@codedguy
Midfield that finds it hard to chunk out goals.What is the use of a loaded midfield when the attack is blunt?

Actually Saha is not really all that.

@Jackal,
Wait and see how the season pans out. Anderson is an accident just waiting to happen.

I predict a couple of red cards very soon.

Nani for me is one of those here today gone tomorrow players.

Has one great goal every 10 games. A bit like Matt Taylor  

Evra better than Clichy? Well everyone thinks that their woman is the finest. Even Islander thinks she is fine. God help us.

This serious,
When we were winning, all dem mancs were here spewing all sorts,
Now we are a point behind and they are  here discussing match strategies,4-5-1,5-5-0, and all sorts,
Is it only Arsenal vs Everton on Saturday, Please go and discuss West Ham vs Mancs, or Chelski vs Whoever,
As if it's not the mancs desire for Arsenal to lose all its matches starting from Saturday ,
One crazy manc started dancing when he saw Billy in pain yesterday and was shouting that Senderos should come in (As if Senderos was dressed for the match),
So please, quit analysing arsenal's formation, don't be hypocritical, You wish us bad, So shush all

A-40:

@codedguy
Midfield that finds it hard to chunk out goals.What is the use of a loaded midfield when the attack is blunt?

Thats ma point, wether adebayor is there or not, THE ATTACK IS BLUNT. thats wat u guys have.

you've been going on and on bout your midfielders hleb, fibregas, rosicky ebue etc let them carry the burden of scoring, oops, that also has gone dry. so how una wan take score naaaa.

the answer is simple, they are HOPING that ass anal will win against everton 3-0 all OGs.

It looks tight cos of the oppositions in this festive period but we can survive with right attitude and xters.

Gunner till I die

@ Vieira,

Are u a football fan or a plastic fan?
Blimey . . . .Anderson and Nani were supposed to understudy Scholes and Giggs.
By a stroke of fate, Scholesy's injury has given Anderson the chance to express himself and he has been outstanding.
Nani's has been kept on the bench because Giggsy is still fit and running . . . If Giggsy should go missing via injuries . . Nani will deputise.
Anderson is a better player than your over-rated Flabbyass . . . .
Fab4's debut season was pathetic  . . . . .it doesnt even come close to what Anderson is having at the moment.

Saha compared to Adebayor or RVP?
Has Adebayor or RVP ever scored 20 goals in the EPL?
You are a bloody douche-bag for even comparing Saha to any of y'all.
Then u have the gall to compare Evra to Clichy? What else do i need to hear?
Senderos is better than Rio?

@ I-man,Ok, Continue to gloat, Am not stopping u.
Remember, he who laughs last, laughs best, not he who laughs on boxing day,

@Jackal
Anderson better than Cesc?Go and tell that to the marines

Once more - Eduardo is not a Henry in any shape, guise or form. He is his own man with a unique set of skills and attributes suited to his game.

Right now, given the few games he's had in the premiership, the boss does not think he is physically prepared enough for the hassles of the premiership as yet. Lets not forget that he is coming from Croatia, not Portugal or France. Give the man the benefit of the doubt, he will come good.

For once I-man you've left your manic gloating and started talking sense . Ade is not quality enough to lead as lone striker all season long - he will get some good games and performances, but ultimately will be most productive with another striker playing along with him.

4-5-1 at Everton is not a sign of fear - if that is the strongest formation we can put out, then so be it. We played 4-4-2 at Blackburn earlier in the season when RVP was fit, so the reason for these changes is that Wenger is not confident enough at present about the other strikers (Dudu and Bendtner) to play them upfront for 90 mins.

Cesc's game has indeed dropped a bit since he came back from injury, I think he hasn't fully gotten back in the groove - once he does, expect fully firing gunners. In absence of that, we might need a little unconventionality. I'm liking what Rozzi did last night, he is taking more responsibility and taking more chances on, we need that. Our set pieces also need to remain consistent - two of our last three goals came from them so we need that side up too.

Do you remember the 3-0 victory over Liverpool last season? Gallas, Kolo and Bertie scored - no strikers scored. To think we won't score with a misfiring front line is folly. One thing I'm glad about is that Everton will come out and play footie - it will be a more open end to end game than P'mouth who were so anxious not to lose.

@ Gooners

leave Jackal and his player/player comparisons - If MU win the trophy with Wes Brown/O'Shea in goal who gives a crap??

he's just trying to rile y'all up no point dancing to his tune

@ Debosky

You know that this is one of the most difficult away fixtures in my opinion. This following a disappointing result at Fratton Park and a change of hands of the lead and this tie now is almost a must win. We didn't lose the title last night nor will we lose it at Goodison but its all about momentum and if we lose any more ground on Man Utd. we could fall apart rather quickly although this team has shown a lot of character and mental strength over the course of this season.

