This site was set up not for me, or the other blog post authors, to impress people with their knowledge (or lack thereof ),but for intelligent positive fans for discuss The Arsenal free from the pollution of most comments sections in Arsenal blogs. Every once and a while a comment is so well constructed that I just have to publish it as a blog. Below is one such post.
Pedantic George @arseblagger.
The PGMOL are too secretive to be seen as fair and unaccountable, and what fair and unaccountable organisation offers fifty grand hush money.
Arsene Wenger, after the west Brom mike Dean debacle says he has been in the game in this country for thirty years, and he had heard things, and stands by what he said after that game, it later transpires he called mike Dean a f*cking cheat, dishonest or something along those lines, if Wenger said that , I believe him. On the word of an honest man, and what I have seen Mike Dean do to this team over the years, yes there will be convenient exceptions, but we know what we see.
Arsenal are the only top club consistently in a negative penalty balance, year upon year after mike Riley was installed by Fergie and his LMA yes men, including big Sam, a man whose influence exceeds his talent, and integrity. A constant stream of dodgy pens against costs points, Mad Jens said similar recently.
As for the famed Utd bias, it certainly existed under Fergie, two plus seasons no penalties against at OT, Fergie time. It may have abated post Fergie, but during his time, when ex referees have gone on record saying he had the power to select referees, if a manager can select refs, sounds similar to an Italian word I cannot spell beginning with C. The Utd bias, corruption, bullying, call it what you will existed, the media just laughed at it.
Arsenal and Wenger have been systematically defrauded in this league, look at any metric, penalty bias, cards per foul, injuries inflicted on players, media bias, a respected manager called a paedophile from day one, Xhaka’s tackles, the alleged Eduardo dive, referees making false claims against Wenger, LMA manager sucking up to Fergie making false claims against Cesc.
It is all out there. Other supporters of other clubs may claim the same, but I sincerely doubt if Utd , Chelsea, City, Liverpool or Spurs fans could match the charge sheet of injustices against our team and manager, and if they could come close, the media would be all over it.
Mike Riley is a weak and willing foot soldier put in place by those who wanted the English game over Wenger’s continental approach which threatened one influential manager especially. Mike Riley was a poor referee, and is now an even worse administrator and communicator, as ex refs have confirmed. He is only in place as an establishment lick-arse who will maintain whatever status quo those above him tell him. I often wonder if someone in high place has something on him. He has power over referees careers. Wenger was a victim of Mike Riley, and those he serves corruption in a game we all remember, as he has been many times since.
These are not all errors from refs, this is not objective reporting from the media, it is no coincidence so many of our player have been maimed, only for the ” he’s not that sort of player ” to appear next day in the papers, this is a campaign to rid the English game of a manager who has , from day one, refused to play the English game, to his eternal credit
Positively Arsenal 
Also feeling a little less aggrieved about Kos and Mustafi losing Kane three times for headers in 55 minutes. He gave Juve’s defence ,which has something like 9 clean sheets in ten, a fair bit of trouble that half.
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Ffs Buffon
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Shit, this Spurs team are fucking good….
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Fucking Tottingham have fucking done the fucking business here
Fucking fucking football
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Juve
Recently dominant domestically recent CL finalist with there first 11 world class players everywhere playing . All the knowledgable Arsenal blaggers and Twitterartti telling me that Alegri would sort Arsenal esasily because he is tactically light years ahead of Mr Wenger.
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Maybe we should go for Pochettino?
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Well that was interesting – some good interesting, some not so good.
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Out of interest, because we probably know each other (in online terms). Did Shard go by another name at the other site? Loomer or something? Maybe? I dunno, it’s hard to keep up.
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Don’t think so – Shard – are you out there ?
No requirement for any nom de plume here
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Anti arsenal agenda aside, you and your coaches need to up your performances, especially concerning defence, it will take a long time to shift the balance of power, but in relative terms, our neighbours look a bit more clever than us at the moment
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OK, sorry I should have addressed him/her myself! There was a Loomer, wasn’t there? Shard are you Loomer?
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Hopefully the spuds doing well really spurs Wenger and co on, it really ought to!
