CL: Arsenal vs Porto | 30/09/08

[McIntyre]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Good result but our finishing is still letting us down. Aren't we all getting a little sick of commentators saying 'It really could have been 5/6/7'

Yeah, I'm sick of that too.

But I think if we had put all our clear chances away it would've been ten or more, which just doesn't happen in football (apart from in 5-a-side and amateur stuff).

It'd be nice if we were the team to buck the trend and notch up a few record scores per season. But I think there's just something about the game of football at the highest level that doesn't let a team completely annihilate another team in such a manner. Whether it's fate, luck, the law of averages or whatever, scorelines like that just don't come around too often.

We've seen previous Arsenal teams, and other sides too, completely dominate their opposition time and again but fail to consistently hit sevens, eights or double figures. If we finished off every chance we created, even just the really clear cut ones, we'd have won the league a lot more times. But other sides can be just as wasteful otherwise we'd have seen United and Chelsea hitting such figures regularly too.

Hopefully, when we come up against some of the tougher opponents we will have ironed out a few of the creases and will make the most of our opportunities. We don't need to finish every chance we make but we definitely need to learn to score the ones that really matter.

 

[awooga83]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Back from the match and first and foremost a great result we needed it but we do often seem to get it after games like Hull. Thought the team were much better in terms of intensity but again to be expected I don't think Wenger needed to say anything they knew themselves they had to perform.

Now for all we were good Porto were poor defensively. I got talking to a Porto fan before thegame and he said they had a weak defence and that even against Fenerbahce where they won 4-1 they could easily have drawn but Fenerbahce wasted their chances. I wasn't sure but after tonight I see what he meant. Thier keeper was also poor almost spilling some shots trying to make hollywood saves.

I feel this result though nice proves nothing Porto didn't test us and still we had a weak defence a few of their corners got in with no trouble and they were able to run few us a few times. Also our play was still a bit lax at times with some poor passes again from Cesc. The test will come in games that again aren't as big and we are more expected to get something from particularly after a decent run will we get complacent again. The main problem with the team is its erratic nature and its that which will cost us and that won't show up everytime so we have days like today but then days like Hull points we shouldn't be dropping, much bigger tests ahead for this team but nice still to get the win.

 

[McIntyre]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

I wanted to see improvements in every area tonight, from our mentality/attitude to the sloppiness which now seems to be a part of our game. And to be honest, I wasn’t overly impressed. I expected us to be better, we always are after shock defeats, it’s quickly becoming a trademark of ours. But I wanted us to be more than better. I wanted the players to go out and prove themselves, to really push the point home that they are professional players who hurt after the abysmal performance at the weekend, and if I’m honest I didn’t see that. I seen the same team which can motivate itself for the big glamour games but not the smaller ties. Missing countless easy chances became a laugh and a joke to some of them out there and that pissed me off. Eboue’s pointless and unwarranted showboating lacked class. There were a couple of other things which annoyed me but slip my mind right now.

It was quite obvious from the very start that the team had a completely different attitude. They looked like they had a point to prove. But, like you said, we always do that after shock defeats. We need to learn to avoid those defeats in the first place, not just respond to them

Eboue's showboating kind of summed up to me why we get ourselves into these situations in the first place. A loss doesn't seem to hang in the players memories for even 90 minutes, if we've responded well. So whilst the confidence returns to its highest level, so does the arrogance. Enjoy your football by all means, enjoy the fact that you've bounced back from defeat well, but don't start acting like that loss never happened in the first place or you're likely to make the same mistakes again in the future.

I'd much rather see us sloppy, but intent on winning the game, than ever playing with the arrogant, a win is inevitable swagger that we displayed on Saturday. The sloppiness can be worked on, but if our attitude isn't right we may as well not turn out.

Now that we've bounced back well, let's hope we don't let that desire and commitment slip.

 

[kel varnsen]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Vela again looked special. The run was great but his passing as well was spot on. He's like Hleb in that regard because he always looks for a forward pass. Loved also that he got into the box when the ball was on the opposite flank. The boy needs to be integrated into the team somehow.

up front, instead of van persie.

good performance today against a horrible porto side.

 

[asajoseph]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

The run was great, but where the hell was his right foot?

He really should have hit that.

Otherwise, I thought Vela was decent, but not entirely spectacular tonight - on the merit of today's performance from both, I wouldn't be replacing Van Persie with him just yet.

 

[awooga83]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

The run was great, but where the hell was his right foot?

He really should have hit that.

Spot on he really needs to developehis right foot because that run deserved a goal.

 

[clockwork orange]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Agree this result proves nothing, bar that we can play very well if things go our way. Bouncebackability is 1 thing you need to win trophees consistency is another. We now need to keep winning & be focussed.

Could have been a totally different match though, if they would have scored first. And they would have if Kolo wouldn't have run back that fast after we f&cked up a corner. He was the ONLY player going back fast. All our other players were running slower than the Porto players (and not because they couldn't run faster, I'm talking about our players). And we're still not solid at set pieces.

The good news is that we had little set pieces against us, because we were mainly atttacking.

