Well what a dreary game of football that turned out to be. I think if we had scraped a 1-0 then that would have been a better reflection of the game. It was painful watching.
Let’s start with a positive though, the back four looked solid. Mustafi was excellent in his defensive duties, Chambers decent, but their passing, particularly Mustafi early doors, was poor. Monreal was his usual solid self, but it concerns me when Hector gets the ball in tight spaces, he often loses it and puts us on the back foot.
Ok on to the not so positive, the midfield. I thought Jack had a stinker. His passing was off and he seemed to slow our play down needlessly. ElNeny, although not letting the side down, also didn’t add much to our dynamism. Aaron was good enough but looked to be blowing a bit from early on. All in all the midfield was at best sluggish, at worst ineffective.
Up front Danny gave his critics plenty of ammunition and was lucky not to get hooked a lot earlier than he was. Mesut was on an off day for him and Aubameyang had little service to make anything of.
Still, once the penalty went in , Xhaka ,Lacazette and Mkhitaryan were introduced, we looked a much better outfit. It seems to me that Xhaka is becoming the heartbeat of the team. I also think Lacazette is a much more than just a goal scorer, I really like his game.
So that’s it, sorry about the gloomy, but let’s be honest, it was a very forgettable game of kick ball.
Positively Arsenal 
If Klopp is urging his team forward then this sluggish start by his team is not by design. Have they gambled by playing at maximum intensity in the first half?
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Pass
He’s only an injury free season away from starting to reach his peak, which could then last a few seasons. We know he wanted to leave the season before given the media memes his agent was ploughing, oh what is his best position etc etc etc we’ve seen the same from other players before.
Still a loss to the squad.
Hopefully there will be no similar blows to the squad this summer. Though the big clubs must’ve been dangling carrots at Ramsey since before the last Euro’s, if not then they were afterwards. Yikes!
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GP @ 9.08
I hope and think so in this case.
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Klopp is blowing as gasket on the touch like urging more possession from his team. Did he not expect more sluggish play after the exertions of the first half? Does he not know how to gauge the fitness of his players? Surely not…
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If they were pressing for ninety mind, like Tottenham, then you’d have to at the least raise your eyebrows.
But it seems like Klopp targeted the first half of their second more important game this week to gamble and go hell for leather, they’ll be below that first half level on the weekend as they were the last.
If City had scored the first goal it would obviously be a very different tie. And Klopp’s plan would’ve been scuppered. Who’d be a manager?
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City just need a goal to get back in this tie.
No leaders? No Pashun?
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Roma back in the tie, they got their away goal
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fins its Arteta’s fault, he is just sitting there, what does he actually do, it clear he has not been allowed coach the city defense
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Arteta just sits there nodding his lego capped head. Bloody fools who say yes to beings managers or head coache’s assistant.
We should all be the managers. With no assistants, players or football, just the managers, the hacks, the arse blaggers, and the “greatest story ever told”.
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Barca now 4-1 up
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all four cl ties very much look close to being over, seville probably the only side with much hope of over turning the first leg defeat
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I don’t begrudge Ox anything mainly because he makes no difference to me. He was a good young footballer we invested in and stayed patient with despite his injuries and flaws (Monaco’s goal was very annoying) But we also got good money for him in the final year of his contract. He didn’t leave on the best of terms, but he was also not the most important player in the squad. I liked him and his potential but mehhh.
What is annoying is this ridiculous idea that he’s going to be better because Klopp will do what Wenger could not, and the argument goes, cannot. Bring through and improve young players. Every time the Ox will do something good, or as he naturally progresses with age and experience, people will bring it up as proof that Wenger can’t coach.
It’s a neat little argument with its own inherent logic. Wenger can’t coach.. That’s why Ox wanted to leave… Ox is now playing better…ergo full circle Wenger can’t coach QED.
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Lord Baldemort lost his powers today I see.
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thing is shard, ox is not playing one iota better for liverpool than he did for AFC, he still only has moments, which are usually followed by 3 or 4 average games, he tonight got his 5th goal of the season, think that is the same as monreal and also kolasinac, two left backs playing for a manger who can’t coach according to the idiots.
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@Shard
April 4, 2018 at 3:56 pm
I agree everything you said (apart from voting for him)
Trump is treating everyone (The non Trumpion elite) how the elite have treated people of colour throughout all time.
