A valiant kind of effort in Munich tonight, in difficult circumstances we came away with a draw.
Still not enough to get us through, but hey-ho. Here’s how the players rated, and remember, you can add your own ratings and comments.
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Thursday, December 19, 2024
Certainly the best second half of another team than Munich at their home ground for some months. Wenger did not seem very amused, though. He just fooled a reporter on German television by answering (German) questions in English, even though he is known to speak the latter LESS fluently. Pretty akward moment, when two people talk with each other in two different languages.
But then again, we know that Wenger just loves making fun of the media.
CITY are out of the fa cup.
So we will likely win it but the lack of penalty takers in our team is concerning.
Every one in the team should perfect their penalty kick.
Including Fabianski.
…speaking of the FA Cup…
As a Giroud fan it pains me to state that he could have been replaced by a cardboard cut out for the game with no one the wiser
Except the cardboard cutout would likely not go down grabbing an ankle whining to the ref… or take a shot and grab its’ face (forgetting the game is still going on around it).
Except the cardboard cutout wouldn’t be able to take a shot but otherwise fair point
and admittedly the offside situation would return to the days of Adebayor
It was only when I looked at the match ratings now that I realised he was actually playing. We really need to invest in a striker with a little more energy and pace.
Right…I guess now is as good a time as any to assess our options.
We’re not getting Cavani, Falcao, or Suarez since others will offer him more money. Benzema looks invigorated and will probably not be sold now (but if Real get Suarez you never know). I personally wouldn’t want Balotelli on the team.
Unless I didn’t completely miss someone, that leaves us with Christian Benteke and Loic Remy. I would be happy with either one, but personally I would prefer Benteke since he is younger and is an Arsenal fan.
Just my two cents though…
*did completely miss someone
Balotelli would be most amusing though. I’d take him.
Sounds like you’ll get Morata instead, however.
Chelsea can’t buy all of Cavani, Falcao, or Costa, so we might get one of them though, maybe… Wages for all of them will be obscene though, so maybe not.
Giroud was lousy tonight. If he looked like Ribery people would be calling for his head.
Mandzukic *may* be available due to them going for Lewandowski. I feel our options will be limited to Benzema, Benteke, Remy and Mandzukic. Linked with Moratta too. Costa may be worth trying for but if Lose wants him, he will get him.
Other than Moratta (about whom I don’t know enough), all the strikers will be significant improvements on Giroud. A striker with pace can make our team deadly on the counters unlike Giroud who looks dead. They are better finishers too.
There may, in fact, be more than the 6 strikers mentioned in the entire world.
Ballotelli is not so bad. He is getting older, and less childish every day. Benteke would be good to, cant be long until he is picked up by a bigger club. But i also doubt Wenger will be willing to pay what it costs to bring Cavani, Falcao or Costa to the club, so they are not realistic targets. We also have Martinez from Porto whom seems to be on fire and is sure to get some suitors. He came in and filled the shoes of Hulk and Falcao before him scoring Even more goals than his predecessors. So maybe… Read more »
The “realistic” (because Costa will definitely go to Chelsea) and favoured options, IMO, are Falcao, Morata, Benzema, Mandzukic, Balotelli, Benteke or Remy. Personally, I don’t see why we wouldn’t take two of them. Falcao would likely be too pricey but if we stumped up 30m for Benzema/Mandzukic and £10m for Remy, we’d have a cracking strike force and a genuine chance for trophies. Personally, I’d say Morata would be a good investment for the future (but maybe not ready right now? I don’t know much about him) but I’d stay away from Benteke and Balotelli; the first isn’t good enough… Read more »
Or, getting our first shot on target
I hate Robben. He is such a despicable footballer.
It must be horrible being Robben, every time the wind blows being thrown to the ground, against buildings, in the road must be horrific
Yes, especially when crossing the road with cars whizzing past. Very dangerous.
this car would swerve to make sure at least one tire went over his bald head; U turns as needed to make sure all 4 tires had their say.
I think he has some sort of motorical disorder. He can’t even celebrate without diving: http://s3.amazonaws.com/br-cdn/temp_images/2013/11/30/fail.gif
He is certainly one of the most hated players in the Bundlesliga. Most people just have trouble to elect a “flop XI” when there are more than eleven Munich players..
Ozil need to show he cares. His body language is horrible when things are not going his way.
I just deleted my reply to you as it seemed harsh. Ozil does care and will be missed.
