EPL: Arsenal vs Chelsea - Sun. Jan 24th, 4:00pm

[rich 1990]

It was the biggest mentally, if you ask me. Think this'll do some serious damage.

 

[fabo]

Yeah, think we may struggle to recover from this. Games coming up look OK but Southampton at home could be tricky and we also have Barca to navigate around away matches at United/Sp**s/Everton.

Could lose 8 or 9 this season tbh.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Those games are history. We wont win the league by winning a game that took place 4 months ago!

Well we wouldn't have won the league by winning yesterday either. We could have lost vs Man City and won yesterday and we'd be in the same position. We could have won both and then go lose vs Bournemouth.

We just need to get more points than the other teams, doesn't really matter how we get them. But games vs teams close to us are a bit bigger since a win means a loss for them.

And I find it odd that people are now saying this is going to be mental blow.. we've lost to chelsea so many time I doubt it will do damage, especially since we went down to 10 men. Last time we lost to them we went on a good run and I expect we will again. The Feb-April period has been solid for us in recent seasons as well.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

**** Barca, it's a game where we've nothing to lose anyway.

 

[US_Gooner]

All this hand-wringing is ridiculous.

I didn't like losing this, but I didn't like losing the West Ham game for the season opener either.

If you're embarrassed losing 0-1 to a **** Chelsea team, then console yourself
that they're in 13th. This place would be apesh!t if we were in 13th! Only fabo would be happy (if that's possible).

 

[Gentleman's Vegetables]

Just watched a video on youtube, that has just been released asking a Pool, Toffee and QPR fan who they think we will win the league.
They all said Arsenal.
Slightly dull video, but the scousers made some interesting and kind points about us.

 

[General]

Özil needs to get on weights and shake. Getting brushed off the ball far too easily and even that sneaky little sheet Oscar was getting the better of him. He played like he was up all night with some glamour model. In fact half of our players looked like they've been put on the Atkins diet.

 

[Jury]

Well we wouldn't have won the league by winning yesterday either. We could have lost vs Man City and won yesterday and we'd be in the same position. We could have won both and then go lose vs Bournemouth.

We just need to get more points than the other teams, doesn't really matter how we get them. But games vs teams close to us are a bit bigger since a win means a loss for them.

And I find it odd that people are now saying this is going to be mental blow.. we've lost to chelsea so many time I doubt it will do damage, especially since we went down to 10 men. Last time we lost to them we went on a good run and I expect we will again. The Feb-April period has been solid for us in recent seasons as well.

I refuse to believe you don't get it when I say this was the biggest league game of the season so far. So far. To date. You're taking context and feeling out of it--things known and felt by the manager, players and fans. You can't pretend these things don't exist.

 

[fabo]

**** Barca, it's a game where we've nothing to lose anyway.

Both games are followed by away games in the league, United and Everton. Unbelievably tough to follow up those matches with performances as Barca demands extreme effort and intensity. We'll be chasing shadows.

 

[fabo]

All this hand-wringing is ridiculous.

I didn't like losing this, but I didn't like losing the West Ham game for the season opener either.

If you're embarrassed losing 0-1 to a **** Chelsea team, then console yourself
that they're in 13th. This place would be apesh!t if we were in 13th! Only fabo would be happy (if that's possible).

Chelsea are close to us really though, just having a bad season. We/ve not finished ahead of them too often since 04. I expect they will be back up there next season once the manager situation gets sorted and we may be looking up at them again if Wenger continues to botch transfer windows and failing to ever do enough to strengthen the team.

 

[fabo]

Alexis was brilliant, on a positive note.

Özil is fantastic, and also technically cleaner etc but he's not a leader in those spots. It tends to be Alexis and Ramsey who dig in and try to force something(albeit Ramsey is screwing it up lately, but did put one on a platter for Flamini IIRC which has been glossed over because he missed). It's just not in Özil's make-up.

