We're bloody lucky that West Ham and Liverpool both dropped points from winning positions today. The league table could've looked really depressing.
The less said about that shambles the better. Only positive was Coq and the fact that everyone else around us baring Soton drew. Missed our target men badly as well as dare I say it Flamini. Individual mistakes need sorting out quickly.
Different defensive configurations, same calamitous mistakes, wrong decisions, poor marking and lack of organisation in front of the own goal. Whoever plays, the picture is more or less the same. There is only one everpresent constant in this picture. And that is Wojciech Szczesny. We need a goalkeeper who is able to organise the defence. WS is not this kind of a keeper. He is a weak link, and not because he makes mistakes like today, but because he is unable to organise the defence. It struck me when Gutierrez scored against us from a free kick. Noone was marking him, and not a single commentator said it was WS fault. But he clearly saw it and did not react. A good keeper would get mad before the free kick if his defender left someone unmarked like that. He is a decent shot stopper, but we desperately need a commanding figure in defence. WS is a nice boy, and a bit of a joker, but I doubt other players take him seriously, he has this aura of a clown about him, and as a result he does not command authority and the fact that he is not really keen to organise the defense, does not help. I would like to see Ospina in the goal on Sunday. I think, after this SW display, if Ospina with his experience and pedigree will not play the next match, he will be thinking WTF, do I actually have a chance here?
At this point you shouldn't take what he says with much seriousness, the guy is going senile, and is clearly deluded. Just recently he was going on about us still having a chance for the title, so when he says things like that, you know it's best to ignore the deluded man. The sooner he leaves us, the better, and I hope come end season the man finally decides to step down.
Arsene: "We made two mistakes and that cost us." There was a lot more than TWO mistakes out there. Koscielny made atleast two HUGE mistakes himself.
WTF has happened to Kos ?! He was a ****ing liability today. Mert looked weak again and both Debuchy and Gibbs were making mistakes too. Add szczesny's blunders to the mix and it is a ****ing calamitous display from our first choice back 4 and keeper.
That's not the first time you've made that assessment, and I'm not going at you for that, but that sums up how bad the situation is, every week we put in a new performance that overtakes last weeks 'worst performance'. There was Stoke, then there was that atrocious first half VS Liverpool, and then you have this game. All in the space of LESS than a month. There's no passion, no guts, no spirit, and a severe lack of technical skills which is what Arsenal have always been known for, we may have not been the best, but you could always count on us playing proper football and having a great technical game to us, and we were respected for that despite coming short on trophies, we don't even have that anymore.
What a bunch of ****s. Wenger is a turd and no matter how much the Wenger bum lickers try, you can't polish a turd.
Apologies I didn't mean it was Arsenal's worst performance, I meant it's the worst possible combination to have ie. nobody to score and bad defending. I thought your attacking play was decent enough and technically you were good going forward BUT when you got to their box there was nobody there to score. Really missed a proper striker there today. I reckon had Giroud been on, he would have made those runs behind the defence and the ball would have been slipped into him. EDIT: I do stick by the worst performance against Liverpool though in that first 45 mins.
Saints fan in peace. I was extremely disappointed in Wenger's post-match reaction this evening. This was not a particularly brilliant Saints performance in comparison with what we have come to expect from Koeman and certainly nowhere near as solid as against the hugely impressive Chelsea side a few days ago. Chelsea, for my money, are clearly the best team to have visited St. Mary's this season. In the past I would have been quite pleased with a 2-0 victory over Arsenal but the change in our two team's fortunes this season and James Ward-Prowse' inability to convert any of his three, clear cut changes means that I was disappointed with the result even though are squad was depleted with the absence of Clyne and Morgan - both of whom have been crucial to our season so far. Coupled with Forster's "Bank's-like" save, there could only have been one winner this afternoon with your team looking frail at the back and, for all the pretty play in midfield, lacking any strikers who looked big enough to put it about a bit in the box. Wenger has always been a bogey man for Saints fans due to his frequent raids on our club to recruit English talent. Neither the injury prone Walcott nor Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked to be at the races today and I wonder is the coaching of Wenger has actually had a negative impact over the course of the long term. Time was when we saw Walcott as the new Shearer and leading England's front line for the foreseeable future. This looks highly unlikely now. In addition, you acquisition of Chambers now looks perverse to say the least. Koeman is alleged to have called Arsenal's bid an unexpected Birthday [resent and he looked ineffective in midfield this afternoon. This season is quite interesting and, for a neutral, it makes a pleasant change to see the likes is Saints and West Ham taking lofty positions in the table. Shame that Man Utd are beginning to move up the table as I think the EPL needs freshening up with the new bread of teams like Southampton showing that having the best academy in the country can be as significant as having the most money. I feel Arsene Wenger has had his moment in the sun and whilst I concede that he has helped revolutionize the game in this country, it will be a travesty if his Arsenal team stumble on a secure a European berth the current squad and style of play clearly does not merit. I will be gutted if Saints don't finish a good 6-8 points clear of Arsenal at the end of the season.