It is so ridiculous to me that this needs to be said of someone of the calibre of Ozil.
Not defending that guy’s comment, obviously Ozil cares. But ‘calibre’ has sweet f.a to do with criticism. They all deserve it if they’ve done something wrong. I think a lot of our fans think Ozil has been above it all season, even around xmas when he was poor..
I don’t fucking care if he ‘shows’ he care, heck, if he’s playing well I even don’t give a shit whether he actually cares or not. You know, players are not paid to care, but to play.
…..that’s called disappointment in himself at not reaching his own high standards. I prefer that over a sulking Gallas!!!!
and when did you study body language? ….was it a GCSE?
Yeah you’re right, its so much more important he looks like he cares, rather than playing football – ie doing his job.
Plus why do you think he looks bothered?! its because he cares you fucking idiot
Good reffing on the podolski goal. It was more of a mere touch than a sove. And robben is a cunt
Honestly, I can’t even believe there is a hint of debate over it. He laid his hand on his back, nothing more. If every player went down so easily the game would be as stop-start as American football. Javi Martinez, or Busquets II, should be equally chastised with Robben for his play acting. I feel embarrassed to say I’m a football fan in light of that sort of bullshit. They should be punished by a blow befitting their reaction once the game has finished. If this were the case they would still be picking bits of Martinez’ face off the… Read more »
Exactly
In my opinion, as an American, that game was nearly as stop-start as American Football…grade A fricken ridiculous if you ask me. Admittidly, Bayern’s tactics are brilliant. If you are going to lose possesion on a tackle, a 50/50 challenge; if you can’t tackle the player and win the ball or win on a 50/50…and there’s any contact or the appearance of contact… …FALL EARTHWARD AND EAT GRASS… the ref will stop the momentum of the opponent on the attack or the counter attack by calling a fluffly little foul most of the time thereby killing the flow of your… Read more »
Chamberlain.. What a beast! He’s gonna be instrumental in the last few games.
Interesting, I was going to give Robben’s diving a twat/10 or maybe a prick/10, and I know a lot of fellow readers would lean towards cunt/10, as well. But I can definitely appreciate your classic 9.9/10, of course.
Genuinely think if we hadn’t been arsefucked (excuse the language but for lack of a better word) by the ref in the first leg we wouldn’t have had to chase 2 goals in this leg, and I genuinely think we’re good enough to progress to the next round. Tough but we’ve got a good chance to win the FA Cup and we’re pretty securely in the champions league next season, much better chasing the title than chasing the top 4. We’ve progressed tremendously this season and hopes are high for the future.
I think we all appreciate such optimism, and I agree that there’s much to be happy about, but there’s still plenty left in this season to play for. You mentioned the FA Cup, but there’s no use in throwing away our chance at the league itself too. We also have to be careful to not get complacent, because top four is not quite yet a guarantee. As shit as Spurs are (and they really are pathetic), we have an extremely difficult run coming up and we can’t afford to be complacent. It hurts me to see talented guys like Ozil,… Read more »
Arsefucked by the ref is one way to look at it. Another is a missed pen in the first 15 minutes which if you take the butterfly effect into account, means odds are big man S wouldn’t have been sent off
Unlucky tonight! Feel Per deserved more then a 7, made soo many clearances, and that overhead kick…
The league and cup are still within our grasp! Let’s do this! COYG!!
Oxlade-Chamberlain ran his little legs off. Skill, drive and ambition, shots on target, he deserves a 9 for effort alone.
Mertesacker and Koscielny excellent again. Vermaelen reliable, really hope he stays.
Much better from Podolski. He worked hard and scored. Could have scored another.
I see the media have the knives out for Özil, but he was targeted by the Bayern players every time the ball went near him. Thoroughly unwarranted if he was less than 100%.
I thought Vermaelen absolutely excellent. We all know that, when not diving, GOMC likes to cut inside on his left and shoot. How many times did he manage it last night? Vermaelen consistently showed him outside and, apart from his other main skill of diving, he was largely ineffective. Excellent performance particularly as he’s only a stand in left back.
fabianski was brilliant!
i remember the match he took a back pass with his hands and now look how far he is…
thats the magic of arsene and we fans have to believe in our team!
i live in germany and have lots of friends who are dortmund fans! thats what you do call fans! they back up their players and watch the game the whole 90 min even when they are 3-0 down!
