Manchester city vs Arsenal EPL | 15:00pm | 12-09-09

[ricky1985]

After wathcing MOTD, it's clear Van Persie has to put some serious practice in on the training ground on his freekick taking. Andy reid, Morten Gamst Pedersen, and Ryan Giggs do not have his kind of ability when it comes to striking a dead ball, yet they look alot more dangerous. Sort it our Robin!

 

[A_Gooner_Matata]

Robin was easily our most dangerous player today.

 

[law90026]

Unfortunately, we don't have a capable LB deputy to take over Clichy right now. He needs to be dropped so he can get himself sorted out. His performances have really started to dovetail. He's slowly becoming a liability because he doesn't add anything offensively and is caught out of position too frequently. However, Diaby was abysmal and did NOT help Clichy out much, if at all, defensively.

Basically, after Song came off, I have no idea what formation we were playing anymore. We had Rosicky and Cesc in central midfield, we had Bendtner and Diaby on the wings, we had Eduardo and RvP upfront?

That's the problem though. Just throwing on players doesn't make things work because there is no real team structure anymore.

 

[Mbaki Mutahaba]

Rosicky dispels the myth than Denilson's been having a good season.

You think Denilson would have been that far up when we conceeded those goals. You ppl spew too much sh*. Loved seeing Roscky back and you could see what he gives us going forward compared to the likes of Denilson. But we lose some defensive protection. Its what happens with Denislon and later on Song out of the game. Its all about balance and we cant just try making Denilson the fall guy. He did quite well today actually (based on what he is supposed to do which includes protecting the defense).

 

[thegame24]

lol even when denilson stays back he just watches the runner go straight past him.

 

[Anzac]

Rosicky dispels the myth than Denilson's been having a good season.

You think Denilson would have been that far up when we conceeded those goals. You people spew too much sh*. Loved seeing Roscky back and you could see what he gives us going forward compared to the likes of Denilson. But we lose some defensive protection. Its what happens with Denislon and later on Song out of the game. Its all about balance and we cant just try making Denilson the fall guy. He did quite well today actually (based on what he is supposed to do which includes protecting the defense).

Thing is that with Denilson & Song we were playing 2 holding mids = 4231;
with Rosicky on we were playing with 2 forward mids ahead of Song = 4321;
with Eduardo & Eboue on we were playing 4222/424 with Cesc & Rosicky as B2B mids - we did something similar v ManU.

 

[McIntyre]

Rosicky dispels the myth than Denilson's been having a good season.

You think Denilson would have been that far up when we conceeded those goals. You people spew too much sh*. Loved seeing Roscky back and you could see what he gives us going forward compared to the likes of Denilson. But we lose some defensive protection. Its what happens with Denislon and later on Song out of the game. Its all about balance and we cant just try making Denilson the fall guy. He did quite well today actually (based on what he is supposed to do which includes protecting the defense).

No. The only defensive protection we lost was when Song was taken off.

Rosicky in place of Denilson, with Song sat deep, is literally TEN times better than having Denilson on the field. Denilson's defensive capabilities are comically exaggerated. The guy is so weak and so lacking in commitment, proven by his tracking back on Craig Bellamy yesterday. :evil:

With Song, or a dedicated DM behind Rosicky in the midfield he would happily prove just how f*cking much of a f*cking waste of f*cking space Denilson and Diaby have been in our midfield! 8))

The guy is purely and simply a much much much better footballer than either of them, in the same way Arshavin is ridiculously better than them.

It's players like Rosicky we need in midfield, creating chances, finding space, offering themselves open constantly, hitting the box!
Not sideways pass, hang onto the ball too long, beat two players then **** up, try to be fancy but blow it, hide from the pass, bottle it motherf*ckers like Diaby and Denilson!

If anybody, ANYBODY cannot see the difference between having Rosicky or an equal quality player in our midfield (which we could've bought with £40m), compared to Denilson and Diaby then they're a f*cking fool!

Like I said earlier in the thread, I PRAY Rosicky stays fit.

 

[OohtobeaGoonerGal]

I saw it on MOTD last night aswell, we honestly could've scored alot more of our chances, if everyone had their shooting boots on we would've taken them, no doubt about it, but this happened against Manchester United aswell, not taking our chances, the game could've easily ended 4-4.

