There is one thing about this season that will stand out, we have had more “the biggest game of the season” games, than ever before. It seems like every game is the biggest game of the season and tonight’s game feels just like that.
We go into home game leading 2-0 from the first leg and if we don’t qualify for Friday’s QF draw the meltdown will be humongous. The cyber-gates of hell will open and everyone will be queuing up to stick the biggest hobnail boots in that the world has ever seen. The type Elton John might have worn in the 70s.
While we are throwing all the cliche about, it’s a must win tie.
We are led to believe that all the players that could be fit, are fit. So at least Ramsey will play. Kos, Bellerin, and Monreal are also likely to be returning. Danny, Xhaka, Ozil, Mustafi and Mhkitaryan seem nailed on, with Ospina in goal. That leaves one place up for grabs. I expect it will be Jack but if it is then ElNeny can consider himself very unlucky, as he was excellent against Watford.
So lets hope for the best,
Oh, and up the Arsenal.
Positively Arsenal 
Great alround performance again under difficult circumstances, niice to see Danny get a couple to lift his confidence and push on i the remander of the season.
Granit again our best performer just in front of Rambo and Mustafi and maybe Hector.
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That will do nicely, not just don’t draw Madrid
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I’m relieved with our victory. I still think we are well below par. We allowed far too many balls into the box.
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Well done the Arsenal.
We made the greater experience and poise matter over both legs.
They gave our central midfielders too much room again tonight.
Must be a European thing.
Glad to be in the next round.
3 wins on the bounce.
16 days to recoup on the cards for most of our players
Even I need the break.
Onward and upwards!
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Napoli, Dortmund, Milan & Lyon out
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Was it the same 5th nutcase who gave Lewandowski the penalty last year ?
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A number of our youngsters have been called up to England’s youth squads for this month’s international break.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has been named in Aidy Boothroyd’s under-21 squad for their games against Romania and Ukraine.
They face Romania in the Cyrille Regis International before taking on Ukraine in a European qualifier, as they look to strengthen their position in qualifying for next summer’s European Championship.
Josh Dasilva has been called up to Keith Downing’s under-20s squad for their friendlies against Poland and Portugal on March 22 and March 27, respectively.
Reiss Nelson, Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock have been named in Paul Simpson’s under-19s squad for their European Elite Round qualifiers in Macedonia.
The Young Lions face opposition from Hungary on March 21, Latvia on March 24 and Macedonia on March 27 in Skopje as they bid to seal a place in the Euro finals this summer.
Copyright 2018 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 https://www.arsenal.com/news/internationals-five-named-england-youth-squads#A21vYI2F0vevvA1g.99
Read more at https://www.arsenal.com/news/internationals-five-named-england-youth-squads#uxaXUIF2QpQvMuJK.99
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we can be drawn against any of the other 7 sides in tomorrow’s draw
Atletico Madrid (Spain)
Marseille (France)
Lazio (Italy)
Sporting Lisbon (Portugal)
RB Leipzig (Germany)
RB Salzburg (Austria)
CSKA Moscow (Russia)
Read more at https://www.arsenal.com/news/who-could-we-face-europa-league-last-eight#eZGUWbCFcPRhFkyI.99
Read more at https://www.arsenal.com/news/who-could-we-face-europa-league-last-eight#TAhAECRtiHEm99F4.99
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isn’t it odd the difference in how the English media and pundits are treating the Welbeck penalty tonight to how they treat the weekly dives of Kane and Alli, our Danny is being hung drawn and quartered, while Kane and Alli are on the path to sainthood (thought better of using the word canonization, surely that would be Arsenalisation of it)
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Wenger after game comments – football.london
On the win
It was a difficult game. We played against a good side and we were in a protective mode, played with a bit of a handbrake. That’s always the best ways to invite your opponent to be dangerous.
As soon as it was 1-0 we looked dangerous and in the end we won in a convincing way.
On Welbeck’s dive
I haven’t seen it again. You want to accuse the English players of being divers.