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They’re making me: (a) nervous; (b) somewhat thankful for City; (c) extremely keen for one of their big players to leave soon.
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It’s horrible.
My clearly insane sister-in-law would say something like, ‘don’t you think it’s fair for them to get a go?’ (she once genuinely suggested consolation in defeat in that at least someone- the other team- got to be happy).
But fair schmair, it’s bloody horrible.
Still, the prospect of them again winning nothing is mighty appealing, and then the hope things can change fairly quickly in football.
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Juve’ aggregate score against this season’s 5pur2 team will not be as good as the Arsenal’s.
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Juve can still win the tie. They have to win the reverse fixture which was probably always going to be the case.
They’re not as good as they were so it is unlikely. If the tinies lose Dembele from their midfield for the second leg, who unfortunately for them has had bad luck with injuries, I’d increase my odds for Juve. Be interesting if they can afford to rotate and rest him given that the Spurs are fifth (one spot above AFC).
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A (league) cup final against the champions elect following on from a cup final against the champions, coming up soon.
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Really good clip to watch here in relation to the issue of players having to jump on contact. especially when big scary goalkeepers are barreling dangerously towards them.
It’s from u18 game on weekend. Our 4th goal. Bout 2 mins 15 on video. Shows exactly what I was on about the other day about how honesty tends to leave you with a tricky angle to work with. To me though it is normal, real football. Keeper jumps at your feet and may or may not make slight contact, but you as attacker are concentrating on following ball, and may jump slightly to avoid keeper.
Anyway, it’s mad that ,apparently, in top level football journalists et al apparently believe the actions of Kane et al are real. Real fouls. Real repercussions of contact, etc. Real shame.
https://player.arsenal.com/video/under-18s-reading-2-6-arsenal
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It would seem that the John Cross shift in North London is real….
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John Cross has his little agenda, pays the bills. Twenty years is a hell of a power shift to overcome.
We still have a lot to play for, including a couple metal things rarely seen in the Spuds cabinet.
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Quite amazing, we have beaten the cream of Europe but never the praise as offered tonite.
Is it Wenger or is it arsenal, this media thing?
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Y’all know there is a simple solution to being miserable about Spurs being good: don’t watch them. I am blissfully oblivious this evening, enjoying the Olympics and blocking John Cross.
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Mandy @ 5:23 pm (Tuesday)
Sorry for my tardy reply.
Anyway, thank you for your well thought out response to my request for clarification, it is appreciated.
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“Good result but the defensive performance will be a real cause for worry when Juventus come to London.
The ease with which Higuain slipped in for the first, and the reckless manner of the two penalty concessions does not suggest any solidity.
Luckily, Juventus were in a generous mood as well, with both goals they conceded coming from uncharacteristic errors from a tight Juve defense and an aging but still brilliant Buffon.
For all their pretty football it could have ended a lot differently.
Many will point to the mental strength to come back from two goals down, but why wasn’t it on display right from the start?”
Oh shit! This wasn’t Arsenal. Damn, need to rewrite this report. Where’s the list of keywords I keep for the Spurs? Aah yes, fantastic, Kane as good as Messi, Power shift, Great team performance etc.
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Loomer?? The only looming I do is over London.
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Juve’s defence was a joy to behold last night, ten men strung like a web across the pitch and not one of them more than 35 metres from the goal, and behind them Buffon. Chiellini was tremendous. The right back, De Sciglio I also thought was brilliant.
Really good defending is art and science woven together, though admittedly it could have gone just a tiny bit better for the Italians.
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I think our coaches, and maybe some players need to watch others and seriously alter their approach to defending at times.Not going to call out individuals here, when things go wrong at the back, it is often a team thing, but just coming to the inescapable conclusion that our players are not drilled, or set up as effectively as some.
Key in the modern game, especially away from home when strikers are struggling.
This armchair fan thinks we need to fundamentally change philosophy in some games to compete, I am not sure Mr Wenger agrees on this front though.surely we can still be an attacking team protected by a decent defence
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Mandy – Sometimes even the best football teams get battered, and need to park the bus and blunt the opposition. We complain about it enough when teams do it to us. And on occasions we do manage to stand up to serious pressure, like the first half on Saturday and against Citeh. It is against the Watfords and the Bournemouth and the Swanseas hat we seem to lose that defensive concentration and discipline.