I feel embaressed when I see fans leaving the emirates after 80 minutes
I don’t ever leave matches early, but the reason people do it at the Emirates is to not have to queue an hour for the tube. They do it every match – even if we’re winning or it’s tight. Don’t get me wrong, it does annoy me and I don’t understand how people can pay so much money to support their team and then piss off before the match is over, but it isn’t just people being fickle, there is a practical reason behind it (reason, not excuse).
But they KNEW about the Tube situation after EVERY match, yet still chose to go instead of watch on the TV. Play to the whistle, stay to the whistle.
Well, yes. 80 mins at the ground is better than 90+ mins at home or in the pub on TV. I only go to 5-10 home games a season (and most of them category C and B), but because of that, I make a whole day of it, and stay in the ground as long as I can before stewards ask people to leave. Now it doesn’t matter as I live in Harringey and walk through Finsbury Park to the ground. But people who are season ticket holders, and spend their stagnant wages on increasing ticket prices, and go to… Read more »
Sign of the moderrn times in which we live I’m afraid! I used to attend a lot of games but don’t now because I got so fed up with so many ‘loyal supporters’ barging past others to get out and then standing right in front of people obstructing their view if something exciting happened. People try to do too much these days and just end up not enjoying or appreciiating anything. Sad but it’s part of our culture now e.g. when I was a kid and the Red Arrows were displaying, without exception everyone watched the whole display in absolute… Read more »
That back pass wasn’t entirely his fault. IIRC, Djouro or Squillaci knocked it back towards him while he was already running out of goal to attempt to sweep the ball and it just became a mess. If my memory is failing me, then sorry, carry on then. Nevertheless, he is much improved since when he first arrived.
It was Sol Campbell against Porto
So far I’ve only listened via Arsenal player, plan on watching the replay as soon as available. Sounded like he made a few great saves – he’s been fantastic every time he’s come on in the last 2 seasons. Too bad for us he’s most likely leaving. Really nice to have a 2nd keeper who can come on and not miss a beat.
I think the ox deserves a 10 he was our best player on the night by a long shot
Overall the starting lineup played well, can’t give too many positives about the subs. Ros was pretty good, but not at his best Gnabry made some bad decisions, but very forgivable considering the match; if he had made better choices we could’ve gotten a goal or two more though. Vermaelen looked top notch, considering; they definitely tried to attack down that side more than on Sagna’s. Cazorla did the job offensively and defensively as well. Loved Poldi’s finish and angry face! The Ox was fuckin great til he ran out of steam, deserved a goal. Giroud played his game, it’s… Read more »
Canola was at fault for the goal by not tracking back!
Sure but it is not his position. I think it was more Koscielny’s mistake who left his position to go to the righ while there were already too many Gunners on Ribery and no one at the centre.
The following GIF is that of Cazorla leaving 4 Bayern with there anus’ torn.
https://i.imgflip.com/7h0mr.gif
I watched the match on tape and stopped and watched that about 6 times
I’m surprised one or two didn’t flop to the ground acting as if Caz or Poldi had fouled them…pathetic.
NICE!!
How this guy didn’t get carded for one of many horrendous dives is beyond me
http://arsenalist.com/f/bayern-munich-vs-arsenal/robben-shows-chelsea-heritage-dives-again-he-can-t-stop-won-t-stop-gfy.html
Totally agree. I think the refs are just so used to it, they all just look at each other, shrug, and “Oh, there’s that Robben bloke, tripping over his own feet again. hahahaha.” Then some silent film piano ditty plays out til the freekick whistle is blown……
Hemorrhoids>Robben
Why didn’t Flamini make mash potato out of Robben’s head? 0/10 for that
Ref in the first leg: giant twat/10
John Hartson of the BBC: idiotic-idiot/10
Bald headed thug, Robben: no score… *Impossible to rate a guileless flying ogre*
Hey Hartson is an Arsenal leg-end!!
Harts on is someone who played for Arsenal many years ago for a brief time, having been bought by Graham as his last act in order to ensure no money was left in the kitty for his successor. He was really an immobile lump with very little skill. His subsequent illness and recovery were a great tribute to his toughness. But let’s not pretend he was ever any good or has any tremendous insight into the game worth listening to.
Agreed, hartson seems to have been indoctrinated into the media perception of Arsenal tonight. he is normally quite level headed about most things.
Maybe he is still a passionate Gooner deep down and it was his disappointment showing through, rather than a veering towards Robbie Savage ( spit ) stupidity and reactionism.
