Credit to the team. They showed a lot of courage and energy today after these grueling 120 minuts on Saturday. I was really worried they would crumble after the WHU goal but they responded with aplomb, style and character. Good games from Santi, Mikel, Tomas and well taken goals by Poldi and Giroud. Kim K is solid. Ramsey is getting his legs back. He was missed! Onwards and upwards! COYG! PS. The crowd is pumped at the end of the game. Happy for the fans!
THREE POINTS!!! Thanks for making mine and Alice's 25th Anniversary a great one!!! Good one Arsene!!! we're back in 4th!!!
Honestly likes Kallstrom. His passing is simple but has good vision. Very calm on the ball and clever player. Now if we could have Ramsey and the Ox playing the rest of these games healthy we may be able to win out. Giroud as much as I bashed him today played well. I just really would love to see a more mobile striker leading our line. Seems that's not what Arsene is interested in.
Was right there with ya. I swear I was gonna post this after we went 1-0 down.. "We can't beat them 3-1 if they don't score 1" ...but superstition of jinxing it prevented me.
Ozil and the Flamster will be available vs Hull. Perhaps Gibbo as well. Ox got some well needed rest today. We are getting most of our players back for the final stretch. Exciting.
no doubt it would have helped tremendously, but we could/should have anticipated this. The guy has suffered serious injuries in the past, yet we ran him ragged in the first half of the season. Can say the same for Özil playing so many minutes. That said, it was so nice to see someone making runs in behind from midfield and bringing some energy to a lethargic squad. Käl had a decent game too. Great 3 points. Comon palace! Özil, jack and flam to come back soon and that should be enough for the cup and (sigh) another top 4 finish.
I just got home from work and I need to read through the thread. I'm semi-depressed and semi-excited. For the first times in years I completely forgot about an Arsenal game. I don't know what that says about me and my memory but I would have liked to watch this by the score of it.
Despite the brace Podolski didn't seem to be his usual upbeat self, same with Santi. Can't see Pod still here at this time next year.
I was somewhat skeptical of Ramsey's run of form at the beginning of the year, but he seems to be exuding world class midfielder at the moment. I think his goals may be a little streaky, but he looks like he'll be a stalwart for years to come. It's astonishing how good he makes the team when he gets on the field. All of the sudden we can get the ball from midfield to the edge of the box in a flash.
Maybe not on the pitch...he was putting himself into good positions, but he was left hanging a lot. He seems to get frustrated with Giroud . But before the match in the tunnel he was joking with someone on west ham...can't remember who. As big of a joker as he is, he usually seems really serious on the pitch. I remember when I first noticed him for Germany I thought he play a pretty good KGB assassin in some 80's Cold War drama. Oh, what little did I know before the days of twitter and Instagram. Honestly, I hope he stays another year. Santi, I can live without tbh.
Just watched this quickly on DVR, with these take-aways: Kallstrom + Arteta seem a pretty good pairing. Both had good games today. Ramsey playing 140' in 3 days is a complete & utter surprise. After the kind of injury he had I hope Wenger isn't rushing him too much. And the guy he replaced, Rosicky only could make 70' in 3 days? Hope nothing's wrong there. But, as much as I'm lovin everything about Tomas this year, you have to admit Aaron is more important for us, so if I had to pick one to be healthy for the run-in it would be him. And he exuded desire & confidence. Tonite defined Giroud, and why he's not a great striker. He had 2 easy, high-probability chances in either half. He made the 2nd one by using his right foot without trying to be cute. He missed the 1st one, an even easier chance, by trying the opposite. Poldi is a born finisher!! He's a lethal striker, anywhere within 12yds. So sad he hasn't quite had the impact, or fit into Wenger's system, as all of us had hoped. Not quite as big a dissappointment as Arshavin but still. Classy touch by him at the end to spend time w/ the fans and tossing them his shirt. Last impression was that of Wenger & Bould. They seem to lack chemistry, connection or friendliness. At FT Wenger got right up, ignoring Bould and shook Lewin's hand forcefully... about as close to a high-five as he gets. Onward! We can do this. There are 2 trophies within our grasp.
Giroud, even though he had a good goal tonight should only be a backup. We should have a more mobile striker starting with Giroud as backup and Sanogo as third choice. That would be perfect. Like Kallstrom from what I've seen so far. Very calm on the ball and some solid passing. Cazorla was class yesterday. Seemed pissed. Class player. He just isn't the player to do it all by himself. He needs players around him IMO. I think because Thomas was there and had some creativity he was able to compliment him. Podolsk is a great finisher and all, but he's not a starter. Maybe with the right pieces in there (Ozil,Ramsey,Cazorla) he could start because we have enough creative players, but he just doesn't have enough tools to be on this team.
How many strikers could have 20 goals or more a season here with the support and opportunity Giroud has?
I thought Santi looked like he was on meth. Seemed he had something to prove. He is not a goal scorer though, 4 goals, 5 assists, 65 shots.