Well how wrong was I. After predicting before the game that Arsene Wenger had all but given up the ghost, Arsenal went on to secure a rousing 2-0 victory and almost pull of the comeback of all comebacks.
It’s very reminiscent of last year’s tie with AC Milan. Just like last year, the damage was done in the first leg. And just like last year, Arsenal escape with their pride soothed and their fixture list lightened. There’s no good way to go out of the Champions League, but this is as close as it gets. Arsenal emerge redeemed and reinvigorated to focus on the all-important task at hand: returning to this stage by reaching the top four.
Contained within this performance was the DNA of an Arsenal team capable of hauling its way back in to the Champions League. Arsene Wenger must play John Hammond, extract it and bring it back to life before our very eyes, starting this weekend at Swansea.
The components are clear:
- Hard work
- Disciplined defending – not just from the back four, but the entire team
- Efficiency in attack
This was a display that was hugely unlike Arsenal. It was based on a grim determination to keep a clean sheet, and a ruthlessness when occasionally afforded the chance to attack. The two goals Arsenal scored were impressive, but it’s the nil they conceded that marked out a stark improvement.
Intriguingly, Arsenal put together their most cohesive defensive display of the season without their captain, Thomas Vermaelen. Vermaelen’s recent form has not just been questioned, it’s been water-boarded, and after his disastrous display at White Hart Lane he was taken out of the firing line for this match with Bayern. On the strength of Mertesacker and Koscielny’s display, it’s hard to see how he’ll get back in.
All too often this season we’ve seen Vermaelen retain his place on the strength of his status as captain rather than the strength of his performances. For the good of the team, that can not be allowed to continue.
There will be calls to retain Lukas Fabianski too, after the Pole produced a surprisingly composed display in the Allianz Arena. I’d be less hasty to subscribe to propose that. His positive performance is relatively anomalous in his Arsenal career. Szczesny retains my backing – until the summer at least.
I’m glad for Arsenal fans. Particularly for those that travelled to music, but also those watching from afar. Our team gave us reasons to be proud, and reasons to believe. Like Hammond’s dinosaurs, there is life in us yet.
With regards to fabianski,I believe he should be kept in the team so long as he is showing good form. Essentially it is poor management to drop a player who is performing well, especially considering Sczezsney’s recent performances
> His positive performance is relatively anomalous in his Arsenal career.
Come on now, GS. During season 10/11, Fabianski started 14 league games, conceded 13 goals, and kept 5 clean sheets. In these 14 games, we won 9, drew 2, lost 3, for a total of 29 points. We only got 39 points from the other 24 games.
I say we keep him in the first team.
Agreed. Fabianski is mostly remembered for the ridiculous mistakes of his early Arsenal career, but his run in the first team in 10/11 was probably the most consistent, solid performance by an Arsenal keeper since Lehmann’s first year. It remains to be seen whether he will revert to his flappy early form, but he has shown enough to at least be considered as an option.
History keep haunting the gunners as i remember somewhere in 2004/05 Arsenal lost 3:1 away to bayern only to win 1:0 at home and bundled out of C.L. Last yr the same 1 goal deficit left us out despite a huge win against A.c. I thnk we are unlucky to some point.
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You weren’t the only blogger sucked in by the “back page boys”who once again showed they know suat when it comes to football, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger!
squat
Did anyone else feel that the ref yesterday gave free kicks, both ways, for absolutely everything and that killed any fluency what so ever? Great result, great defending.
Great game from Arsenal, but my point still is, this team is not good enough. When they are too far behind, they can get some possesion back but it’s also because the other teams let’s us play the ball like we want/need to. It’s happened several times this season against better teams like United, city, Chelsea and now Bayern. Result is every time “close but not enough”.
this goes to show you that the arsenal are the best team in the world. even bayern munich, who are one of the favourites for the champions league, are unable to cope with our qualities at home. imagine what we could have done if we had played this well over two legs.
lets sign wenger up!
god you are annoying
Based on the evidence of the past 2 seasons, we would definitely go through and win the CL trophy if we play both legs of every stage away.
Let’s ban home games at the Emirates.
Last season we lost 4-0 away and won 3-0 at home.
Oops – pardon my frail memory. My mind is still stuck at San Siro.
Great display from Arsenal especially defensively, Vermaelen must not get back in the side, Kos is our best all round CB and was solid alongside Mertesacker, Vermaelen has been shocking all season and even more so lately. Having Gibbs back also makes us better, especially without having Monreal available in the CL, very good player is Gibbs just far too injury prone.