More on Welbeck
I will watch it again and give you my honest opinion, I will give him my honest opinion about it as well.
On returning to form
When you lose a cup final in the middle of the season it’s very difficult to recover from. It will be interesting to see [the statistics] on how well the teams do after they play the cup final in the middle of the season
On Koscielny’s injury
He got a kick on his back, we don’t think it’s bad. But he cramped up and couldn’t go on.
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Arsenal Fixture News
🎗
@AFCFixtureNews
39m39 minutes ago
The Europa League quarter-final draw will take place on Friday 16th March 2018 at 12 noon UK time.
The first leg will be played on Thursday 5th April with the second leg on Thursday 12th April 2018.
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lots of empty seats at the Emirates tonight, lots of the whingers and bitchers stayed away
a great atmosphere at the Emirates tonight, most of those at the game got behind the team
I know there is a correlation between those two statements, but for the life of me I’m not sure what it could be
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They’re going all-in on Welbeck but saying nothing on the foul against Ramsey
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afcstuff
@afcstuff
39m39 minutes ago
Arsenal have now had 15 different goalscorers in the Europa League this season (excluding own-goals), more than any other team. [Opta] #afc
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Granit Xhaka vs. AC Milan: 91 touches 77 passes completed (93%) 1 chance created 4 long balls (100%) 3 clearances 2 blocked shots 2 interceptions 1 tackle 1 goal
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Ed
Do you think Xhaka is improving as the deep lying maker
The numbers look promising
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Calum Chambers looks like he might have turned a corner too.
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Eduardo, there were a lot less empty seats tonight and the atmosphere was mostly good. Unfortunately I was sitting near an amateur coach who spent the whole match coaching from the stands and behind me were a couple of football experts who decided that we need a Conte-style manager, but he would have to get rid of ‘that lot’ on the pitch first, so it would probably take 3 years to get it right. They were also well impressed with Gattuso’s ‘passion’ and how nice it would be to have a manager who shows a bit of passion for a change! Meanwhile the fact that we were in the process of dumping AC Milan out of the Europa League, having beaten a Conte-esque team to get to the Carabao cup final was lost on them!
Why the fuss about Welbeck? “He felt contact so he was within his rights to go down” obviously doesn’t apply when you wear the red and white of Arsenal. No Arsenal fan should be joining the media witch hunt. I never hear spuds, chelski, Leicester, or man city fans condemning their divers. I’m supporting Danny. At the game it looked like he was clipped and he didn’t appear to ask for the penalty.The 5th official was on the spot and thought it was a penalty so he gave it. Makes a change that we get a penalty of any description, however soft.
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WwwB, Xhaka has been good all along as a deep lying playmaker, but he has been judged for by many for not being a defensive midfielder.
but I would say that xhaka like a few others is one of those players who plays very well when the rest of the team in general plays well. I don’t see him as the sort who will drag the team through a game where many of them are off form, but those sort of players are very rare.
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ha ha ha, glenn hoddle says “xhaka maybe could have got over there quicker to block the shot, someone like kante last night would have been over nibbling”
did the clown actually watch the barcelona game last night, kante was made a mug of by messi all night long.
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the tears of ITV presenter that Arsenal did not go along with the crisis club narrative that they so wanted.
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hoddle is some clown, re Wilshere and Welbeck being recalled by England
“great to see them two link up for the goal”
jack crossed, ramsey heads it, keeper saves it danny heads home the rebound – where the fuck was the jack and danny link up on the third goal. how is that idiot still getting paid for shit like that
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Felt pretty damn uncomfortable benefitting from that pen- a dive, I’m pretty sure (if it was by Spurs player or the like, I would be sure)- but, bloody hell, it looks like the difference in coverage is incredible.
The Mail’s headline at top of sports section includes phrase ‘after he dived to win controversial penalty’. I’m pretty sure they never go down that route in the media with any of the usual suspect, repeat offenders. Never.
It’s always something like ‘ a controversial pen’, a ‘disputed pen’, at least in headlines and probably everywhere else,too.