The blatant lying and cheating, the disingenuousness ,the whole Wrong and Strong culture.
It’s not new.
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Of course he isn’t, eduardo. But when you don’t have to live with any consequences you can say whatever you like. When Ox played for Arsenal, his obvious talent was frustrating because it wasn’t fully expressed. Now, it is simply exciting because even if he fucks up, it’s not frustrating to a non Liverpool fan.
It’s also why Spurs are praised and admired by Arsenal fans for achieving the same sort of thing they branded failure for Arsenal and Wenger. Because it’s easier to praise something when you don’t actually care about the result. Beyond the self loathing, woe is me opportunity it provides at least. (Yes! Dele’s back)
All of a sudden Dortmund are not the club we should follow. People suddenly don’t crow about Atletico as much. Both those clubs were/are also in the EL instead of the CL but their fall from grace doesn’t seem to get them condemnation. Just anonymity. And gives no context to Arsenal’s current status. Juventus’ failures are forgotten/ignored as I pointed out earlier. Any football match could have any result and you can guarantee that it will be used to berate Arsenal by self loathing Arsenal fans. Liverpool beat City and it means we ought to be like them. City beat them and look at how Pep the great tactician is everything that Wenger the old man can now never be. It’s a mental disorder by this point I think. No other way to explain how EVERYTHING can lead to such a thought. Find the Arsenal cloud in every single thing you see. If I were the one naming this I’d call it the Stewart Robson syndrome.
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so guys who would you pick in goal tomorrow v cska, cech or ospina
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Why the debate eduardo? Unless he’s injured,the EL gig is Ospina’s and I thought he played well on Sunday. He’s certainly no worse a GK than Cech.
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well passenal it sounded like wenger in his preser today put some doubt on who would play, would not confirm ospina would play, said cech was available again.
also so far the keeper who plays in the league game is rested for the cup game.
Could we be about to see a changing of the guard, Ospina the BPL keeper for rest of the season, with Cech getting the EL games.
as you say little between them, for me the problems in Ospina’s game are a lot to do with his lack of height, he is agile, brave and not bad at all with his feet, but he has little presence. Cech has the size, but for me his agility is on the wane, although he has recently had a few good games in a row, after some very dodgy moments.
for me we really need a massive upgrade on both of them this summer. I still don’t get why we sold Szcsesny.
Its such a pity Martinez’s loan move has been such a disaster(only 5 games all season), also a pity Macey did not go out and get a season’s worth of games somewhere this year. Regardless of both players potential, it would be a massive risk to bank on either of them being first choice or getting a long run in the first team, as neither have anything like enough games under their belts. But maybe its a case if your good enough who needs experience.
We are being linked with a hell of a lot of goalies at present, but would any of us be surprised if Cech is still first choice next season, with either Martinez, Macey or a new signing like Horn, being back up keeper.
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It will be interesting to see what happens. I think Ospina gets an unfair reputation. He has made no more mistakes than Cech, but some people never forget his mistakes and gloss over the ones made by the latter.
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not sure many gloss over Cech’s mistakes, for me he has been a bit of a disappointment. I found his signing odd at the time, as, much like Ospina, he is not suited to one big element that we ask our keepers to do, namely come for crosses, command the area under the high ball. It was same with Fabianski and Mannone. that was the thing that made Sczcesny stand out, he was happy to come for the high ball. Our keepers too are expected to play sweeper keeper if you like, and again that is not Cech’s game, nor really any of the rest listed above, again other than Szcesney, so once again I say I still can’t understand why he was shipped out.
Martinez and Macey are both happy to come for the high ball. Of course, like Szczesny they both have size/height on their side. Cech is big too, but he has never been that sort of keeper, and even less so after his head injury.
Cech will be 36 a few days after the season ends, will we stick or twist with him this summer.
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Arsenal close to sealing £10m-a-year sleeve sponsor deal
Arsenal Correspondent
Chris Wheatley
The Gunners are closing the commercial gap on their competitors with a number of big-money contracts
Arsenal are on the verge of signing a sleeve sponsorship deal worth £10m-a-year, Goal understands.
The Gunners are closing the commercial gap on their competitors with recent new deals, which include a five-year extension to their long running shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates and also becoming the first club to partner a cryptocurrency.
