Sunday, November 17, 2024

Report: Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal moved back into third position in the league after a scrappy 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage this afternoon.

Arsene Wenger made two changes from the team that drew against Everton in midweek. Tomas Rosicky replaced Jack Wilshere in midfield while Nacho Monreal came in at left back in place of Kieran Gibbs.

The game started brightly with the home side fashioning a very good chance inside the opening two minutes, forcing Arsenal to defend desperately, before Theo Walcott put the ball in the Fulham net but it was rightly ruled out for offside.

Walcott then provided a good dead ball for Laurent Koscielny to head over under some pressure, before Fulham were reduced to 10 men. Referee Andre Marriner showed a straight red card to Steve Sidwell for a foul on Mikel Arteta. The former Arsenal man lunged in with one foot but went over the ball and caught the Spaniard on the shin.

It was quite similar to the kind of tackle which broke Eduardo’s leg and although Fulham were obviously aggrieved they can have no complaints about the decision.

With a man advantage Arsenal pressed but were given a warning sign when a poor Giroud touch turned into a quick Fulham break which saw Szczesny forced into a good save when Berbatov had a clear sight of goal. At times the Cottagers looked the most likely to score and Bacary Sagna had to make a last ditch slide to deny Berbatov again.

Giroud and Ramsey took shots which failed to threaten as Arsenal found it increasingly difficult to find a way through, but in the 35th minute the Frenchman made some space in the box and fired a low shot across goal which beat Schwarzer but hit the bottom of the post and out for a goal kick.

Fulham again troubled Szczesny when Emanuelson robbed Monreal and drilled a shot to the near post, but in the 44th minute Arsenal took the lead. Aaron Ramsey was fouled in midfield, Theo Walcott curled in the free kick, Koscielny rose at the back post and headed it back across goal. It bounced up and Per Mertesacker was there to head home from close range.

It gave Arsenal a crucial half-time lead and they continued to press for another as the second began. Mikel Arteta picked up a yellow card when the referee bought an Emanuelson dive just outside our box, Bryan Ruiz curled the resulting free kick over the bar.

Hangeland denied Mertesacker a second, heading away a Rosicky cross, and at the other end the BFG was called into action as Fulham got lucky with a deflection and almost through on goal. Schwarzer remained relatively untested as the game went past the hour mark.

Laurent Koscielny made an excellent defensive header to deny Berbatov from a corner before Arsene Wenger brought on Lukas Podolski and Jack Wilshere to replace Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky. Santi Cazorla had a good chance to test the keeper from inside the D, but chose a reverse pass which the hosts cleared easily.

Fulham thought they had equalised when Szczesny palmed away a free kick which was followed up and tucked away, but assistant Sian Massey had her flag rightly raised. Moments later Arsenal conceded another free kick in a dangerous area, this time Berbatov hit the wall.

Once more Fulham looked more dangerous, but Santi Cazorla saw a shot blocked by Hangeland after a good Arsenal move, and in the final 10 minutes Arsenal lost their shape and cohesion as Fulham piled on the pressure.

Olivier Giroud then saw red in the 90th minute, rather harshly it has to be said, and in injury time Nacho Monreal scooped a clearance from under Berbatov’s feet as the Bulgarian saw the goal gaping.

The performance overall wasn’t up to much, but the result is perfect. Phew!

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Hassen54

we got Big F#cking Gèrman . oh and is that giroud season done then ?

Doctor Satan

And this is why we love Arsenal. The excitement never ends.

Jin

sagna’s cross blocked again

NEWHAMPSHIREGUNNER

Honestly – when has Sagna not looked indecisive during the past games in the final third, then continues to hesitate, resulting in a cross that is god awful for a corner?

AGunner

hes not looked confident at all since his last injury – in terms of his attacking prowess. he barely tries to take a man on and get a cross in (good or bad) and more often than not ends up just passing it back into midfield. hes got pace and power, should be overlapping theo or whoever is on the right wing, take a man on and smash a cross across! i mean just look at gibbo on the left when he plays, hes always a threat. szcz almost had a howler today too, was decent, but that offside goal… Read more »

HopelessArse

yeah, and gives us heart attack, period.

Harish

Woah, heart attacks AND perods? I’m not at that level.

