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The Devil is in the Detail

Were Arsenal’s flaws all too apparent in the win over Palace?

3 January, 2017 9:00 60 comments
The Devil is in the Detail

Was Giroud’s wonder goal followed by familiar failings?

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The euphoria surrounding Giroud’s wonder goal and the routine three points that accompanied it suggests job done. No slips ups, no cock-ups. Arsenal are back in the title race, at least that’s how it looks to some. However to me there were aspects of the game that revealed exactly why Arsenal haven’t won the Premier League for more than a decade and why Wenger is incapable of being the catalyst for that next title.

Giroud’s goal in the first half settled the nerves. All that remained was for the side to put the game to bed with another goal. After the break the side played with aggression, intent and no little skill and second goal duly came in the 56th minute via Iwobi’s head. With barely half an hour left in the game it should have been game over. It required the team to stay compact, keep the ball, frustrate Palace, above all don’t allow the team to get stretched and see out the remaining 30+ mins. With another game coming up it would also have been prudent to take Sanchez off. There was absolutely nothing to be gained and everything potentially to be lost from keeping him on.

What happened next was typical Arsenal, they started to play as if they were two behind. Players piled forward leaving huge gaps in the midfield and leaving the defence exposed. It was the kind of basketball football that Arsenal play all too frequently. This gave Palace all the encouragement they needed to give it a go. They created at least three good chances by my reckoning. Cech made a couple of terrific saves and their strikers missed one or two good chances. On another day it could easily have been a 2—2 draw. Arsenal got away with it and as a result no questions were asked.

But it is precisely this lack of game management that has become the hallmark of Wenger’s management. At the higher levels you cannot get away with playing reckless gung ho football. You cannot imagine a Conte or Pep playing this way. Furthermore his decision to persist with Sanchez when the game was effectively won, knowing he has another game in a couple of days borders on the reckless. Losing Sanchez for any extended period effectively signals season over, why take the risk?

Small details maybe but it’s the small details that make the difference at the top level.

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60
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  1. Leek the Squeak

    Jan 04, 2017, 7:22 #96426

    We won 3-3 squeak, we won 3-3 squeak, squeak, Wengies the bestest, squeak, squeak, squeak, there's ever been, squeak. Only Wengie can come from 3-0 nil down to win 3-3! It's the mental squeak, spirit! MBG, Jeff and nasty Bonzo. Sniff my cheese, it's got blue veins and stinks. Squeak, squeak.

  2. Smithy

    Jan 04, 2017, 6:58 #96425

    Fatigue of attitude. The whole club has gone mentally stale. This will not change until Arsene goes.

  3. Mungo

    Jan 04, 2017, 5:50 #96424

    Jamerson - you worship Satan as do your false elect you are doomed to the fiery pit.

  4. Bonzo

    Jan 04, 2017, 5:37 #96423

    Wobbywoodend - I think the laughs on you as I said two points dropped , title hopes over. Dreadful first 70 minutes complete ineptitude. Sing all you want about coming from 3 down. Wengers last season I'd say, yours as well.

  5. Cyril

    Jan 04, 2017, 1:49 #96422

    On a lighter note, that must be the best impression of Eric Morecambe since the 80's.... that really cheered me up and I need cheering up believe me. La la la la Giroud .... Class !!

  6. Mad Monk

    Jan 04, 2017, 0:33 #96421

    Tony Adams in an interview the other year was worried about the development of Bellerin and how he could improve under Wenger. He was pessimistic about it and it seems he was correct even though the downtown Kuala Lumpur brigade slagged him off. Him and Ramsey were shocking.

  7. mbg

    Jan 04, 2017, 0:29 #96420

    Nick T, you could see/read the body language alright, 2-0 down they were like rabbits caught in headlights, 3-0 i'd swear you could see the little nice boys shaking with fear even on TV, and TOF he just sat there looking as fooking clueless as ever. Genetic experiments, nice one, it explains those two half wits to a tee, it would also explain what goes on in the London Colney medical centre. Go now wenger.