Flappy did a solid job and looked a different GK to the one we all know and dread playing, Szczesny has been disappointing this year and needs someone to push him so i’d keep Flappy in for a few games and see how he goes, it will also push Szczesny to improve.
Jenkinson was very good also, i really like the guy, gives his all everytime and deserves to keep his spot after the recent displays of Sagna which have been poor.
The one player who did really annoy me was our captain for the night, Arteta. The times he and also Ramsey gave the ball away so easily was amateurish, Ramsey kept kicking the ball out for a throw when trying simple pass out wide, needs improvment massively and its the likes of him being near the first 11 that we are dropping out of the top 4. Back to Arteta, 2-0 up last minute free kick and he over hits it for a goal kick, WTF. Then he gives the ball away once again, Bayern are running the clock down and he gives a free kick away, straight after that he runs to Robben at the corner flag and kicks him to the ground, yet another free kick and more time wasted, he’s meant to be our captain and most experienced player, the young players should be looking to him as an example and if i was in the team last night i would have run up and slapped him for gifting them the chance to waste time and get what they wanted. Mikel has been an okay signing for us, he’s done a job during our recent decline but its guys like him and Ramsey who are not top players that are costing us and taking us backwards, its not their fault that they aren’t good enough i know, its Wenger for buying and playing them every week but it is their fault when they choose to kick people, give the ball away with a lazy pass and make stupid rash decisions.
mate..
“Well how wrong was I”
hahaaa..not the first time is it ?
ahhh how much i laugh when cretins think they have the credibility knowldege or experience or even credentials to judge and critisise wenger and his football …….
We still lost the tie. One game doesn’t make a season. Bayern did not get out of first gear and didn’t need to so let’s not kid ourselves.
The real test will be at Swansea on Saturday. If we can replicate the same performance and attitude and carry that thru the rest of the season then we can talk.
yes we still lost the tie but i can still laugh my arse off to all them cretins who constantly doubt wenger and his managerial ability…he gave a seminar in tactics and rotation last night but im sure you missed it like all the english “experts” ….
you talk as if he has to prove anything to anyone.
he got 3rd last year against all odds ..i didnt see any credit …. he will probably do it again so maybe this time you lot can find the humility to say ” thank you” for once…
We are out of EVERY competition. That is why some people doubts Wenger. We didn`t play like an arsenal team yesterday, look at the stats. That said we won and we are all happy about that, but we lost the tie.
I suppose that if we get 4th, we should be happy enough considering how few realy good players we have, but anything less would have to be considered as a bit of a blow for a club like arsenal.
fuck you and your competitions you wally..the club built a stadium not so long ago and has lost players they had been working on for the best part of a decade ….
now be a man and support your club.
yes of course you should be happy with 4th ….this club has never enjoyed a period of such consistency. ( top4 in epl, top16 in ch.l for 13-14 years)
prove the contrary if you can ….
oh i know..arsenal was the kind of club that would beat bayern munichns at home in the 80;s 70;s 60;s etc etc…. lol shut the fuck up before i burn your house and your whole neighborhood again you tottenham scum …
where is my son ?
i lost him …please help !!!!!
ahahahaha
Consistency is worth mentioning, not single performances.
It’s obviously great to see Arsenal win. Every fan will confirm that but I won’t subscribe to the idea that all is well until we win a few matches in a row.
Wenger “gave a seminar in rotation” because he was forced to. Do you really believe he wouldn’t have played Sagna, Wilshire and Podolski if he could have?
Yes, Wenger still has to prove himself, just like everyone else who has a serious professional career. A blue chip company’s ceo is also constantly assessed.
hey there furious g
the ceo …in whichever company ..be it a football club or a factory that manufactures toothpicks …..is assessed by the SHAREHOLDERS AND OWNERS and not from morons on the internet.
right or wrong ?
answer now..dont be shy…
FINALLY Arteta is wearing the armband!
Last few seasons has unfortunately dragged me into the glass half empty camp with our beloved Arsenal. But isn’t it typical that they always play well when there’s nothing to play for and the pressure’s off? How has this team, that’s been beaten by all the top Prem teams – bar City I think? – & sp*rs this season, all of a sudden found their game?