Bunburyist

Might be a blessing in disguise. Giroud has had a very good first season with us, but in the last few weeks he seems to have faded a bit.

Opportunity for Podolski through the middle?

Segovia

haha. Keep dreaming. Knowing Wenger you’ll be seeing Walcott up front 😉

last-arse

or Gervinho

Parisian Weetabix

Well if you look at goals scored in the past 90 minutes, statistically it should be Mertesacker.

Wenger's Glasses

Completely agree. Would love to see Gerv-Poldi-Walcott combination for the next 3 games.

GUN

How about Gerv-Poldi-chambo combination?

Clockendrider

I’d rather see Walcott given a weekend off. But then how are we to notice the difference.

J0hnire

Isn’t Walcott injured? That’s why he hasn’t played the last two… Oh wait.

Hurensohn

Wasn’t a red card though. Watch his standing foot, it’s slips as he tries to make the tackle and he goes over the ball. Nothing he could do about it at all. Probably wont be rescinded because the referee saw it, regardless of whether he was right or wrong.

AGunner

not to mention the yellow for arteta.. what a blatant dive by the fulham player. if one of our players did it, it would be all over motd and the papers calling us cheats.

Jin

Why did arsenal play like 10v10 at the last 20 minutes?

neutral

Giroud cannot dribble, he reminds me of myself and that is not a good thing.

agunner4life

Giroud clearly won the ball but the referee was a total asshole but credit to lines-women Sian Massey for that correct decision . and giroud should appeal because against manu he would be needed because just look at the way Andy Carrol tormented them last time when that rvp cunt drew them the game from an offside position.
COYG

neutral

They might both be big, and carrol is an overrated imbecile, however, carrol can impose himself on games in a way which giroud does not.

prinzgologne

giroud 85 minuten ??? zuviel für ihn !!!! Poldi 20 minuten ?????? zu wenig für einen der besten finisher bei ARSENAL.

chamakh's barber

amen, to whatever you said .

Midfield Corporal

Thank God for Google Translate.

gooner

Love you Mert****er the BFG

LANS

i think the ref was high.
but still no excuse for such a lame, tame and timid performance.
MoM? no one

Gooner

Man of the mach- Ruiz
for Arsenal- Mertesacker

Fellonious

That’s not fair. I quite clearly saw Koscienly play his arse off, let alone Monreal, who had another strong game. A nervy result but keep in mind it’s the kind of result winners and champions regularly come up with. The red card was right, as was the second, and we just held on for three crucial points. At least that is what I thought the away support were trying to get across at full time.

moobs

I’m normally the first to have a go at the ref, but I thought he had a pretty good game. There was a bad mistake with the dive, other than that I have no major complaints. The Arsenal red could go either way but it was stupid of Giroud regardless.

I think I was most impressed by the refs composure to send off Sidwell, at home, so early in the game. That was a disgusting tackle.

Although to be fair, if we’d dropped points, I would have said the ref was shit, so I don’t know what I think.

Footie-Ninja

Brilliant football from the Arse at the start…then an utter horror show from the minute their player was off. I just don’t get why the guys would get so sloopy, casual and seemingly totally disinterested in winning the game. AW should smash some heads together in that dressing room to wake them the f#ck up and reminder them what’s st stake here! Phew!!

Norn Iron Gooner

All i want to know is how blogs knew the score and exactly how the game would play out 45 mins ago, since the game finished 20 mins ago.

Tin foil hat time…

Runcorn Gooner

What goes round ,comes round.Sidwell should have been sent off at the Emirates early in the season.He is a Red card waiting to happen.Giroud was just plain silly,tackle was unnecessary .Cant blame the Ref.

AGunner

early summer holiday for giroud, not a bad first season, heres hoping for an even better one next season.

Aero

I wonder why we have little luck when it comes to appeals. I keep getting visions of Shawshank Redemption when the guy keeps getting his parole rejected.

GUNNING FOR GLORY

Even though the fact that Chelsea came in 3 days ago and won 3-0 and we won 1-0 with a numerical advantage is killing me; I know Arsenal always bring out the cunt in Fulham. Arsenal players played okay but they were too rigid and fixed all over the pitch, there were not lots of positional interchanges. But despite the poor performance it is good not to be overestmated before the Man utd game and be reminded of the importance of being at the top of your game 100% of the time. The FA should and will probably reduce/revert Giroud’s… Read more »

vermz

Where’s Ramsey mate we need him for defensive cover. Arteta as the single anchor doesn’t cut it.

