please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Arsenal travel to the Madejski Stadium this upcoming Monday night to take on Reading in the premier league. The Gunners will have to recover in time after being dumped out of the league cup by Bradford. In a season of many lows, Arsenal were knocked out of a competition that they had high hopes of winning. Bradford took the lead very early on and they looked set to win in normal time, but Thomas Vermaelen levelled the scores with a very late goal. From that point on, Arsenal looked like the only team that could win it, but Bradford held on and took the game to penalties, which they won. Arsene Wenger played most of his first team players and signalled his intent, but his players let him down and Wenger is once again a man under pressure. But Arsenal did win their last league game against West Brom at the Emirates. Referee Mike Jones played a big role in Arsenal’s win after he wrongly awarded the Gunners a penalty when Santi Cazorla dived inside the box. Mikel Arteta stepped up and converted the penalty and in the second half he scored another penalty to double Arsenal’s lead after this time, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain was taken down in the penalty area. The Gunners could count themselves lucky but they needed a win in the league badly and it did not matter how ugly it was. Reading have lost their previous five league games, and only Queens Park Rangers sit below them in the current premier league table. Their latest defeat came against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. It was a very comfortable win for Sunderland and for Reading it was yet another miserable defeat. Reading and Arsenal have already played each other this season and it was a game in the league game and one that neither set of fans will forget. Reading raced to a four goal lead and looked set to record their first ever win over Arsenal, but the Gunners staged a remarkable comeback. In the end they had to go to extra-time to get the win, but Arsenal did win 7-5 after 120 minutes. If the league game can be half as entertaining as that game, we are in for a treat. Arsenal have a perfect record against Reading, they have played them ten times and have won all ten games. Reading got relegated from the Premier League in 2008 and it has taken them four years to find their way back to the top flight. Steve Coppell was the Reading manager when Arsenal last played Reading in the league and he resigned as manager of the club in 2009 and they appointed Brendan Rodgers, the now Liverpool manager. Rodgers failed in his time with Reading and left by mutual consent, just six months after his arrival. Brian McDermott took over as the caretaker and has since gone on to become the full time manager at Reading. McDermott, a former Arsenal player, has done a brilliant job at Reading. When Rodgers left, Reading were in all sorts of trouble but McDermott with his calm and assured management style has guided them back into the Premier League. They were the winners of the Championship last season ahead of clubs like West Ham, Southampton and Birmingham. Anton Zingarevich became the new owner of the club in 2012 but unlike other rich owners, he has not splashed the cash as recklessly. A bit like Arsenal’s owner, Stan Kroenke, Reading have gone for a more prudent approach to the transfer window. But, he has helped Reading buy in some interesting players and those include the likes of Pavel Pogrebnyak, Danny Guthrie, Nicky Shorey, Adrian Mariappa, and Chris Gunter. Three of those players have experience in the Premier League and that could be vital for Reading. Jason Roberts was also recruited this year and his experience helped Reading’s promotion push. Many experts have named Reading as one of the clubs that will be relegated from the Premier League this season and so far they are being proved right. Reading only have one win to their name this season, and that has seen them drop into the relegation zone. Only QPR keep them off the bottom of the premier league. Reading have conceded 29 goals this season, and defending has been their biggest problem. Reading have been involved in a few thrillers this season and their attacking approach has brought them some plaudits and they have already scored five goals against Arsenal this season. Jason Roberts caused the Arsenal defence all sorts of problems with his physical approach and he will again look to bully the Arsenal defence when they come up against each other this Monday. Olivier Giroud missed the game against Bradford City with an injury and Arsenal missed the tall Frenchmen. In the 5-7 against Reading, Giroud was the man that helped turn the game in Arsenal’s favour. Coming off the bench, Giroud was able to mark his authority on the game and they will need that sort of performance from him against Reading next week. Lukas Podolski did start against Bradford City but his performance left a lot to be desired. The German had an ineffective game and he will have to improve ten-fold against Reading or risk losing his place in the starting line-up. Gervinho was another player who had a game to forget against Bradford and after that performance, not many Arsenal fans will want to see Gervinho start against Reading. Thomas Rosicky came off the bench against Bradford City and he could be in line for a return to the starting line-up against Reading. Rosicky’s ability to speed up the play is much needed and Arsenal will hope that Rosicky can give them that cutting edge they have missed from the midfield. Jack Wilshere has started to hit some form and his recent performances have delighted many Arsenal fans. His performances especially against West Brom, was like the Wilshere pre-injury and having him in top form will be a massive boost to this current Arsenal team. Theo Walcott has missed Arsenal’s previous two games, and with him still not signing a new contract, he looks set to leave in Janauary. Walcott scored a hat-trick against Reading in the league cup game this season, and his pace caused them all sorts of problems. Reading will hope that Walcott does not feature on Monday night when the two teams meet again. Following their win against West Brom, Arsenal made up some ground on their rivals for that fourth spot, and the Gunners can’t afford to slip up against one of the worst teams in the league, as the race for the champions league’s has a lot of competition. Arsenal have not won back to back league games since September, and for a club like Arsenal, that is a terrible record. Against Reading they face a team that have lost their previous five league games, so the Gunners will have no excuses. These two teams have already met this season, and it was a game that will live long in the memories. Just a simple and boring win for the Arsenal will please the Arsenal fans this time, though. Team News: Arsene Wenger: Form Guide: please log in to view this image Three Key Match-ups: please log in to view this image Jason Roberts please log in to view this image Mikele Leigertwood please log in to view this image Nicky Shorey Overall Record vs: Reading: Played: 10 Wins: 10 Draws: 0 Losses: 0 For: 28 Against: 9 GD: 19 Last 6 Meetings: Reading 5 - 7 Arsenal (AET) (League Cup) Arsenal 2 - 0 Reading Reading 1 - 3 Arsenal Arsenal 2 - 1 Reading Reading 0 - 4 Arsenal Arsenal 3 - 0 Reading (League Cup) please log in to view this image Managers Views: Arsene Wenger on bouncing back from the defeat to Bradford City: My Team: please log in to view this image Final Score: please log in to view this image
If we fail to get anything out of this match, that's it, Wenger is a dead man walking. There is simply no excuse for us not to win this match.
