FA Cup Semi Final-Arsenal v Reading; Sat 18th 17.20

[Beany]

This is completely untrue. Villa are in good form right now with Benteke on fire, definitely not 'substantially easier' than an unconvincing Liverpool side (we'd probably be more up for the game if against pool)

True, but if history teaches us anything, then anyone is capable of beating any other team in a one off final on neutral territory.

But the fact remains that Villa re an inferior team to Pool and we've stuck 8 goals past them without reply this term. If the choice is Pool or Villa, then I take Villa 100% of the time.

This isn't to say we should take Villa lightly and for sure, if they turn up like today we put out a performance like yesterday we'll probably lose.

But statistically, it's a good outcome for us.

 

[David Smith]

Aston Villa will give us a difficult game indeed. Let's not forget that Wigan beat Manchester City in the final the year before we won it.
We need to be fully determined, motivated and prepared, then our quality will be too much for Aston Villa and we will win the FA Cup.

 

[elber82]

Aston Villa will give us a difficult game indeed. Let's not forget that Wigan beat Manchester City in the final the year before we won it.
We need to be fully determined, motivated and prepared, then our quality will be too much for Aston Villa and we will win the FA Cup.

Indeed. But will your hero Arsène do his job properly for a change and get that across to the players?

 

[David Smith]

Indeed. But will your hero Arsène do his job properly for a change and get that across to the players?

Absolutely.

 

[Emibury]

This is completely untrue. Villa are in good form right now with Benteke on fire, definitely not 'substantially easier' than an unconvincing Liverpool side (we'd probably be more up for the game if against pool)

Villa are not in particularly good form. They average 1.25 points per game since Sherwood took over and their last five league games read WLLDW. In April they scored seven goals - Benteke got six of them. He is their only real threat, and it is a huge risk for a team to be so reliant on a single player. Little about Villa scares me.

Liverpool on the other hand are one of the form teams in the league this year, despite their poor performance in a handful of recent games (and the start of the season!)

I can't believe anybody would prefer to play Liverpool over Villa in the final. If you actually believe Villa are any good, then I suggest you lump a whole load of money on Villa, because you can get almost 3/1 on them lifting the trophy.

 

[elber82]

Absolutely.

After watching us against Wigan and Hull last season and Reading and Monaco this year, I wouldn't be so sure of that.

 

[US_Gooner]

**** me, those BBC ****s absolutely ****ing despise us. At least the ITV crowd were neutral as they could be last season.

Seems to be most of British media.

Watching this tie on Fox Network in the US, the color commentator was saying sh*t like "gallant Reading" and "questionable whether Arsenal deserved to win" ?!?!?!

I've heard crap like this before, but now reading David Hynter [1] in the Guardian (which I very much respect as a news source), I see phrases/sentences like:

• "Reading were gloriously unobliging"
• "Arsenal ... did enough to scrape home"
• "Arsenal and Wembley drama come as standard. It is a ludicrously heady mix, as was demonstrated last season."
• "Arsenal were catapulted on to their latest white-knuckle ride"
• "But they [Arsenal] had to battle to make incisions and inject tempo."
• "Steve Clarke had accepted that Arsenal would dominate possession but he hoped his Reading team would not give an inch when it mattered, and that they would carry the physical fight. He got his wishes, and then some."

Why are Reading 'glorious' and 'gallant'? They played sh*t football with 10 men in 100 m^2.
The whole tone is "Arsenal are lucky to be through", which is complete bullsh*t.

The truth is Arsenal dispatched yet another determined pretender to the throne, to book their rightful place in the FA Cup final. It was no accident.

[1] http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/apr/18/arsenal-alexis-sanchez-reading-fa-cup-wembley

 

[Hunta]

color comentator

 

[albakos]

Ok, with our FA Cup semi win, isn't it time to create a thread for our home maych vs. Chavs.

Who's the lucky charm poster who should create the thread in Arsenal Talk section?

 

[VancouverCanuck]

Lady Gooner made this thread and it worked out in the end.

 

[VancouverCanuck]

Btw, according to an article in arsenal.com, Wenger has said Bellerin has a bit of an ankle problem for a few weeks. So he wanted to rest him since Debuchy is available. He also said Debuchy was cramping up before the match but he was already on the team sheet. I cannot say I disagree with his decision.

 

[bojed]

Come on Gooner Tim you know what to do.

 

[wengerboy]

 

[The_Playmaker]

If you look at the last 15 years of FA Cup finals, the line up consists of 9 occasions where a big name (strong team) faces a smaller name (weaker team). It's a cup game and the semi final is no different. It is literally a one off game where anything can happen and I can't believe that people still believe we have a divine right to beat lower league opposition considering the big teams that have lost to lower league opposition this season.

 

[bingobob]

Poor performance, same as last year against Wigan, doesn't matter though semis are all about getting to the final by hook or crook. Reading may be gallant Arsenal may be lucky but they are in the final, we face a tricky final regardless of who it is against.

 

[albakos]

 

[Furious]

Samchez's back is insane. Reckon he can do Muscle Ups with one hand.

 

[DanDare]

To be honest I'm less worried about Villa thna I would be about a Championship side although gooner Tim does seem to have thme much improved

 

[DJ_Markstar]

Samchez's back is insane. Reckon he can do Muscle Ups with one hand.

I'd hope so, lad probably floats off if he holds his breath.

 

[goonerwarsh]

I actually couldn't give two s**ts what the media say about us, all that matters is we keep clocking up those wins. The last few weeks have been great to be an Arsenal fan. Seems to be a really good feeling about the club and that it feels like we're finally starting to build something.

I'm apprehensive about the final as what elber was saying we generally raise our game when we're not favourites. You can only hope that we've learnt our lesson, if we approach this right we could be looking at another Cup win and that along with a possible top three finish that would be a great turn around from what was looking quite bleak for the first half of the season, especially as it allows us in the summer to build on what is already a very very promising squad.