Robin said in a postmatch interview on Dutch tv that the team really needed this because they had been short in every aspect (think he meant if terms of football & mentality) of the game v Hull, which made them a bit depressed (disappointed in themselves) The team really wanted to make up for it for the fans.

Think Wenger wanted what he considers his best starting line-up to be able as a team to regain confidence again as soon as possible. At least they delivered, so it wasn't an 'insult' to the other players. Now they must make sure we have no Hull-matches again.

 

[MDGoonah41]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

I'll be away for a while, I'm moving tomorrow. This team really couldnt be any more inconsistent, could they? Thrash Sheffield 6-0, lose to Hull 1-2, thrash Porto 4-0.

I wouldn't want to be wagering a lot of money on Arsenal right now week to week. Hopefully they hit a hot run of form at the right times this year and can rescue points when they are off. Its going to be an extremely frustrating season to follow from a consistency standpoint, but there will be games like this that remind us all of the potential.

 

[asajoseph]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

I think we are starting to lose perspective a bit on how football matches tend to play themselves out over 90 minutes - it's very, very rare, even against much poorer sides, to not at least concede one or two chances to the opposition. All teams do that, not just us, and whilst I think Porto weren't at all bad in patches today, I think that overall we played pretty well, both going forward, and in defence. Porto are a good side, though not outstanding, and I think to limit them to only one good chance and a couple of half-efforts is pretty good going.

Of course, somethimes those chances will be taken, and it's the mark of a good team to fight back on those occasions, but defensive perfection is a very, very rare thing indeed - almost all games have at least a few 'if only' moments in them.

 

[nazo]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

I didn't watch the game but going by the highlights it should've been 7+ goals for us

Good to see Robin is back to scoring, expect another 2 against Sunderland now. Cesc looked back to his best and Ade should've had 3. Nasri looked impressive again and Eboue is the greatest player in the world.

Bendtner looked very dangerous when he came on.

 

[asajoseph]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Oh, and Eboue is a joke.

I didn't find his pathetic stepovers today remotely amusing - what the **** does he think he's doing?

 

[nazo]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

I watched the last 10 minutes only but i thought he was Nani in disguise.

I love that guy (Eboue not Nani)

 

[tam1886]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Completely agree Asa, but my problem lies with the ease that these chances come for our opponents. We'll concede good chances and goals, and there will be times there will be nothing we can do about it. It seems that sometimes people always need to blame someone for a goal conceded, when there isn't always a lot you can do about it.

We should be making it as hard for teams to score against us as possible, but when you look at both Hull goals and a few chances tonight we are laying scoring opportunites on a plate for them. There is a lot of room for improving concentration and tightening up at the back. We can't cut out the 'if only' moments, but we can reduce how often they occur.


And you've got the Eboue thing spot on. What is he all about?

 

[Alfonso]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Just got back from the game. A good performance and important that we got back to winning ways, not only to give us more security for our CL position which will have a positive effect on our league situation, but also to recover mentally from the Hull game. However, I do agree with others that this game doesnt prove anything as I fully expected it after a loss (said the other day that I would be less confident going into this game had we beat Hull). I just hope we can play against Sunderland with the same approach and have zero complacency and take it from there.

Robin Van Perise said it perfectly in the interview after game. The interviewer asked him something in the lines of: "What does this game mean towards your chances of winning the CL?" and Robin replied honestly and said: "Nothing". Perfect, because thats what the players need at the moment, to be level headed with their feet firmly placed on the ground. Wenger said in his programme notes today that he felt the hype of the Shefield Utd result worked against us and I beleive from now we must not let any similar results, like tonight, make us feel we have 'made it'. Win a trophy at the end of the season then you can say you are the real deal.

In terms of players who impressed, I felt Clichy and Fabregas were our two best players, with Nasri having some nice touches, with one outstanding bit of skill where he nutmegged an oppositon player. Fabregas was the heart of our side today, and despite not being at his optimal level, it was a great improvement on performances this season.

 

[kel varnsen]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

The run was great, but where the hell was his right foot?

He really should have hit that.

Otherwise, I thought Vela was decent, but not entirely spectacular tonight - on the merit of today's performance from both, I wouldn't be replacing Van Persie with him just yet.

why not? simply because of the goals rvp scored? if so, vela should have kept his place in the team after the cup match.

or is the bar simply set higher for vela than rvp? the latter is automaticallt prefered?

 

[USArsenal]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Carling Cup goals v. Sheffield Utd

Champions League goals v. the reigning Portuguese champs


nope, i guess i dont see a difference... erm....

 

[kel varnsen]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

irrelevant. vela has only been given the chance against sheff utd.

 

[True Gooner]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

 

[qs]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

The reaction to Eboues step overs is completely OTT. Typical of this place. Everyone is just waiting to attack him. He tried a step over when we were 4-0 up, it didn't work. Big ****ing deal. Is there a better time to try out new tricks and techniques?

Anyway if it had been Theo doing it and had lost the ball everyone would love him for it.

 

[AnthonyG]

Re: Arsenal vs FC Porto: Champions League: Tues 30/9/08 19:45

Indeed Qs and certain people just don't know when to back down, but instead just keep on digging and making themselves look even more foolish than normal.