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Agree, we can defend when we switch onto it, remember parking the bus in Barca and it working pretty well, but some our defending numbers are pretty poor, as the man has said, and no less so with the lower or mid placed teams. Wonder what it is? Seems to be getting worse this year, away at least, will most likely cost us a top four finish unless we massively improve, and two teams slip up.
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Mandy and Sir Anicoll,
Your views on the occasional travails of our defense are interesting and have merit.
My own views, that I have boringly aired often enough, is that I suspect our defenders are drilled more than many think – but there are two matters that maybe controversial, but they are genuinely held and not meant to cause irritation, are that she of the midfield, backs and CBs are not quite good enough.
I know – shock, horror and all that – but AW has said he thinks we are “a bit short at the back” and he has been looking for improved quality.
And talking about being ‘short in the back’ [and I may be seen as somewhat biased here, as I am reasonably tall at 2.01 metres] but we have too many midfield/Defensive players who stand at only 5′ 10″ or 6′, with only one player, Xhaka, at a lofty 6′ 2′.
Skill is fine and we have that, but players withheight and muscles are critical too, especially in a rough, tough league like the PL.
Looking, for the last time, at my recording of the loss to the Spuds, there were too many times when our players, even when in possession of the ball, were bounced off by stronger players such as Dembele, Kane and Dier.
I don’t suppose anyone will agree with me, but alternate views are like salt, they flavour the cooking. lol
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Apologies for the above typos etc — bit rushed.
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Mandy, it’s a tough one.
Something I noticed with teams who build very strong defence’s is that part of the process, early on, is being unnecessarily defensive in games, staying back when the odds for victory are surely just as good if they attack or, with a lead established, keep attacking. So that’s out.
Interesting insight into Mourinho’s thought process ,for example, is him summing up his philosophy/ boasting to Maradona that : ‘I score first, I win; you score first, maybe you win’. I’m sure the bulk of his work is committed to trying to make that true. Also why, I think, his methods are so dependant on getting an early lead in the league. It allows him to justify any amount of defensiveness, game by game, and that’s where he’s happy. Anything else and he’s uncomfortable.
Anyway, we can (gladly) forget him, plus the approach of Atletico and Juve.
What of us? I’ve no idea.
One of the games in recent years that sticks out most for great defending was the 1-0 win at White Hart lane with Rosicky’s goal. We sat deep for the latter stages, maybe most of the second half, and i remember it as a cracking defensive effort from whole team, with Per magnificent at heart of it all.
Trouble is, I don’t know relevance of something like that to our typical approach.
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Shard, fine I thought we might have known each other. Yeah, Loomer’s a strange name (it’s an MBV song), and I wasn’t sure if he’d ended up on this blog.
We were talking at cross purposes about the great conspiracy the other day. But don’t worry about it. It’s not important.
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Loomer drops by to share his thoughts (not his subjective interpretation applied or misapplied upon the thoughts of others) on the footy once in a while. Alongside others such as G69 etc.
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Ah you rascal, FP, you almost pulled me in there.
But I’m happy to hear about Loomer.
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Birdcamp,
My friend Shard is a blog-traveller, like me, and you may well have noticed him elsewhere, tho he usually retains the same blog name, unlike me.
He told you that he looms over London, presumably like a dark storm cloud, and I would rather like to see that myself.
You cannot mistake him in any case — his style of writing/typing and humour cannot be disguised, unlike my contrasting laconic iterations that are only possible with the aid of a huge dictionary. Ask Sir Anicolicus. Lol
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HenryB I’m definitely hoping next cb we bring in is tall and superb in air.
Used to be a firm believer in the need for a midfield colossus as well, but not sure anymore. A Kante would serve us better than a Bakayoko for sure, and a Fernandinho would be better than both. I’m pretty stumped all around.
Way I see it is if we were to play regularly as we did at weekend, where efforts were a solid 7 bordering 8 first half, we’d undoubtedly get better at it, and also, surely, question whether we could introduce or find any players more suited to it than some of those on pitch, but we won’t be playing regularly that way.