Twat puffin!? Ha ha
I hate Robben. He is such an odious goblin
Robben is a cunt. Can’t fault the lads, played very well and put in tons of effort. Like Blogs said, valiant display but not enough unfortunately. I really really hope Ozil isn’t out for too long. We need him at some point before Death Run 2 ends.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1rGbatibpo
Ribery and Robben are both terrible fucking divers, you should see this compilation, cheating fuckers!
Robben: i have been tackled…should i go down?…no i think i will stay up…..oh wait i hate being tackled….ep ep oh oh i will go down now. “Pwaaah on the floor”
“i shall now roll on the floor……”
Things really went downhill for the dutch after Bergkamp retired! Shower of cunts these days!
The Ox, absolutely brilliant. He looks like he’s going to be a big game player for us. AC Milan, Manchester United, Bayern. I’m sure I’ve missed some but you get my drift.
Robben, you are a disgrace.
Flamini definitely loses points for not kicking Robbens cunt in.
Missed opportunity/10 (Must try harder)
Chin up Gooners. Lads gave it there all today cannot fault the heart or effort today. Games like these just expose our weaknesses alot more. Giroud is a good player and i appreciate all the things he brings to the team…But we must spend big on a striker with pace that can change a game by himself. Giroud is the best and the worst of the team..When his combination play comes off we are unstoppable and have many highlight reel goals already this season. But his lack of pace hurts us big time, especially with no Theo. The amount of… Read more »
Well said…couldn’t have articulated the Arteta conundrum any better
Good at penalties though 🙂
I think you forgot to highlight on of our biggest problem this season, high pressing teams. We got absolutely nowhere most of the time, and we’ve had this problem with alot of teams that apply the same tactic. Now Bayern is another monster then the other teams, they constantly have 6-7 on the side with the ball and successfully takes it back more times then not. We just have no answer to it bar Oxlade runs, but even he had no alternativs after he beat 3-4 players. The entire season I’ve thought we had problems breaking down that first line… Read more »
Which is why Girouds lack of pace is even more evident against High pressing teams..Where you need the option of striker who can run in behind..This is not Girouds fault but Wengers for mot buying an alternative.
The OX gets a 10/10 for having the biggest balls on the pitch.
Vermaelen was very good as well considering his game time this season
Who else would like The Fab man to remain as Number 2 keeper..He has impressed me with his progress and all the times i have seen him the last 18 months or so he hasn’t let the team down.
Fabianski is actually too good to be a No. 2. So I guess we should understand that he wants to leave.
Yeah understandable but he will be missed.
Overall, we were just to weak to win against Bayern. But Per, Oxe & Poldi fought, especially on the 2nd half. Per was so good in tacles and reading the game. I do think that we also had a better 2nd half thanks to Tomy who gave a lot with his fighting spirit, his technic and his pace. Sure, it was not obvious, but hey, this is against Bayern. Fabianski showed that he could easily be #1 in an other team playing the Champions league. Giroud is a really good striker. But, in my opinion he’s just not good enough… Read more »
I was pretty critical of Poldi in the game against Stoke.
But Poldi showed today what he could offer. When he’s driven like he was today, and given space, he is a offensive threat. Reminds me of his performance against West Ham.
It’ll be good if he can be more consistent with that, especially with Ozil’s absence.
If Ozil is the equivalent of a surgical scalpel, Podolski is more akin to a baseball bat and I love him for that
That finish today was so juicy, PUNCHED IT RIGHT INTO THE ROOF OF THE NET
It looked like Neuer actually ducked the shot. haha! That bullet to the face would’ve smarted.
That bullish point to the fans right over Lahm’s head after he made Neuer soil himself was pure classic gold.
robben has no shame, here he is being asked about the blatant diving after the game: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=720048451351682
“I don’t like you asking that because I come under criticism”.
It’s a cultured cheating they practice.
10 out of 10 for diving old man cunt!
Giroud’s performance tonight was nothing short of pathetic! He never tried a leg, not ounce did I see him sprint to close down the opposition, he didn’t hold anything up, he didn’t flick anything on, he didn’t win any headers (apart from that tame header early on). How you gave him the 4.whatever is beyond me. His role is a target man, he hasn’t got it in his locker to be much else, and unfortunately for Arsenal, he hasn’t got the required heart to do that role in the right way. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not a bad player… Read more »
Sanogo is injured..Its not Girouds fault Wenger refuses to buy a striker that has pace which would give us multiple options and vary our attack. One thing you cannot question is Girouds Heart and effort..He was poor today i admit and he had me swearing at least 15 times but he would have been subbed…..If we had another striker -___-…Which we dont which is Wengers fault. I dont know why Wenger has forgotten that one of your strikers has to have blistering pace and the abillity to create something on their own if your going to win these kind of… Read more »
Just back from game and I can indeed confirm that Robbed is a cunt. Goodnight from Munich.