Norwad

Mertesacker MOTM

Goon

With Monreal a close second with his clearance.

Norwad

Yep. Our defence was pretty solid today, I think. Sczcesny with some match winning saves and kept another clean sheet. Great comeback for him, too. And it’s easy to see that Mertesacker/Kos is our best CB-pair. They literally won us this match.

Now we just have to wait and see who Wenger will chose to play as CF against United, if Podolski gets the nod or not.

Lec

Seems Fulham have to man mark opposition defenders. Luiz, j.t and now Big fucking german. Yeaaaaaaaah!

Bunburyist

We made hard work of that, and I can’t explain why. Attitude? Incredibly, you can only argue that Fulham deserved something from that, and they played with 10 men for almost the entire match.

Oh well. Three points, and let’s hope we don’t play like that again this season.

Bucks

Attitude? We seemed lazy and unwilling to twist the knife deeper it almost cost us dearly. I’ll take the 3 points, but none of our players can hold their heads up and say they played well, none.

sttotteringhamwillarrivesoon

We played like a man down when we were a man down (WBA)… and played like a man down against an opposing team with a man down today… looks like it’s best there’s no sending off either way in any game we are playing till the end of season…

Runcorn Gooner

Sir Alex Red Nose will be as confused with the tactics as we are without Giroud playing.Could be very interesting.

Doctor Satan

Remember when Mertesaker got a red a few matches ago and we defended the rest of the match? I think Arsenal thought Fulham would do the same. Unfortunately, they didn’t.

last-arse

Kos, BFG, Monreal, Chesney will most definately have a say to that. Wonder which game you watched that the defenders must have conceded!

poldzorla

it just seems like we played with no communication or understanding and lets be honest, this is not the first time we’ve seen arsenal play like that. in fact its been a bit of a recurring theme for the past few years. why aren’t our players properly motivated? either the manager isn’t doing his job, or the players aren’t buying in to our philosophy. like you said, at this stage it is all about the 3 points, but, how far is a team that really struggles against 10-man fulham from winning the league/cups? also, i thought podolski was really poor… Read more »

Big Chief from Antarctica

I’d add Walcott or rather the midfield to that. I don’t blame him to much the last few games, Everton and Fulham pretty much parking the bus. But there were moments where Fulham were caught in their counter attack. I would put partly the blame on the midfield. Possession is all fine yet Walcott thrives in open spaces.

With 0-1 score you’ve got to takes some chances as it is a slender lead.

prinzgologne

wie kann man ein urteil abgeben,wenn man nur 20 minuten auf dem platz steht?? alleine diese zeit die poldi spielte,konnte man sehen das er einer ist der mit kopf spielt,und hätte man ihn länger spielen lassen,bin ich von überzeugt.!!das er ein tor gemacht hätte.aber A.W ist halt der boss.

feygooner

I don’t understand, you’re replying to someone’s comment and are on an English site, so why are you writing in German?

Aero

They were poor but so were our other offensive players. Cazorla was a ghost! Yet he gets little flack because it is hard to crticise a player who is lerhaps our best player. The point I am trying to make is, is that the TEAM played poor offensively our defense saved our day both in attack and at the back. So there is nothing to be gained from highlighting individual players’ performances. Here is an example to back that up. Robin Van Persie was lur standout player last season, we hardly crticised him because he played so well but we… Read more »

Bkamp4ever

Nauseating in the extreme,I almost puked in the end watching this match.Absolute shit performance in attack,and to some extent in defence if not for per and kos rescuing us with last ditch tackles.why are we trying to get a top 4 position when we can’t play with the right attitude against 10 men for 80 mins.what sort of hope does this team have of competing in the champions league?And where is that imposter in the ref’s uniform coming from?yellow for arteta when it was a blatant dive,fk against us when the linesman(woman) correctly had flagged for offside in the buildup,and… Read more »

Norn Iron Gooner

China’s on the phone, they want their wall back..

Devil

May be cause its third game in the week. Shouldn’t be an excuse still. Could see so many tired legs out there.

