Official Gooners Thread - A New Hope

[hitzelsperger]

frustrating night for the arsenal..had most of the play for the whole of game but couldnt capitalise on it. hleb was terrible and proved he is not up to the level we need, rosicky is twice the player and is badly missed. thought gallas was brilliant and senderos makes me have heart in mouth every time he touches the ball. stone wall penalty turned down, i dunno what the ref was thinking. 1 all goin to anfield is ok but the away goal could do us bigtime! up the arse

[ONeill]

Pleased enough. Arsenal need something to fight for in games and this offers it to them. I think you're being a bit harsh on Hleb. He hadn't much luck tonight but he's the only one playing the way the team did 5 months ago.

I can see a 3-1 win at Anfield.

[hitzelsperger]

yeah bein harsh but he has to keep the ball and stop giving it away too easy..after the penalty appeal he seemed to lose the plot completely, walcott looked lively but doesnt take man on enough with his pace...gallas is a class act! i wil be happy with a 1-0 victory at anfield nxt wk but can see it being 2-1 to the arse

[Dinny Breen]

Pleased enough. Arsenal need something to fight for in games and this offers it to them. I think you're being a bit harsh on Hleb. He hadn't much luck tonight but he's the only one playing the way the team did 5 months ago.

I can see a 3-1 win at Anfield.

Agree with that, much the better side but i think this quarter-final will head to penalties......

[From the Bunker]

yeah bein harsh but he has to keep the ball and stop giving it away too easy..after the penalty appeal he seemed to lose the plot completely, walcott looked lively but doesnt take man on enough with his pace...gallas is a class act! i wil be happy with a 1-0 victory at anfield nxt wk but can see it being 2-1 to the arse

Would not be so confident, Arsenal have been struggling of late,

Milan D 0-0
Milan W 0-2

Manchester United L 0-4
Birmingham City D 2-2
Aston Villa D 1-1
Wigan Athletic D 0-0
Middlesbrough D 1-1
Chelsea L 1-2
Bolton Wanderers W 3-2

Bar the result v (mid-table Italy) Milan and v Bolton who will be relegated Arsenal have collapsed.

I am not saying they are not up to the Liverpool Challenge, it's just they are volitile at the moment and Liverpool are cute in Europe!

[ONeill]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/sport/football/video/163000/bb/163358_16x9_bb.asx

[ONeill]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/sport/football/video/163000/bb/163357_16x9_bb.asx

[ONeill]

Constipation



Romeo, Romeo.....

[From the Bunker]

I suppose that is how you look holding onto a 1-1 away result!

[Farrandeelin]

Arra sure, all Arsenal have to do is to pretend that they're Man Utd when playing against Benitez's Liverpool. Should do the job then!

[AZOffaly]

Well lads, I don't know whether to say well done, or hard luck to ye. The tie is still alive, very much so, but ye were very unlucky not to win last night. For what it's worth (not a lot i suspect), this is my post on the Liverpool thread.

*****************88

Funny old game last night. 1-1 is a result I'd be happy enough with, because if Arsenal score at Anfield, which I'm convinced they will do, at least Liverpool won't have a mountain to climb. Last night specifically, I thought Arsenal were very good for about 60 minutes. There was a spell after Arsenal scored (similar to the Chelsea game actually) where Liverpool were dominant, and the goal came quickly in that spell. Arsenal weathered the storm though, and should have scored at least one more (I thought it was a stonewall penalty), but they didn't and that might come back to haunt them. I was actually disappointed that Rafa took off Torres, even though he was poor last night, he looked tired and flat footed. I'd definitely rest him for Saturday and give big crouchy a chance to batter away at them. The reason I was disappointed was because I knew Arsenal would tire in the last 5 or 10 minutes, and bringing on Voronin was the equivalent of just filling a jersey. If Torres, or indeed Babel was up front on his own in the last 5 minutes when Arsenal did get tired and started being really sloppy at the back with passing and clearences, I think Liverpool would have gotten another chance, and that could be just as pivotal as Arsenal not scoring in the second half.

For Liverpool, I thought Reina was dodgy enough under crosses again, especially set pieces. He needs to do some work on that at traiining to make him more confident again, but Adebeyor's goal was fantastic in it's simplicity. It looked way too easy from a Liverpool standpoint, but to give credit where it's due Wenger obviously devised this to exploit the zonal marking. Standing on the line, great movement into the unmarked space and a pinpoint cross. Excellent stuff.