That’s then followed underneath with
‘When Arsene Wenger addressed the issue of diving last month he might have known more than he was letting on. ‘English players have learned very quickly and might be the masters now,’ said Wenger, tempted into the debate sparked by Dele Alli’s habit of falling over inside the penalty area. Last night, Arsenal eased into the last eight of the Europa League thanks in no small part to the tumbling skills of Danny Welbeck and a decision which caused Rino Gattuso through the entire spectrum of rage. By the time Welbeck scored his second of the night, Gattuso seemed to be over the worst of it but he was seething at half-time, unable to resist the urge to hound referee Jonas Eriksson down the tunnel.’
Notice that Dele Alli has a habit of ‘falling over inside the penalty area’, not the definitive ‘diving’.
That old trick they love of refusing to give their own opinion on controversies much of the time, as though that’s no job for a journalist; but then at other times being perfectly capable of saying what happened. About the same things. Weasels
There’s gonna be a lot of that bullshit for a day or two. Oh well, least we’re through and have had a much needed positive week before the break.
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something I noticed on the highlights show on the penalty, was that the defender clearly had the intent to block/foul danny, when you see it from behind the goal, just look at the defenders expression when he sees danny running onto the pass, he then tries to block him and pull him back. It was such a poor attempt at both that it may have been a Dele Welbeck.
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rich the wording for Arsenal is always different, tonight game long it was a narrative of either “Arsenal crumbling” or when doing well, “Arsenal might crumble if AC do this or that”
said it before, the commentators never have an Arsenal defender clearing his lines or making a fine tackle, its always Arsenal defender scrambled it clear, or made a last ditch goal saving tackle.
just like how our opponents or rival teams are clever if the dive to win a penalty, but welbeck has brought the whole game of football in England into disrepute.
there is not a single incident in an AFC game that can not be made into a negative on Arsenal.
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passenal
My partner asked me today” Why don’t you come to the games any more”
I honestly think that I have got fed up with some of the professional moaners who sit around me. They are often spoiling my enjoyment of the game, I am not someone who can hold my tongue (Very hard skill) infront of stupidity and ignorance. People who cannot even manage their bed linen are trying to tell Mr Wenger what he should be doing.
I have had to explain a lot of things about football and life in recent seasons, I have felt like I might give some one a smack, just to get them back to their senses mind you.
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Wwwb, I’ve had to resort to putting in my earphones and listening to tunes to drown out the chatter, because I’ve found myself arguing with these losers before and probably pushed my luck as far as I dare!
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Ten minutes in there weren’t that many empty seats. Same as last season. And the season before after any poor spell.
The adoption of the Milan song after the excellent save from Ospina was a wonderful moment and experience. If it had been Arsenal losing away in a European tie would the AFTV actors have been too busy with their selfie sticks to have some “banter” with the home support? Everyone knows the answer
Predictably these staunch stand up supporters who stayed away on the weeknd were back for a big European game. And they only sing when they’re winning. Which is fair enough but that has nothing to do with those who excuse and endorse and support toxicity.
happy that players in this current squad have had the “cojones” required to differentiate between criticism which is no bad thing and toxic weirdos, creepy plundits and the Online Groaner crowd that spend their evenings on their mates podcasts slagging off a football club 24/7 etc.
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New post up
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I ahve been on Xhaka watch (I recognise his importance to the team structure) I have complained of him being very weak on press resistance, I felt he did not take enough ‘looks’ (Football adage being if you look at one spot for more than 3 seconds you either ball watching or day dreaming) he has definately upped his ‘Look’ count .
Suprise! he is finding more time on the ball, already knows his options before the ball arrives.
His positioning is so much better and his appreciation of what is going on the field now . For instance he tried to cover Çalhanoğlu shot , it was not his man he rocognised the danger and tried to do something about it.
Plus good bits of reading the game defensively, talent is there for me the question was if he had the desire to be the player he could be and the player Arsenal need.
il fait bien au présent
My French is coming on a bit.
Miss Petri would be proud.
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