. I agree,they dont support AFC.
Glad I avoided the avalanche of poop post the Swansea game.That Guardian article that Aman posted today was pretty telling( unfortunately)…if all opposing teams to exploit and various media men.
But its a kind of sickness that everywhere not just in football.
COYG!!!
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(correction: if should be for..ie all opposing teams etc)
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RICHARD @R_GOONER 1h1 hour ago
It’s time to stop moaning and get behind Ospina
That way we will be there when the ball goes past him 😂
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Mills, You are in the right place here.
P.S. Send me some blogs,
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well Mills the thing I love from those sort is when they claim that their vile, abusive comments and fights with other Arsenal fans is all the fault of Arsene/Ivan/Stan, as they have driven them to it. So nothing at all to do with their lack of basic decency, manners, common sense, perspective etc.
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PG-I know that why I defected! I think a lot of the UA people would like it here, ie a place to have a bit of discussion, and not get chewed out. I’ll dig out the dead look out in your mail box.
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Darren @DarrenArsenal1 5h5 hours ago
29 years ago today, one of the greatest NLD ever and the start of modern Arsenal
I remember listening to this game on BBC Radio 5, and the reception was so bad that it was a few minutes before I knew which team had scored. The Final v LFC was my one and only visit to Wembley
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Arsenal Fixture News @AFCFixtureNews 5h5 hours ago
SHOULD we meet Watford in the FA Cup Quarter-Final at the Emirates; Arsenal have announced that this will be a Category B match.
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Eddy, too true. I miss the guys at UA though,and made a few good mates-or at least would like to think so.There are some smart guys over there but Im shit at dialectics and after a while lose my rag.It was Fins who brought me over here and i liked the atmosphere,and the fact the AAA are banned.
My deal is I love football, and love Arsenal.I cant always handle losing but try to keep a perspective.Im the fight and believe to the end bloke, and was as a player too.
The period 81-88 battered the shit out of me and put a hairy rug on my chest, in that whenever I look at these times, I think back to then. But I suppose its tough if youve only known Wenger, and feel he cant go that extra bit. I think he can and the lads, but the last years havent been easy what with the divs calling for his head.Even the FACs didnt mean too much to them.Ive enjoyed the last few years in a way.I suppose I expect not to much and therefore am more pleased when things go well.
As I wrote yesterday.-how “bad” are things? To me they arent. Bad is something else in life not AFC losing or being third with plenty of points to be fought for and still in three competitions.
I just wish we werent going into the Spuds game feeling so f+cked up! Its hard enough there even if we they are in 6th pos and we’re above them…
PG I sent a email to you at an address I think is yours just to test.Not sure!
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a reminder that the FA Youth Cup game is live on Arsenal.com, kick off at 7, coverage starts at twenty to seven.
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Jeorge Bird @jeorgebird 6h6 hours ago
Jack Wilshere was in light training today.
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Jeorge Bird @jeorgebird 33m33 minutes ago
Not in squad: Mourgos, Chatzitheodoridis, Johnson, Nketiah, Fortune, Pileas, Eyoma, Osei-Tutu, Dragomir, Gilmour, T. Bola, J. Willock, Tella
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I reckon the Young Guns look the best so far Eddy. What do you think?
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5 minutes into second half and Mavididi gives AFC the lead, Reine-Adelaide corner flicked on by Bielik and Mavididi fires home.
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yeah Mills, the Arsenal lads by far the better side, but LFC missed a great chance a few minutes before AFC opened the scoring.
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lead only lasted a couple of minutes, Masterson scores for LFC. There was a bout of ping ball around the area, and it looked like a lfc player handled the ball before Masterson fired home. 1-1
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nice goal! COYG!
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Hinds with a fine finish from a good cross in by Robinson, 2-1
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