@LaboGoon opens the Watford programme
Watford is sitting pretty in top 4 on the Premier League table after six game weeks – ahead of Tottenham, Manutd and Arsenal… who woulda thought that?!
Good day one and all.
The Gunners are six wins on the bounce in all competitions, and are building confidence and progress with each matchday since back-to-back defeats at the start of the season. This afternoon they will look to continue that building process when we host the Hornets at the Emirates Stadium.
Last Sunday vs Everton we had a bid of a shaky start before grabbing all three points; we have to do better though because this Watford side are flying.
There used to be jokes about them being similar to Stoke, however Javi Gracia brought them into the 21st century to make them look tactically disciplined. He didn’t do away completely with the physicallity though, with the revitalisation of a few of players, he found a way to blend that well with something very energetic.
They are full of confidence and self-belief in their potential and that is something we will need to find a way to cope with, because unlike with the Toffees they are more likely to punish slack defending.
We are showing signs of improvement each week there shouldn’t be reason for apprehension. Our attack is doing as well as we can expect them do and there’s a good spread of goals around the squad. Which should give us an extra edge by not being too reliant on the striking duo of Aubameyang and Lacazette, who are both in pretty good nick at the moment. If we can continue doing that and just find stability and composure in defense… we would be a damn worry for all opponents this season.
I think we are in for an interesting games between the 4th and 6th teams of PL table. They both show a willing to play attacking football which of course brings lots of excitement.
Make no mistake, the Watford attackers will be an obvious test for our defense but the Emirates faithful has always been good to us and will give their all to ensure the momentum keep going against our big talking opponents whom we have beaten in four of the last five PL meetings at home.
Positively Arsenal 
Good morning L and your preview sets the scene well for what I hope will be a rigorous afternoon. Leading on from my conversation about injury crises I see our visitors today claim to have six first team players out ! Is this kidology or co-incidence ? We shall see.
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what odds that Ramsey gets booed at the first misplaced pass or loss of possession or any mistake.
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Think the ref is Anthony Taylor, we know some of what fords tactics, just hope he upholds the laws of the game , Watford get away with too much
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Ed
Let’s hope not.
Heard crowd make weird noise, which seemed to have a lot of disapproval or right on verge, other week though when Bellerin rightly waited a fraction of a second to let an awkward ball drop from chest height before clearing in box though; so, in short, wouldn’t put it past some.
On that front, definitely feels like too many carry a negative impression of players into games now and are just waiting for any excuse to let out a ‘see’, ‘told you’, etc.
Those who’ve been,erm, crowd dwellers a lot more (not hard) and a lot longer than me will have better idea if this thing of fans wanting to be right in their opinions has risen a lot in social media age or if it’s much the same.
Twitter users might know the mediocentro guy and seems to me a lot are inspired by that sort of thing and want to emulate it, and be experts, and brutal with it, over all other considerations.
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I’d say there is absolutely zero chance of Ramsey being boo’ed eddy – any more than the usual groans and tutting if, after 15 minutes we are not 3-0 up – we shall see.
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I am off to the game – catch you later !
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Rich I remember serious abuse being shouted at Niall Quinn at a game at Highbury,think it was against Nottingham Forrest, a game he actually scored the only goal in, and he was still a teenager at the time. For some he could do no right for doing wrong. the best some could muster to celebrate his goal was “about time you did something right”
oddly enough Charlie Nicholas at that time could stink the place up game after game and he was still the darling, could do no wrong. It always fascinates me that so many only want to see things that support their already held view of a player. Xhaka the liability, hollywood ramsey, soft bellerin, calamity mustafi, over the hill cech, adds nothing elneny, If xhaka has 100 passes and 99 hit their target some will only remember that 1 pass that went astray.
by the way its not a new thing, Eddie Kelly was hounded by a section of the crowd despite being a double winner. The problem now is that its not just the crowd, its the blogs, the social media, and the influence they have on the crowd, and so more fans partake in it.
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Seems a really good litmus test today. Watford have struck upon a pretty strong formula. Size, strength, aggression, directness, but with some guile and skill in shape of Hughes and Peyrera. (Plus Taylor for the day!)
They’ll be confident at present and, according to stat I saw last week, are leading entire prem for turnovers in opposition half.
So it’s well set up for an exciting difficult game.
In light of that turnover stat, will be interesting to see if we have made any special provisions and intend to be more cautious, in early stages especially, playing out, or if the plan is to stick to exactly the same idea regardless of opposition. Would be a guide to much more than today only.
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Cheers Ed
I’m strangely glad to hear that (human nature or something then!).