The back four looked solid enough, and buttressed by Mascherano and Alonso/Lucas from the front, they kept Arsenal largely going across in front of them, which would have been the game plan. Hleb's break for the penalty and Walcott's run were the only real times they got around the back of Liverpool, and all the other Arsenal passes through the channels had to be overhit to make it through, which meant they normally ran out of play or into Reina. Having said that Flamini's excellent ball to van Persie in the first half deserved better. Mascherano was a bit uncomfortable when Arsenal passed the ball around him, he loves being able to bite into people who are receiving the ball and dallying on it. Fabergas, when he was going well, wasn't doing that but Mascherano still perservered and got in a few good interceptions, and cleaned up a lot of 'second ball' that came out of the defence into that 'hole' area. Alonso was poor enough again, and will want to forget this season. I hope he stays at Anfield, because we need a player like him in that 4-2-3-1 formation but it's just not happening for him this season.

The attacking midfield trio were a mixed bag. I thought Gerrard was excellent for the 15 minutes when Liverpool got on top in the first half, and was constantly looking for the ball and even though his influence waned as Arsenal reasserted, he was always the out ball for Liverpool, and didn't give it away stupidly. Babel was disappointing, but I do think he will improve and is a long term bet. Kuyt worked hard and deserved his goal for workrate, but I can't help feeling he's a bit, well, thick. His first touch is shocking, and he does some awful stupid things. He can count himself a lucky man this morning that he wasn't apologising for a penalty incident.

Torres, as I mentioned, was disappointing last night, and looked tired to me. He was caught flatfooted a lot of the time when passes cam towards him, and while Gallas and Toure are quick, there were a couple of occasions when, had he been at his sharpest, he would have gotten away. I'd rest him on Saturday. As someone else said, he needs to knock that diving shit on the head too. There's no need for it. I don't know if he feels he has been kicked a lot this season or something, and has decided to go down in contact, but it does him no favours and is rotten to look at.

All in all, satisfactory result, but this tie is far, far from over. It'll be a big test on Tuesday night, but likewise Arsenal will probably not be prepared for the atmosphere at Anfield that night. They've obviously played there loads of times in the league, but this will be a bit different. I expect Liverpool to be cagey, Arsenal to dominate possession again, Liverpool to score from a break or a set piece, and Arsenal to press for an equaliser. If they get it, we could be on for a shoot out, depending on when it comes. If it goes to extra time, I would fancy Liverpool, because I think Arsenal are stretched physically at the moment. It'll be edgy stuff though.

[spiritof91and94]

I watched the Fans Forum late last night on Arsenal TV - the main phone in was the conspiracy theory that the referee last night lives five miles from where Kuyt grew up and where his family still reside! Surely this is wrong and Uefa should know these facts - and remember the stonewall well wasnt it good old Dirk who pulled Hleb back 5 yards from the ref......

All is not lost although all the talk of Liverpool getting the best result of the night doesnt faze me at all..

[ONeill]

Was very disappointed Wenger started Senderos last night, even tough he didn't do much wrong. Walcott is playing his best football of the year right now and to sacrifice him for the more defensive Eboue was too conservative for this game. Why did Arsenal need Toure, Senderos, Gallas and Eboue as well as Clichy when facing a Liverpool who aren't exactly goal-merchants? Walcott, when he came on, tortured Carragher to the point that it was only a matter of time before the Liverpudlian was going to either give away a penalty or simply implode. Puzzlingly, Wenger moved Walcott in order to cater for Hleb's erratic form. Toure seemed slow to me throughout and Eboue limited.

Hleb had a bad night at the office. His passes were slightly off kilter and easily intercepted. He's still worth the 90 mins though - his run for the 'penalty' was majestic. However, you feel he needs Fabregas, Rosicky and Van Persie around him as they're the only players on the same wavelength. As the game wore on Fabregas was becoming more central as he was at Anfield in the league in the second half. There is a slight worry though that he is running out of steam this season. He's falling over the finishing line. Fair play to Kuyt though. He harassed Hleb and Cesc throughout and did a real 'Flamini' on them.

Up front it was frustrating to see Van Persie get the cotton wool treatment again. He's had a serious run of bad luck this season. He did look good in the first 25 mins though. Adebayor - didn't put himself about as much as I thought he would. In the San Siro he ran their centre backs ragged - another sign that perhaps a few of the players are in badly need of a breather Arsene can't afford to give them.

A major criticism of Arsenal yesterday for me was their attitude in the 2-3 minutes between the two goals. They had the chance to steady the ship and continue what they were doing. Instead, and I'd like to see it again, Arsenal tried to play 5-a-side, nutmegging, backheels etc. They gave the ball back to Liverpool repeatedly during instead of retaining possession. They deserved what they got.

[ONeill]

Some amazing stats from last night on http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/champions-league/2007-2008/arsenal-liverpool-229682.html

Clichy passed the ball 91 times
Fabregas 79

[AZOffaly]

Arsenal's style of play is lovely in fairness. It's actually a throw back to the old Liverpool pass and move. As opposed to now, which is hoof and stand.

I notice they gave Skrtel the man of the match, that's interesting. I would have thought Gallas or Flamini, or even Fabergas. For Liverpool Gerrard or maybe headless Dirk.