Bunburyist

Didn’t Fulham play on Wednesday?

Aero

Though the intesity of our game on Wednesday might have been A factor but not the main reason. Worth noting that Everton lost. Also the guy that has made us tick lately Rosicky was not 100% and others that play in his position have not been able to be as effective. Oh well we won. Ill take it.

last-arse

The end justifies the means! Three points we wanted three points we got! Though it wouldn’t hurt if we played better especially against ten men!

Devil

Don’t agree with you.

Devil

About end justifies means. It never does.

Devil's advocate

SSSHHHH….you’re in enough trouble as it is.

prinzgologne

thema 10 mann !? jeder fussballer weis,das es schwerer ist gegen 10 spieler,warum ? das wird wohl für immer ein rätsel bleiben.

walter the goon

Giroud is a donkey…I’m glad he’s out for the MUFC game

Parisian Weetabix

I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a metaphor. Giroud certainly does a very unselfish and difficult physical job for this team, just like a donkey. But he’s a very intelligent footballer, and the red card was just a moment of stupidity from him. He’s very much underrated. He could undoubtedly be better, but I’m very happy with what we’ve got for the moment.

Jagger

The problem as I see it is that if you have a target man such as Giroud, you want to have people from midfield running past him or moving about close to him. Giroud usually has 2 central defenders and a defensive midfielder to cope with and inevitably looses possession when there is only 1 possible pass to play. He needs more options. Wenger still needs to figure out the balance of the attack I think.

Parisian Weetabix

That’s exactly the problem. His movement is intelligent enough to make space, yet no-one fills it. His knock-downs are consistent, yet often there’s no-one to knock it to. It’s unfair to ask him to do it all on his own, but so far he has done a very good job.

Segovia

The problem, as you describe it, is that he’s a bit lost at Arsenal really, and should be looking for a club like….Stoke!

It’d be a double-fit, since on today’s evidence he’s also definitely Not that kind of player 😉

Jagger

Segovia, I am not talking about long ball tactics. Giroud is a pivot for the team, in long balls or on the ground. For that pivot to be effective you need multiple options around him, which we are not getting. This is particularly important when teams park the bus as Giroud can hold up the ball, diverting attention away from runners and creating space for team mates. His lay offs are good but no one runs onto them. Also, whenever a cross comes in, it is only Giroud in the box and no one else to pick up the pieces.

Anon

Donkeys can’t score 15 goals in their first season in England?

Johnnnycakes

I taught it was 11 goals,ah but stats aren’t everything look at theo pure poo today.

Bonjour

This! Can we please stop quoting statistics, the United States has almost infinite technological capacities but look at the quagmire in Iraq/Afghanistan. While Giroud does contribute defensively/in build-up play it’s worrying how little he’s scoring precisely because – and there’s no “statistic” for this – he’s often the only one in the box. Walcott on the other hand, our “top scorer statistically”, has completely disappeared since his new contract. Is it because every single team has parked the bus and played to Walcott’s weaknesses, and that all of the 18 goals he scored before were counterattacks? I don’t think so!… Read more »

Anon

15 in all English competitions. People seem to think “Season in England” means Premier League only. The FA Cup and the Capital One Cup are all based and played in England unlike the Champions League. If we tally up all competitions it would be 17 goals and 13 assists. Not sure if last week’s goal against Norwich counts but yeah.

A Yank

Dunno… bet the leading scoring in the Donkey Premier League has more than 15 goals any given year. Although, you might be right in that it takes a season for the donkey to acclimate to England.

Anon

Very poor trolling attempt. 2/10 got me to reply.

catbiscuits

Pretty close to the mark, sadly.

Would do well at West Ham.

Joey Sixpack

Support the motherfreaking players!! He’s just off form..

moobs

Agree. I can deal with poor form from a player as long as he puts a shift in, like when Giroud and Ramsey have a hard time.

It’s when players seem to shirk responsibility and try and stay out of the game because the team’s playing badly I get pissed off at them. ie. Theo.

Joey Sixpack

Yeah, whatever happened to Theo? He’s been anonymous since that big new pay check 0_o

GaryFootscrayAustralia

Giroud = scored more goals than Adebayor this season. Much less of a cunt as well.