I like Serge Gnabry’s bravery with shots. He is more like Oxlade Chamberlin. but he needs to work on his accuracy. if he can sort that out we have a winner here. Will love to have a match with him and the Ox on opposite sides of the wings.
Who waits for the Tube in the cold anywau? Go to the Gunners Pub and have half a dozen while you wait. Problem solved.
People who have to go to work in the morning? People with kids?
Robben diving everywhere didn’t bother me too much since I knew it was coming. Now Javi Martinez falling over so many times and getting a foul every time drove me insane!!!!
Giroud is such a waste. From henry, bergkamp to eduardo, the flying dutchcunt and adeba-whore we’ve come to strikers like giroud. No pace, awful first touch and finishing. All the goals he’s scored are either tap-ins or from within the 8 yard box.
More Poldi. He only scores when he shoots.
Podolski had a shit first half, and good in the 2nd.
He can’t play 90 minutes?
A lot of times Giroud should be taken out instead of Poldi.
Sorry Blogs, but Podolski’s rating….
“Thumping goal, even if he did get a bit of luck with the foul”
Foul? What foul? I didn’t see a foul. Did anyone else see a foul?
I saw some cunt in a red shirt fall over.
But a foul? No waaaaay dude. 😉
1) Fabianski was fabulous. Sad to have to lose such an excellent back up keeper but can fault him given his new found qualities. 2) Ox was a potent weapon which unsettled Bayern at times but not sufficiently supported. I thought chucking on Gnabry was the right thing but wish we had both Ox and Gnabry to work the pace on the Bayern defense in tandem, particularly for the last 10 minutes when I thought we should have really pushed up a gear and gone for broke. 3) Podolski gets big marks for grabbing the game by the balls, knocking… Read more »
Chamberlin and podolski played outstandingly well. Such drive and determination is needed from the rest of the team
Unlucky gunners i really feel the team gave it stylishly to a strong bayern side, santi was gd cutting around mid defence & one touches so to was ox exciting skills with gd burst up & down the field bacary stood firm & was stretching wingers & gd defensive role pers solid performance gd headers out of area, kosc had to watch quick balls through middle frm bayern attack verminator was gd at marking arjen with pace 2, arteta gd closing down & passing poldi had to stretch abit to get back the ball but he scored glad goal was… Read more »
“Twatpuffin” excellent, whatever on of those is Arjen Robben definitely is one, I Hope to see “Twatpuffin” taking its deserved place in Vizs Profanisaurus soon.
Ox was majestic. The best player on the pitch.
Well done Fab and Verm too.
You tried lads and the result was enough to hold our heads high.
Wow we are gonna miss Fabianski! This guy is a monster. Loved the penalty save. Muller was walking up to the ball wondering how he would celebrate not where he would pit the ball. I would like to see Robben get headfirst inserted into Muller. That might wipe that smug look off of Muller’s face!
Honestly, I felt like some of our players, especially Giroud, felt like bitching to the referee instead of getting on with the play, which was awful to see. It got much better after the goal, there was much more belief and purpose to our play.
Well played lads, didn’t go through but played your hearts out and went out with your heads held high. Next target is tha FA cup, let’s shut up those f****** critics about our 9 years, and get that back in our trophy cabinet
Sign Chicarito and we will win premier league. He’s unsettled at Manu so getting a bargain price is possible. He provides pace, hard work, and a great poacher up front.
@Emeka I’m one who agrees with you on this. I’ve thought about getting JH for two years now. Whether in a single striker set-up with Giroud and JH coming on as a sub after 60′-70′ or paired up with OG12 in a dual striker set-up…or paired with PP9 or TW14.
I think we could run amok in the PL
Chicharito
Poldi Ozil Walcott
Ramsey Flamini
WALL OF YOU SHALL NOT PASS
Awesome Polish Keeper
Last night I got very hammered. Apparently I got kicked out of a club for kicking a barrier. When the bouncer asked me why I replied “Because Arjen Robben is a twat”, in a way I’m kinda glad