Goal understands that discussions are at an advanced stage between Arsenal and an unnamed Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) service that would see them surpass Premier League rivals Liverpool, who signed a £5m-a-year (over five years) sleeve sponsor deal with Western Union at the start of the season.
Manchester City’s deal with Korean company Nexen Tire, the first agreement after the Premier League permitted sleeve advertising, is reportedly worth up to £10m total while Chelsea’s £8m-a-year contract with Alliance Tires is similarly lagging behind Arsenal’s new deal.
It’s also understood that Arsenal are also exploring the possibility of new apparel kit partner – with the Gunners now boasting 26 sponsorship agreements with companies ranging from Dutch-Italian clothes firm Cavallaro Napoli to American bank MBNA.
Article continues below
The previous contract with Emirates didn’t allow Arsenal to negotiate a separate sleeve sponsor deal but a recently signed extension gives the Gunners added freedom to increase their revenue possibilities.
Arsenal’s extension with Emirates, a partnership which began in 2006, is worth in excess of £200m and will see the Emirates name branded on the shirts and kits until the 2023/24 season, while the Emirates Stadium name will remain unchanged until 2028.
Meanwhile, discussions are underway for a new kit sponsor from the 2019/20 season with the Puma deal expiring at the end of next season. Adidas remain favourites to become the club’s new kit partner with a decision expected to be made in the coming weeks.
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the bit in the above article about AFC in talks about a new kit maker is partially true, but it does not mention that, yes Puma’s deal finishes at end of next season, Puma have the option of matching any offer other kit makers put in, its an option that we and most other clubs offer sponsors. for example Emirates had that option in both deals, Stadium and Kit sponsor. When Nike was last our kit makers, they too had that option, but refused to match the Puma offer.
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Anyone get sense Moshiri at Everton still has a lot of arsenal in his head?
Admittedly, this is based on believing a proportion of transfer rumours are true, and is therefore more than a bit ropey…but with very strong links to Wilshere and Ozyakup, in addition to Theo signing, and getting close to Giroud last summer, feels like he is, either consciously or unconsciously, trying to emulate us in pretty direct fashion.
Thankfully, I doubt he got to see any list of our long-term targets.
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I agree eduardo. Szczesny should not have been sold. For me, the only explanation is that he was sold not for footballing reasons. I wonder what he did that was so bad that he could not be forgiven. Per Mertesacker tried to play peacemaker by inviting Szczesny to last season’s FA Cup final, which he could not make because of his playing commitments. It seems Wenger did not believe Szczesny warranted a way back after his misconduct. Without knowing what this was, it is impossible to pass judgment. In pure footballing terms though, it was a bad decision.
I was happy and surprised we got Cech. At the time, he was better than szczesny. And Szczesny was in decline (he needed to be pushed out at Arsenal to grow up) Cech has been a good servant for us. But he’s now definitely lost something and seems to make horrible errors with regularity. Maybe all the years behind Chelsea’s defense made him ill suited to our style of play anyway. At this point, despite his lack of height, I prefer Ospina. However, Ospina’s kicking is dreadful. He seems unable to kick it further than the halfway line.
I think we’ll sign a new first choice keeper. Keep Cech as backup/mentor in his last year, and sell Ospina who would surely like to be first choice elsewhere. Martinez and Macey will then have one year to stake their claim to being No2 behind the new guy and eventually challenge him.
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shard I just don’t see Cech staying as back up keeper, although there was rumors when he signed that part of the deal was that he would become a goalkeeper coach here, so who knows. But for me it would all depend on how many more years Cech wants to play on for, If he sees his playing days winding down, then he might take a no.2 spot, but if he thinks he can go on say till he is 40 or more, then he aint becoming a back up anytime soon
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Think Cech remains excellent at 1-on-1’s, especially when the opposition player has little time to think. I’m guessing that comes down to very sound positioning and timing.
I’m definitely onboard with bringing in a new number one, however. I like a lot of Ospina’s game but having a keeper who simply can’t deal with certain crosses is a no for me.
Not a clue about good candidates,though. Oblak and Allison have outstanding reputations but they’ll come with commensurate prices if available at all.
Expect we’ve been keeping a very close eye on German keepers, as prices are slightly more reasonable from there.