A Yank

Yeah, I’m like 2 behind Adebayor and my ass never leaves the couch on match day (not to mention said ass is 2500 miles from England). Measuring Giroud by the chances he’s had and how many of those he’s converted, the most optimistic way to put it is to say that he has plenty of room for improvement.

Less positive would simply be to call him a better-looking Bendtner.

GaryFootscrayAustralia

Unlike Bendtner, Giroud looks like he actually gives a shit when he misses.

A Yank

Look when you’re TGSTEL, you don’t miss. If the ball fails to go in the net, that’s not your fault and something you shouldn’t bother concerning yourself with.

GaryFootscrayAustralia

I will concede that TGSTEL’s undies are worth more to sponsors than Giorud’s…until Olivier gets his Vogue contract, anyways

Johnnnycakes

The ultimate insult being compared to a lazy money grabbing whore.

Good-Bloke

Some of the cunts that support this club are only turning on Giroud because of Ramsey’s upturn in form. These people are cunts of the highest order who simply have to pick on somebody, to make themselves feel relevant, even if it is one of their own.

Giroud is never going to be the best player in the world, but he will run through brick walls trying, trying same as Ramsey does.

Some of these bitchy fans wouldn’t know a decent player if one kicked them in their menstruating cunts!

Jim Jimminy

That was atrocious

Jim Jimminy

Although i’m glad we won.

Arsenal never do things the easy way do they.

I hate feminism

All that matters is we got the 3 points… but sadly that only-one-half spirit reared its ugly face. Today it was the first half

D

Well that was almost disgraceful from the Arsenal today, so, so, poor. 3 points in the bag however, bring on tomorrow and some big fat cigars.
We have to play better than that though.

Devil

Agree the worst game, I’ve ever seen from us. Boring boring Arsenal. Today I know how Stoke fans must feel every week.

Anon

Except Stoke fans get so bored at their own football they decide to turn into orcs so they can keep supporting.

Hassen54

I wonder who gnna play upfront now ?? Surely this podolski chance to play upfront ?

Vino

Aaaaaand it’s Gervinho. Bets in now, dead cert.

gooner

Poldi. But i’ld go with Gervinho ahead of theo.

Parisian Weetabix

Nice to see our creative players combine for the goal. You just can’t allow Per Mertesacker time and space in the box like that.

SB

Now waiting for one of the results to go for us tomorrow

Segovia

Oh well. I hope thats the last we see of Giroud then.

Parisian Weetabix

I think this may be the last we see of your comment.

Segovia

wohoo!

£oyalty for $ale

Theodore James Walcott, where art though???

£oyalty for $ale

Theodore James Walcott, where art thou?

Theodore James Walcott

I’m here! Hiding behind the Fulham defenders! Is it over? can I come out now?

Bunburyist

He’s been very poor for a while now, even before his injury, but it should also be clear that he’s not the player you want in a 11 v 10 game because the opposition will park the bus. Walcott has no skills to break down a stubborn defense. He’s only useful in games where there’s space.

leroy

i’d rather see the ox come on for theo. just like bunburyist said, we needed someone who could run at their defense and create something. in the end, we got lucky.

diefenbaker

But the oppo didnt park the bus…damm we made 10men Fulham look good.

GUN

Other than some decent free kicks, he was uselss

paddymac

A lot of players went missing today. I didn’t really see Podolski have a touch since he came on. That game was crying out of the Ox. Hell, at one point I was wondering if Gervinho could’ve made an impact. That’s when I realised I was really clutching at straws…

paddymac

*crying out for the Ox

argonaut

Agree with you on Gervinho. I’m not saying he would have scored but a tired challenge on him making a mazey/headless-chicken run in their box could have won us a penalty.

Fatgooner

Counting his 100k a week

GossipGooner

maybe our attackers need a tip on attacking from our CBs

Chair

Shameful display, SHAMEFUL.
We didn’t deserve 1 point from the game, let alone 3 and sure as hell don’t deserve CL by playing like this.
It looked like we were the team that had 10 men for the majority of the match and not the other way around.
Sometimes soon our luck will dry up and then it won’t be a pretty sight.

