Arsenal got their Champions League qualifying round off to a good start with a 1-0 win over Udinese at the Grove tonight.
The Gunners got off to a bright start, opening the scoring in just the 4th minute. Aaron Ramsey was set free down the right hand side, his cross was perfect for the oncoming Theo Walcott who sidefooted home at the near post.
That was as incisive as Arsenal got however. Despite an increased tendency to shoot from distance, in the final third we lacked the kind of precision and creativity necessary to make real chances.
At the other end Udinese looked dangerous and capable of breaking at pace. Their danger man, Antonio di Natale, hit the bar with a free kick from well over 30 yards out. And when they broke from an Arsenal corner Asamoah only had SZCZ to beat but the big Pole stood up well and made the save. Alex Song then got back to block the follow-up brilliantly.
The half fizzled out, Arsenal struggling to get on top of the game while the Italians looked encouraged by the time and space they had on the ball.
Arsenal made a half-time change, Johan Djourou coming on for Kieran Gibbs who injured a hamstring. Thomas Vermaelen slotted in at left back. 9 minutes later Djourou went off, also with a hamstring problem, replaced by Carl Jenkinson. The youngster went to left back, Vermaelen back into the centre of defence.
As the half went on Arsenal struggled to create anything and were put under real pressure by the Italians who tried to exploit Arsenal’s obvious nervousness. Theo Walcott had a good chance after a good ball by Ramsey but shanked it like a seal in wellies.
Arsenal brought on Frimpong to shore up the midfield but the youngster showed his inexperience, giving away a free kick just outside the box. Di Natale forced a good save from Szczesny.
Late on Walcott might have sealed the deal but the Udinese keeper made a fantastic save. Despite the lack of fluidity and the inability to dominate the game, Arsenal hung on and kept the all important clean sheet ahead of the second leg.
The worry for Arsene Wenger will be the injuries adding to the thinness of the Arsenal squad.
—
Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Song, Rosicky, Walcott, Ramsey, Gervinho, Chamakh
Subs: Fabianski, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Djourou, Arshavin, Jenkinson, Frimpong, Bendtner
Udinese: Handanovic, Ekstrand, Benatia, Larangeira, Neuton, Agyemang-Badu, Isla, Asamoah, Pinzi, Armero, Di Natale
Subs: Belardi, Denis, Vydra, Abdi, Pasquale, Doubai, Fabbrini
Can someone please wake Chamakh up. Not sure he realises he has been sleep walking again.
I was half glad we didn’t get a penalty because I could see him being given the ball. He needs to snap out of whatever’s going on in his head. I reckon it’s just a Roadrunner cartoon playing on loop.
What the hell does Chamack actually do for us??!?!?!?!?
Leave it out guys, Chamakh’s fundamental in bringing out the best in Walcott. Wenger knows what he’s doing. Chamakh’s taken on a more spiritual presence, allowing Walcott to make more darting runs into the middle. This is good for us for many reasons. 1. Bendtner doesn’t play therefore getting us all excited by missing oppurtunities. 2. Walcott is given a chance up top without the fans actually knowing and questioning this choice. 3. Chamakh has the respect of the squad and Patrice as he shagged 3 blonde, Swedish prostitutes.
Don’t think he completed one pass did he???
Chamakh is useless. We need a quality striker ASAP.
A complete shambles, fucking shit display the goal apart. Honestly feel we are in serious trouble this season, no creativity, players looked tired and chamack is our replacement for when rvp will get injured then god help us..
Chamakh was utterly useless tonight. For a player who has something to prove to the arsenal faithful he showed neither the desire nor the ability to warrant him a spot on the 25 man roster. Hate to be negative after a win, but the bar should be set high at the Arsenal and when our performance doesnt meet the standard set by teams previous there is always something to say. All in all im pleased with a win and a clean sheet but we are up against it in Italy. Hopefully we will have more of our starting XI ready… Read more »
I’m beginning to understand why he came on a free. Hey, you get what you pay for.
