Arsenal v Tottenham - Wednesday January 9, 7.45pm

[EMIR8_SOLDIER]

Serious talk Web he really was tonight
We could of even nicked it with the last attack through eduardo

How Sp**s never won just beats me, glad they didnt obviously but they may not get a better chance to beat our side like that this decade

Depending on what squad we have for the game up WHL but im very happy tonight, very

For our second side to come back from 1-0 down after playing s**t and Sp**s playing the best they have against us for about 10 years shows we have mettle

They need to take a leaf out of this sides book

 

[Illusion]

That last chance Eduardo had, if that had gone in.. I can't imagine how ballistic the stadium would have gone!

There would have been at least one Sp**s **** if they lost that.

 

[Illusion]

That last chance Eduardo had, if that had gone in.. I can't imagine how ballistic the stadium would have gone!

There would have been at least one Sp**s **** if they lost that.

 

[EMIR8_SOLDIER]

LOL just one, nah man probably worse
Maybe a batch would of ran onto the pitch and destroy some players neck then convert into gooners

We really should of been out this tie tonight by at least 3 goals, they all know it, we know it too

We should of been going into the match up WHL facing a mammoth task, actually an impossible one

The chance to cause heartbreak up WHL is great, all gooners and the players will be licking their lips

Our boys were given a lifeline and can see them not wasting this one, theyll be really pumped up for this leg

Were still in it for some weird reason, both teams are even and I cant wait

 

[famous no 10]

The more I think about it, the more I actually think we're going to win the next leg.

That was s***s full strength team, playing really well, and we had a bunch of reserves, a player coming back from loan, and another couple coming back from injury and we were awful...and they STILL can't beat us.

F**k it, lets play Gallas and Tomas in the 2nd leg, that should it.

 

[Dez]

**** it lets play the Arsenal Ladies, they still wouldn't win.

 

[Biggus]

What a miss by Defoe at the end.......
What a stupid haircut, they're all idiots. :roll:

 

[Dragon181]

What a miss by Defoe at the end.......
What a stupid haircut, they're all idiots. :roll:

I was wondering what that little worm-looking thing on his head was.

On to more serious topics: After watching the game and keeping it in the backburner so as not to make any knee-jerk reactions, Here's what I thought:

Sp**s are a completely different team from the beginning of the season, and really should be in the top 10 in the league based on how they are playing at the moment. King makes a huge difference in defense and you can see how much they were hurt by his earlier absence. Berbatov and Keane are a better strike partnership than most teams in the PL. Luckily they also have Darren Bent and Defoe. And most importantly, this game confirmed something we all knew: Robbo is horrible and should have been benched a long time ago.

So playing against a full strength and 'stealing' a draw is not that bad, in retrospect.

But it did highlight some things.

First of all, Fabianski looks like a good prospect. In time, he could prove to be one of the best 'keeper investments Arsène has made. But playing behind Djourou also makes him look better. JD was just plain horrible today. If people claim that Senderos has regressed, they should look at Djourou. Senderos, on the other hand, was very good, and depending on the effects of the injury, he could deputize for Toure ably. Then again, Hoyte inspired some confidence too. So by the time Cameroon and the Ivory Coast teams return, we could have 2 very good CBs and 3 good ones.

Diaby's style of play strikes me as selfish and very Diarra-like, except that he doesn't tackle as well, and relies on tricks too much. In any case, he remains a 'prospect' with high potential. What's clear is that he doesn't belong on the left. Similarly, Theo still needs to vary his moves, speed, and still needs maturing, but his pace is deadly, as everyone saw today. In midfield, Gilberto looks done. Sad to say, and sad to see, but it's hard to imagine him turning back time and being as good as he was in the past. If Diarra leaves, I will be worried. If he was really just 'sick', then I hope he plays in the second leg, because he made a huge difference against Blackburn, and his absence left its mark here.

This game just underscored the fact that we are very strong in front with 4 good strikers, but could possibly use some back-up on the wings or at the back. Many of the players are young and raw and still learning their position/techniques. And luckily, nobody really cares about the CC (except for Sp**s and Chelsea), and it's the perfect tournament to blood these players early.

 

[arsenalfc0719]

Sp**s (Berbatov's team) are really good at ****ing them selfs up aren't they. Anyhow, I'm happy with the result as, one Sp**s still haven't beat us, and two, we didn't even deserve to draw and I was expecting the worse, and the result surely wasn't the worse.

Our performance was very bad, and it started from the back, with a awful game from Djourou, to the midfield, with an awful game from Diaby. I am pretty happy with our strikers though, and it makes me happy to know that we have four very able strikers.

The injuries to Djourou, RvP and Senderos are disappointing, the latter two particularly. Senderos because Toure is gone and we are in need of him to provide cover for him. And RvP's injury is disappointing because he's been out for so long and hes an important player for us to have in the team. Hopefully all three injured players will come back to full health soon.

We will pass to the final of the CC, Sp**s just cant beat us.

 

[OneProudGooner]

Did no one notice in the last 15-20 mins when Gilberto got that block on King when he had a great chance to score from a resulting corner?
It seemed to fire him up enough to find that bit of skill to pass to Eduardo who played in Theo that led to the goal. Some people are too harsh on him especially at his age he needs more games to regain his match sharpness not 1 or 2 games every month or so. There were far worse players giving the ball away far more often than him such as Diaby who was shocking.

