Arsenal v Burnley - FA Cup

[A_Gooner_Matata]

No - you only get a certain amount of cup games automatically, and as we've had a replay against Cardiff already, I think they've now run out.

Ah, okay.

 

[progman07]

Cant believe most here didnt want arshavin in summer, best player we have in attack creativly

Yes, he is like the mixture of a passing player like Cesc and a dribbler like C. Ronaldo (though obviously he needs to find his pace and stamina to consistently beat his markers), he is such a complex player. Also, he never loses the ball, you can count on him anytime, he is always a safe option, just like Hleb was.

 

[hackajack]

Also, he never loses the ball, you can count on him anytime, he is always a safe option, just like Hleb was.

That's what I think he brings most of all - you can ping the ball at him and he'll control it and we're off.

 

[patrick42uk]

Last season our biggest problem looked to be productivity, especially relative to the amount of possesion we usually had. Now we have less of the ball but there is are so many potential sources of goals/assists. I hope that with time we get some of last season's style back were we are able to dominate possesion of the ball for long spells because its a useful tool defensively as well.

 

[A_Gooner_Matata]

Last season our biggest problem looked to be productivity, especially relative to the amount of possesion we usually had. Now we have less of the ball but there is are so many potential sources of goals/assists. I hope that with time we get some of last season's style back were we are able to dominate possesion of the ball for long spells because its a useful tool defensively as well.

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath though - seeing as Fulham outplayed us in the possession stakes just a week or so ago

 

[Zico]

Cant believe most here didnt want arshavin in summer, best player we have in attack creativly

Mad people you speak of. Arshavin would have made a difference if he had come in the summer. He would have made up for the lack of creativity from central midfield. I am impressed by how quickly he and Eduardo have found their footing. Naturals both of them.

 

[Mbaki Mutahaba]

Unfortunately it's far too easy to stop us, all you have to do is refuse to tackle us until the final third and put most of your men behind the ball with a view towards letting us play infront of you. Do this successfully and you'll stop us scoring almost completely and you might even nick a result if you're lucky.

Until we have an answer for this tactic which is often used against us then we are not going to be able to win the league.

Mate, no team out there has a solution for that. You just keep at it and hope to get lucky. Teams with naturally giftedd players might nick a goal out of individual brilliance but no coach has a "solution" against that negative tactic. The best you do is make sure they dont nick one while pressing and pressing with hope of a defensive mistake/lapse of concentration, penalty/freekick ..what have you. For the Arsenal of this generation who individually are not very blessed with skills, the challenge is even greater because they have to find that opportunity from team work. So you do that or you go buy a skillful player to create that goal for you..

 

[RocktheCasbah]

Until we have an answer for this tactic which is often used against us then we are not going to be able to win the league.

Reminded of how he scored with his first sight of the ball against West Ham on new year's day last year, I think the answer is Eduardo. That is what we have missed in his absence.

 

[Raider]

The weather today was awful, so don't judge our crossing and corners too harshly. At any rate, in the second half we reduced the number of crosses significantly and tried more over the top passes.

Disappointed to see so many empty seats though, attendance was around 57,000 which was a shame

Ibby, do stfu - go find a nice, dark corner for yourself and leave those who choose to enjoy a good win to themselves

I guess this is what 4 years without a trophy does to you. If you think a procedural 3-0 win against a mid-table Championship side is one to boast about then go for it.

Oh for god sake.

Have you ever posted anything Pro-Arsenal at all.

Its a classy win, with two amazing goals. One out of this world finish, from a fans favorite whos been out for twelve months.

Not to mention the illustrious chip by Vela. FFS, just back your team, regardless of the trophy cabinet, or what league tier the oppositions are playing in.

Your only moment of appluading the Gunners will probably be when we lift a Champions League cup.

 

[hackajack]

Your only moment of appluading the Gunners will probably be when we lift a Champions League cup.

Nah, he'd be too busy pointing out that ManU have got 3 and Liverpool have got 5 to do that.

 

[flobaba]

I thought we looked much better as an attacking side without Adebayor and Bendtner the 'holdup play' players. Much better movement upfront, sharper turns, quicker and more penetrative passes.

Ade was brought in as a plan B, maybe we should stick to that and let him get used to the bench now that Eduardo's fit again. Or only play him as starter in games that have the potential to be overly physical.

 

[Zico]

Flobaba, any plan b that scores 30 goals should begin to be seen in the light of a plan A. for me, Eduardo, Arshavin, Adebayor should play the big games all things being equal. Then add other attackers for speed or skill as necessary.

 

[Anzac]

Unfortunately it's far too easy to stop us, all you have to do is refuse to tackle us until the final third and put most of your men behind the ball with a view towards letting us play infront of you. Do this successfully and you'll stop us scoring almost completely and you might even nick a result if you're lucky.

Until we have an answer for this tactic which is often used against us then we are not going to be able to win the league.