Bonjour

I’ve never been in such a state of anger at an Arsenal victory. I’m sorry, I cannot see how anyone could be “happy that we won”. No satisfaction whatsoever and I’m not watching MOTD tonight either. Running away from a shit corner before the goalie catches it. Space forward but first instinct go back. Nobody except Giroud in the final third, content to pass sideways and backwards. Wasting time at 1-0 in the 50th minute when we chastise other teams for doing so. Walcott doing fuck all- I ran more in 5-a-side yesterday carrying a meniscus injury. Sian Massey saving… Read more »

Jim Jimminy

Bad as it was, It was one game. Calm down. we didn’t lose and we deserve to be where we are after the last few weeks.

Chair

One game? What, you just started watching today? Against WBA I felt we played poorly, sure, we “controlled” the game (whatever that means) but it should easily be 4 or 5-0 at half time. And then the red card came and we were basically riding our luck because it was amazing how west brom didn’t manage to score against us (I’ll come back to that game later). Then Norwich. Which was probably the most awful game I watched in the last 5 years. They went defensively (and they have every right to do that) and we basically didn’t manage to… Read more »

Rufusstan

Of course you can look at it that we were 2-1 away and down to 10 men at West Brom, having to survive 30 minutes. Apparently what is resolute defending to most teams is lucky if it is Arsenal. Norwich, we played badly, but went behind to a free kick that never was, score 3 goals in 8 minutes and apparently that is luck as well. We play Everton who are set up to disrupt us by breaking up our game and kicking us as much as the ref will allow (which is apparently a lot). We play badly and… Read more »

Chair

We’re not a bad side, we’re a COMPLACENT side at the moment. No urgency, no flair, no heart from some players in the team (of course there are a few exceptions) couple that with some out of from players and we have what we have. I constantly get the feeling that they are not playing 100%, that they underestimate lower placed teams and we know in what happened in the past under those circumstances. It’s not playing bad that hurts, it’s the indifference that gets me. Today we could’ve pushed fulham until they eventually cracked and put them to the… Read more »

Bobbo

A win is a win. Would you rather we look good but lose? I’ll take 3 points however they happen.

Chair

No, I wouldn’t rather that we lose. But that doesn’t mean that if we win that I have to close my eyes, cover my ears and yell ALL IS WELL WE GOT 3 POINTS WE’RE THE BEST.

Jim Jimminy

Who is doing that? Almost every comment on here is acknowledging how bad we were today. But it’s the result that counts. And we won.

Chair

Then why do we have this conversation? Yes we got 3 points but we were awful. Against better teams with 11 men this kind of performance won’t stand.
Although I forgot to mention that our defense deserves a lot of credit. My issues are mostly with the attacking aspect of our game (if that wasn’t obvious).

Rambo's jungle knife

Chill man…..Lay off the nicotine as well you’re getting way too jittery. Enjoy the game and the win my friend.

QWERTY

Excellent name by the way 🙂

Aero

Shameful it may be but the teams ahead of us have probably had more shameful performances than Arsenal yet I suspect they are more oblivious to poor performances. I guess it is more annoying when there is no real reward at the end of it but my opinion is that we should revel in that we managed to get the three points at the end of it. There have been countless times over the last 8 seasons where we would have dropped points in this kind of game and I am glad that we have begun to buck this trend.… Read more »

Chair

Well yes of course you need to win “ugly” from time to time. What worries me is that we had 4 of those “ugly” games in a row. And you can’t always win “ugly”.

Kolololo

13th minute of the match:
Arteta: ‘Hey guys, Sidwell got a red card. I think the game will win itself now!’
(almost) Everybody: ‘You’re right! Let’s do nothing!’
Rosicky: ‘C’mon guys you can’t be serious!’
(almost) Everybody: ‘Shut up Tomas!’

Bould couple minutes before half-time: ‘If you don’t get grip of yourselves I will kill your mothers!’
Per: *GULP!*

True story.

Parisian Weetabix

I agree. There was something very wrong with our balance today.

Fluffy

A win is a win! Scrappy as hell, but 3 points nonetheless!

Bonjour

Felt like a defeat for football today. It was a win, but it was an accidental win where 22 players on the pitch tried to make Fulham win, but we won instead. The lack of attacking effort was ridiculous.