  8. Mad Monk

    Jan 03, 2017, 23:59 #96419

    Not really bothered anymore so enjoyed the the game tonight, doubt we will win anything but hopefully it's Wengers last season. Untold reckon the ref was corrupt and biased towards Bournemouth????????????????

  9. Nick T

    Jan 03, 2017, 23:51 #96418

    Sanchez body language tonight, both during the game and especially at the final whistle, tells you everything you need to know about both him and his (current) teammates. I believe the only way he stays is if AW goes - I dont think its about the money with him and maybe hes stalling to see how it all plays out? PS AFTVs a belter tonight - Chris is 'proud of the team' and Ty is 'optimistic after that great comeback'....are these loons genetic experiments?!?

  10. Jamerson

    Jan 03, 2017, 23:28 #96417

    Soft penalty and the third should not have stood for a foul on Bellerin,the result was not good enough but the WOR were in total melt down too early as usual.Now lets talk about how Elijah sorted the false religionists out.First up to worship Baal is what all Roman Catholics,Muslims,Pentacostals,Hindus,Buddhists,Mormons,Jehovahs Witnesses do etc.//While Obadiah was on his way, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized Elijah, so he bowed down to the ground and said, “Elijah? Is it really you, master?” “Yes,” Elijah answered. “Go tell your master that I am here.” Then Obadiah said, “What wrong have I done for you to hand me over to Ahab like this? He will put me to death. As surely as the Lord your God lives, the king has sent people to every country to search for you. If the ruler said you were not there, Ahab forced the ruler to swear you could not be found in his country. Now you want me to go to my master and tell him, ‘Elijah is here’? The Spirit of the Lord may carry you to some other place after I leave. If I go tell King Ahab you are here, and he comes and doesn’t find you, he will kill me! I have followed the Lord since I was a boy. Haven’t you been told what I did? When Jezebel was killing the Lord’s elect, I hid a hundred of them, fifty in one cave and fifty in another. I brought them food and water. Now you want me to go and tell my master you are here? He will kill me!” Elijah answered, “As surely as the Lord All-Powerful lives, whom I serve, I will be seen by Ahab today.” So Obadiah went to Ahab and told him where Elijah was. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, he asked, “Is it you—the biggest troublemaker in Israel?” Elijah answered, “I have not made trouble in Israel. You and your father’s family have made all this trouble by not obeying the Lord’s commands. You have gone after the Baals. Now tell all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel. Also bring the four hundred fifty Bishops of Baal and the four hundred Monks of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab called all the Israelites and those prophets to Mount Carmel. Elijah approached the people and said, “How long will you not decide between two choices? If the Lord is the true God, follow him, but if Baal is the true God, follow him!” But the people said nothing. Elijah said, “I am the only prophet of the Lord here, but there are four hundred fifty prophets of Baal.Bring two bulls. Let the prophets of Baal choose one bull and kill it and cut it into pieces. Then let them put the meat on the wood, but they are not to set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull, putting the meat on the wood but not setting fire to it. You prophets of Baal, pray to your god, and I will pray to the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to his wood is the true God.” All the people agreed that this was a good idea. Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “There are many of you, so you go first. Choose a bull and prepare it. Pray to your god, but don’t start the fire.” So they took the bull that was given to them and prepared it. They prayed to Baal the religious God from morning until noon, shouting “God of Mary, answer us!” But there was no sound, and no one answered. They danced around the altar they had built. At noon Elijah began to make fun of them. “Pray louder!” he said. “If Baal really is a god, maybe he is thinking, or busy, or traveling! Maybe he is sleeping so you will have to wake him!” The Bishops and monk prophets prayed louder, cutting themselves with swords and spears until their blood flowed as penance, which was the way they worshiped. The afternoon passed, and the prophets continued to act like this until it was time for the evening sacrifice. But no voice was heard; Baal the god of false religion did not answer, and no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Now come to me.” So they gathered around him, and Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. He took twelve stones, one stone for each of the twelve tribes, the number of Jacob’s sons. (The Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel.) Elijah used these stones to rebuild the altar in honor of the Lord. Then he dug a ditch around the altar that was big enough to hold about thirteen quarts of seed. Elijah put the wood on the altar, cut the bull into pieces, and laid the pieces on the wood.Then he said, “Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the meat and on the wood.” Then Elijah said, “Do it again,” and they did it again. Then he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it the third time. So the water ran off the altar and filled the ditch. At the time for the evening sacrifice, the prophet Elijah went near the altar. “Lord, you are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,” he prayed. “Prove that you are the God of the elect and that I am your servant. Show these people that you commanded me to do all these things. Lord, answer my prayer so these people will know that you, Lord, are God and that you will change their minds.” Then fire from the Lord came down and burned the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the ground around the altar. It also dried up the water in the ditch. When all the people saw this, they fell down to the ground, crying, “The Lord is God! The Lord is God!” Then Elijah said, “Capture the prophets of Baal! Don’t let any of them run away!” The people captured all the prophets. Then Elijah led them down to the Kishon Valley, where he killed them.