It will be interesting to see how the team reacts to loosing the Premiership lead. Whilst we were at the top, it was easy for the players to be composed and relaxed, to be patient and not get too frustrated if things were not going for us in a particular game, if we conceeded first or if we hadn't scored in the first half or till the hour mark. I guess it will all change now. Going into a game knowing Man Utd. have won will be tougher than what it was yesterday, there will be more pressure. I won't be surprised if the fear of falling further behind causes the players to lose their cool, to get frustrated, to get impatient.

So the onus is on us now and i am glad its this way as i'd love to see a more positive Arsenal. Enough has already been said about the 4-5-1 and the 4-4-2. Whatever formation Wenger decides to use, we need to be more ruthless and gun for goal right away, we need to take the game by the scruff of the neck and as much as i want to avoid the debate here, it is easier whilst playing a 4-4-2.

Everton is a good team and plays some good football they have many players who will cause us a lot of trouble. Yakubu has posed problems for Touré in the past and Andy Johnson's work ethic and intelligent movement always makes him a handful. Its set up very well. I really like Arteta, a very intelligent player and can put in a good ball for Johnson and/or Yakubu. They must be tired but i am certain there won't be any letdown in effort, they'll run hard for 90 minutes, get in our faces and close any space present and close it down fast. We are better equipped to deal with it though this season.

Its about how well we play, a 4-4-2 please Arsène, and i hope we can get after them and silence the crowd early on.

STILL ARSENAL

very astute observations Marlet

Its gooners like you that make this thread the best place to be on nairaland

I do agree that the heat is now on. . .but frankly, the underdog status suits us better than the 'all conquering heroes' in this case. It fosters a stronger unit mentality and helps us dig in to prove our critics wrong.

Everton WILL be tough, looking at the stats, there isn't much difference in the goals scored and conceded for both teams, only that we've succeeded in raking in 11 more points than them. The key is making sure we are fluent and create chances. There were far too few against Pompey and that is very unlike Arsenal - creating chances is our forte, we need to do that crucially.

The effect of losing the top is to show the boys that we are still not the finished article yet, there will be many battles to be fought before this title is decided, and I'm sure AW will let them know they aren't out of it by a long shot.

I do feel we will win at Everton, tough as it may be, but that is my gut instinct on this one - 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 is immaterial in the long run. A win is what we need.

I remember Adebayor scoring the lone goal at OT in a 4-5-1 formation and i promised to forgive him since that day.

Its funny how "gonners" fans are now singing a different tune. Few weeks ago it was " 5 points ahead, one game in hand, we,ve WON the league". Everybody kept on telling them the season still has a long way to go. Now its "19 more games to go, 1 point ahead is nothing, we,ll see what happens in may 2008." One "gonners" fan even wrote in an earlier post " may the best team win the league". This people sabi change mouth sha.

BLUES FOREVER

gunners for life!

debojyde:

Its funny how "gonners" fans are now singing a different tune. Few weeks ago it was " 5 points ahead, one game in hand, we,ve WON the league". Everybody kept on telling them the season still has a long way to go. Now its "19 more games to go, 1 point ahead is nothing, we,ll see what happens in may 2008." One "gonners" fan even wrote in an earlier post " may the best team win the league". This people sabi change mouth sha.

BLUES FOREVER

that only goes to show that there are gunners and there are gooners

there are two sets, which are different from the other.

one is a very fanatical and the other objective,

sadly many Nigerian gooners are fanatical,

debojyde
u talk a lot of crap.If arsenal are "5 points clear wit a game in hand" isnt it normal for their fans to mention the FACT?now theyre saying dat the gap is just 1 point(another FACT),n u say theyre 'changing mouth'.Now even chelsea fans are talkin,sheesh

Fan comes from the word Fanatical.

There will always be a bias in a fan, it's part and parcel of being a "fan".

Objectivity has its place when talking among fellow gooners and probably other non-rival teams but when talking to Manc Scum, Chelski and the Yiddos I am NOT objective!!!

Funnily enough I tend to be objective when talking to Liverpool fans, I wonder why??

Vieira:


Funnily enough I tend to be objective when talking to Liverpool fans, I wonder why??

Same for me,
I think L'pool fans and Arsenal fans have this mutual respect for each other.
I think the players also have this unexplained respect for each other,
I read sometime last week that Gerrard tried to convince Henry to join Liverpool(They are good pals).
Definitely, I can't stand the Mancs, the Chavs or the Spuds!!!

objectivity is supposed to be used for all, and not discriminately,

lordimpaq:

objectivity is supposed to be used for all, and not discriminately,

Thank you for being objective!

lordi go and bury this objectivity thing. . .like MC OMO said. . .you seem to be exhibiting a defeatist mentality

What is 'unobjective' about what has been said?

when we were 5 points ahead, I said so. . .did I say we had won the league?

If the beclouded reasoning and confuzzled faculties of some scumtwats give them the impression that we claimed to have won the league whose fault is that?