Thought he looked sharp first half but as the rest of the team came down to defend he and walcott became invincible 2:nd half
I think though we need at least 2 more signings to have a competitive squad for the return game
don’t worry. RVP will be LANS for that game, as would that other guy, if he stopped being a cunt. 😛
Random Thoughts: In a weird way, we should thank Barcelona. If Sanchez plays for Udinese, we ship 2 or 3 goals….Chamakh and Rosicky aren’t good enough to wear the shirt. Maybe Marouane has diabetes or something; he looks slow both mentally and physically. He can’t complete a five yard pass, let alone hit the target. Worst Arsenal striker since I don’t know; maybe the older Gooners can help me out. Maybe we should play Theo centrally and move Chamakh to central defense?….No Gibbs or Traore means we should buy Leighton Baines ASAP… Ramsey with a nice assist but he looks… Read more »
If I had the chance I’d give Sagna my life savings and tell him to take out the rest of the defense out for dinner and split the rest with SZCZ and TV5. Frimpong can have a happy meal, and Jenkinson can have the toy…
Didn’t think chamack was awfull first half with his back to goal I thought he held up the ball quite well, defo need a striker with bendtner going
What we need is a creative mid. Someone who has that instinctive ability to make the right pass or take the shot. Last year we had two of them. They are both being sold. Eden Hazzard would cost 25 – 30 mil. If he reinvigorates our offense than he is worth it. Let’s get him!
Sneijder would be nice – heard he’s willing to take a ‘pay’ cut to move to England.
I agree we need a creative mid – there was one stage during the second half when Rosicky lost the ball about 4 times in 4 minutes. Besides Chamakh playing like shit, Walcott and Gervinhio should back themselves a little more and have a go at rounding the defender. too many times we would lose momentum because the ball is held up on the touchline – ‘forcing’ Gervinhio to play back to Sagna.
Still – a clean sheet for the second leg.
Awful! midfield that have no creativity, a defense that panics, a forward line that creates 2 chances in 45 mins! I can’t see it improving either.
I thought the defence were pretty good. Always atoned for their mistakes. Almost like… a team.
Our defense is good. The problem is injuries. Our depth is suspect. When one injury brings Squillaci into your squad you have problems. If Wenger bought a good centerback we would be just fine. It is also obvious that Gibbs will not stay healthy for the year. If Vermaelen is his cover than once again we are short at centerback.
Wenger has the money but he is stubborn. That is why there is so much angst in these comments.
sign up Bendtner. he’s a free agent and he was there to see the game! Chamack wasn’t
Arsenal were terrible. If we do qualify fir the groups that would be as far as we got this season with these players..
Lots of hate here for Chamakh but there are average players all over the pitch, no wonder Cescs hamstrings went, it was under the strain of carrying this shower of sh*t alongnfor the last few years singlehandedly…
I have to say I’ve been on the fence with chamakh, he hardly got a game the second half of last season, but he was shambolic, sign bendtner, sell chamakh, or hopefully Joel Cambell we light things up. Forget about defense, Arsenal need the midfield to replace Cesc and Nasri, and another top-class striker. Ramsey was outclassed most of the game and Walcott was looking for his football brain on a couple of occasions. Otherwise they looked good and put together some decent passages of play. Song looked back to his best -we will miss him in the league, also… Read more »
All that shit-stirring from the commentators was embarrassing. “Sir, Sir, look what Arsene’s doing, Sir!”
Complete wankers.
‘That was as incisive as Arsenal got’ – how much more incisive can you get?
Agree Chamakh still looks forlorn, but we just won a game didn’t we? Great to see Scsz looking solid, Verm was great, Ramsey was mostly good, and Theo looked really lively. If we can add to it & the team gets a bit more confidence I think we might be able to start enjoying things again.
Was worried to see Jenkinson chucked into the fray, but Verm looked after him when he had to, and playing out of position for a kid he did alright.
On the plus side, Frimpong and Jenkinson played well.
agreed. Although a few too many passes back to the keeper by Jenks for my liking.
I think Jenkinson and Frimpong should get a pass for like a season. Frimpong’s 19 and coming back from a leg break and Jenkinson’s even younger. Played in League 1 last year and forced into one of the biggest games of our season? As long as the youngster didn’t shit his pants, he had a good game.
Our form this season should not depend on these boys; you can throw Miyaichi and Ox into that mix. Anything they provide is a bonus.
he had to come on to his right foot to play a pass, that’s why all the passes back to Verminator and Szcz. and fair play to him making the sure choice rather than hoik the ball forward and give possession right back.