Okay he had a mediocre game but a much better second half the whole team tightened up defensively epecially after Hoyte switched to CB.
Hoyte seems to be very good defensively, he has good pace and he seems very tidy with the ball. When is the last time we had a player who could play comfortably at RB, LB and CB? :worthy

 

[Clrnc]

i expect wenger to field a stronger side, especially in defence.

i have no doubts we are going to overall win the semi.

 

[Zico]

1. Psychologically, you have to wonder what effect the last two games will have on the Sp**s. They were clearly the better side over the two matches, yet earned a draw and a loss. Will they be demoralised in a fortnight, or will they draw hope from their dominance?

2. Can somebody please tell me why Arsenal players insist on dribbling the ball around their penalty area? I have mentioned this before, but yesterday, guys like Djourou and Traore took this to new levels. We put ourselves under pressure by losing the ball unnecessarily near our penalty area.

3. Why we play Diaby ahead of Diarra is beyond me. Even playing on the wing, Diarra is miles better than this bumbling giant. I wish Diaby was the one off to Tyneside.

 

[jadedazzled11]

I wont look into this draw too much. Look,this was our second string side and Sp*rs were fielding their full strength team. We played horrible but they still just cant beat us.

Eventually I am certain Juande Ramos will get to pull one over us. At the moment,you cant help but laugh at how Tottenham find it easier to beat Rovers away than it is for them to beat Arsenal reserves.

Anyway,I geuss crap will always be crap.

 

[CrazyInLoveWithArsenal]

On a different note.

If Sp**s play like they did today then I see them picking three points off United when they visit the the lane.

As for the game itself, I don't really care. The fact that we maintaned our unbeaten run against them and prevented them from being the first side to beat us at home in cup competition is good enough for me especially with the team we put out.

Hoyte--Senderos---Djourou---Traore

On paper that defence looks **** and on the pitch it looks **** too. How Sp**s did not score at least two is beyond me, if we start with that back line in the return leg then I will not be confident about a date in Wembley. Credit to Sp**s who under Ramos look to be turning things around, next season will be interesting. He will have more time to integrate his own style and bring in the players he wants. Sp**s could be a force next season.

 

[stuart]

Seems i was right about the Sp**s fans, the forums full of crap about our poor support
Sorry lads, but to be brutally honest, i think we'd all rather be on top with quiet fans than in the bottom half of the table with fans who treat a carling cup game against reserves as a champions league final. Small time.

 

[Illusion]

After all the talk about Wenger maybe realising the team wasn't working at all or Djourou was a liability and therefore subbing him at half time (which he almost never does except for injury).

It now seems that he probably subbed them for injury reasons yet again, and not because the team wasn't working at all.. I hope that's not the case, because Djourou made Titus Bramble look like a rock.

 

[stuart]

hey, leave Titus out of this

 

[CrazyInLoveWithArsenal]

Some truly shocking performances turned in today, but more about those in a minute. The bright spots were probably our forward line, who all bustled around a lot, and, despite a lack of service, looked at least a little bit threatening when they received the ball. All were guilty of dallying a little too long at times, but also gave Sp**s a few problems at the back.

Theo had an ok game in midfield, his goal was superb, and he worried Sp**s with his pace, and one or two intelligent flicks - but gave it away too often as well, becoming isolated under pressure.

At the back, Fabianski was reasonably solid, one nice save, covered his goal well, and only really got caught out once. Nothing he could do about the goal.

Unfortunately, Djourou, Traore, Diaby and Gilberto were all absolutely diabolical. Not just bad - atrocious. Phil had an ok game, made some nice tackles and won some nice balls - but he fluffed a few clearences too. But in comparison to him Diaby, Gilberto and Djourou must have given the ball away in our half, within 30 yards of our goal, about 30 times between them. Diaby takes far too long on the ball, whilst Gilberto couldn't pass water, missing any pass more ambitious than five yards. Traore got isolated, and was completely ineffective - though considering how little support Diaby gave him, it's not surprising.

Hoyte was ok, as was Denilson, though the latter perhaps also gave the ball away too often, and didn't provide enough of a creative spark.

Oh, and Sagna was superb when he came on - made a MASSIVE difference.

Terrible performance, but we stole a draw.

 

[EMIR8_SOLDIER]

They had their best squad out the park yesterday bar zokora that was replaced by o'hara

First half they beat us 1-0 with our atrociuos defence
Second half we beat them 1-0 with a slightly better defence(yes crazy sagna made a massive difference, true warrior) but still none of the big guns, Sp**s should of wrapped up the tie

I really really fancy our chances in the 2nd leg
We were given a lifeline and the chance for our boys to upset WHL is an event that will goad them

Players that will definetly be up for causing an upset are nicklas, denilson eduardo, hoyte and a few more

 

[henry79]

They had their best squad out the park yesterday bar zokora that was replaced by o'hara

First half they beat us 1-0 with our atrociuos defence
Second half we beat them 1-0 with a slightly better defence(yes crazy sagna made a massive difference, true warrior) but still none of the big guns, Sp**s should of wrapped up the tie

I really really fancy our chances in the 2nd leg
We were given a lifeline and the chance for our boys to upset WHL is an event that will goad them

Players that will definetly be up for causing an upset are nicklas, denilson eduardo, hoyte and a few more

unlike you I dont fancy our chances,wenger will be playing the same team and I have no confidence in djourou senderos partnership with below part gilberto playing infront of the back four.