Here’s the Guff from the media, blogs and beyond about last night’s 2-2 draw with Swansea.
I don’t buy the line that the title was lost tonight. The Premier League was surrendered on Saturday, and tamely so. What tonight has done has thrown into some doubt even the prospect of a top four berth and a Champions League qualifier in August. Manchester City at home and Everton away in the next two fixtures represent a challenge that must be met head on. – Goonerholic.
The main thing that has sustained Arsenal throughout the assorted pitfalls of their season has been the ability to beat the teams that they ought to be beating, namely those in the bottom half of the table. Not here and, as the dust settled, Wenger was more concerned with the threat to his club’s top-four ambitions from Everton. – Guardian.
It was apparent in the way they played that they were low on both confidence and belief, and although intangible qualities, they’re crucial for any team. Arsenal are really struggling right now; the footballing equivalent of a Walkman running out of batteries (look it up kids!), the sound slowing and distorting until it just stops and chews up your favourite compilation tape (it’s like a playlist!). – Some bloke, ESPN.
Finally, re the boos that rang out and the general sense of disappointment. To me this all comes down to the gulf between how the club behaves on ticket prices and how it behaves in the transfer market. People rightly wonder how we can be asked to pay top, top whack and yet try to get through the season with just one genuine option up front. – Goodplaya.
This lack of squad depth meant that Wenger was powerless to jolt his team on Tuesday night with a significant overhaul in response to the Chelsea mauling. One change was forced upon him, with Laurent Koscielny now sidelined indefinitely from the centre of Arsenal’s defence. Thomas Vermaelen might be a replacement of international stature but the absence of wider options was underlined by the inclusion on the bench of Héctor Bellerín, a 19-year-old former product of the Barcelona academy. – Telegraph.
The subsequent anger of the visiting players ended a night of slow frustration and occasional drama, in which Arsenal played dismally for the first 73 minutes, trailing 1-0 to Swansea, who played a nearly perfect game for more than hour. The weekend defeat at Stamford Bridge seemed to have sapped the Arsenal players and fans. – Independent.
Follow the links for more post-game reading.
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Let’s just get this season over, I’d take fourth place and butterflies on cup final day now
I don’t want the season over then have to wait 3 months for Arsenal to play again. Even when they don’t know what the fuck they are doing on the pitch I still watch them, my dream is to see them live (Im 20 and in Australia).
We got lots to look forward to! FA CUP, watching Chelsea bottle it and a top 4 race!
Did anyone read or hear Paul Scholes last night talking about us.I can’t disagree with anything he says,now if you’ll excuse me I’m going for a cry and maybe a wank!
Over Paul Scholes? Surely things can’t be that bad…
A cry and a wank = a crank!
Paul Scholes’ comments, while not entirely inaccurate, smack of bitterness and him deflecting attention from Man Utd on to us. For me, his opinion of Arsenal is irrelevant. I’m sure AW, the squad and most sane people have a reasonable idea of what’s going wrong – we sure as fuck don’t need an ex-Utd player sticking the boot in as well.
Fourth place isn’t good enough, even with a cup win
if you think fourth place is good enough for us then you must mistakenly think we’re sp*rs
Had to agree with what scholes said too on sky, players just go missing (carzorla, rosicky, arteta, giroud etc) and it shouldn’t be a surprise, its been like this for years now.
When they scored their first goal I had flash backs of the manure v fulham game old trafford a few weeks ago. It turned out to be literally the exact same game. One nil at ten minutes. The home side come back around the 70′ min in less then 100 seconds. And the away side equalise at the very end.
But anyways. Moving on.
I too agree with what scholes was saying tho I found that ugly cunt nevilles laugjing and smirks got me real pissed off.
To be fair I think Paul Scholes’ criticism of Arsenal came from ‘nostalgia’ rather than ‘smirkiness’.
Just as he laments the fall of Manchester United, I think he also feels disappointment in how Arsenal – with whom Man Utd shared a Premier League duopoly for a decade – has spectacularly fallen off its perch too.