Vino

They looked so nervous second half. Always get angry when I see people who get paid £50,000 a week do something that I would be annoyed with myself doing. Like pass the ball out of play, or float a nice easy cross for their keeper to claim. Difficult to watch this team these days, it’s really never a pleasure anymore. The quality has gone but more importantly the strong winning mentality has looong gone with it.

Bonjour

Pass the ball out of play or play a shit cross, well unlucky, maybe just on poor form. But being content to pass the ball from an attacking position all the way back to the centre halves, then lose it creating a massive opportunity for Fulham only to be saved by Sian Massey? What the fuck was wrong with the players today? Why not i) shoot; ii) cross; iii) make an off-the-ball run?

Bonjour

And that’s what I mean when I say 22 players contrived to make Fulham win. Not that I wanted Fulham to win, but today was an example of abject tactical idiocy, playing straight into Fulham’s hands from the 10-minute red card onwards, and doing nothing to change it, whether through a lack of leadership or what I don’t know.

that guy

Per-fection at its best

GUN

This match reminded me of Arsenal in the 1st half of the season. Lot of back passes. Keeping the ball but not creating enough chances.
But a win is a win. Happy that we took all three points

ckmma

Thats probably the one of the worst wins ive ever seen, poor passing, almost no shots, terrible crossing and set pieces, just got lucky in the end, my heart stopped when the shot got offside just, otherwise this would be a draw. Think Cazorla and Walcott went missing, everyone else just played with the hand break full on, definitely need to improve 10 fold for next week.

Bobbo

I thought Cazorla was a bit off the pace too. He put in a shift, but nothing was coming off for him. But I’ll take the 3 points.

bitcplease

The game was lacking proper wingers, Walcott useless he keep drifting in the middle…Giroud played poor game…hope man U won’t punish us but Wenger need to play real singers!!

Susan boyle

Real singers ? I’m I in the short list ?

Arsene Wenger

I am sixteen years in this job and I do not know what these ‘singers’ you speak of are.

GaryFootscrayAustralia

Arsene, that’s because Dick Law hasn’t yet found a “Super, super quality” singer.

Ozziegun

Phew!

Santi Claws

Well fuck me sideways

Penis

That was some ugly shit.

Lec

Ah you’re such a penis you!

xxxrob

Seriously losing weight this season.. Amount of times I’ve shit myself the last few weeks is better than any diet haha

bitcplease

I meant Wingers!!

GunnerMan

You mean Arsene’s Wingers

boilk

My dear heart!!! 3 Points is so hard for this team, hum. Who will replace HFM upfront against MU?

Eric Irish gunner

Fuck me, Arsenal will give me heart attack, we made hard work of that but it’s three points and we now need city and mug smashers to win

argonaut

Did Podolski even touch the ball?

poldzorla

he did, and turned it over to fulham 98.73% of those touches

prinzgologne

wenn du tod bist weist du nicht ob du tod bist,nur für die anderen ist es schwer,genau so ist es wenn man blöd ist.
google translater

HRH Queen Elizabeth II

Naturlich.

Rad Carrot

Jesus, that was close. 3 points is far more important than playing well and getting a draw, though.

We were lucky today, but we’ve been unlucky in the past so maybe we were due some luck. Fulham were the better team by far, but that doesn’t matter at the final whistle.

Improvements and changes will have to be made against the salford lot, but that can wait. I’m going to go frolic in the sun with two bottles of cheap red to try and calm my heart down.

PGunner

Only caught the second half – fucking load of shit. Lucky to escape with the win. Still, another three in the bank and the feeling of relief just about overrides the feeling of being pissed off with a terrible performance.

We will have to up the level considerably to secure top 4!

Jin

sagna’s blocked again

GaryFootscrayAustralia

Match Fact: The Arsenal comfortably repel a couple of half – arsed Fulham counter attacks. Rosicky overhits a through ball which Walcott wisely doesn’t bother chasing. The ball rolls through to Schwarzer. T’Inernet Commentaor Interpretation: Arsenal are REALLY TOILING NOW!!! Match Fact: The Arsenal comfortably keep possession during a lull in the second half. Fulham appear not too bothered about pressing the ball, or much else. T’Internet Commentator Interpretation: If Fulham were to score now, Arsenal would ONLY HAVE THEMSELVES TO BLAME!!! Seems the mug on the mic had to dumb himself down to account for the loss of Tony… Read more »

Rambo's jungle knife

I share your observations mate. I arrived home during the second half and upon hearing the commentators, i thought that Arsenal were trailing with all the negativity. Relieved to see the score showed otherwise….