My mantra has always been Lets see how far we can go. It will be nonobjective to take the view of scummie fans over the results showing our highest total at this point since 03/04 - are we supposed to be crying?

Enough of the hue and cry. . .its getting old real fast. Even Chavs who are bagging 4 goals at home have the nerve to speak up and say bollocks?

On to better news - Gallas is fit and ready, completely recovered from the injury.

On to Everton already. . . .enough past analysis

Gunner 1915

@ Debosky,

Cut Lordi some slack here . . . .
When will u stop smoking ur pubic hair? Why is it so hard for u to see Arsenal's performance is deteriorating?
Even in the matches u have won. . . . .the performance wasn't great . . .
It wasn't as if u played pompey off the park . . . . They deserved a draw in the manner they stopped your midfield from functioning.
Lets see what pans out against Everton . . . .I am so glad United have passed their test already. . . .Over to y'all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think i agree with Jackal that our performance has drastically deterioted in the past few games. We don't create as many chances as we used to, lose possession easily and possession not anything to write home about. If we think, we are going to win the league playing like this, hmmm! AW needs to step up and break some of his principles of not buying world class players who can make things happen rather than depend on Nightmarish Adebayor and biscuit-bone RVP.

fair weather fans - once a result or two don't go well - get rid of Adebayor and RVP

the same Adebayor who scored against MU away last season, the same one who scored twice against spurs this season.

y'all just need to pipe down a bit and show some faith in the gaffer and his boys.

Cut Lordi slack? nah. . .he takes this objectivity thing too far - he sounds almost apologetic most of the time

I guess this is what happens when a hound dog like Jackal steals your chesticles

Arsenal have what it takes to win this premiership crown. . .will they win? Time will tell

On to Everton! At least they won't be defensive and will come out to play - I predict a victory

Gunner 1915

I hope 2 God we beat Everton cos it wont be easy for Man U to drop points once they've like 4points lead. Talking about fair weather fans; that does not mean we shld leave objectivity aside and pretend we are playing well. This is the gunners' thread and i bliv it's d right place for the truth to be said. Adebayor cannot be depended alone for goals! RVP needs to stop picking up injuries and get those goals for us

I tink i agree wid ayusman.Wenger has to realize u need to SPEND to win the league.If the league winners(technicaly the best team in the league) r spending in d region of 50 mil,and the team who finished 4th spend less than half of dat,then u dont need to b a rocket scientist to figure out they probably wont finish above them.

The person i'll blame if we dont win the league would be AW. He has no excuse. Did u watch our games against Boro, Tothtemham and Aston Villa? We were pathetic, losng possession easily. We had every opportunity of extending our lead against the scummies when we lost to Boro.

Wenger has his faults but lets not get carried away.

Wenger knows better than all of us about what is uniting the team and what he can buy that will not upset that balance.

I think we have the personnel already to win the league.

What I think needs doing is to let Adebayor realise that he is not the main man, I think the problem with Adebayor is that he already thinks he is the best striker.

Wenger should bench him a few times and start with other strikers, when he brings on Adebayor the same way he brings on bendneter he will realise his position is not guaranteed.

Let all the strikers (not RVP o!) fight for their place constantly.

Remember Arsene knows.

Sometimes you arsenal fans behave like you severely retarded. You aint gonna win the premiership, and AC Milan is your bus stop for champions league. Forget the league and champions league, then concentrate on carling cup, You got an iota of hope there. The problem with Chelseafc is glaring but with Arsenal it's becoming an innate problem which you gotta live with till God knows when. Sometimes you got wrong priorities. Instead of concentrating on winning, you keep fooling around wiv a shallow unbeaten record, full of draws. Sometimes you claim to have the best style of football yet no trophy for years. Pathetic people, if you ass don't win against everton today kiss the 2nd position goodbye cos that's the best u can get come 2008.

@ Dapsycool,

I admire your courage.
Never knew u could be this blatant . . . .Thumbs up!!!!!!!!!
Let GAYnners continue to be deluded and worship cheap UNBEATEN RUNS . . . Is there a special trophy for being unbeaten?

Chelsea won an amazing 29 league games in 2004/05 season . . . . . . . . . 76.3% WIN
Man Utd won 28 last season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73.7% WIN
Arsenal won 26 games(UNBEATEN SEASON) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68.4% WIN

From the stats above . . . .I believe Chelsea in 2004/05 and Man Utd's records of last season WERE better than Arsenal's UNBEATEN run record.
A team should be measured by the number of victories they notched in a season not by the number of draws . . . . .
For instance . . .Man Utd has LOST more games than Arsenal in the league but Arsenal is below Man Utd because Man Utd has WON more games.

Jackal
ur logic is flawed.A team should be measured by the number of POINTS they hav,NOT wins.ARSENAL had MORE points in 03/04 dan man utd last season. . . Or any other premier league season if i remember correctly.