Never underestimate Bradford! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/631971.stm
Come on.....The team that won at Reading should get the call against Bradford. Perhaps we could get the big guns in the semis.
That might be the oddest game I've ever seen, top half dozen at least. I'm happy we won but still not willing to forget how bad the performance was. Larry was bad, AA was abominable, Chamakh was horrendous, Martinez wasn't sharp. More than any one individual, the overall team energy was lazy and unfocused, even by the standards of prior poor Arsenal performances, and that's a really low bar. I wouldn't even hope to explain what the players ought to take away from this game except a win. That, and Giroud and Eisfeld were really good.
I thought Theo looked pretty good. I though Jenkinson looked a bit like a leader in midfield a couple times, too.
Just found himself playing as an improvised DM late in the match, which surprised me. I really hate to say it but Sagna's days are numbered and Jenks is improving everyday.
Jenks' development is really stunning. It's been so quick and so dramatic that I'm waiting for it to fall apart. I am having trouble thinking of a player in any sport who has gone from hapless to all-star in such a short time. eta - I obviously hope it doesn't fall apart and am loving his play
I think I might be one of the vocal few who liked Jenks from the start. I'm sure he's going to continue developing.
Was AA really abominable? He might have been indirectly related to one goal for Reading other than that he was the same as he always is...he tries things that are high risk high reward. I think he always has a chance to create scoring chances for his teammates. The unfortunate thing is that he doesn't really fit into the shape of this team, but how many speedy wingers do we need? At this point AA and Podolski should be interchangeable on the left and one of Theo, Ox or Gervinho should play on the right. Giroud in the middle to start. I think that gives us more options when the game isn't going our way.
I thought AA was ok. He gave some balls away but created a lot. Chamakh needs to catch a break and his 2 goal performance might just do that. Giroud and Eisfeld were ace.
yes, for most of that game he was terrible. he redeemed himself later and made a difference, but for maybe an hour he really was dreadful. for every good thing he did he did about 5 bad things.
I think so. We know that AA is given to lethargic performances and we've also seen the team as a whole get poor results with lethargic, unfocused performances. And even by those standards, AA disappointed. I get the risk/reward thing but I think we lose on both ends. The "risk" that AA contributes little or nothing to our defensive effort and shape is pretty much a certainty whereas the "reward" that AA is going to pull some brilliant move that no one else can do is there, but we see it less and less often. Again, things have deteriorated so much that he might be the best option available (as I believe he was for QPR). And if that happens by all means play him. But we have to get our roster and style of play in order on the assumption that he's not going to be here going forward.
When Eisfeld came on and became the metronome in the midfield, it allowed Arshavin to do what he does best. He's a true #10. He makes things happen around the box. When he's allowed to do that he's still deadly. Coquelin was awful in the first half and Frimpong was trying to make things happen making up for him. Arshavin was ttasked with keeping the ball moving AND the creative burden. The match turned on it's head with the introduction of Eisfeld, and Arshavin came to life.
actually, he was a number 11, because a proper 2nd striker came on at the same time eisfeld came on. oh, and frimpong was garbage.
Again, he shows that he is suited to a 4-4-2, thats when he has shone the most and it showed again when Giroud was there to lend a hand not as an aggressive target man holding the ball with his back to goal. His overall play was better when the change came, I feel sorry for him because he isnt as bad as he has shown its just that he doesnt get the chance to play his natural game. Even though he was the lead striker at Bordeaux he always had close support from Jussie and Gourcuff and most of his movement was done dropping deep and wide. He has been a victim of being a square peg bludgened into a round hole at Arsenal imo
im not buying this. The guy was scared to shoot, and this was during his hot start. He also doesnt have a very good touch. He was also pretty crap even after Giroud came on until around the 80th minute. In saying that, it does appear that most of our goal scoring options would benefit from a 442. Shame we will never play it unless we are down 4-0 in a match.
i loved his hold up play and knock on's for Walcott/Gnabry/Arshavin/etc. he set up the Walcott equalizer, scored the 5th, and clinched it with the 7th.