EPL | Arsenal vs West Ham | Sat October 30th 15:00

[Anzac]

Can't believe I still sit up to watch us play like this & don't get to bed until after 0330, and now I'm posting this after less than 2 1/2 hours of broken sleep.

I posted yesterday that I didn't like the Song-Denilson combo from deep because of the lack of service, and the match did nothing to change my mind. IMO our midfield was unbalanced & ineffective until Nasri moved into the deep playmaker role. Previous to this our transition was too slow & we often got both ahead of the ball and flat in attack.

Green did well to keep them in the game, and on another day De Costa could well have been carded, given away a penalty or two & been given his marching orders.

Meh performance but I'm happy to take the 3 points.
I thought our back 5 were our best on field today.

 

[sagreig]

I accept that it wasn't a fluid performance but we hit the post, we hit the bar and we should've had a penalty. With a bit of luck this was a comfortable win. There were some weak performances but I don't think we should be too critical.

With Wilshere now back from suspension, I thought Denilson didn't do enough to convince us he should be first-choice. He will be the most disappointed with his performance.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

I said it already in this thread but my commentator kept mentioning Song's goal against Newcastle midweek.

Not sure who the commentator was, but he was on FSC.

Had the same commentator.
Was about the only error he had.

Pretty solid this time, and no complaints towards any of our players.

 

[mo50]

I said it already in this thread but my commentator kept mentioning Song's goal against Newcastle midweek.

Not sure who the commentator was, but he was on FSC.

Had the same commentator.
Was about the only error he had.

Pretty solid this time, and no complaints towards any of our players.

I felt like smacking him every time he said it.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

its was a easy game for us but we miss alot of chances and we make it hard for us robert green he was buffon today so lucky FFS

our defense was super very good squillaci and kos understand each other very weel sagna and clichy they was perfect

our Mid well not so good today fabregas he was not his performance today and song well bad first half and very good scound half and he save us nasri well not a bad game

our attack was off today cuz our Mid was bad chamakh so bad game and arshavin too walcott when he come on he change everything and am really shocked when wenger not start him

well done lads now lets go to ukrain and crash them

 

[TheEconomist]

Wenger:

on keeping three straight clean sheets...
That's new, that's new for me! A day where I don't have to look on the television slow motion to see why we conceded a goal does not happen often so I am very happy with that.

at least he has a sense of humour about our **** defence lol

 

[Y va marquer]

He also said:

"We needed to be patient, intelligent and not to make a mistake at the back against a team who had a strong spirit and were well organised.
"We did not do anything stupid, kept trying to be intelligent and that got us the goal."

 

[Bossa]

Whats up with Cesc's hamstrings it always comes back to haunt his fitness. Hope he's alright and thay Wenger rests him.

 

[Y va marquer]

Cesc and the hamstring - it's a bit of a worry isn't it?

He's been getting roughed around since he came back from injury and he definitely looked off today.

 

[redwhiteAustrian]

Could well be possible, that Fabs is now paying the price for playing consistently 40-50 games per season from 2005 - 2008 when he was that young, and not being rested that much after returning from long lay-offs or being rushed back after certain injuries.

 

[mo50]

Cesc's got some dodgy hamstrings. Wouldn't be surprised if he required surgery sooner or later.

 

[sagreig]

We don't actually need Cesc to play well to win games like this. It's just his presence on the pitch that's important for the players around him, and importantly, the opposition. He has a similar influence that Henry did. The opposition are scared of him and our players are confident when he's there.

The good thing from our perspective is that Cesc is a warrior. It will take a broken leg or a very bad injury for him not to be there in games that we need him. If he has some injury doubts and even if he's not 100% he will still be on the pitch.

 

[KY]

Gunners on Song...

 

[Armor for Sleep]

Good pic.

 

[Iloveyouarsenewenger]

It was an awesome moment. My heart was in my mouth when Clichy played that delightful teasing cross across the zone of uncertainty and all the tension evaporated into relief the moment Song bundled it into the net.

These are the kind of moments that you watch sports for.

And for a change, we did not look dodgy in the last minutes and even managed to hold on to the ball for more than 90 seconds before letting them have one last free kick.

 

[Arai]

Man in the box....

 

[DanDare]

Man in the box....

I loved that because then he was in the perfect position to head it.

Fabianksi knew what was what.

 

[stuart]

Great pic. Theres a guy just off centre and he is the picture of jubilation reaching for the stars! Hard to beat a late winner.

 

[redanddread]

We don't actually need Cesc to play well to win games like this. It's just his presence on the pitch that's important for the players around him, and importantly, the opposition. He has a similar influence that Henry did. The opposition are scared of him and our players are confident when he's there.

The good thing from our perspective is that Cesc is a warrior. It will take a broken leg or a very bad injury for him not to be there in games that we need him. If he has some injury doubts and even if he's not 100% he will still be on the pitch.

Even though we should be beating West Ham 90% of the time, having Cesc playing well would make that task much easier. His eye for a pass and goal scoring instinct are vital for us, particularly against a team that defends with 10 men. He is the one guy that can pick the lock against a very defensive team. So, to win against these teams regularly then we do need Cesc playing well.