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The Myth of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
7 Replies
Last night Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored his 1st goal in 12 games for club and country.
Since joining Liverpool, he has played less than 50% of the available minutes. Let’s stop pretending that he is anything but an average, inconsistent footballer.
It almost feels with Oxlade-Chamberlain that there are multiple agendas at work.
Firstly you have the media. Every time he has a good game, they bash on about how much he has improved since leaving Arsenal for Liverpool – even though he hasn’t. This suits their duel agenda of bashing Arsenal and praising Liverpool.
Then we have The Arsenal fans, who blamed Oxlade-Chamberlain’s lack of progression on Arsene Wenger.
Now whenever Oxlade-Chamberlain has a good game, they use it as a way to bash the Frenchman. To highlight how much a player can improve under a “proper coach” like Jürgen Klopp. There are plenty of things to criticise Wenger for, but Oxlade-Chamberlain’s lack of drive to improve himself is not one.
The reality is Oxlade-Chamberlain has not improved. He is still the same inconsistent ball of frustration he was at Arsenal.
Capable of moments of brilliance, such as his goal last night against Manchester City, and then weeks and weeks of dross and poor performances and miss placed passes.
He will stick one in the top corner (every 10-15 games) then spend put 4 crosses in a row over the bar. Or over hit half a dozen cross field balls. Or run with his head down until he is suddenly over the by-line.
The only difference now, for Arsenal fans, is we do not notice the average 10 performances in between two great games because we no longer watch him every week.
We see him when he scores a screamer, like against Manchester City, and think “gosh hasn’t he improved”, forgetting that his last decent game – also against Manchester City – was a dozen games ago.
The fact that in a fully fit midfield, he does not start for Liverpool. That he has started less than 50% of the league games under Jürgen Klopp. Averages 46 minutes a game in the Premier League (which drops below 40 minutes when you add Champions League and the cups) shows that even Klopp does not trust him.
He was fantastic last night. As were Liverpool. No one saw them beating Manchester City, and he was key in that. But that is the point.
Sandwiched between his 2 9 out of 10 performances against Manchester City, he went missing against Swansea, WBA and Southampton. And barely got off the bench against Huddersfield, Tottenham and Watford.
Since joining Liverpool, he has played 90 minutes just 8 times. He is often the first man taken off when he starts.
Liverpool fans would agree that he has been a flop, that he has been average. The only reason they do not is because they do not want to admit Arsenal got one over them, that he was not a waste of £40m. Their fans are deluded that everything Jurgen Klopp is great – even though this will be his 3rd season without a trophy.
Last night was his 5th goal of the season. Not exactly Ballon D’or worthy is it? In fact, he has now drawn level with Arsenal left back Nacho Monreal.
He is not exactly doing what Mo Salah is doing for Liverpool, or what Raheen Sterling is doing for Manchester City. He isn’t even out performing Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal.
Let’s call a spade a spade. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is still the frustratingly inconsistent player that many fans called “dead wood” and were happy to get £40m for.
And no amount of Nivea will change that.
Keenos
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New post is up
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Ox in the BPL for LFC, 13 starts, 16 sub, 3 goals last season ox in BPL for afc 16 starts, 13 sub, 2 goals jeez the transformation is unreal well unreal in that its not real, its a narrative, that sadly many AFC fans are willing to peddle so they can attack AFC and the manager.
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But Eds if Chamberlain was average why did Juergen Klopp who knows a thing or two rest Chamberlain at the weekend as his team laboured even more against Palace then AFC against Stoke in order to start him in the biggest game of their season?
Why was Arsene Wenger starting him at LB in a record breaking Fa Cup victory over the Champions?
This footballer has scored bigger goals then Alli and Kane in his career so far. For club & country! This is his record, no my opinion.
He’s a good English footballer. Arsene Wenger said after he’d left that he’d go on to be an important or useful English Footballer. I believe him.
To clarify I think English football fans calling Milner poor are mental! He was good for City, had stand out performances against Munich, also a useful footballer. I can understand why he retired from the national team, lesser players were selected ahead of him.
I have the strong impression that people in England appear to be quick to laud players that have good PR and not so much for what they do on the Football pitch. England are not blessed with a thousand or even just one Verratti’s let alone a Ramsey.
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