The actual match was by no means a humiliation, we fought back to make it 1-1, then when it was 2-1 we just threw everything forward and just got punished by an attacking team.

I can only imagine what it would've been like had Arshavin played, but alas..wasn't meant to be..

Even at 4-1 we kept trying, nobody can say we didn't.
And I'm not angry about the Ade goal more angry at the face stamp. Ade was unmarked and scoring a free header like that is better then running through your whole midfield down the centre then finishing top corner, for example.

As upset as I am about the result, I still can't stop that feeling inside that we are better than last season and it will take more than September to show.

Ey, but screw Manchester. We don't have to return back there for a while yet.

 

[CrazyInLoveWithArsenal]

Denilson, Diaby and Bendtner should never be the same eleven again, one or maybe even two at a time is bearable but all three is unacceptable. We just lack the cuttting edge when we have these players on the field. I still believe that if we can keep our best players (Fabs, Arsh, Rozza-big ask, Eddy, TV, Gallas) fit we will do well, very well. We have a very good eleven when everyone is fit, which is rare but we are due a bit of luck and I am hoping things start to favour us from now on.

 

[phatosas]

Exactly, Captain and the problem was exacerbated as we pressed forward again and again searching for goals late. Those goals are stupid goals and don't reflect the overall game but it makes no difference now.

I'd like to ask you all how much emotional investment you personally put into this team? I am generally pretty pessimistic overall when it comes to the Arsenal these days but there is always that little bit inside that thinks we will come good and finally do it. This result will irritate the hell out of me for days, especially given the fact that I now lost a bet with a Citeh c*nt at work. I am sure many of you guys are feeling very much the same, it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts.

I am almost numb when it comes to this team at this point. If you put yourself in the position and start believing, then you would only get disappointed time and time again.

 

[Mbaki Mutahaba]

Rosicky dispels the myth than Denilson's been having a good season.

You think Denilson would have been that far up when we conceeded those goals. You people spew too much sh*. Loved seeing Roscky back and you could see what he gives us going forward compared to the likes of Denilson. But we lose some defensive protection. Its what happens with Denislon and later on Song out of the game. Its all about balance and we cant just try making Denilson the fall guy. He did quite well today actually (based on what he is supposed to do which includes protecting the defense).

No. The only defensive protection we lost was when Song was taken off.

Rosicky in place of Denilson, with Song sat deep, is literally TEN times better than having Denilson on the field. Denilson's defensive capabilities are comically exaggerated. The guy is so weak and so lacking in commitment, proven by his tracking back on Craig Bellamy yesterday. :evil:

With Song, or a dedicated DM behind Rosicky in the midfield he would happily prove just how f*cking much of a f*cking waste of f*cking space Denilson and Diaby have been in our midfield! 8))

The guy is purely and simply a much much much better footballer than either of them, in the same way Arshavin is ridiculously better than them.

It's players like Rosicky we need in midfield, creating chances, finding space, offering themselves open constantly, hitting the box!
Not sideways pass, hang onto the ball too long, beat two players then f**k up, try to be fancy but blow it, hide from the pass, bottle it motherf*ckers like Diaby and Denilson!

If anybody, ANYBODY cannot see the difference between having Rosicky or an equal quality player in our midfield (which we could've bought with £40m), compared to Denilson and Diaby then they're a f*cking fool!

Like I said earlier in the thread, I PRAY Rosicky stays fit.

I dont even know how you compare Rosciky to Denilson. Or Arshavin to Denilson. They are different players and they get played for different reasons, thus the substitution that was made and the clear difference it made for us going forward. I rate Roscikly very highly especially on going forward and I pray he stays fit because we will need quite a lot of him. But our primary player for which the formation is based on is Fabregas. A more defensive day will see the Denilson/Song pairing to support Fabregas. A more gungho formation will most likely sacrifice Denilson for Roscicky/Nasri. Denilson gives us more defensive cover because he is more defensive minded as opposed to Roscicky who is offensive minded. Its not a debate about how good you are its what you are. If you dont see that you are the one whose understanding of the game is suspect. No Offense.

 

[Mbaki Mutahaba]

Wenger was outsmarted tactically. Our 4-3-3 formation exposed our fullbacks to City's wide players. Everytime we lost the ball in midfield City had a chance to score. We lacked abit of toughness too, Adebayor bullied us with some nasty tackles and we had no answer.