 

[rich 1990]

Why are we bothered where Chelsea are? They've had enough success to put up with 1 **** season. It us we should be worried about. We might be only 3 points off the top but we're going in reverse.

 

[fabo]

And for those saying I constantly criticise, I thought Bellerin showed alot yesterday. Kept going til the end, driving forward, good attitude.

Do think he should be backing up someone at this point but not his fault.

 

[General]

Both games are followed by away games in the league, United and Everton. Unbelievably tough to follow up those matches with performances as Barca demands extreme effort and intensity. We'll be chasing shadows.

Travel to Barca on Wednesday followed by a 12:45 Saturday kick off against Everton. You just couldn't make this up.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

I refuse to believe you don't get it when I say this was the biggest league game of the season so far. So far. To date. You're taking context and feeling out of it--things known and felt by the manager, players and fans. You can't pretend these things don't exist.

I know where you are coming from. It was A Big Game. Really big even. Huge maybe. And we lost it. But it was big only because of the context you are talking about.

That's why I don't think it was the biggest to date. That was Man City for me, and maybe Utd as well. Similar context due to our need to show we can beat the big teams, but with the addition of them being close to us in the standings at the time. The fact that Chelsea are so far back means that, objectively, them gaining three points on us is much less of a problem then if we had lost vs City (or even Utd at the time). If they were in the title race, then yeah I would say it would probably have been the biggest to date.

The Leicester game coming up will be a bigger game also imo. Need to put those underdogs down.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

Travel to Barca on Wednesday followed by a 12:45 Saturday kick off against Everton. You just couldn't make this up.

Not surprised at this, usual ****ing bollocks. English teams are fighting for their CL places and the ****ing FA/TV stations screw them.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Couldn't care less about the Barca game tbh. Problem is that the team will give everything and it will all be in vain.

 

[Rex Stone]

FFS, talk about completely and conveniently ignoring the context.

It has nothing at all to do with Chelsea's proximity. Why should it have anything to do with where they are?

1. This is our best chance of winning a major title.
2. This game was against a team we have a sh!t record against, are our huge rivals and have beat us already this season. It was Chelsea ffs!
3. This game came after we've seen us drop points in two games we should have won, losing the lead at the top in the process.
4. Leicester (a team you obviously see as some behemoth!) and Sp**s (huge rivals and on our tails) both won.

To have won here would have been a massive shot in the arm. The biggest we've had all season.

The further you go in the season, the bigger the games get, so there will be bigger...

This was undoubtedly our biggest league game of the season so far, and arguably our biggest game so far, period. Why would anyone want to deny that? Whatever makes you sleep better, I suppose.

It's also got nothing to do with this 'bottler narrative' either. Not on my half anyway.

Didn't actually mention you at all... enough histrionics round here without having to call specific people out.

As for your points so what if they're huge rivals? You're going to lose games to your rivals, that's why they're rivals. If anything I think people are deliberately ignoring how much better we've been against our rivals in the last two years as a whole including against Chelsea. The last 4 games have been incredibly close that we were unlucky to lose in 3 of them.

Really don't get why it's our biggest game of the season at all, a game against your biggest rival for the title is surely bigger than a team that's in 14th place. It's common sense. I'd rather lose to Chelsea and win vs City this season. One is a massive six pointer the other is a game where nothing but bragging rights are on the line for them.

If it's just because every game gets bigger and bigger the longer the year goes on I hope you're there to remind us all of how we won our biggest game of the season if we beat Southampton.

I really do think this team has shown a lot more grit and nous in big games the last two seasons, we knew we were going to get thumped a couple of years back and now I back us against anybody. We're competitive now, what more can you really ask?

 

[GDeep™]

Travel to Barca on Wednesday followed by a 12:45 Saturday kick off against Everton. You just couldn't make this up.

FFS.

That's the league gone then.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

We should just send the kids to Barca, but there would be a player revolt I'm sure. Plus Ueafa would find some way to fine us or something probably.