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Arsenal: Formation and togetherness

Middlesbrough-Arsenal-010 2.jpg

And a good Tuesday morning to the Positive Arsenal fans,

Interesting game last night. A change of “formation” but not really much difference in the set up the side as we had the ball or when we defended as far as I could see. Defenders defended, midfield players did their box to box running, tackling and passing thing, wingers ‘winged’, mostly. Not quite sure about the striker but I will come back to that.

I thought, as I see many others did, the Ox was our stand-out player on Teesside. A genuinely dynamic influence in quickly pushing forward, ball at his feet and taking the Boro full back on, even getting his crosses in from the bye line (!). When young Alex was called on to defend while he was not elegant he was always where he should be, with his head, foot or other body part thwarting the home side’s efforts. I am sure we all shed a tear when Ox’s entirely accidental damaging of Fabio in the 17th minute saw the Brazilian limp off. So unlucky, yet so unusual it is one of theirs rather than one of ours. AOC is just 23 years old but the post match speech he delivered was the footballing equivalent of the Gettysburg Address compared to the vast majority of claptrap spouted by footballers. This young man has a future far beyond the green square.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtCRIbWT7bU

Other good performances from Mesut, from Granit and from the current boo boys target Alexis.

Remarkable that some sad anorak wearing tosser spends their time counting the number of misplaced or intercepted passes that our players manage, then posts it on the internet for the mob to beat the worst “culprit” with. Hang, him. Sell him. He’s shit. Blah blah blah. I remember when the PA ethos was to support every player, through thick and thin. Aye happy days they were.

Rob Holding was rather good too. Not an easy task fitting into a new formation, on a wet and windy Monday night but the youngster performed more smoothly than a badger’s codpiece. Never jumped in, never flustered.

The one puzzle last night, and it has been a puzzle for the past few weeks was Giroud, and if not Olivier, Danny. We just do not seem to have strikers who are involved in the game. Are they not getting the ball ? Are they not getting the support ? Or are they getting enough ball and support but just not using it properly ? Earlier in the season OG was terrifying defences, physically dominating them, shooting, hitting the target with his head. Recently not. Arsene has some serious thinking to do before Sunday.

Our opponents ? Not very good although I thought their goal was class. Perfect cross, poacher’s finish. They need a lot more of that, and probably a bit less reliance on the ‘set-piece’ wrestling match to clamber out of the bottom three. Traore is still a handful though – In the Boro relegation clear-out I would take him to the Ems.

So three points safely gathered in. Not a convincing but enough quality shown by us, wrapped in a little steel, to take the season forward again. Clearly Wembley will be a very different stage, but some of the good qualities the players – and the fans – demonstrated last night will ensure we set out with confidence on Sunday.

Enjoy your Tuesday.

 

*nice picture at the top from the Telegraph of a football team enjoying a goal.

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123 comments on “Arsenal: Formation and togetherness

  1. Well it would have been out of the question Georgaki, because they had already scored 3.

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  2. imagine if a really big team ,(who usually dominate domestically perennial champions for instance in a Big league) several times champions of Europe with world class players , got a player sent of in controversial circumstances, when they were chasing the game, at the home of of another big club. Could they get run through.
    Nah impossible not according to some know all Arsenal fans .
    There is a book and screenplay in there…somewhere

    Liked by 4 people

  3. What I loved about last night’s game in the berenbau concerns Vidal. If you look like a dickhead, and act like a dickhead, it’s hardly going to be A surprise to you if you get treated like a dickhead.
    Arsenal Fan TV ‘faces’ take note.

    Liked by 2 people

  4. Yep I finally officially admit with a heavy heart that is it for Jack Wilshere, he will never be the player his young talent promised.

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  5. Diego Simeone’s highly praised defensive team was put under massive pressure from a very well limited meat and two veg aerial bombardment by Leicester last night, and he could barely cope with it.
    And this guy is supposed to be the future saviour of our team?
    Do me a favour.

    Liked by 4 people

  6. double canister Correct
    I just cant to put up a like for your post I still don’t know why
    Can anyone help?

    Liked by 1 person

  7. especially loved the meat and two veg analogy

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  8. Having tons of fun with Woz the gooner on youtube .The boys ego is way too big.
    He does not even know me, but felt he could justify his unprovable opinion by stating he has spent thousands of pounds following Arsenal, so knows more than me.
    He aint Bobby Axelrod trying to shut me down using money he has spent.

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  9. D‏ @Highbury_74 7m7 minutes ago

    It’s people like us that want Arsenal to win the FA Cup that are holding the club back, tbh

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Jack Wilshere fractures left fibula

    We can confirm that Jack Wilshere has suffered a fractured left fibula.

    The midfielder, who is on a season-long loan at AFC Bournemouth, sustained the injury during the Cherries’ Premier League match at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. X-rays taken after the game were clear, but further scans showed a hairline crack in the fibula.

    Jack will undergo further specialist assessments in the forthcoming days to identify more specifics regarding the injury and also to structure a rehabilitation programme. It is hoped that Jack will be fit for the start of next season.

    Everyone at the club wishes Jack a speedy recovery.

    Copyright 2017 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/20170419/jack-wilshere-fractures-left-fibula#b6e9Zo7Bvk788c2F.99

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  11. The footballers of FC Barcelona and Juventus are testing my patience sorely tonight. The Catalans constant cheating a fucking loathsome display.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Referee must be a saint

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  13. Bjorn Kuipers – do your duty son – deal with Busquets

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  14. And give that twat Neymar his second yellow

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  15. Great example those Catalans ain’t they, diving dissent, crowding the ref, Suarez triple salco.

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  16. Gonzalo “I’d take him in a heartbeat” Higuain is a bit shite – like a tractor with legs

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  17. Imagine the stick he’d get missing those chances for us

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  18. Formidable display from Juventus- I’m massively impressed

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  19. Juve were fantastic. Barca the diving cheating club were exposed. If Juve had a better player than Cuadrado they would have won by a larger margin.

    Hope they go on to win it. Would love to see Buffon lift the cup. He totally deserves it.

    Liked by 3 people

  20. Superb defensive effort from Juventus and a very strong display from ref. Defenders were obviously excellent, but noticeable that to a man the team made good intelligent decisions, Pjanic especially.

    Irked me slightly to see Barca get away with all the dissent when it’s so easy to imagine us getting hammered for it, but I should be grateful the ref stood up to all that pressure from fans and shameless cheats alike.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Never heard Adrian Clark described as a ‘ sad anorak wearing tosser ‘ before.

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  22. There you go Stew – even at your advanced age life’s rich experience extends

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  23. New post up

    Like

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