I can’t see it …like Gunnerblog says …same as against AC last season. We were already out, so we played exceptionally. I don’t think we’ll be playing CL football next season and I don’t think we deserve to.
Suprised nobody has blogged this but respects nailed it in 2008. Wenger teams no longer ( if they ever did considering our serial cl failures) have real bottle. Every time arsenal are under pressure they capitulate. Refer any cup final or semi final over the last 8 years. But when there is no pressure we perform better. Now there is pressure at home due to wengers degradation of the squad we now perform better away.
Respects said it back in 2000. We will win nothing ever again under wenger. He was bang on. Cock hunter can say what he wants but the bottom line is that wenger is under achieving for his financial outlay now, which is partially obscured by not spending in the market. This is out of fear of failure, not prudence. It is fear of failure that stops wenger from ever making brave substitions or changing our shape tactically to respond either before or during a game. This fear of failure pervades the team and makes us implode whenever there is pressure or the hint of possible success.
It’s not the board, it’s not the players ( although some changes are needed), its just the manager.
( and its not the grass either, that’s full of nitrogen based greenliness that would be yummy to many Aussie feral animals)
Wenger out, cock hunter out, respects to return triumphant!!
PUAHAHAH ..yes he is in such fear of failure he set of competing in the 21st century with 17 year olds and 21 years olds against ready and established world class players and rosters…. against clubs that could spend 5 times the amount he could.
youre not evry clever are you ?
its ok i forgive you after all youre english so what can one expect from really? …….
http://www.arsenalnewsreview.co.uk/index.php/news/3071/30/Wenger-teams-play-well-when-there-s-no-pressure
Short and sweet
13 epl titles
vs
1? 2? 3?…. i really dont know ….
a lot shorter and a lot sweetier and straight to the point
wenger gets to champions league with kids and second rate buys in the middle of a stadium transition and the others next door have been trying forever and only got there once …and they thought they could tell us “are you watching arsenal”
INFERIORITY COMPLEX
Lol. Think you’ll find I was the very first person to say this would happen. Respects still supported Wenger, although had doubts up until 2009. I on the other hand, wanted Wenger gone way back in 2007. You only have to look at the archives from the summer of 2006 where I predicted all this. Everyone calling me a cunt, etc. Proved right. Just call me “Prophet”.
Don’t know why people respond to that twat Hunter as well. If he’s happy with Arsenal etc, like a lot of the other idiots, let ‘em get on with it. All the history books will tell you, is Arsenal won fuck-all, apart from a jammy FA Cup, a year after winning the League unbeaten. Disgusting really. “Oh grandad, can you tell me what happened after Arsenal won the League in 2004.” Well, son. They won an FA Cup a year later, then under Wenger, never won anything again. Slipped out the top 4, and became a worse team than Tottenham.”
I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes from Le Cunt as well:
“It’s unacceptable for a big club to go 3/4 years without a League Title.” This moron hasn’t a Title in almost 10 years, and no trophy period for 8.
“I ask the Arsenal fans to trust me. I have a masterplan.” – AW in the summer of 2005 after the sale of Vieira.
Winning nothing for 8 years and pocketing £7 million per annum while doing so sounds like a damn good master plan to me.
So did we kill Denilson in the end?
Lol. Yeah, exactly. A masterplan to make the board rich as well as himself at the expense of the club. Ever wondered what happened to the 40 mil they made from City in 2009 from the sale of Adebayor and Toure??
we bought 50 lorries of walkers crisps…we intend to rape tottenham for another three to four decades and we felt it would be wise to give a packet to gary and his friends every week … dont want them crying to much now do we ….
we are philanthropists after all ..
gelbs, being right doesn’t stop making you a cunt
hmmm the spurs trolls here aren’t celebrating today?
I’m always weary of people who call themselves “true”, separating themselves from the rest. Similar examples in the past have led to fascism, the crusades and genocide.
*wary
Hey George that true cunt fool needs to be sectioned ….whoops sorry I meant seperated from the rest and believe me it is a good thing
out come the spurs trolls trololololo
Hunter…
So, going out of TWO cup competitions to lower league opposition and currently 24 (TWENTY FUCKING FOUR!!!) points behind the league leaders means nothing, but us winning a single game against opposition who took their foot off the gas after scoring 3 away goals at our home and thus going out is something to be proud of and somehow vindicates our manager who has overseen 8 years of failure and lies?