  11. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 23:01 #96416

    Augustus Flair, John F, yes guys but just wait for it from the hapless old fraud (if it hasn't already come) the great menteell speeritt bla bla bla, when inside I bet he's fooking seething because he can see what we all can see, pathetic. Do the decent thing wenger and resign.

  12. Jack the lad

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:54 #96415

    Wonderful comeback from 3 down. The spirit is well and truly there. It's our year.

  13. Hiberry Spy

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:51 #96414

    Resign tonight Wenger .. and take that shlt-stirring troll mbg with you.

  14. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:37 #96413

    Did you hear the bearded carthorse ? we could have won it at the end, LOL, Dohhhh really ? Pathetic, if you and your old past it manager and the rest of well groomed little nice boys wouldn't have been so fooking complacent in the first place you might have. Resign tonight wenger.

  15. Paul Ward

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:37 #96412

    Wow, even by the extremely low standards of recent years that first 70 minutes scraped the very bottom of a barrel of sheer ineptitude and lethargy. Worse than the 5-1 at Anfield? The 6-0 at Chelsea? The 6-3 at Citeh? Quite possibly . Horrible to watch,will someone give us our Arsenal back please. Don't think we even have to write Wenger out any more, for him the game is up.

  16. Exiled gooner in Portugal

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:24 #96411

    Season over and zip fiddler will finally lose his 4th place trophy and no European football to worry about next year, perfect clean slate for a new manager to start from!!! Wenger and the board out.

  17. John F

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:19 #96410

    Barca post is even more apt after tonight's performance.If Wenger claims we have great mental spirit after showing none for seventy minutes it will just show just how deluded he really is .In reality we were P poor in defence, Bellerin was Awol,Cech is doing a great impression of the Spanish waiter and all I saw in that 70 mins was players moaning at each other after yet another misplaced pass.Why didn't Perez start?Imagine if we were playing Liverpool or Chelsea away it would of been six.Wenger really has the devil's luck.Great comeback yes but it was Bournemouth a team near the bottom,who gave us a football lesson then panicked but even at the end our hapless defence nearly gave them a chance to win it.It is time for Ospinia as Cech has lost it but you can bet he won't get dropped as our spinless dictator has his favourites as the Perez decision shows.Has Cech ever saved a pen for us .

  18. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:10 #96409

    No fancy scorpion kick tonight from the carthorse, he just had to lift his hoof, nice boy premadonnas just thought they had to turn up, what a kick up the arse. go now wenger.

  19. Greg38

    Jan 03, 2017, 22:00 #96408

    Great comeback yes, but that first 70 mins were an utter shambles!!

  20. Augustus Flair

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:56 #96407

    mbg: too harsh, mate. A stirring comeback against one of European football's major forces and another point to cement that much-coveted fourth place we all crave. Good old Wengo, don't resign tonight, you hapless clown; good old Bouldy, another stalwart mannequin performance for your pieces of silver.

  21. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:52 #96406

    Go now wenger and take your fancy dans with you, pathetic. Resign tonight.

  22. Bonzo

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:42 #96405

    Two more points left total incapacity to tough out a game. No doubt Squeak I'll be crowing about this loss of two points for years.

