Mario Balotelli

No we didn't

 

Sometimes I think that an age limit on here would be FAB.

 

freidal - 1st choice

ekoutto - first choice
dawson - first choice
kaboul - first choice (king doesnt count)
corluka - arguably first choice

lennon - first choice
bale - first choice
modric - first choice
kranjar - first team squad not first choice

crouch - first choice (defoe was on bench)
VDV - first choice

Us:

Schz - 1st choice
Jenkinson - reserve
Traore - reserve
Djourrou - reserve
KOL - now reserve

Coquelin - reserve
Ramsey - arguably reserve
Rosicky - reserve
Walcott - first choice
Arshavin - second choice behind gervinho

Rvp - first choice

So we had 3 first choice and you had 10 first choice.

 

I could see fireworks between VDV, Adebayor and Balotelli if that happened.

 

Ok give us your first choice team then?

I'll give you ours:

Friedel

Walker
King/Gallas
Dawson
BAE

Lennon
Sandro
Modric
Bale

VDV

Adebayor

Now in my team there we only have 7 first choice who started. If you want to go by your crazy logic that because a player is coming in days after the match that they become first choice then it could be less with Cahill and Parker set to go in.

Your first choice if all fit for that match would've been:

Schesczney

Sagna
Vermaelen
Koscielny
Gibbs

Song
Ramsey
Wilshere

Walcott
RVP
Gervinho

Therefore 5 of your first team played. If we're a shower, so are you.

 

Think 'Arry could man manage Balotelli? Dunno where he'd fit in really, just back up! Adebayor is going to be number one man up top.

 

The losses have to be put in perspective. Arsenal fielded a C Team and went to Old Trafford, in contrast Spurs fielded their strongest XI bar maybe one or two players at home. The likelihood is if Arsenal were to play the game again this Sunday with their strongest XI they would probably still lose, but narrowly. If City were to play Spurs again at WHL, the likelihood would be the same if not worse.

If I were an Arsenal fan I would be a lot happier, plus at least they have a point on the board and have 3 or 4 VERY winnable fixtures on the trot.

 

Absolute nonsense. I do wonder, sometimes, if the people who write this rubbish, actually have been watching the same game. We more than matched Utd for over an hour. O.k. I agree we folded once they scored the first one. Arsenal, on the other hand, were sytematically dismantled by Utd. They were lucky to get away with 8!
Similarly, against City, we had our fair share of the play - especially in the first half - but the usual problem of a strikeforce that couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. Given Sandro, and a couple of decent strikers, the result would be far different.
Arsenal have serious problems - especially in defence - hence the arrival of Mertesacker. It looks like Wenger might have finally woken up. Overall, I would rather be in our position, than their's.

 

Arsenal were nowhere near at full strength for either game though, they can take positives out of the fact that whilst they were thrashed at OT they still created chances and scored twice. At 3-1, Arsenal looked more likely to score than United did but the 4th goal destroyed them and from there on they crumbled. If I were a Spurs fan I'd be worried that the team couldn't even score or create a clear cut chance against a weakened United defence.

Sandro or a holding mid would have made a huge difference and I doubt City would have created as many chances as they did with someone in that midfield.

Given what the players they had available I think Arsenal performed better than Spurs have. I am certain that if Arsenal had played Manchester City and Manchester United with a near full strength team as Spurs did they would have made a better account of themselves and certainly wouldn't have lost by as many, but to be fair they are a better team so that is to be expected.

Arsenal are strengthening now and have players coming back, they have Swansea, Blackburn and Bolton coming up next month (two of which are at home) and will climb the table in no time, I couldn't say the same for Spurs who have 0 points on the board and have Wolves, Liverpool and Wigan coming up (all of which are unbeaten at the moment and playing well and have momentum). I think it will be a while before Spurs season gets going but even then I wouldn't expect them to be anywhere near the big 5 come May

 

A more accurate comparison would be your scoreline at Old trafford vs our scoreline at old Trafford the week before, where we lost 3-0.

And for the sake of arguement, heres the squad we put out.

24 Friedel - 1st choice
03 Bale - 1st Choice
04 Kaboul - Reserve
20 Dawson -1st Choice
28 Walker - Kept a clean sheet for the duration of his play, off at half time with a virus - reserve Corluka replaced him
32 Assou-Ekotto - 1st choice
07 Lennon - 1st choice
11 Van der Vaart - 1st choice
21 Kranjcar - Reserve
29 Livermore - Reserve
18 Defoe - Reserve

6 (and a half) 1st team players.

 

Arsenal were missing Vermaelen at CB. Not much else was missing. It's Wenger's fault that he bought joke defenders like Koscielny. Yes, Arsenal scored, but only when Utd briefly took their foot off the pedal. Like I said, they were lucky it was only eight.
We competed, and matched Utd, for more than an hour - something Arsenal never looked like doing.

 

Sagna at RB
Gibbs at LB
Song at CM
Wilshere at CM
Gervinho up Front

They couldn't even call upon Frimpong, Diaby or Squillaci to cover those positions, as I said you have to put it in perspective.

Yes you matched United for an hour, but that with a full strength Spurs team minus Sandro and Modric, I felt that Arsenal were more than in the game up until United scored the 4th just past the hour mark.

Arsenal have proven that at full strength they are more than a match for United, whereas Spurs haven't.

 

Livermore was our only fit centre mid for the Utd game so we had to play Kanjcar out of position with him. Livermore and Niko are behind Modric, Sandro, Huddlestone, Palacios and Jenas in our midfield, none of whom were fit enough to start the game.

End of the day it doesn't matter too much, a loss is a loss and we need to get some positive results to get points.

 

With all the talk of Ribery, and Chelsea sending out a doctor to him...you're still here worrying about us!

"Yes you matched United for an hour, but that with a full strength Spurs team minus Sandro and Modric, I felt that Arsenal were more than in the game up until United scored the 4th just past the hour mark."

minus Sandro and Modric...what about Gallas and King?...the rest of the post, just the usual anti Spurs drivel.

 

I agree, but I think Arsenal will bounce back quicker, thats all I was saying.

I'm not worried about you at all, I hope you are all in good health. King is quality but never plays and G*llas is rubbish and past it anyway

 

Sagna and Wilshere, yes. The rest I'm not sure would have started. Maybe Song, but I personally don't rate him, anyway. We played Utd with a reserve CB pairing, and a makeshift midfield. Still, we matched them for over an hour. Arsenal were in the game for about 5 minutes. If it had been a fight, they would have had to stop it!
The OLD Arsenal, including Fabregas & Nasri were not a million miles behind - apart from a piss poor defence. The current Arsenal are miles behind.

 

Closed.