Felt the same when we tried it for one of the Bayern away’s, last year I think. Looked our best chance to get a result, sitting deep, closing down, counters, but the execution failed early- couple of players held off Robben- and the deeper issue was it was a style we were unpracticed in, with some players on pitch who weren’t particularly suited to their roles.
On the strictly defensive side this weekend, for the exact task of getting back in numbers, closing down, battling, trying to avoid being pressed in dangerous areas, which of our non-defenders are especially well suited to that?
Elneny’s the best of them. 7 or 8. Xhaka and Wilshere…phhh, 6 or 7…overall, maybe. Ozil, strictly defensively, 4 or 5? Mkhitaryan, a little higher?
The positive was that if we could hold out and get a good breakaway, the wonderful attacking qualities of Mkhitaryan and especially Ozil could devastate them. Hard to say how close we were to pulling it off. there were a number of highly promising situations but somehow we didn’t look that close to executing. A correct offside call and who knows, different ball game.
The killer was that we looked sluggish immediately 2nd half, or couldn’t respond to them flying out the traps. Strange given the hard work we had put in, the situation,etc.
Was that the players individual qualities- strengths and weaknesses- or the lack of practice at the style? The opponent’s strength? Or just one of those things, luck, football?
I don’t think it’s being unduly harsh to be unsympathetic to the last of those options. Credit in the bank is low for me on our ability to defend as a team.
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HB, thanks for the intro. So his name rings out around here? I’ll come correct if I want to sling my product on his corners.
Jeez, anyway.
I haven’t really been on the blogs for a long time. Here occasionally and that’s it since the start of the season. I’m in the same boat lexically speaking (had to look it up). I learn new words and they push the old ones out. Anyway, back to the coal…thing,.
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HenryB
I believe that it is more a problem with ‘concentration and discipline’. Mr Wenger does not expressly believe in positional footballers per se more all round footballers none of this percieved ‘Sqaure pegs’ business. His belief is your a Footballer you should be able to play anywhere (Except in Goals) on the field or have an understanding of what the basic job entails. Then it is about comitment to the job at hand.
The size of a player does not really matter as so clearly proven by or best midfield combo in recent season. Santi and The Coq are no physical giants . Talent and understanding your role as ably demonstrated by Xavi,Iniesta and now in the PL with De Bruyne,Silva and Fernandinho
They said Santi could not run but he would regularly be among the furthest runners
They said he could not tackle or defend he was most often top two or three interceptions and tackles.
Xhaka is learning a new role, he does not seem very comitted to it at the moment, as soon as Jack played on saturday Xhaka wanted to not play the position anymore. In the role he wanted to play part of his responsibities was to intecept or at least meet Dembele he did not fancy that Job and left it up to Jack. Xhaka is playing self back into passing form but the other parts of his game are still very short, he is young and talented he has to show comitment to learning the role.
Wengerball comes with drawbacks,players in the second wave have to know where to stand as an ‘Attacking defender’ first
I am not trying to put all the blame, but he has a key role to play in this team.
‘It’s not the size of the dog in the fight’
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Rich,
I hear you, and am also undecided as to why we do so well then implode. It is not a one off, but without wanting to rummage thru the runes – so to speak – with the aid of the late, unlamented recoding of the game, I concentrated on the 2nd half of the game, and the amount of ‘pressing’ the Spuds put in had increased almost exponentially over their 1st half tactic.
With their strength and athleticism, Miki and Mesut seemed to shrink, like a whatnot in a bath of cold water. And a bit like a hole in the dyke, once our team’s midfield was breached, the rest of the team soon started to reel and could not retaliate in any meaningful way.
Amazingly, my eye was drawn to something I had not noticed during the game — Mustafi clearly pursued the ball into the Spuds half of the pitch — and Kozzer and he (Mustafi) seemed to lose touch with each other in the centre of defence – almost as if Kozzer thought he had to do it all himself – which naturally he could not.
A perplexed fan’s rationalising of what was happening? Maybe — but we should have thought “OK we are being outplayed — so let’s go and take them out – risk the yellow card – take one for the team, and be the dirty bastards that others often are to us when we get up steam” in a game.