Jin

sagna’s cross blocked again

Arteta's Hair Gel

Yeah. Sagna hasn’t been crossing well for months now. It’s not even like he’s properly trying.
I simply don’t understand.

k

Theo looks lost on the wing. Now he has a chance to play striker

Josh

Such a horrible performance. Pleased about getting the win though.

amusa

Pheeeeew!!

Micko

It’s 3 points and back in third
UP THE ARSE
The 3 points is all that matters at the moment

paddymac

That was worse than a visit to the dentist.

GaryFootscrayAustralia

I don’t ever remember coming back form the dentist with three league points up my sleeve, only lollipops.

paddymac

Metaphors are lost on you, clearly.

GaryFootscrayAustralia

Unlike the points. Or the lollipops.

GaryFootscrayAustralia

I don’t ever remember coming back from the dentist with three league points up my sleeve, only lollipops.

Goon

The lack of shots on goal is worrying. Our players need to take a shot more often. We have tough games coming up. It’s going to be a real test for the attack with Giroud not available. We are really going to miss him. His sending off was harsh, I can’t remember him even getting a warning. He went for the ball and was unlucky his foot rolled over it. I’ll say it again, Walcott was and is useless. A total waste of 100,000, or whatever he’s on, a week. How Gervinho and Ox aren’t above him in the pecking… Read more »

paddymac

And yet, Theo will probably get a chance up front against MU. *shudder*

Oregon Gooner

What a fugly 3 points.

A blessing in disguise, barring everyone stays fit, that giroud is suspended and maybe just maybe arsene can try podolski up front? But knowing him it’ll probably be waclott or gervinho.

Pretty abject defending today but luck was on our side. We’ll need to be much sharper and disciplined for
next week. The thought of the dutch skunk claiming the title with those other cunts at the Emirates makes me want to yack. Fuck.

sid_11

Hope Podolski starts as CF next match.

MoZilla

walnut was missing again .. keep leaving his position ! whats it gotta take to get the walcot that we all knew back to his normal form… he used to make killer runs and drifts from the flanks ..i doubt wenger is gnna bench him for the united game i would rather have a commited winger such Ox than that peanut.

Bucks

I was screaming for Ox when Walcott started hiding again and tucking in when we obviously needed men on the wing. Strikers and some genuine wide players this summer AW, please.

Speaking of strikers, what are we going to do with Giroud out of the side for 3 games? Walcott has to convince me playing central and Podolski can’t play the full 90 due to injury.

bacary's right leg

I have seen man u play worse and win so I cant see why everyone is moaning. Just be happy the run is still going.

Axel

Aaron Ramsey made 129 passes against Fulham – 88% were accurate and 52% went forwards

Leon

Guess what? Despite those stats, he played shit that game. And before sympathic Ramsey fans neg me, so did Cazorla, Rosicky, Giroud and most of the team!!!

Fed Up

Still shaking

Arsenal Fotball Club seriously owe all of us Gooners a health insurance!! I could barely breath in the last minutes of the game!

Mooro

I know 3 pts is what counts but fuck me we make life difficult.

Being stuck in the Fulham end hasn’t helped today having to keep schtum all match.

Some crucial headers at the end by Sagna from their crosses and Giroud’s red caused by his total inability to control the ball all game.

Trevor

All that matters at the end of today; 3 points.

But though we have great momentum in terms of results we are hanging on in every match and seem to lack confidence in our own ability. We are limping to the line rather than sprinting. I hope it’s enough.

forfuckssake

Maybe time for Gnabry to be at least on the bench. He has scored some stunning goals this season and has more nous than Gerv.

Bergkamp as manager

Podolski, gervinho and the ox must start against man u.

gibbs's ears

Arsenal fans celebrating Giroud’s sending of makes me sick. He’s our only target man and he performs other duties as well, who’ll do his dirty work now? I hate picking on players but Theo didn’t seem to know/care what position he’s supposed to be in and Poldi was invisible again. We need Giroud at least on the bench for another option.

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