Mate, no team out there has a solution for that. You just keep at it and hope to get lucky. Teams with naturally giftedd players might nick a goal out of individual brilliance but no coach has a "solution" against that negative tactic. The best you do is make sure they dont nick one while pressing and pressing with hope of a defensive mistake/lapse of concentration, penalty/freekick ..what have you. For the Arsenal of this generation who individually are not very blessed with skills, the challenge is even greater because they have to find that opportunity from team work. So you do that or you go buy a skillful player to create that goal for you..

IMO we are on the right track in regard to possession of the ball, but we have yet to get the right team balance AND we lack patience & discipline. Primarily we are too slow transitioning the ball to avoid the scenario, and then we compress too far forward against the last line of defence.

The almost perfect example of what we should be looking to do is Nasri's 2nd v ManU. We had the patience & discipline to regroup, pass the ball back, the players dropped back to create the passing options AND space around the area (instead of remaining static), and we had Theo's movement off the ball across the area to draw defenders.

 

[flobaba]

Flobaba, any plan b that scores 30 goals should begin to be seen in the light of a plan A. for me, Eduardo, Arshavin, Adebayor should play the big games all things being equal. Then add other attackers for speed or skill as necessary.

Yes, he scored 30 goals. However, i'm firmly of the opinion that he'll find it hard to repeat the trick. He happened to be our only fit striker and was able to make the most of it. I think we'll get more goals from the team when intelligent and technically sound players like Eduardo and Robin are featuring as against Ade's physicality. Notice how many less offside calls we've been having recently? and how much more fluid our attack was today? And how those hopeless crosses into the box by our full backs have reduced drastically?

Now everyone has to play real penetrative, thinking football.. and that's what has been lacking in the side for a while now. That being said though, if the right balance between power and intelligence could be found, it would be ideal.

 

[Anzac]

Yes, he scored 30 goals. However, i'm firmly of the opinion that he'll find it hard to repeat the trick. He happened to be our only fit striker and was able to make the most of it. I think we'll get more goals from the team when intelligent and technically sound players like Eduardo and Robin are featuring as against Ade's physicality. Notice how many less offside calls we've been having recently? and how much more fluid our attack was today? And how those hopeless crosses into the box by our full backs have reduced drastically?

Now everyone has to play real penetrative, thinking football.. and that's what has been lacking in the side for a while now. That being said though, if the right balance between power and intelligence could be found, it would be ideal.

Agreed.

 

[Anzac]

Also want to add that it was a delightful chip from Vela - great to see that the recent performances haven't set his confidence back.

Is chipping the 'keeper his signature goal????

 

[Zico]

We praise Robin all the time. He has supposedly been superior to Ade this season, but the Dutchman is scoring at a marginally lower clip (.42 s .44 goals per game) this season. I believe that this season at 15, Robin has his highest goals return ever as an Arsenal player, but he still has some ways to reach Ade's 30 last year.

Robin might be more technical, and 'intelligent' as you put it, but I am not seeing anything to suggest that he is anymore effective than Adebayor. As for offside calls reducing, I am not sure if that has resulted in more goals. It might even mean that our strikers are putting themselves in fewer positions for through balls.

 

[oasis_gooner]

We praise Robin all the time. He has supposedly been superior to Ade this season, but the Dutchman is scoring at a marginally lower clip (.42 s .44 goals per game) this season. I believe that this season at 15, Robin has his highest goals return ever as an Arsenal player, but he still has some ways to reach Ade's 30 last year.

Robin might be more technical, and 'intelligent' as you put it, but I am not seeing anything to suggest that he is anymore effective than Adebayor. As for offside calls reducing, I am not sure if that has resulted in more goals. It might even mean that our strikers are putting themselves in fewer positions for through balls.

I won't enter this debate since I feel Adebayor and Robin are equally important to the squad. However, I'll add that you are being unfair to Robin there. Don't forget Adebayor virtually played whole of last season in front of Hleb and Cesc. And Robin's proved himself capable of carrying the attacking burden in January like Cesc or Hleb did last season. 15 goals return in my opinion at least is very good taking into consideration the service from midfield which has been virtually non existent.

 

[True Gooner]

Robin might be more technical, and 'intelligent' as you put it, but I am not seeing anything to suggest that he is anymore effective than Adebayor. As for offside calls reducing, I am not sure if that has resulted in more goals. It might even mean that our strikers are putting themselves in fewer positions for through balls.

The offside calls reduced even with Adebayor in the line up, infact AnthonyG and I both noticed this and we commented on how Adebayor seemed to push defenders back less and as a result stopped making runs altogether (late Nov-Dec).

 

[flobaba]

As for offside calls reducing, I am not sure if that has resulted in more goals. It might even mean that our strikers are putting themselves in fewer positions for through balls.

Oh it eventually will quincy. its better when we keep hold of the ball and actually make passes towards well timed runs rather than being forced to play the ball (usually long) to a player whos in an offside position more often than not, which instantly destroys our attack. Like the Song to Eduardo pass today, Ade would probably have been off, and even if he wasn't, would have needed to take a touch. Either scenario and the chance is gone.