I don't think Arsenal fans should be too complacent because they're on a good run of form. There is still some fragility in their team, which Utd are capable of exploiting. We've seen Arsenal come second best in these types of contests quite often over the last few seasons, for all the continued praise for their play when the pressure's off. It's one of those games where Utd know there is a chance to get things back on an even keel after a poor start. Whether Moyes can motivate the players like SAF or not shouldn't be an issue - the players will know the importance themselves and they've all been there before and done it.
I found myself agreeing with an article that claimed Arsenal's lack of depth is exaggerated. They have good depth in midfield, but are vulnerable to injuries to the defense in general and Koscielny in particular, who's been very good when I've watched him. To be fair, of course, everyone would be hurt by injuries to key players. But there's no question Arsenal doesn't have the squad strength of Man City or Chelsea. How they fare against the Mancs and Chelsea will certainly tell us more. The next one is probably a bigger game for Man U. Both teams could be reasonably satisfied with a draw, and when that's the case it's often the result.
good effort trying for some sensible debate Arsenal's squad does actually have depth, but they were ravaged by injuries preseason. To their credit, they came through that. I still think more than Kos the one they can't let get injured is Giroud. They don't have another out-and-out striker unless you include Bendtner. Podolski could do the job but he's not as good in the role as Giroud.
In the beeb gossip this morning,they are worried about his workload,so are going for Hernandez in January,so i hope we get him
You can't shut up the Goons these days, they're either wumming or complaining about someone taking the piss. The biggest reason to hope Arsenal don't keep up their form is how insufferable some of their fans have become.
would be a great acquisition for either team. So yes please for us. Lets be honest though, if he gets a choice he's gonna choose Arsenal unless we start giving our strikers some chances.
Hernandez is a tap in merchant and offers nothing else. can't see how he would work at Arsenal who only ever play with one striker
Busy December for the PL top 4 contenders. Nine games to be played by each. The best of the rest (Goons, Mousers) are spared this with a mere 7 games.
End of December/January is where our squad will come into play imo. For me, most of our players are interchangeable bar Lloris, Walker and Verts. Arsenal cannot afford to lose: Arteta or Flamini Giroud Kos during this time. If they do Podolski, Walcott etc arn't good enough to keep them playing the current way. I believe they would drop points like city have without Kompany if they lost Kos and Giroud especially. However they keep proving people wrong at the moment, and knowing our luck they will probably keep them fit for the whole season.
That's the point isn't it. You can win the title with the best XI providing you don't get injuries. If that happens all the pundits think the manager is superb. If there are few injuries, and the squad can't cope, suddenly the manager is no good. The shallowness of the analysis by some of these pundits is quite incredible. I am certain that Arsenal only pipped us to the CL a couple of seasons back when, contrary to all expectations, RVP managed to play a whole season uninjured for the first time ever. Nobody could have predicted that! Our squad will be an important factor if everyone suffers the same proportion of injuries, distributed in a way that is either best or worst for their reserves. But that won't happen and some teams will benefit and some teams won't. But one thing is for sure, things like injuries and refereeing decisions will not be taken into account when the analysts look at the final table and you can be sure that they will all conclude that it is entirely fair because "everything evens itself out over 38 games".... Which of course it doesn't.
"End of December/January is where our squad will come into play imo." January will be hectic if Spurs get to the League Cup SF + FA Cup 4th round. That will be an extra 3 games to add to the January PL schedule.
"That's the point isn't it. You can win the title with the best XI providing you don't get injuries." Of course. But that never happens. So a good manager literally manages his squad resources in the presence of injury, and gives the players the drive to reach the end when resolve and fatigue may be wearing fine (the Fergie factor) .
Danny Rose (toe), Sandro (hamstring), Zeki Fryers (groin) and Emmanuel Adebayor (foot) are all likely to miss out. (Source: BBC Football website) This made me laugh. Apparently, Adebayor - a player who have yet to feature for us in any shape, manner or form, having not even been in the running for a cup or league game - is likely to miss out on our game against the Toon. Now, there's a surprise!