Thought Vermaelen, Song and Van Persie played well

There was not tactical victory today from City. They were pretty poor period. When we went up a gear it was all us, but we gave the 2nd and that was it. But city player poorly. The only worryin part is they can also play much better with the quality of players they have.

 

[Rocafella]

I'm so disappointed we were beaten yesterdy. I really wanted to go to City and put a marker down and show we could really contend with the big teams this season and take City down a notch or two. Especially after the way we lost the United game. Instead, we conceded 4 needless goals and we now have the Ade fuss. My hope in this team is really fading now. Realistically, I just don't see how we can improve on last season, which was a disappointment in itself.

 

[OohtobeaGoonerGal]

My hope in this team is really fading now. Realistically, I just don't see how we can improve on last season, which was a disappointment in itself.

We're only 4 games in.
Was your opinion the stark opposite when we beat everton 6-1?

 

[Rocafella]

No. This teams major two problems in my opinion are a lack of quality and a lack of consistency. We can beat Everton 6-1 but we can just as likely go and lose to Stoke. I just wanted us to come through the first real big tests of the season with something to show for it and we have no points to show for it and conceded stupid goals in the process. I just don't see what people can realistically expect this team to achieve.

 

[Wenger14]

I dont even know how you compare Rosciky to Denilson. Or Arshavin to Denilson. They are different players and they get played for different reasons, thus the substitution that was made and the clear difference it made for us going forward. I rate Roscikly very highly especially on going forward and I pray he stays fit because we will need quite a lot of him. But our primary player for which the formation is based on is Fabregas. A more defensive day will see the Denilson/Song pairing to support Fabregas. A more gungho formation will most likely sacrifice Denilson for Roscicky/Nasri. Denilson gives us more defensive cover because he is more defensive minded as opposed to Roscicky who is offensive minded. Its not a debate about how good you are its what you are. If you dont see that you are the one whose understanding of the game is suspect. No Offense.

To be fair Denilson's only being played in that position cause our first two choices (Rosicky and Nasri) have both been injured. They will alternate in that position once they are both fit. Looking at this squad on paper, Denilson's primary role would be as a backup/alternative to Song as our DM.

 

[Anzac]

If we were going to show we were genuine title contedners then IMO that's 4 points we SHOULD have TAKEN in the past 2 games. We will bounce back, but what these games have shown for me is that we are still at least another season or so from the project players being able to provide the consistancy required to mount a challenge the PL, let alone to win it.

 

[Webdesignlab]

Exactly, Captain and the problem was exacerbated as we pressed forward again and again searching for goals late. Those goals are stupid goals and don't reflect the overall game but it makes no difference now.

I'd like to ask you all how much emotional investment you personally put into this team? I am generally pretty pessimistic overall when it comes to the Arsenal these days but there is always that little bit inside that thinks we will come good and finally do it. This result will irritate the hell out of me for days, especially given the fact that I now lost a bet with a Citeh c*nt at work. I am sure many of you guys are feeling very much the same, it'd be interesting to hear your thoughts.

I am almost numb when it comes to this team at this point. If you put yourself in the position and start believing, then you would only get disappointed time and time again.

Yeah I feel like that. My wife didn't even notice that we lost. Only when I told her the scoreline did she say ... wow you were quiet. Normally I am bouncing around shouting my head off at Denilson or whoever.

That and I don't think i will ever go to the transfer section ever again.

I live in a wonderful Caribbean country and laugh a lot normally so it's not my normal way. I dunno ... I don't see the light with us this season.

 

[kel varnsen]

To be fair, I don't even think that City played a high tempo, pressing game. They had De Jong and Barry playing a twin holding role and had pace on the counter.

I never realised it until today actually, but what we need is a touch player like Rosicky. I could never quite put my finger on it before but it became so obvious. Our other players are all the same.

i've said it for a long time. do not underestimate the importance of accelerating the passing game. that is absolutely crucial to the way we play.

 

[Anzac]

The irony is that the whole purpose of us playing so narrow through the middle is to be able to play our short passing game at pace = it gives us the most direct route & the most passing options & where most of our players are supposed to be.

Unfortunately we do not transition the ball fast enough & we still allow ourselves to get too far ahead of the ball. We compress against the defence which effectively negates ANY advantage we may have from any formation or style of play. And we do this EVERY time we look to chase the game = we lose shape & we don't adapt our style accordingly.