My god help us muck worse game I seen arsenal play in a long time wenger get out or buy rubbish
buy rubbish? eh?
I thin Keith meant; “get out or buy. Rubbish!!!”
yeh. i know. I was joking. Just bored of seeing all the naysayer comments from people who can’t even punctuate, or string a coherent sentence together.
Chamakh didn’t seem to get too hard a time inside the Grove. But the general atmosphere was a bit narky, on the way out one person wished Gibbs long term injury “I hope Gibbs is out long term, at least Wenger will have to buy a fucking defender”. Really? The mentality is so poor is embarrasing.
Very embarrassing. When you have people wishing for their nose to be cut off to spite their faces then we have even more problems. Those fans are selfish, stupid and should stay at home. Wenger has to buy to beef up the squad but I won’t sneeze at 1 Nil to the Arsenal tonite. That was a B team out there tonite compared to last year but lets hope we can struggle though August by which time I hope we are in the CL proper and have got our Premier League season off to a solid start. Two clean sheets… Read more »
well said guys
I just want to say. I’m not an AKB… more of an APKBTY (Arsene Probably Knows Better Than You)
Really RAYAFC, you can’t see it improving? Replacing Chamakh with RVP and Rosicky with Wilshire won’t improve the squad in your eyes?
Let’s all relax and enjoy keeping a clean sheet against a quality side. Jesus Christ.
Agreed. In a perverse way, this uncharacteristic performance will all but force Arsene to buy. No one looking at these two performances can think we have a full squad. That being said a win and a draw are good results. Sczc and TV5 have been huge; Szscz for his presence than anything. Great save on Armero and Di Natale though
In response to the Chamakh criticism. Can’t the african nations cup start now just for him?
Arsenal lacks incisiveness on the attack. Udinese attacked so quickly that they had more attempts in the first half and much less possesion. Arsenal’s build up play is too laboured, and frankly, lacks confidence. I hope this improves because for most of last season -they were a very good side.
Lads we are shit and will be shown up sat against Liverpool long hard year ahead
Bill I don’t know what match u were watching
Thought Rambo put in a classy display, can’t understand some of the above comments about him tonight. Calm on the ball, always makes himself some space, good assist and should have been two is theo hadn’t cocked up a good opportunity. Though he was our best player tonight
Sometimes Ramsey gave the ball away. When you’re used to seeing Cesc in the midfield it’s a lot to live up to. He’ll improve and he’s young so you can’t criticize him too much. Rosicky on the other hand is 30 and has no excuse. he’s not good enough to wear the shirt.
Sorry but Bendtner is much better than Chamakh and neither are good enough for the Arsenal.
At least nic can pass a ball chamakh is muck really really poor
agreed
na because in all fairness, wenger should have just wacked on van persey for 93 mins and he would have stormed the pitch and done a 360 degree spinning back kick and scored the winner you know. i mean, to be frankly honest, i dont much rate this ARSENAL team anymore! bring back the glory days of aliadiere and jeffers you know. those two were real arsenal powerhouses and i just think like, if we could somehow get back two players like that, we could just walk all over the prem you know. i think in hindsight, venga should have… Read more »
Satire is normally succinct …
Oh, I’ll just mosey along down to the Henry Emporium then, and find one for Wenger to buy.
Did you not read into the sarcasm as soon as he labelled jeffers as a ‘powerhouse’. I believe this to be a dig at the idiotic arsenal fans who question our policies because of what the sun and video games often say.
fuck off
i agree
I was there tonight Chamakh was ok 1st half, but he and the rest of the team disappeared after that. I think Rosicky was hurting but again faded. Ramsey just gives things away too often. A decent result though and let’s hope injuries ae not too bad and maybe signings to come?
Pretty dissappointing to see that we had pretty much 2-3 guys who were willing to go and attack with the ball and take on players – Gervinho, Theo and Ramsey. Well, Song to a certain extent too. Rosicky, who can talk the talk but not walk the walk and some other players are afraid to go and attack the opponents with the ball so instead they pass it to a teammate as soon as an opponent gets more than 10m from them. Pretty dull. I wonder how many yards did Chamakh actually move WITH the ball, must have been around… Read more »
Fits right in with the shocking colours 😉
I bought a Nasri shirt last November.
