Arsenal #4 [R]

If swearing counts as banter then I'm in for some banter.

I remember being gutted at the pub after the Emirates game. We dropped two points then, simple as. I threw up that afternoon as well. What a ************ day that was.

Let's be 'avin' 'em.

 

I'd say going into this weekend the advantage is with you guys. Whenever you come off a bad result, you are always going to be more motivated going into the game.

DS thinks this about 50-50, but I would put it at around 55-45 in your favor just because of the way we have been playing lately. Lately we have been trying to walk the ball into the net at the ridiculous level we hit a couple of years back. When it was easier to shoot than make the pass we still passed our way out of an opportunity - and that will be the difference this Saturday. You will get into our third of the pitch, create a chance and take the chance, while we will create a chance, not take it then play ourselves into a hole.

The good thing season is that our goals have ended up coming from all types of plays, and we only try to walk it into the net when we are confident enough (which we seem to be after this weekend). I'd also prefer to chase by 1 or 2 than lead by 5 at this point as we have shown that we become extremely complacent when we take the lead.

The one thing I disagree with is that we are a confidence team in a bubble. Unlike the 49 streak we are a team expecting to lose. We have already had a deserved loss against Boro, got beaten hands down by Sevilla, and whipped by spurs. The new blood are up for a fight, and losing doesn't deflate them the way it did with our "stars".

Finally nothing that comes out of this game is going to be as important as what we face midweek. We face you guys all the time and we win/lose to each other all time. There is no outcome from Saturday that is going to even come close to what we need to do against Milan. While both of us will have one eye on the CL, it's of much greater importance for us to get a convincing result against them on Tuesday, while you could probably settle for an away goal in Lyon without breaking a sweat.

While it will disappointing to lose, and we obviously are going to want a win, I consider this game to be nothing more than a litmus test of what we will face in the league later this year. We will probably face the same team twice (even with Saha fit), while we will probably be without Rosicky/RVP this game, so at least when we come back we will be able to field a completely different animal.

 

Well I'll just pop in to say that if we DO lose the title, I wouldn't want anyone else to win it. Arsenal play excellent football, and I enjoy watching them play. I especially admire Fabregas, he's a superb, superb player that boy. I also like Van Persie's style. Too bad he's always injured though. Good luck in the title race, because I don't think we've even hit our best yet, let's see what happens if we could get Rooney and Tevez clicking again, and MAYBE Saha back.rolleyes

 

Yeah, my opinions as well. If Arsenal win the title this season, it would be hard to argue that they didn't deserve it. It's not like we've been burnishing our title credentials week in and out. I would say that I don't think United have hit top form, because of Rooney's injuries blighting his best start with us yet, our midfield not being able to adjust to one another, Tevez' unfitness, and our lack of options up top. But these are things that are not based on luck (barring Rooney's injuries). They are faults on our part this season, and if Arsenal make us pay for them then so be it. It's far too early to write us or even Chelski out of the race, but Arsenal are looking very good.

That being said, I'd love for us to hammer them this weekend. I'm still sore about the 05 Cup Final, where we dominated you in every possible way yet couldn't finish the job.

EDIT: Also, I love the "chase" for the title, rather than running to the top and then having to play "King of the Hill" all season. As already mentioned, I think our side's desire goes up when we're off the mark a bit and have to fight back to win things. I think it's going to be a brilliant run in.

 

"So do you think you've got the league wrapped up then? And how do you think you'll do at OT on the weekend?"

No, certainly not......and based on current form and recent form over the last few years at OT I think we have a chance.

Though I know the hairdryer will be cranked to 10.

If you lose that game doom and gloom as adjectives would hardly suffice.

 

The craziest stat is that we haven't lost a match when Flamini is on the field.

His re-birth has been as important to the squad as Adebayor's emergence as an elite forward. He has been player of the year for me.

Who knew the Cesc-Flamini partnership would be the best in the league?

 

And good luck against Milan, I'll be rooting for Arsenal big time

 

Heh, same here. Let Le Arse go as far as possible (until they meet us hopefully) in the CL. The more fixtures they have, the better chance there is for a slip up i n the league. Even though the same thing applies to us.

 

And we have a much weaker squad than them in lots of key areas.

And I might be going against the general view here but I honestly prefer Chel$ki winning the league.

 

IMO, the eye is on Milan.

Obviously we all want the PL crown, But, i think AW is more concerned with the CL.

come on ARSENAL!!!

 

After a wonderful season with thrilling displays of football, the amazing last gasp 1-0 wins over the giants from league one/championship and epic CL encounters against the likes Olympiacos they clearly should be the team to win if you don't

 

I love it when Arsenal and United challenge for the league but If United fail to retain the title then I'd rather Chelsea win it than anyone else.