Firstly I don't know how you can be dissapointed with a 2-0 win over Arsenal. I'll assume that was just a poor choice of words? I don't think I'd be dissapointed with a 2-0 win over any of the top six or seven clubs and we have been amongst the top four for almost twenty years. Even when we dominated the league I don't think I'd have turned my nose up at a 2-0 win against a top team. Your paragraph about the saints players we have acquired from you is just the usual nonsense you hear saints fans spouting. Walcott has become one of the best players in the league whilst playing at Arsenal. Judging him on 20-30 mins at the end of a game in his first appearance back from injury is slightly ridiculous. Since joining us Walcott has made continual improvement on his game and his stats back that up. In his last full season he scored 20+ and was involved in 30+ goals. His injury problems are what hold him back, he's developed into a fine player. Oxocube hasn't quite done it yet, but in the last twelve months he has started to really show what he is capable of and h been one of our most consistent performers this season. He can bit a little naive at times but with more experience he will iron that out of his game. For the price we paid he's been a good addition to the squad and is coming along nicely. As for Chambers he's been a fantastic signing. We've had so many LB's and RB's signed who have failed to play in our system despite doing well elsewhere and he's come in and done a good job. At 19 years old to have taken on the responsibility of playing as the utility man, playing most games by the halfway point of the season, for a club like Arsenal, is amazing. I think he's surprised a lot of people with some of his very good performances so far. Again, at his age he has some nativity about his game and does make mistakes, but he will learn and develop very well at Arsenal. I think he has a big career ahead of him. And finally, you'll be gutted if you don't finish a good 6-8 points ahead of Arsenal? If you do you will have done better than any team to have finished outside the top two for years, given we have been 3rd or fourth the last handful of years. Your setting yourself up for disappointment. Southampton are doing very well and I like the club. Great youth facilities, good coaching, nice football. And to do have bounced back so well after the summer they had is phenomenal. It's been good to see a smaller club who has it's players taken by the b it clubs manage to push on and keep progressing. But I wouldn't get too carried away, there's still half a season to go and it can all change in just a few games, let alone 18 of them!
So Southampton lost Clyne and Morgan and we're seriously depleted... Shame the full strength Arsenal lost to such a depleted team. We only lost Ozil, Arteta, Ramsey, Wilshere, Welbeck, Giroud and Ganbry. Just four first choice midfielders and two first choice forwards. I like Southampton, but I will be surprised if they finish in top four. I think most probably 6th. Not that we play any better, but we still have a much superior squad. And there is still a looking way to go. I would predict they will drop from the top four by March and from the top Five by April.
As a fellow Saints fan - what the flying **** are you on? We've just beaten Arsenal to maintain our position in the top 4 - every Saints fan should be delighted. And the last comment is stupid as well. 6-8 points clear of Arsenal? It may happen but to be disappointed if it doesn't? Don't be so arrogant.
It's Ian he is always like it. I am just happy we are playing well. I would have never dreamed of being 4th at this stage of the season.
He is also wrong, Manchester City gave us a football lesson and were easily the best Team to visit St. Marys this Season.
Yes, 4th is brilliant. afcftw doesn't know how we can be "dissappointed" (sic) with a 2-0 victory over Arsenal - it's because we set ourselves high standards and when we see that we can only manage 2 goals against an overrated and overpaid bunch of disorganised footballers like Arsenal, well, we just feel dissappointtedd, that's all. As for all our players "developing" only since they've been at Arsenal, I can only salute you for such breathtaking arrogance. The whole tone of your letter suggests you are one of those patronising women who think they support a "big club", sadly unaware that the "bigness" is just in their heads.