Your life must be proper shite and two bob son to be that easily pleased! Moron
Don’t even bother arguing with him. You’d have a bigger chance convincing a radical muslim that Allah doesn’t exist.
The delusional will remain delusional.
oh you came here to “argue” did you?
since when are the tottenham scum at a level where they can argue anything with arsenal ?
we have been buttfucking you the last 16 years…give it a rest
5-2 …hahaahah …now watch how we destroy your hopes again in the remaining games
all you tottenham scum trolls will regret the momment and day you decided to mock and abuse wenger and arsenal…in fact you will regret the day you were born for it meant you had to witness arsenal OWNING you your whole lives …
so on th e19th of march with positivity flowing all round arsenal you come to do what exactly? call others delussional ? ahahahha
its ok you silly and furious piece of shit….its ok i can see now
muhamed’s fulham ripped a new one to your levy huh …. whats levy’s origin again? ahahah now i know why you are angry with muslims …
Fair enough you’re pro Wenger, everyone his opinion.
Just don’t assume things about other people, don’t delibartely misinterpret what they say and don’t insult them.
what ? you telling me about “assuming” …ahahah
when youve just assumed im pro wenger ?
nice going there einstein … talk about shooting yourself on the foot
i dont offer opinions…i laugh at those who think their opinions are worth airing…
and anyway you look at it , wenger is good for arsenal so whatever is good for my club i will support it …pro-arsenal after all …noone bigger than the club and all ..
be careful you dont tear you knickers getting furious now …..
i will insult you and your pathetic moaning kind as much as i want. just like you do to our club, manager and players.
if you dont like it then tough luck.
“Hunter13 February 22, 2013 at 8:04 am
You have nothing to teach to Arsene Wenger. In fact you shoudl fall on your knees ”
He isn’t assuming anything mate. You stated it yourself.
Now stop insulting people.
oh yeah im proud for our stadium, im proud for the element of class we do it all, i love the manager, his playing style, the fact he has been fucking tottenham the last 16 years and every year them little spuds make it the purpose of their lives to just finnish above us for once…
class stadium , class manager, class players…whats not to like…
cheer up ..we could be like tottneham playing with…essu ekoto and some other mugs who lose 4-1 and are happy to qualify ..puahahhaah …for the europa…… hahaha
hahahahah thank you fulham !!! look at them squirming already !!
its ok, dont worry …..you have bale to save your season …
gilberto silver you should charge for this comedy your crowd provides ….. pure gold…id pay to watch cunts from whl cry like they do here …
can we support arsenal ladies?
why pierluigi ? why should i not insult those who insult arsenal with their ignorance ?
touchy touchy ….
They could make the same argument about you. Besides they choose to do it without using direct insults. Give it a shot.
p.s. There’s more than one Casiraghi on this earth.
no what you said aint applicable in this case…i know who i insult and why…they dont. they insult professionals and i insult the amateur trolls who insult professionals ….not the same.
you cant throw it all in one pot and mix it …
besides whats the real problem ? me insulting the trolls or the trolls getting angry cause their hatred and sabotage aint going as anticipated ? …
piss of you fucking spuds…
and thats a perfectly legit statement there ..unless you think the culture of vinnie jones and mclaren and pulis has anything to teach wenger …..
maybe damon hill and hamilton and dennis can teach ferrari and schumacher about f1 driving too … nah dont think so …
This is exactly why I follow Arsene FC. the comic entertainment value is second to none. well…..errrr…… overall I belieeeeeve….holy shit let me catch my breath. don’t ever change Arsene. And you too hunter. keep it coming.
yeah you’re definately one of us … hahaha now go pop that spot between your legs cause its oozing out your ears ..not healthy…
This is sad hunter. Earlier you used to have an argument and reason behind your views. Now it seems you have given up on your own ideas and just tells peolpe variouse insulting crap. You as the prophet of this club ought to do better than this………. I can only conclude that arsenal are way worse of than I thought when even you have given up on why arsenal are on the right track. Come to think of it this is worrying indeed.
g’day chaps!
Unlike Hammond’s dinosaurs, there is NO life in this blog.
well you see cancer is a disease that usually leads to fatality and as you can see the blogger has allowed the spurs cancer to grow and grow and grow……….
sad really…
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/diaby-ruled-out-for-eight-to-nine-months
Are you kidding me?
Diaby = sicknote. Get rid of him!
9 months is the time need to birth a baby. highly suspcious
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