  23. Arseneknewbest

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:23 #96404

    Augustus - nice one. Your sister is worth 8 million wengos. Yes, a wrinkly old emperor whose brain has atrophied, wandering around a provincial shopping centre with a bottle of p*ssy cider in one hand and with his baw bag shrivelling in the arctic weather. The end is nigh Jamee son! To quote the great man that is mbg, "wengo out tonight". 3-2...losing, lottery football is back.

  24. Augustus Flair

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:12 #96403

    Arseneknewbest: The fixture pile-up is not "a line", as you so cynically put it. Our boys are exhausted by their onerous seasonal workload, Scorpion goals and all, unlike Flair's sister, for example, and millions like her, a carer on the minimum wage who has worked all over Christmas, and is still full of beans. You are cynical, sir, and doubting the Emperor Great Weng and his dynasty of terra cotta sycophants (all right there, Bouldy?) is tantamount to treason.

  25. Arseneknewbest

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:10 #96402

    Has Bob Bradley left the country yet?

  26. Bonzo

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:08 #96401

    Squeak - "Mr Wenger is the best manager we've ever had"..... Quote of the bleeding century. Now will you, Jamee and the wrinkly old Anorak wearer finally do one!

  27. Ebor Gooner

    Jan 03, 2017, 21:01 #96400

    2 down at half time, and looking easily second best. This is where a Manager earns his salary. Big team talk, change of tactics, even a tactical substitution perhaps? I'm afraid experience has taught me that Mr Wenger is unlikely to do any of these things. We are likely to play exactly the same, and make a substitution around the 70th minute. If most of us could see this sort of performance, and result, the minute we come up against a half decent side, why can't our Manager?

  28. Arseneknewbest

    Jan 03, 2017, 20:43 #96399

    To paraphrase Henry II, "Will no one rid us of this turbulent chihuahua?" If it stays this way, it's surely a massive step towards wengo's P45. He'll be spinning the excuse-o-meter in the changing rooms right now - I bet he'll go for the old fixture pile up line. Jamee - try putting lipstick on this particular pig you turd polishing twazzer. I'm only listening, but did revolting Rambo and the chileno have a contretemps on the pitch?

  29. jjetplane

    Jan 03, 2017, 20:30 #96398

    Sanchez and Ramsay will not be doing selfies together for a while. As pundits say the new Arsene boys are as ordinary as the old lot whom I cannot remember and funny to hear Claridge could not either. Two classes above and 2 nil down. Better get yer bible out and find a revelation quick! lol! ps rumours have it Santi has put the weight on but is now concentration on cabaret work in a velvet suit with the customary Emirates smile. Granite has to be the most awful but verses money the old bird in the duvet has made.

  30. David

    Jan 03, 2017, 20:15 #96397

    2-0 down at moment - feels like the Southampton game last year. Please Zippy, just go.

  31. Gooner89

    Jan 03, 2017, 20:13 #96396

    Just go Wenger. Get a taxi to Paris after the game and just go. Eddie Howe anyone?

  32. Arseneknewbest

    Jan 03, 2017, 20:13 #96395

    2-0 down to the mighty Bournemouth. Jamee - better start to get your excuses ready.

  33. JameeBA

    Jan 03, 2017, 20:02 #96394

    Though it hurts to go away Squeaky, It's impossible to stay But there's one thing I must say before I go I love you you know I'll be thinking of You in most everything I do Now the time is moving on And I really should be gone But You keep me hanging on for one more smile I love you all the while With your cute little way Will You promise that you... Save all your kisses for me Bye bye Leekey bye bye Don't cry Squeaky don't cry Gonna walk out the door But I'll soon be back for more Save all your kisses for me, save all your kisses for me.

  34. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 18:56 #96393

    Basket ball football from a basket case, yes how many times have we seen it before from TOF and little technicians when we thought we had the game won (and you've mentioned a few) sheer complacency, only for it to backfire, we never learn and never will under this old past it manager, we got away with it this time thanks to woeful opposition. wenger out tonight.

