Arsenal v Chelsea - Nov. 29 Sun - 16:00 GMT

[Mbaki Mutahaba]

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These c*nts write so much sh* on chelsea's physical power when it was actually non existence in the game. The game was NEVER determine by the physical powers of Chelsea. The c*nts who want to get paid just typing away this sh* and preying fools around..including our very own fans to jump on the bandwagon. If you watched this game..how were we overpowered by chelsea?

No one doubts they are stronger phyiscally than we are, just as we are more agile then they are. But how did that physique determine the game or have any f*ing impact on the goals?

 

[Big Poppa]

I said before the game that the result would depend largely on our ability to show composure in attack and take our chances. We didn't do that, they did. We also lost focus after going 1-0 down. We must cut that out. To illustrate my point, we took the lead at Old Trafford against Man U at around the same time Drogba scored for Chelsea, and after a similar pattern to the game. Yet you never felt that Man U would concede a second goal before half time, nor in the immediate aftermath of the second half, because they knew that as long as the score was 0-1 they had a chance of coming back. We panicked and tried to get back before half time, then went 2-0 down.

Having said that, for all our defensive fallibility, Chelsea played several hospital balls themselves, with Mikel in particular getting caught in possession on several occasions. We were just unable to get support quickly enough to Eduardo, nor was he able to protect the ball or act decisively enough under pressure.

I think therein lies the difference. They exploited our mistakes better than we did theirs. Both sides had equally good opportunities. Their first two goals were in off the inside of Almunia's post - fine margins, although Drogba's finish was world class. A lack of presence in attack in combination with a team that doesn't enjoy defending is always likely to be exposed at this level, and we were.

Are you saying you were expecting Chelsea to score the 2nd one immediately after they scored the first?

No I didn't, but we were visibly shaken by that first goal, and our focus went out the window.

 

[Big Poppa]

Sure we have been bullied before my Chelsea's physical presence but yesterday was definitely not the case. How did their physicality help them get the goals? We played our game and they played their game. Their physically did not matter. We were never going to score using our in-existence physicality. They would have hoped to score using their but they didnt, they scored from our defense not properly marking up.

Back to our crosses. It should have dawned to Sagna...that the only cross that might trouble Chelsea is the hard low ones..across the goal..so the flying Terry can deflect into his own goal...the high crosses were not going to work even with RvP on the pitch.


We tried to create a bit in the middle but Edu was to slow to respond. You dont have to create much in these games to win so its i dont understand when people yap about we didnt create much. You wont create much in big games. You just gotta take the ones u do..and they will be very few.

Their attack didn't bully our defence, their defence bullied our attack. In the physical stakes, Eduardo, Vela, Arshavin and Walcott were eaten up with consummate ease.

We couldn't get our midfield up quickly to support them because our attackers were not able to hold up the ball in any way shape or form. I think their midfield played in 2nd gear, but we were never in a position to take advantage of it, because unlike any other opponents we've faced this season they kept a very rigid shape throughout the game, and we're not tempted to abandon any of our players in pursuit of the ball.

Once it became obvious we couldn't pull them out of position with the ball, we had no other answer, because none of our players were going to put them under physical pressure, and none of our players were willing or able to try from distance. It was basically a tailor made game for them.

You make a very good point about Sagna. I wonder if he thinks Ade is still in the team, because otherwise I have no idea what's going through his mind with all those aimless lofted balls. Traore did very well going forward because if he got in a crossing position and saw only 1 red shirt vs. blue in the box, he'd pull it back instead.

 

[General]

Yeah I find this talk of Chelsea physically overpowering us laughable. In the end, it came down to our inability to apply basic defensive principles and no doubt they were more decisive in the final third than us. Really was this any different to the four we shipped against City? I thought Troare did well. The incident of him bouncing off Drogba was a bit comical but he was caught off balance more than anything else. Physically he surprisingly did ok and used his pace to very good effect. I found Rosicky's attempted hack at Mikel more pathetic, especially for an experienced player. It would certainly help if Wenger can get this bunch to embrace the physical side of the game because we are no longer easily out-muscled like we were a few seasons ago and notably lightweight players like Cesc are getting physically stronger by the game. They just haven't the slightest clue about applying themselves in this manner and you sometimes see physically robust players like Song/Diaby go into a challenge and easily yield ground. Of course the more savage acts are not something we should take on board but the mindset is just wrong. Wenger through his never-ending media protests has engrained this thought that applying borderline physical pressure goes beyond the rules of the game, sadly to our own detriment.

