goonerwarsh
Established Member
Anzac said:Hey this is our biggest Home defeat at The Grove isn't it??????
Yes, and apparently our biggest home defeat in the League since 1977
Anzac said:Hey this is our biggest Home defeat at The Grove isn't it??????
Ashley Cole added insult to Arsenal's injured pride by claiming a trip to the Emirates was just what Chelsea needed after crashing out of Europe.
The Blues inflicted Arsenal's worst home league defeat for 32 years with the 4-1 thrashing, bouncing back from their fiery Champions League exit to Barcelona in midweek.
The club are set to be charged by UEFA this week for failing to control their players during and after last Wednesday's semi-final, and Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack and Jose Bosingwa face charges over their treatment of referee Tom Henning Ovrebo.
Chelsea's playing style was also heavily criticised in Spain after their negative approach in the goalless first leg at the Nou Camp.
But Cole, a none-too-popular former Gunner, believes the defeat of Arsenal shows they are not the enemies of football.
haven’t kicked a ball you can’t talk about those emotions and you don’t understand,' the England left-back told London's Evening Standard.
'Against Arsenal we showed how good we are. We didn’t get in too many battles or too many fights this time. The lads have done well.
Head boy: Alex rises above Mikel Silvestre to score for Chelsea
'A lot of people would have thought we’d all be down and out, but we showed a lot of character. At times we defended really well and now we’ve clinched third spot.'
Cole said the 'mood was down' during training on Thursday and Friday and added: 'Everyone’s disappointed when you lose in the semi-final of the Champions League. It’s life and there is nothing we can do about it.
'The players here have got great character. I have played with a lot of big players, but at Chelsea they seem to be able to motivate themselves very quickly. It showed against Arsenal and it had to show.'
The 28-year-old is never likely to be warmly received at Arsenal after the nature of his departure to Chelsea three years ago.
But Cole taunted the Emirates boo-boys for helping him to recover from the crushing disappointment of defeat against Barcelona.
Asked if he found it hard to play so soon after the European exit, he said: 'It was easy for me but I have different reasons for that. Coming back to my old club, I hate losing to Arsenal so it means I’m more motivated.'
Referring to the abuse from fans, he said: 'It is always there — I don’t blame them. I just want to play my game and win for Chelsea.'
General said:The opening 20minutes was just typical Arsenal flattering to deceive. Like the Carling Cup final a few years ago - there was no way we were going to sustain that tempo for 90 minutes, especially against Chelsea's powerhouse midfield. Yes we looked good and could've had a couple of goals but then again we looked equally vulnerable whenever Chelsea came forward. This was Liverpool all over again but with no Arshavin. The sad thing was that Chelsea didn't look like they broke sweat and picked us off at will.
Captain said:Chelsea just couldn't get near to be honest; it's not the first time and probably won't be the last. Our pressing was very good in the first half too and we made them look slow.
Drogba, however, looked like a player whose antics on wednesday had taken a serious toll.
kel varnsen said:yes, but did chelsea even bother in the first 20-25 mins or so? we played well, but i think it was as a direct result of chelsea's lack of agression and effort. their defending was sloppy and slow; hardly what you'd expect from chelsea.
i think it would be very unwise to estimate relative strength vis-a-vis chelsea on this match.
Big Poppa said:There is a fundamental problem with the culture and attitude at the club towards defending, and there has been since we last picked up a meaningful trophy. Until that is addressed, from the top, there is no point lynching people like Silvestre, who are probably as pissed of with it as we are.
goonerwarsh said:Anzac said:Hey this is our biggest Home defeat at The Grove isn't it??????
Yes, and apparently our biggest home defeat in the League since 1977
Mbaki Mutahaba said:The mood out here is we can never be credit for making a descent team look ordinary. Its always the case of the other team "NOT TRYING". Such a defeatist mentality but well i guess it serves them well. We played well and unlike the FA semis where their goal galvanized them and we got deflated, yesterday, we still kept playing our game. I know its tough times but no need to be hell bent on just stripping the team of any positives just cause u upset. They were quite a lot of positives to take from the game.
Mbaki Mutahaba said:Captain said:Chelsea just couldn't get near to be honest; it's not the first time and probably won't be the last. Our pressing was very good in the first half too and we made them look slow.
Drogba, however, looked like a player whose antics on wednesday had taken a serious toll.
The mood out here is we can never be credit for making a descent team look ordinary. Its always the case of the other team "NOT TRYING". Such a defeatist mentality but well i guess it serves them well. We played well and unlike the FA semis where their goal galvanized them and we got deflated, yesterday, we still kept playing our game. I know its tough times but no need to be hell bent on just stripping the team of any positives just cause u upset. They were quite a lot of positives to take from the game.
Andrey Arshavin has criticised his Arsenal team mates for their lacklustre performance against a 'more skilful' Chelsea, saying the Gunners treated it like a training ground match.
'Arsenal played properly only in the starting 15 or 20 minutes,' he said.
'After that, there was a feeling that it wasn't an important match but some ordinary training session. We woke up only after getting a goal back but that wasn't enough.
'Chelsea managed to convert their chances and we didn't - they were more skilful.'
Arshavin missed the game due to flu but was at the Emirates Stadium to see the 4-1 defeat.
The forward bumped into his national coach Guus Hiddink at the start of the second half. Hiddink embraced him then mockingly kicked him.
'Guus asked about my health and then told me: "It's very good that you're not playing today, get away from the pitch"'.
'It's as if destiny doesn't let me play against Guus. In the cup match, Wenger kept me on the bench and allowed me to play only for several final minutes. And now I had to miss premier league game too.'
Unforgiven said:Is it every player no which has come out saying that there are problems with Arsenal and we are s**t?
quincy42 said:Unforgiven said:Is it every player no which has come out saying that there are problems with Arsenal and we are s**t?
Denilson, Diaby and Denilson are surprisingly quiet. Maybe it's because they know they'd have the most to lose from any reinforcements.