  35. Employment Vehicle

    Jan 03, 2017, 17:57 #96391

    Bonjour tout le monde zis is Arsene here. Dec 31 has passed and i have another £8m in ze Banque. my personal fortune is now around £85m which not bad for a Football Manager...i am the richest Manager around and in 2018/19 i shall be appointed new Manager of Shanghai and im off to China....

  36. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 17:22 #96390

    jw, good post, and it's not only TOF's priority and ambition to finish fourth, and above the spuds just wait until that massive feat is achieved again, between the smug grins of wenger there'll be whooping, selfies, high fiveing, and bouncing from the players,(as if we have actually achieved something) and the AKB's ? they'll be whooping, partying like it's 1999 and be moist for a week like we've won something, ambition fulfilled again.

  37. Mad Monk

    Jan 03, 2017, 17:04 #96389

    Best observation ever from a brethren on Untold; we play Bournemouth at night when the weather is likely to be very cold and maybe wintry too despite Bournemouth being a sunny seaside town! This is so obviously a conspiracy as the poor devil's have to play when it's cold aah! What's bloody obvious is the person who wrote it has never been to the UK let alone watch Arsenal.

  38. Torbay Gooner

    Jan 03, 2017, 16:47 #96388

    All valid points Bard, things won't improve until Wenger goes. Don't really understand the sneering for Giroud on here. Ultimately we all know he is not in the Aguero/Costa 20/25 goal a season class, but he has enough ability to be that decent 'back up striker'. As for his goal, if you could n't enjoy then I feel sad for you!

  39. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 16:34 #96387

    chris dee, excellent post. wenger out tonight.

  40. mbg

    Jan 03, 2017, 16:18 #96386

    Dead right Bard one lucky goal from our second rate nice boy striker after a fancy flick that came off has had others coming off as well with the wet dreams again, (you'd actually thought we'd won something such was the euphoria, but as we know that comes secondary to the AKB moist brigade) but we all know that's all they are dreams,(and even in those it's 4th place) when we wake up to the cold light of day that is wenger. Good Article. wenger out now.

  41. Exeter Gunner

    Jan 03, 2017, 16:02 #96385

    If you look at the pattern of Wenger's substitutions it's obvious they're preplanned and hierarchy based. Nothing else makes sense, they're completely irrational otherwise. He takes Perez off because he feels able to. He doesn't feel able to take off Sanchez. He hates confrontation and his main, perhaps only, ambition is to keep treading the same well-worn pattern and stay in a job.

  42. Peter

    Jan 03, 2017, 15:01 #96384

    Post No. 102130 Well done Nick J. Lucos Perez needs time on the pitch and against Palace it was the right game for him to stay on for 90 minutes so why did Arsene take him off when we were 2-0 up? Again his substitutions are wrong. Perhaps he is keepign him to partner Giroud against Bournemouth and rest Alexis. Alex could do Alexis job which will help him also to get more time on the pitch and as I have said before when Santi comes back Alexis again could be rested.

  43. Jamerson

    Jan 03, 2017, 14:31 #96383

    I think Giroud is a class above all the other traditional strikers in the Premiership and compared to all the other top strikers in Europe has an excellent conversion rate.Yet I still think we look more effective with Sanchez down the middle and I'm still not convinced whether we should pay Ozil what he wants.As far as Elijah was concerned he wasn't bothered about being called baldy he had been to their City probably treated badly and was only interested in carrying out what God had told him to do.You can imagine what their parents thought of him when they heard their kids had been steamed by these bears,I bet they played the victims for years and they did try try to kill Elijah,though it wasn't really anything to do with him.I will tell you later how Elijah dealt with the Roman Catholics of his day and you will think WOW top man..