Pre ordered both shirts but had to go nameless, just couldn’t risk it 😀
Feels like we’re going minute by minute, game by game right now, so I couldn’t give a monkeys how we win for now. But if we still have the same squad come 1st Sept, holy shit are we in bother.
Some arsenal fans should be ashamed. Performance wasn’t great, and certainly room for improvement, but we won nit lost. Last season we would have conceded at least one and for a defense that changed a heck of alot in the game, I thought it got more comfortable as the game went on.
Certainly there is need for more up top and on the creative front, but back the team and get some positivity or we’ll demoralise the team even more.
Stop listening to the media and back the club!
Chamack had a good first half without once getting the ball over the top he was demanding. He isn’t useless just doesn’t get the right kind of ball from midfield. Two hamstrings in one game argues there is something wrong either with our warm up routine or on the training ground
Negative idiots, we kept a clean sheet and won. Support some other team.
That’s the prob with all u prawn eatting muppets support another club for saying the truth open ur eyes man we make more money every matchday than any other team they put the prices up to watch that muck
Two clean sheets in a row. Anyone know the last time that happened?
a couple of seasons ago we had four consecutive 0-0 draws in the league
difficult game, good first half, but two injuries early in second half makes it difficult to change the approach. think its important to remember. Would loved to see arshavin and bendtner have a go at them, as midfield and chamack up front was clearly tired late in the second half. man of the match for me is Sagna. great game! defence looking good, and good cameos for all subs. also, lay of chamack, he is struggling, and all the negativity on him does not make it better. Could hear the negative gasp from the crowd all the time when he… Read more »
E,
he’s lucky the crowd isn’t booing him. Silence is the best he can expect. His play merits nothing. In fact, he shouldn’t play at all.
agree with that he should not play as he is clearly not at his best now. I wished for bendtner to start, imo he was the best available striker today. Just think its important that the fans gets behind the team. anyways, a good result regarding the injuries, next game we have vp and (hopefully) nasri to throw at them. should do it I think.
I must have been watching a different game because rosicky even though he was obviously carrying an injury played well. I’m starting to think some of you lot might be a tad subjective
Rocky is done can’t run can’t pass over the hill and he has 2 years on his contract left lovely
Can’t pass?? Have you seen his pass completion ratio?! I think you’ve just proved my point.
His passing % is soooooo high cause he VERY rarely takes any risks at all, most of his passes are sideways or to the back 4.
Ive tried to be positive throughout the summer, Ive kept faith with Arsene, but after the shambles on saturday and tonights performance I have changed my mind. Unless He buys a centre half, two midfielders, and at least one striker we are fucked. How can He let Bendtner go and keep Chamack ???
I think given the choice, Wenger would want bendtner to stay and Chamakh to leave. But there’s no market for Chamakh (cuz he sucks) and he’s willing to sit on the bench, wait his turn, and “try” is best for the team (so he stays), while Bendtner is constantly mouthing off about not starting and there is a market for him (he goes).
Both of these guys aren’t good enough.
Why was the stadium practically empty toward the end? I’ve gone to 1 arsenal game as I don’t live in England and would love to be able to go to every game. 1-0 ip and having chances either end, I thought the supporters were very poor in not supporting the lads through the final minutes
It’s that or boo
What this team really needs is for the fans to get behind them. We won the game and defended well. With all the pessimism here you may as well all get jobs commentating for sky. Ffs
Just back from tonight’s game. What a load of rubbish. 3 shots on target, 3 off target. There’s no final ball, no creativity, no magic. It’s incredibly boring stuff. If AW doesn’t buy a quality forward, midfielder and defender we will at best finish 5th with certainly no progression in the cups. I can’t remember the last time I watched utter shit being played by the rip roaring reds. And now with Gibbs injured, hamstring, what a surprise we do intact need another left back aswell. As I live in Barnet in North London I might consider watching the bees.… Read more »
I was there tonight:
Sagna MOM by a country mile
Chamakh – invisible, always turns away from goal, total shots = 0 (again)
Defence – solid until injuries struck
Atmosphere – nervous
Empty ground at the final whistle – poor poor London transport, many fans travelled a long way!