Definitely not immune to it myself. We’ve a player now, signed not that long ago, that I’m slightly disappointed with and worried by (esp in relation to the future, wages,etc); and I wonder if once you’ve got a strong idea about a player in your head, either way, this affects your ability to judge them fairly through a game.
I’m pretty quick to forgive any Xhaka mishap, for instance, as I believe he does so much good and has become vital, but not same with all.
Main point is- I see it as something to watch myself with and fight against a bit.
Also, while I’m sure I would have * joined in eagerly as a kid in whatever the crowd was doing, now I definitely wouldn’t- beyond a quiet fucks sake- if it involved sticking boot into players. Or telling those around me so and so is shit or whatever.
*Probably did, and boy was I spoilt for choice with local team I’d watch sometimes after my own game.
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Good preview once more LG,
I dont think our attack has been playing well however certain players are showing individual brilliance at times to get us by. Auba has been quite,the fact he has goals what a class player he is.
The midfield has never controlled a single match yet in the prem and as a team we are still not working as a unit and the lack of concertration is worrying. When you come up against a team that is full of confidence and has played well even in the game they lost then a neutral would put them as slight favourites.
I cant see there being a lack of accuracy in the opposition strikers as there was against both West Ham and Everton and Petre may not be able to save our arse. So today I think we will have to outscore them which of course we are perfectly capable of doing but we are going have to lay very well.
I am worried about today, however I do recognise in patches we are magical and sometimes the click can happen when the eleven play as a team and totally control the game. I was thinking this would happen against the toffees but we seemed to be less organised until around the 60 minutes. I certainly dont see us improving game on games more the purple patches are better and a little longer game on game.
Sunny afternoons at home are normally glorious so magic might be flying from the red and whites this afternoon and I can roar during the game and shut up after it COYG.
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COYG!
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Watford should be called out for what they are, a dirty, sneaky team full of cheats and whingjng bastards who relish kicking opponents and pretend they are toughies.
They are like 50 Cent as compared to Public Enemy
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So Deeney was on Talksports(?) bragging how he and his team mates agreed to take turns fouling Zaha? Meanwhile the PGMOL is deaf, dumb and blind to rotational fouling and other egregious violations of the rules of the game. BTW: who doubts when he hangs up his boots he is destined to have a gig at Talksports or some other media extolling the virtues of being a tough guy in the EPL, supporting those who get stuck-in and complaining how softies at Arsenal want to outlaw tackling.
If the PL and PGMOL gets their way, nothing will change with the fraudulent, bastardized version of VAR they plan to implement. The Arsenal-Brentford game was a perfect illustration as explained by Babagrumpy in the latest installment of UniteForVAR.com. He observed Mike Dean is Opposed to VAR.
http://uniteforvar.com/?p=1275
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Sanchez not even in the Utd squad!
Blimey.
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If you take RVPs ego, multiply it by a couple of tournament victory medals, scoring the winning penalty, making Messi cry, and then square all of that with four years of no pre-season break, injuries like the one when he was pushed into a pit that was not a result of brittle bones though some tragically missed the push which makes the mind boggle but I digress, that is how I think that you end up with a problem like Sanchez.
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I hope Sokratis shuts down Deeney today. I cant stand the Orns, they belong in the championship. At least its at ours and not the nest.
The Irons are 1-0 up!
COYG!
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Anthony Taylor was also our ref in the Cardiff game. Not saying he did much wrong there, and hopefully he won’t today, but getting the same ref a couple times in a month isn’t great , doesn’t say much for the size of the ref pool, and with Taylor’s certain leniencies, which he salaries with other prem league refs, a game against a team like Watford is a worry.
I confess to having kept quieter than usual on refs this season, being a firm believer there were a number of agendas against Wenger, some going back to the days of rivalry with the all powerful Fergie , just waiting to see how things pan out with Emery in a season where we are not likely to be title contenders, today’s game could be an important indicator.
But just hope we are good and the ref anonymous
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^ leniencies which he shares with other EPL refs
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Sanchez has made a lot of money, but football wise, a big mistake.
He is also a sulky bollox, assuming he has been dropped, he won’t take that well.
He should have signed on for us last season, availed of the excellent service from Ozil and others, knuckled down ,got us back in the ECL and enabled The Man to see out his contract.
He is a player who needs an Ozil
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Anything that make Jose Cry will only make me happy so I hope West ham carries on the good work they have started in this their first half…
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He’s probably having a laugh at the moment Mandy – I know I am.