  44. Nick T

    Jan 03, 2017, 14:08 #96382

    Absolutely spot on....Ramsey replacing Lucas was the pick of the bunch for me - here you have a guy thats been knocking on the door, banged a hatrick last time out and was probably most in need of a full 90 minutes from both form and fitness perspectives....braindead!! Wenger's rotation policy (or rather lack of) is an accident waiting to happen and an injury to Sanchez sadly seems almost inevitable

  45. jjetplane

    Jan 03, 2017, 13:57 #96381

    Wengo talking up Olly's freak effort and trying to put him in the DB10, Henry bracket and claiming everything as his own creation with that old boy smugness we have come to know and hate. Wengo in his football ignorance only sees the game in isolated moments like the cart horse turning scorpion for one moment in his career whereas the big picture 0f no PLs in 12 yrs or CLs since the big bang show Wengo indeed has no plan except for his personal fortune that he has conned out of the game. With Pogba and Alii up their game just as the great playmaker Mesut calls it a season Wengo will need more than rudimentary substitutions to get even a top 2 place. Someone was talking of the amusement of heat monitors on coaches so you can watch the likes of Conte in full flow. He is really like an extra body on the pitch. Imagine a wengometer will read please try later this app is not working .....

  46. Exeter Gunner

    Jan 03, 2017, 13:04 #96380

    Are we sure Wenger hasn't been cryogenically suspended already? He looks well pickled to me. And as we're talking about in game management - would we notice the difference if he was?

  47. Peter

    Jan 03, 2017, 13:02 #96379

    Well done Bard about Alexis. All genuine fans say what you have said "With another game coming up it would also have been prudent to take Sanchez off"and "borders on the reckless. Losing Sanchez for any extended period effectively signals season over, why take the risk?". Unless Alexis is "Superman" and has extra powers that no-one else has and never gets injured or when B Munich come along we will be playing without him because he probably will be injured. Maybe Santi will be back which will be great but we need Alexis to be 100%. We are not going to win the league so why not concentrate on Champions League and beat Barcelona in the final in Cardiff to make up for Paris. Then Arsene can leave happy and so shall we be. Let Alexis have time off like Arsene has done for Ozil. (Ozil is not injured).

  48. Mark

    Jan 03, 2017, 13:00 #96378

    It was a lucky Goal for those of us that know Giroud's actual capabilities.. no suprise to see Wenger make a huge deal of it in order to Keep distracting the fans and media from the clear weaknesses are in the Team/Management/Club. The PR machine at Arsenal is its most succesful area. Merchandising is more crap than you would think compared to the other 8-9 top Clubs UK/Europe. All in all we continue to suffer a slow and painful decline that over the next 3 months will become reality for all to finally see.

  49. Arseneknewbest

    Jan 03, 2017, 12:52 #96377

    Bard - Thanks - good piece. It was thoroughly alarming the way in which the game became "end to end" after the second goal went in. Nonsensical. I think many sides are able to out-think Arsenal at times like that by creating the conditions by which our midfield think they can pour forward thus opening up our own defence. The Newcastle draw (thanks for re minding me about that Chris!) is a case in point. Palace didn't have the form nor fire-power to cause the usual palpitations but the majority of PL also-rans are perfectly capable of pulling off a draw in that situation as we know to our cost. He learnt nothing from inheriting that back four and the culture of relative impregnability that used to inhabit our club. Would love to think his days are genuinely numbered and it's exciting to hear people that I respect on here saying it could happen this season. But something someone said on here struck me too - the idea that he's a sad, lonely man who has nothing else left in his life other than Arsenal inc. I still haven't ruled out him presiding over the club in 100 year's time while being cryogenically suspended in a long, thin jar of pickled onions.

  50. Bonzo

    Jan 03, 2017, 12:44 #96376

    Squeak - if you think Wengo's so good, name what he will Win this season? Failing to answer this question will prove your a gutless coward. Answering he will win nothing would show you back a failed regime and do not have Arsenals best interests at heart. I'm interested in hearing your answer.

  51. GS

    Jan 03, 2017, 12:19 #96375

    Bard, Good article. I do wonder if Wenger has his subs pre-arranged before kick off, I don't think he reads the game as it is going on and makes changes as he sees fit. After all why would you always make subs at the same time? As for Wenger saying today about TV Money in the game and they demand when teams play, all very well Wenger but that is what gets you your £8m pa salary, maybe you could give some back if it means a less busy schedule, err maybe not.