Scuse the spelling
lose to city but win everything else – which is highly likely given the opposition, and we finish the league on 81 points. tantalisingly close, but be honest, in august we’d have called this massive progress – to be involved in the league to the end. and nailed on favourites for wengers 5th fa cup? massive improvement on seasons past. last nite wasn’t surprising given the little rest time between chelsea and then, with so many injuries to key players. the questions that need to be asked are how we went into the three humiliating games and played so poorly,… Read more »
I watched how Manchester City played yesterday ( our game wasnt availaible where I am) and my heart broke. Supreme confidence in themselves and their ability to win. I just cant see us playing well enough to beat them this weekend. Wenger’s strategy is the perfect example of Einstein’s definition of insanity. He wants different results from the same things. Squad too small, players exhuasted (Giroud, nevermind his quality issues) and doesn’t have the ability to motivate them when it counts. I just pray we have enough to get that FA Cup trophy, so he may leave with some pride.
Anyone notice, that AS the FANS Sang, “ARSENAL.. ARSENAAAAAAAL FC….”
We scored two goals!
Help the team get out of this rut. Booing is fucking ridiculous.
Have to say that with our limited options and how on City are at the moment, I’m nervous that this fixture could get ugly. Ffs I hope not. COYG!
I know the game against Shitty is lost already, I just don’t know the scoreline. Only an insanely positive arsenal fan will expect a “draw”. I want to be that fan but its so hard right now.
I’ll settle for finishing above Spurs and I won’t be too upset if its only 5th. At least that would force change on the club.
That ESPN report was written in a familiar style… Hmmm…
Some bloke, haha. The new trend seems to be naming oneself “Some bloke”.
You know, I’d take another 2 seasons of Wenger plus sone spending freedom. I wonder if that would be long enough to coax Martinez from Everton? What a decent chap he is.
Half the first choice outfield players injured (Ozil, Walcott, Ramsey, Wilshere and Koscielny) I don’t think many squads would look deep under those circumstances
So how many times do other quality squads have 5 regulars missing from an important match? Hardly happens with Manure, Chelski, Man Sh#$ty or Pool, so why does it happen to the Gunners? I think (as we have all harped on before) it has to do with the types of players Wenger signs and the physio team. Small technical, brittle players. He knows this happens every year, yet he does nothing about it. This season he signs one injured player in January who takes 2 months to get on the field for us. What a joke we have become. Broken… Read more »
COYG!
There’s still plenty to fight for!
We were in such a luxurious position throughout this season. An absolute glut of attacking midfield options…most out injured now.
I’m optimistic though. D’you think top 3 and the FA cup trophy is doable? I’d consider that a successful and respectable finish to the season.
One way or another we need some points out of the next two matches and Pool to drop some, obviously. They are yet to play City and Chelsea. It’s possible but the team needs its confidence back in a hurry, and good news on returning from injuries would help that a lot.
I’m guessing most would’ve readily accepted that at the start of the season.
I remember when my old Walkman would run out of batteries. I would take them out rub them together for a bit and using all my focus and determination a splash of voodoo and simply will them to work again to get me home.
Worked everytime
Good playa hits it spot on. You can’t continue to charge those prices and put out a team with Giroud as it’s only real CF option. This season we’ve definitely overachieved, win the FA cup and secure 4th would be seen as an improvement. But let’s be frank we have been absolutely lucky with the FA cup ties (Chelsea and City drawing each other and City doing their best Nasri impression and bottling against “smaller” Wigan) and the general feeling amongst fans is we’re still way off pace from the top teams. It absolutely feels like last summer all over… Read more »
I completely disagree with your saying that we have been extremely ‘lucky’ with the FA Cup Draw…. We have beaten the LWC’s (who were supposedly ready to knock us off from the elite four and challenge for the title according to the pundits in august), Liverpool (who the media are having wet dreams about presently and are ‘title contenders’) and Everton ( who are the new challengers to our top four spot)… Now that is anything but lucky if you ask me…We have done the hardwork to get to the semis and the draw has not been kind to us… Read more »
This whole lack of squad depth thing is a myth. We are comparable in numbers to City and but for attack, comparable in quality : 1) Aguero – ????? 2) Negredo – Giroud 3) Dzeko – Sanogo/Bendtner 4) Jovetic – Podolski 5) Silva – Ozil 6) Navas – Santi 7) Nasri – Walcott 8) Milner – Ox 9) Rodwell – Jack 10) Fernandhino – Ramsey 11) Toure – Arteta 12) Garcia – Flamini 13) Boyata – Rosicky 14) ????? – Kallstrom 15) ????? – Gnabry 16) Kholorov – Gibbs 17) Clichy – Monreal 18) Zabaleta – Sagna 19) Richards –… Read more »