UCL: Partizan Belgrade vs Arsenal, 28/09/10, SS4, 19:45

[kofigunner]

I wonder how where we'd be this season without Chamakh!! How many penalties has he won for us now? I hope the other players will learn to throw him a bone with some better crossing for him to feast on. Good win and hopefully Fab will have a good day on Sunday as well.

 

[redanddread]

We should have been outta sight by 1/2 time in this game. Great goalkeeping allied with us not taking our chances, a MISTAKE in defence and before you know it, we are in a tight game.

We were much better than Partizan and as hostile an atmosphere as there was, we should be putting these teams to the sword. A "good" response from the team after the WBA debacle.

Thank God it wasn't Clichy that gave away that penalty! ops:

 

[xcdude24]

Wilshere, Chamakh and Arshavin seem to have developed a good understanding on the field.

Thought that myself, whereas I thought Rosicky was a bit out of the loop.

I thought Fabianski was a lot more shaky than people are claiming on here. He wasn't decisive at all when he came out for balls in the box, and we had a few near-disasters that were partially his fault(and partially the fault of the defenders). Today also demonstrated how much assured Gibbs looks than Clichy.

By the way, I wouldn't really worry about the quality of performance in a game like this. Going to Belgrade is always going to be a demanding task, no matter who you are.

 

[Gunner_JT]

Just watched some long highlights and Arshavin looked electric. I hope to god he performs like that against Chelsea. He can beat them on his own.

Seems fully fit now. He did quite a lot of running too and was always threatening with the ball. Barring the penalty miss, he was great and looks in good form in time for Chelsea.

 

[fabo]

Was that penalty save a turning point in Fabianski's career? since then he's pulled off one great save and made no errors.....I believe

Even Almunia can save penalties. :wink: I thought Fabianski was steady, nothing more. Alot better than his usual trip, though.

Penalties are luck for the most part.

People seem to be forgetting the two times Fabianski rushed out of his area for no reason in ridiculous areas. He had little to do bar the penalty save.

Even the save at the end looked like a weak-handed one. Nearly palmed it in there.

 

[progman07]

Today also demonstrated how much assured Gibbs looks than Clichy.

The same performance from Clichy and people would be focusing on the penalty incident and blame him for that, without caring too much about anything good he did. But this is Gibbs, people don't want to notice his mistakes.

 

[asajoseph]

Pretty much it.

 

[number_0]

Was that penalty save a turning point in Fabianski's career? since then he's pulled off one great save and made no errors.....I believe

Even Almunia can save penalties. :wink: I thought Fabianski was steady, nothing more. Alot better than his usual trip, though.

Penalties are luck for the most part.

People seem to be forgetting the two times Fabianski rushed out of his area for no reason in ridiculous areas. He had little to do bar the penalty save.

Even the save at the end looked like a weak-handed one. Nearly palmed it in there.

That was an awkward save!
The ball was coming directly at him and he nearly palmed it into his own net, those should be comfortable saves, not hollywoods punches.
But credits to him for his performance I guess, the less chances we give to the opposition, the less involved fab will be.

 

[Don Pacifico]

Think some of you are cutting your nose of to spite your face, regarding Fabianski. He may not have had that much to do but he did the simple things well, was proactive in defending (although at times I think he was a bit eager to get a touch on the ball, presumably to steady his nerves and keep his concentration going) and made some good stops. The last one was not easy either, as some seem to be making out. The ball was hit with power from close-range just to the side of him and whilst many would have parried that back into a dangerous position, he used his technique to push it round the post out of harm's way.

He still has a lot to prove but don't begrudge him what was a good performance last night.

 

[sabret00the]

What a very bland match this was. We just couldn't get ourselves into fluency. Even at that time it felt we were spattering their goal, we looked slightly off. All in all, job done.

 

[goonerleila]

Fabianski wasn't flawless as Wenger claimed, as I seem to remember one moment in the second half where he came rushing out of his goal when it would have been easier to let Squillaci deal with the ball but as many have said he kept it simple and done well when called upon. The confidence he gets from last night should hold him in good stead for Sunday and its hopefully the beginning of a more reliable and dependable goalie for us.

 

[AnthonyG]

Was that penalty save a turning point in Fabianski's career? since then he's pulled off one great save and made no errors.....I believe

Even Almunia can save penalties. :wink: I thought Fabianski was steady, nothing more. Alot better than his usual trip, though.

Agreed, man.

 

[ricky1985]

Today also demonstrated how much assured Gibbs looks than Clichy.

The same performance from Clichy and people would be focusing on the penalty incident and blame him for that, without caring too much about anything good he did. But this is Gibbs, people don't want to notice his mistakes.

That's probably a fair point.

The penalty incident was a poor moment for Gibbs, no argument whatsoever, but it's a while since I've seen our left side look so defensively secure and comfortable - especially in an away game such as this one, where the atmosphere's red hot, we don't have all the ball like we would at home, and even more so when we have a midfield of Song and Denilson offering little protection to the defence.

Gibbs was calm in possession, smartly positioned throughout, he got tight when he had to, covered his defenders when it was necessary, and was responsible/mature in his forays forward - last night was not a night for getting too far ahead of the ball. One poor moment did sour that slightly, but it was still a good performance.

 

[Zico]

We played against a mediocre team and made a meal of it. Defensively, we are a disaster. And too much credit is given to Fabianski. Our standards have fallen so far that we applaud any performance that isn't disastrous.

We lacked fluency. The only positives are the three men in front - Arshavin, Wilshere and Chamakh. Arshavin is finally back to his initial form, Wilshere is the truth and Chamakh is the best striker we have had since Henry's departure. No question about it.

 

[OohtobeaGoonerGal]

And too much credit is given to Fabianski. Our standards have fallen so far that we applaud any performance that isn't disastrous.

Baby steps. We need to start somewhere if we want to get out of this GK rut and we know that we've had a problem there for ages now, so any improvement no matter how slight, will be held on to.

 

[GunneDown]

Flappy will make a **** up in the next game... for sure.

 

[Gonner_88]

Today also demonstrated how much assured Gibbs looks than Clichy.

The same performance from Clichy and people would be focusing on the penalty incident and blame him for that, without caring too much about anything good he did. But this is Gibbs, people don't want to notice his mistakes.

Exactly. Clichy would've been slaughtered for that penalty mistake.

To decide who should become our first choice left back we need to see more of Gibbs and Clichy this season. If one performs better than the other then that player should be the fist choice left back.

 

[Don Pacifico]

Flappy will make a **** up in the next game... for sure.

...and if he doesn't, do you agree to a forfeit?

 

[alibey]

Great performance from the lads.

 

[USArsenal]

i dont begrudge Flappy his performance.. by standards, he played well for him.. the only goal they scored was a penalty, and he also saved one.. 50% save ratio for pens is not a bad thing to have.. and with that save in injury time, it may have looked awkward, but he kept it out of the net, and that's what he is paid to do..

he might very well cost us another game, but for this one, he was fine (which, for him, is a big step up)