 

[Zico]

Drogba is a physical player and we do not have the defenders to handle him. The rest of Chelsea is not physical. They are just damn good players, who prove that you do not have to be 5 foot 2 inches tall to be talented.

None of our left backs are fit to lace Ashley Cole's boots (try to disregard the fact that he's a dirty ho when judging his talent). In addition, they have, in my opinion, the best central defender (Carvalho), midfielder (Essien) and striker (Drogba) in England. The supporting cast is upper echelon (Terry, Bosingwa Lampard, Cole, Anelka, Deco, Ballack). It just comes to them having a little bit more depth and muscle than us, giving them the ability to really vary their game between full-back driven attack, and just bombing through the center. Finally, I cannot emphasize how important it is to have an amazing midfield. It just makes life so much easier for every other part of the team.

 

[outlaw_member]

Anyone got a clip of Traore literally bouncing off Drogba? DOnt think i'v LOL harder watching a football match.

I think he was caught off balance. In the Carling Cup final of 2007, Essien similarly bounced off a 16 year old Traore. It can really happen to anyone who is off guard, though if your weak, it will happen more frequently.

 

[outlaw_member]

The way to beat organised teams is to disrupt their lines by dribbling at them, causing opponents to move out of position, thus creating space to exploit. This is what Hleb excelled at but he was apparently ****. It's no coincidence that we had relatively more space to operate in when Walcott came onto to the pitch, even though he didn't make a direct contribution.

 

[celestis]

Anyone got a clip of Traore literally bouncing off Drogba? DOnt think i'v LOL harder watching a football match.

I think he was caught off balance. In the Carling Cup final of 2007, Essien similarly bounced off a 16 year old Traore. It can really happen to anyone who is off guard, though if your weak, it will happen more frequently.

haha ,thought of that when the commentators were laughing at Traore and extolling Drogbas physical prowess. Yeah anyone can bounce of anyone . Armand has got a fair bit of explosive strength himself .

 

[banduan]

we did not lose from being overpowered, although there were plenty of examples of that.

1) Song was time and again caught at the wrong place on their attacks
2) We cleared poorly and failed to mop up the second ball when we cleared from the box, when they got the second ball it tended to be at the edge of our box. When we got the second ball from our attacks on them, it was closer to the centre circle.
3) Our forwards failed to get back to help with defending- unlike Chelsky. When their defenders supported the attack, our own forwards or midfield were not there to hassle them.
4) We were too static in our own penalty box. They played quick balls backwards then forwards again and our zone marking defense were caught ball watching.

 

[banduan]

Also
5) For all his faults, playing Theo pinned Cashley to a more defensive position. That Theo could not capitalise on the fact that he's pulling three players to him is his fault. That he wasn't played from the get go is either Wenger's.

 

[est]

I'm not sure if it was all thanks to Theo. Being 2-0 up might have also been one of the reasons...

 

[Mbaki Mutahaba]

Also
5) For all his faults, playing Theo pinned Cashley to a more defensive position. That Theo could not capitalise on the fact that he's pulling three players to him is his fault. That he wasn't played from the get go is either Wenger's.

I think Sagna pushed up more than Cole did.. I think too much is being made of Cole's forays upfront. They were very limited and i dont think Walcot's introduction was to counter's Cashley. It was for us to create pace upfront.

 

[Captain]

Walcott coming on was like xmas for them. Didn't even have to tackle him, just wait a few seconds and he did it himself.

 

[ibby]

Walcott coming on kept Ashley Cole the **** away from our penalty area and pinned that side the **** back. Cole's xmas was in the first half where he was allowed to do what he pleased down that left hand side.

 

[Captain]

I'm not sure if it was all thanks to Theo. Being 2-0 up might have also been one of the reasons...

 

[ibby]

Either way, when Walcott plays, the full back stays put.

 

[Zico]

Walcott had no impact on that game. Ashley was injured by the time Walcott started running into people. The kid is a waste on the wing

 

[Captain]

Cole only came forward twice all game more or less.

 

[ibby]

Twice is more than enough to create havoc.

 

[Captain]

Are you just posting replies for the fun of it?