  52. jjetplane

    Jan 03, 2017, 12:13 #96374

    Wengo now moaning about fixtures and qualiteee (sic) of the PL which must amuse many others in the game when you think of the kind of money he has coined at the expense of qualiteee - useless ****! Please block Jamerson - he is off his sad trolley and so boring he really needs to get in with Atwood the Smarmy, jiving wannabee journo. He makes Savage look professional.

  53. WeAreBuildingATeamToDominate

    Jan 03, 2017, 11:43 #96373

    Benteke missed a relatively easy chance to make it 2-1 which would have made an uncomfortable last 20 minutes. Hard to get too annoyed over a straightforward win vs poor opponents though.

  54. Bonzo

    Jan 03, 2017, 11:42 #96372

    Jamee - you ask me a question and I answer it, I ask you the same and you still do not answer ! The impertinence. From your latest tale I can see that Elijah had a very thin skin much like Wengo. Here's a further question. Who enters a competition 21 times and wins **** all. Answers on a post card please.

  55. Nick

    Jan 03, 2017, 11:35 #96371

    Spot on with your match assessment Bardon I thought exactly the same ,we have to cut out the stupidity of giving the ball away by trying to be clever and ignoring the simple pass ! We are always putting ourselves under pressure and giving the opponents a confidence and hope that should be denied them! This comes from our game ethos which comes in turn from the manager ! As for keeping on a visibly tiring Sanchez well that was plain stupid and just WHAT was the merit in swapping Elneny for Coqulien ?

  56. Brucie

    Jan 03, 2017, 11:29 #96370

    Blimey - Surely Elijah could have considered his other options, such as making a wig or lecturing them in the error of their ways. Definite lack of in - game management there, I'd say.

  57. Roy

    Jan 03, 2017, 11:07 #96369

    Well said. They do say familiarity breeds contempt, don't they ? Oh well, at least we are near the end.

  58. jeff wright

    Jan 03, 2017, 11:05 #96368

    Bang on the money regarding the points you make Bard .It's not down to misfortune that Monsieur Wenger last won a league title back in 2005 .He had the players then such as Bergkamp the ultimate number 10 and Sol Campbell in defense that could think for themselves and make a silk purse out of his cows arse tactics.The only player in the current side with any title winning experience is Cech and he won his trophies at Chelsea with John Terry ,Lampard and co in front of him .We don't have any Terry type leader in defense nor a Lampard who is a member of Mensa there are no geniuses in our side though and Wengo is not,despite ludicrous attempts by some to claim so, one either. Regarding Sanchez it look as to me like he is struggling ,there is no lack of effort or skill from him but a lot of his energy is wasted and he still looks as though he doesn't really know what his role in the side is. Neither does Wengo either.Wenger has already conceded the title to Chelsea his priority is to finish ahead of the spuds and to 'win' another top 4 trophy .If he does then we can expect him to get another 2 years to carry on trying to do the same. He needs these 'wonder goals' and other Hollywood style crowd and media pleasers to help divert attention away from the mess he has once again made of our title challenge that we were told was taking place not so long ago .Yet here at the start of the New Year 9 points adrift of Chelsea and Wengo relying on them taking points off Tottenham .You couldn't make it up.

  59. Moscow Gooner

    Jan 03, 2017, 11:04 #96367

    Chris - hope you are right about this being AW's last season, but that seems too good to be true doesn't it? I see AW complaining about the Christmas fixture list this morning - but all the more reason then to get key players off as soon as we went 2-0 up. We see this failing time and time again; I remember a European tie years back at the Emirates when we were 5-0 up by about the 60 minute mark and he kept ('accident waiting to happen') RvP on the pitch until the bitter end. This will never change - look at the line up in Basle...

  60. chris dee

    Jan 03, 2017, 9:10 #96366

    Spot on!Game management non existent. It's the same type of game management that lost us a 4 nil lead at Newcastle and the same type of game management that lost us a two goal lead against Spurs with only five minutes left.And Michael Owen must still laughing his head off when in a FA Cup final and winning 1-0 we still piled players forward and allowed Liverpool a breakaway equaliser and I'm sure other fans have their own fond memories of us giving games away.Still let's not get to upset as this is Arsene's last season.