The players have to shoulder their share of responsibility as well. We need vastly improved displays from - Vermaelen, Podolski, Giroud, Gervinho, Ramsey, Rosicky, Walcott and others
Harsh on Rosicky and Walcott. Rosicky has played what, twice (?), since coming back from injury and has looked very good. Walcott has never been consistent in his entire career, but has scored quite a few goals for us this year. The rest of them... well yeah.
Injury News: Arsene Wenger: Good news about Giroud, I know some fans still do not think he is good enough to play CF for Arsenal, but as we saw against Bradford, his back-ups are shocking. Never ever want to see Gervinho play CF again.
The moment he went off against Chelsea, I said he will not play again this year. So predictable. Not sure, but I think he is in the final year of his contract, so we better not extend it.
Ah that Diaby gamble paid off real nice eh? Once again, people like me, the negative ones who supposedly don't know what we're talking about, are proven right. I said it was a disgrace that we didn't sign any new midfielders when the transfer window closed, and said we cannot go into a season relying on Diaby as a main midfielder, oh but I was just being negative, the optimists get shown up, AGAIN.
Nothing wrong with being optimistic; just some people seem to thrive on the negativity, confusing it with realism. I'd like to think we can get M'vila in January. The problem is, who will he replace? My bet if it happens is that Cazorla will get shoved out wide or into a more advanced role.
Nothing wrong with being optimistic, but optimism that borders delusional, is wrong. Both statistically, and empirically, there was no reason whatsoever to believe that Diaby would be fit this season, or would be able to play as a regular midfielder in the starting 11. So therefore, optimists who were saying we didn't need a new midfielder as Diaby was there, were being delusional, as the optimism and belief they were spouting, had zero foundation to it, just like most of the other nonsense they spew that's based on zero evidence, but blind optimism that is delusional. Fact is, the person like me, who supposedly likes to 'thrive on negativity' was proven right, people can call me negative, i'm actually the realist saying it as it is, and the blind delusional optimists, who keep getting proven wrong, don't like that, because they expect everyone to be delusional like them. The negative person like me said we wouldn't be able to rely on Diaby, I was correct. The delusional optimists, said we will be able to rely on Diaby, and I called them delusional optimists precisely because such a claim had no merit, and lo and behold, I was right, proving exactly what they are, delusional optimists. :-D.
That's fine, but the comment you made after this one was not. You had to overstep the mark. I think it was Bonstar that made this point, but you really need to learn how to actually put your points across without the profanities. All it does is take away from you general point and makes you look like a bit of a lunatic who is just ranting. Removed that post for your own good.
Diaby could come back stronger than ever. Until then I would wait and see where we finish in the league. This thread is also now OT.
Diaby could come back stronger than ever...How many times have we heard that before? That's not a statement of any substance, but merely based on blind faith optimism.
It undoubtedly looks less and less likely as time goes on. I hope he does though, seeing as he's on the books. There's bollocks all any of us can do about it, so we might as well be optimistic.
I'm afraid that your whole premise is fatally flawed and laughably arrogant. Unless you can provide some evidence, I don't recall anybody saying that we 'don't need a midfielder as we have diaby'. In fact I'm almost certain that those who you insult by calling them delusional, were in fact advocating that we bought a defensive midfielder precisely because Diaby's fitness was in question. Do you have any quotes that can counter this argument ? Also, I'm struggling to understand what you think you've been 'proved right' about ? Can you explain ? As as I've mentioned nobody on here said that we can rely on Diaby. They were in fact saying that we need to buy a midfielder as Diaby could not be relied on. Give me some evidence of this to prove that you're not talking ****e again. Seriously, if you want your views to be given respect, prove it. Because as it is, your pseudo claims are little more than bluster and guff - and anybody with a critical eye will deduce that you are a WUM. So I am challenging you, give me some evidence to back up your claims, or you will simply confirm what we already know about you.
I'd love to see him back too, I think he's a great player, but sadly, the odds of that happening are very low based on the empirical evidence we have regarding his fitness. Diaby was an injury prone player BEFORE he joined Arsenal, this is what many fans don't know about, they harp on about the Sunderland injury as the root cause, the Sunderland injury may have add continued woes or worsened it for his body, but it was never the initiation.