Plus, the Flamini statistic and the Rooney statistic is a pretty interesting one but hopefully one of them will end on Saturday. I know who I'm backing...

 

I'm just curious as to why you'd label us a "confidence team"? I mean everytime we've had a setback this year we've responded, and it seems that United would be more of a confidence based team (ie. they have none if Rooney or Ronaldo is missing) would it not?
Maybe I'm misunderstanding your meaning of "confidence" but for some reason that doesn't ring true to me.

 

It's feeling good, thanks for asking. Even better because no one (myself included) expected to be where we are this soon. I thought a serious run for the title would be another year away.

Pretty much. We've still got alot of young players, so inconsitency is a problem, but it seems we've got the talent to get results even when we're not firing on all cylinders.

I'm not overly worried about Sunday. It's going to be a tough fixture, but our players have gone to Old Trafford and silenced the crowd before. I don't think they'll be shaking in their boots.

Totally agree. I also prefer having you chasing us, the further behind the better.

I wish we had it wrapped up, but in reality, it's far from decided. The current point differential doesn't mean much. One bad result for us and the pressure will mount quickly. Fergie wasn't lying when he said this season will go to the wire. I don't think the winner will be decided until the last day.

 

Well we did lose to Sevilla who were/are considered to be a top team and got a drubbing from our most hated rival who haven't beaten us in 9 years.

At the end of the 49 streak we thought we were unbeatable in the league, and had really gotten ahead of ourselves. This season the newblood have been cut down to size very quickly when ever our ego started to grow slightly. The Boro loss brought us back down to earth, but it was the sp*rs game that really hit home. Losing 1-0 is one thing, but getting taken to the cleaners is quite another - no matter who you lose to. That game is going to stay with the players for a long time, and should keep them honest this season. Giving up a 5 point lead in 5 days earlier this season has also taught us a lesson in complacency.

We have already had 2 significant "down turns" which we recovered from pretty well. The main difference between the last team to free fall and this one is that this team hasn't won anything. The last team were the "Invincibles" so when they fell they fell hard. It has nothing to do with losing to a superior or inferior team. At the time we lost to you we considered you to be an inferior team to us as we had just won the league with an unbeaten season. This time when we face the league champions and european champions in back to back games, we go into them knowing that we are still the underdog despite our recent run of form, and this team has thrived on negative light cast towards us.

When everyone and their grandmother were saying this team would finish 5th we came flying out of the gate. Our slow down where we picked up a string of draws and the loss came about once everyone started heralding us as legitimate title contenders. This is definately a team that can bounce back from a loss - if for no other reason than the fact that they have won nothing, and not bouncing back immediately will ensure they continue to win nothing.

 

To answer your questions in a simple manner...

I've always trusted Wenger.

This team will be tested over the next week, but if our season is anything to go by we will pass it.

These players grew up with each other, and in my opinion this team has an aura of a family.

Fabregas, Flamini, Senderos, Eboue, Clichy. All players who worked in the reserves together to get to where they are now.

This is in my eyes the main difference between the Invincibles and the current squad.

We have beaten you at Old Trafford and indeed we are confident that we can do it again. But it's not arrogance, it's confidence.

I respect Manchester United, hell Giggs is one of my favorite players of all time, but if you don't think you will win what's the point of playing?

It's a cliche, but it's true.

Good luck, see you on Saturday.

 

the bookies have yall as favourites saturday (even money vs our 2-1)...
unfortunately, they know.

*shrugs*

 

I know the regular knock on Arsenal is that they "crumble outside of London", "don't have a winning mentality", and they're seemingly always 1 or 2 years away. But people have to realize that regardless of the age, some of these players have been balling in the EPL together for 3-4 years already. The whole "too young to win", a " few years" away nonsense has to end sometime, doesn't it? I think Arsenal are showing this season that they may have crossed a hump - at least we know that they've come further than recent times, when they've been 20 points behind the leaders at season's end. This is a quality team, and I'm glad our rivalry is now renewed.

 

Nothing in England like Manchester vs Arsenal for me...

This is the game I grew up on. This has always been the game for ME.

I know in England Liverpool vs United is bigger, but these games are so electric since Wenger's arrival that there are so many unforgettable moments.

Even with Chelsea and Liverpool improving over the past 3-4 years, this is still THE game for me.

 

Well the Arsenal-Manutd games are the most watched English games of the year - even last season when nothing was on the line.

This is pretty much our "super classico", that really brings out the best in two of the most technically gifted teams in the world (and probably two of the worst set piece defenders as well ).

 

I really still have no clue when this creeped into our system, I am pretty sure it was around the same time as when you started scoring on set-pieces.

 

Yeah - that's something that's been really hard to miss these days. We're pretty poor in that aspect of the game.