But — we get back to the same problem — who do we have who can do that — we do not have players with that mindset, or who can physically dish it out, except for maybe Jack, and his ankles are like porcelain.
I think from comments Arsene has made since, that he regrets being unable to bring in more defensive cover, and would look to address that in the summer, as he is smart enough, and more, to see what is needed.
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Birdkamp,
I have seen you wax eloquent here and there, and I think your syntax has always been up there with the best.
[Sorry, I should explain that the dictionary comment I made previously was in reference to a joke betwixt Anicoll and myself when he whimsically asked me something like how long did it take me to type and refer to a dictionary.
Obviously, I only use a dictionary for scientific spelling accuracy, or for words with more than 2 syllables, which on football blogs is …… never! ] lol
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WwwB,
That’s interesting and I have heard the same explanation regarding AW’s beliefs, and who can argue with the mantra “the team attacks together, and defends together’.
But looking at who we have, as opposed to those you mention, who we do not have – I am inclined to go with AW’s comment — “we are too short in defence” — in both meanings of the word.
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Henry
We’d best be careful here as it seems proper fan brigade (not so much here, thankfully, thanks to the standards) believe admitting any competence in Spurs is the same as celebrating and liking it.
Wishing them misery and calamity at every turn feels like enough for me, and I’m not willing to deny reality (bad habit to get into) nor forego a cracking game of football like last night. I have more of an aversion to watching City or PSG to be honest. It’s my tiny instinctive protest at their unearned strength, ignoring it.
Anyway, that’s off my chest, after what feels like a lot of rebukes and accusations in Twitter land, so about that pressing you mention. Not watched it back but what you say fits with the memory and lingering feeling.
I’ve developed an incredible loathing of seeing us struggle with intense pressing, but I don’t trust my mind fully about it, as there must be plenty of days when it fails against us, when Mesut makes fools of those trying, etc, and it’s only a matter of pain making more of a mark than pleasure which makes it feel like, well, it’s a never-ending nightmare for us. Of Impotence!!
Can’t disagree about the kicking either. I’m there. Something about Lamela’s shite with Jack irritated me immensely. First, that there was no good candidate to dish some out to Lamela. Second, that rest of players only thought was to be peacemakers. On that occasion, with that piece of excrement- fuck that. Nobody to remind him what a pussy he was against Liverpool, and, in fact, simply is?
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Re defensive counter attacking football i think the best games we have played were Man city away 2014 and Bayern home 2015 CL. We won both 2 nil if i am not mistaken about the year. i hope everybody here knows the games i am refering to.
Cant we play like that when playing the big 3/4 clubs and revert to Wengerball while facing the rest?
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Rich,
Agreed! Lmao !!
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Rosicky
The match where Rosicky scored at White Hart Lane?
Did AFC cross the halfway line after the 5th minute?
Did the Experts out there ever acknowledge how good at the old football a peak BFG, or Arteta or Cazorla, were?
Then there was the Home game in November where the Arsenal scored two like Juve at Home against the team that haven’t won three trophies in four years and unlike Juve kept a clean sheet.
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Kane had a better chance then any Laca had the other day in the first half of that first fixture.
He missed.
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& really the Gunners should’ve finished off the Champions in that Cup Final 3 or 4 goals to 1.
They had the chances on the counter. I can remember that football match. Just about! Still recovering from the celebrations…
In the end the 2-1 scoreline flattered the champions on the day. My speculation is that the breakdown of Costa and the manager’s relationship disrupted their spirit at that time.
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fins
yes you are right about the win at spuds the famous Tomas strike. But in that we had close moments as far as i remember
as spuds came close to scoring and gave our defence some hard time.
Also one thing you are missing in my point is the quality of opposition as Spurs were/are never close to Bayern or Man city teams we played. So for me those two games stand out to be the best when we played defensive counter attacking soccer.
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‘the quality of opposition’
Rich that is very true! Yes I agree those performances were against opponents who had more class on every level.
There was something about the confidence, the belief of the AFC defenders that day at WHL that reminded me of those bigger wins. Having the assurance of a hundred cap WC winning legendary CB at their peak helps.
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