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Mandy i agree with you about Sanchez; really disappointed with him for going away at the time he did. he and Ozil had developed something good together
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Irons 2-0 up! I agree with your comments on Sanchez Mandy. Plenty of other players who went over the hills for the goldrush should have stayed at Planet Arsenal.
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West Ham- superb!
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Deeney running his mouth again today? God I can’t stand him. If Donald Trump were a football player, he’d be Troy Deeney. Probably won’t happen, but I wish we’d really stuff them. Like embarrassingly so.
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Alabama
I don’t see why not. Man U burst their bubble & then there was draw with Fulham. Dropped 5 out of 6 points, so on current PL form are on a downer.
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Irons 3-1 up!
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Oooo. That West Ham third. Them’s the little (which can lead to big) ones – the 50:50-looking thing with Rashford prior to goal- few refs would dare deny Fergie.
Ozil’s been denied them constantly in his time here, sometimes leading directly to breaks and at least a couple of goals.
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very odd that Emery keeps picking Ramsey when the experts in our fanbase say Unai has seen enough of him in our first 8 games to know he is not good enough for AFC and can not play the game Emery wants and has decided to get rid. Its almost as if these experts haven’t got a fucking clue.
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…well Sokratis wont be shutting down Deeney today, dead leg must still be dead. Shame.
Hopefully we wont need the defence today! FOYO!
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Feel for Wilshere at the moment. Played first few games for them and it all went badly. Another injury, and they picked up dramatically, maybe from first game out.
Hoped for a good start for him but probably couldn’t have got much trickier.
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Mandy the official invented a foul for Cardiff which led to their goal. Perhaps he was a frustrated no. ten back in the day?
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I count six Wenger pets in that starting 11, how can that be.
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That’s a pretty impressive bench we have there.
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I guess we’re supposed to want Mourinho to burrow in for his big pay-off and take ManU down with him. I just want him gone now.
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Oh God, it just occurred to me that TV companies would snap him up in a heartbeat. Can you imagine?
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utd have now lost 3 of their 7 bpl games this season, sit 8pts off top, and 8pts off bottom, with a game more played, and for a team with a very very defense minded manager, they have a minus goal difference. Manager has fallen out with their biggest named star and today dropped their very expensive striker from their match day squad. Also already out of the CC, but for some unknown reason the media are going very soft on them
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Nice work by the Hammeroids, it will be a right ol’ knees up later. The ManUres will be after the Hoses head tonight.
Us to do the biz now, and the Roy Hudds to fry the Spuds.
COYG!
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Actually, you are right Finsbury, had forgot about that one , perhaps in the euphoria of winning the game
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this is the comment from BBC live commentary… I thought our players needed to take some responsibilities; didn’t hear any in the media say so though…they rather bashed AW to their hearts contents
FT: West Ham 3-1 Man Utd
Plenty of criticism for Jose Mourinho following another Manchester United defeat.
But there was a World Cup winner in that starting line-up, along with big stars like Romelu Lukaku, David de Gea and Nemanja Matic.
Do the players need to take more responsibility.
We’ll hear from Jose and some of his players shortly.
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COYG!!!!!!!
These Hornets are somewhat drunk with belief at the moment. It would be absolutely superb if we beat them handsomely.
Iwobi and Welbeck to come off the bench to win it. Lacazette to start the scoring, Mesut to unzip and de-energize their neanderthals.
I do like Perreyra though.
Carmon ARSENAL!!!
Carmon ARSENAL!!’
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BBC commentators after the Man Utd defeat, – nows not the time to talk about utd, its west ham’s day
such a contrast to anytime AFC lose, as its never anything to do with the opposition, only about AFC
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what the fuck has to happen for Arsenal to be given a penalty, clear foul on lacazette there
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awful effort by lacazette when one on one, tried to dink it over the keeper, but he skewed it well wide
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this game is frantic and very scrappy
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Cech off injured, Leno on for his BPL debut.
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To be honest I thought we might have changed our penalty ways already- to fall on contact,etc.
From what I can tell almost everyone does it and it’s worth 5-10 points per year, maybe more on occasion. A lot to miss out on.
Can’t commit to saying i want it, but not sure I’ll complain much if we do.
On that note, another Spurs pen, another dive apparently
Pic here of Rose being Rose. I can’t excuse refs though. they analyse all the games and should know the patterns, the repeat offenders, that being clean puts you at a disadvantage. It must be that they want it like this.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/football/45076937
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HT: Arsenal 0-0 Watford
clear penalty not given, in a very scrappy game, our passing if off, lacazette has missed our best chance, watford being industrial and Taylor allowing it
much more needed from Arsenal in the second half
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We’ll have em in the 2nd.
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