Official Gooners Thread - A New Hope

[Norf Tyrone]

Well done Chelsea - at 2-0 up, they shut up shop and did it well.

Did it very very well tactically and their committment to every block and tackle, the feckers must have won every 50/50.

That's a culture José installed in the club that still resonates. It helps when you've people like Terry and Lampard there. Without getting two sickly they are the rock of the club.

[ONeill]

Pires was 6ft plus?

Well over.

[norabeag]

Pires was 6ft plus?

Well over.

Doubt if Bergkamp was 6ft+

[ONeill]

Yes he was.

[ONeill]

Feck it anyway. Any good news?

[bingobus]

Arashavin is making bad noises in public and Wenger has cut his hands off so he doesn't have to shake hands ever again.

[Archie Mitchell]

Classy Arsenal fans again on Wednesday night singing the Adebayor song, AGAIN, as well as singing "Thierry Henry" at Shay Given in the 2nd half on Wednesday night. Sure what else would you expect with Wenger in charge of this lot? They play good football though.

[JohnDenver]

Classy Arsenal fans again on Wednesday night singing the Adebayor song, AGAIN, as well as singing "Thierry Henry" at Shay Given in the 2nd half on Wednesday night. Sure what else would you expect with Wenger in charge of this lot? They play good football though.

Just right they were, if Given had of came and taken that ball floated into the box we could have been waiting to see who we would get in the World Cup draw today.  He'll know for again to play to the whistle.

[ONeill]

Premier League - Arshavin: We're not very good

Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin has bemoaned his team's physical limitations as the main reason for why they are "not very good" this season.

The Gunners have fallen 11 points behind leaders Chelsea in the Premier League after the 3-0 defeat the Blues meted out to them at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

That result was their second league loss on the spin following the 1-0 defeat at Sunderland the previous week.

Arsenal have also lost to both Manchester United and City in the league this season, and their young side went down at City again in midweek in the Carling Cup.

Russia international Arshavin, who stands at 5ft 8in, believes it is a lack of height and strength that has seen them suffer against the top sides this term.

He said: "The fact that we have lost against our direct rivals this season signifies that we are not very good.

"We are not very good on set pieces because we don't have many tall players - every other team has an advantage over us in this area.

"(Chelsea) were much stronger than us when it came to physical power. Had we possessed a tall player then things would have been better for us. We had nobody capable of holding on to the ball."

Arsenal lost in-form striker Robin van Persie to a long-term ankle injury during the international break and their very next match, the defeat at Sunderland, was the first game all season in which they failed to score.

In their subsequent four matches without the Dutch forward Arsenal have scored just twice, in the 2-0 win over Standard Liege in the Champions League.

"We played good football against all these top teams but that is not enough. We score a lot of goals, but we always let in one or more," Arshavin added.

The Russian, who has scored five times this season for the Gunners, has backed his manager Arsene Wenger to turn things around, but hopes that the French boss will add to his squad once the January transfer window opens.

He said: "What we can change only Arsene Wenger knows. He has been at the club for 13 years and knows the problems better than anyone.

"All the Arsenal players are behind him - and if he leaves they will all leave. It would be good if the club could sign some great players.

"It is up to the manager whether he will sign a new striker in January - I have my own ideas but I won't say what they are."

[Doogie Browser]

I think everyone knows arsenal lack a bit of steel in the middle I have been saying that for ages, but the loss of V. Persie for me is the main reason they will struggle now.  He is a top class leader, always an option for the midfielders and so strong on the ball.  They have no one near his quality to replace, though in fairness players like him are hard to replace anyway. 

[Archie Mitchell]

That JohnDenver is full of shit. It was McShanes fault anyway.

[bingobus]

Classy Arsenal fans again on Wednesday night singing the Adebayor song, AGAIN, as well as singing "Thierry Henry" at Shay Given in the 2nd half on Wednesday night. Sure what else would you expect with Wenger in charge of this lot? They play good football though.

Just right they were, if Given had of came and taken that ball floated into the box we could have been waiting to see who we would get in the World Cup draw today.  He'll know for again to play to the whistle.

Cheers Keano.

[Puckoon]

Classy Arsenal fans again on Wednesday night singing the Adebayor song, AGAIN, as well as singing "Thierry Henry" at Shay Given in the 2nd half on Wednesday night. Sure what else would you expect with Wenger in charge of this lot? They play good football though.

So is it stupidity or badness you're full of?

[Archie Mitchell]

Just a bit of badness Have to amuse myself somehow to get over this hangover!

[Dinny Breen]

Just right they were, if Given had of came and taken that ball floated into the box we could have been waiting to see who we would get in the World Cup draw today.  He'll know for again to play to the whistle.

Absolutely, if Given was any good he'd be playing for a big club by now.