UP THE ARSE
firstly, I was sickened at sky’s persistent pre-occupation with putting the cameras on wenger, & going to Jeff shreeves on the touchline to talk about how wenger & co mite be in so much trouble with eufa,. I was sickened,. But not one bit surprised. that’s sky all over, especially when it’s arsenal. I don’t understand the slating Chamakh is getting. Yes he had a bad game. As did rosicky, (how was he ever passed fit to play) but they both need games to improve, & while I understand we could’ve played arshavin instead of Chamakh I think wenger was… Read more »
oh yea forgot to mention Sagna was man if the match for me. great display.
If life seems jolly rotten,
There’s something you’ve forgotten!
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing,
When you’re feeling in the dumps,
Don’t be silly chumps,
Just purse your lips and whistle, that’s the thing!
And… always look on the bright side of life…
🙂 I love you lot. You beautiful bastards! Cheer up and have a sing song. 🙂
Happens every week where I sit (upper tier) to the chant of ‘is there a fire drill’. It can take ages to get out sometimes, then I guess people beating the tube rush, especially with young kids. Perhaps tonight was. A bit of frustration.
I don’t give two shits that no one agrees with me but I think some people are being just a little bit too hard on chamakh. I know he’s not the world class player everyone wants him to be but it’s already obvious that there’s no satisfying some of you. I remember last season that the only time he would ever score is when RVP is injured. So he had one good run. That means he can’t improve? This may be news to some people but chamakh is Muslim and this month is Ramadan. I don’t know very many people… Read more »
Muslim or not, Chamakh is chit. When the sun goes down, he can eat, but he looked stronger in the first half than the second.
Besides, he’s been playing like this since January. Perhaps it is harsh to slag him as he is clearly not Arsenal caliber. It would be like insulting one of us if we played for Arsenal; we are clearly not good enough to play for Arsenal, so expecting someone who is clearly not good enough to play well is unfair.
Chamakh should do the honourable thing and retire.
sorry, i don’t know you, but you don’t sound like much of a “true gooner” to me. just saying
Back to the good all boring boring Arsenal. 1-0 to the Arsenal!
I agree with “gooneritis” people should lay off Chamakh, he was unlucky last year when van persie came back, I personally think he should’ve had more starts over bendtner, people should remember that before he moved to arsenal, Chamakh made no secret of his desire to play for arsenal,. at least the lad wants to play for arsenal, which is a good thing as it will make him push himself to do well. which is more then can be said for certain other players currently at the club…
That’s his one good quality and why he’s staying and Bendtner is going. I want him to do well, I just don’t know what happened to him. His strength is being physical and heading the ball; that makes him ideal for the Premier League, so…
Sagna was a rock.
Vermaelen read the game very well.
Scz is looking every bit the keeper we’ve always wanted.
Injuries means Cahill should be snapped up pronto.
Rosicky needs to be replaced. Marvin Martin seems the stand out candidate to me and he has “Arsene signing” written all over him.
Striker I have no idea. There seems no obvious choice unless Tevez or Neymar end up at Real and either Higuin or Benzema become available.
We should get Rodallega….even though he’s not “super quality”. Higuain, benzema, anyone of that caliber is way out of our league.
Our only real left back injured again, like didn’t see that coming! Buy baines and a CB, a quality midfield creative player, we need a back up for song, in fact we need someone better than song so he can learn. We need a striker as good as RVP too.
But wait we have a huge squad, so says wenger.
We got lucky tonight.
Good result, not the best performance from The Arsenal but got a 1-0 win so happy days. Are all fellow Arsenal fans just as depressing as the one sitting behind me today? This quote summed him up best “I can’t find any positives from tonight”, how about a 1-0 victory you pleb?! As well as this gem, SHOOT ROSICKY *rosicky shoots, gets blocked* NOT LIKE THAT *stuffes face with pie* like you could do better.. Really irritated me today, first home game and he’s already moaning, don’t think I can go all season without having words with him. (He’s a… Read more »
I had that when I always go to the Emirates. When I went there last which was the game against Manchester United last season at home and the fan next to me seemed to have a heart attack when United had the ball.
“Come on Arsenal make something with the ball” (United gets the ball) “Nooooooo (In a super light deep voice”
Do it anyway.
“shoot rosicky!…not like that!”. That’s classic. You have to keep going to games and report to the rest of us the sayings and doings of that idiot-savant sitting behind you.