While a lot of the talk ahead this Premier League match has been about the protests planned by three different Arsenal fan groups, the comments about this from Arsene Wenger and the debate about the manager, the board and the owner Stan Kroenke and who is to blame for our problems, the Gunners do have the small matter of a game to0 win and it is very important that we do so if Arsenal are to ensure a place in the Champions League for next season.
So Wenger and the players really need to focus on the job at hand and with today’s visitors Norwich City being embroiled in a fierce battle to avoid the drop, that task is likely to be a tough one. The Frenchman has been backing his players and talking about their excellent attitude and character and it is time for them to step up and show that he is right to do so.
It is time for the players that Wenger has picked, including under pressure stars like Aaron Ramsey, Olivier Giroud and Per Mertesacker to stand up and be counted but I must say that I am a little surprised to see the same starting line up that failed to score at Sunderland last week.
Cech
Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal
Elneny, Ramsey
Sanchez, Ozil, Iwobi
Giroud
Subs: Gabriel, Wilshere, Ospina, Walcott, Cazorla, Welbeck, Coquelin.
It is good to see Santi Cazorla on the bench and hopefully we will see the Spaniard as well as Jack Wilshere at some point, but will Arsenal be able to give the fans something to shout about other than the protests?
Only one question: WHY START YOUR MOST OUT OF FORM STRIKER IN A GAME WE NEED TO WIN? What is it Wenger sees in Giroud right now that nobody else is seeing?
Shocking team selection Giroud can’t even hit a barn door,he’s a terrible striker and keeps showing it game after game!
He is our top scorer and set Iwobi up twice last game. He brings more than goals to the position. Watch who attacks all the goal kicks from Cech today.
I’m sorry, you must be deluded. What the heck do you do against a static defense that Norwich will be bound to play? They park the bus and you put Giroud on??? Get some pace in there to stretch the defence. *Yawns* Has the season finished yet? I am bored.
yup real deluded. Another knockdown and 3 points. Danny, Alexis, Iwobi, and Theo can not do that. Get multiple crosses in and OG will make things happen. Don’t cross and play around the perimeter and OG will not make things happen. Simple get crosses in. The commentators could see it too bad many here can’t.
Yes, because that is exactly what Bayern and Barcelona do. They have a static lamp post up front they they have to feed pin point crosses to. That is why Welbeck was brought on for pace. Clear, too many people don’t understand this game, as you said.
I could care less about any other league. Never watched a game played in any other league. In the premiership if you can cross you can turn a striker like Giroud into a dangerous weapon. If you want to have someone always run onto a ball then he is not your guy. Having him as a target should help the other forwards score more. Alexis and Walcott this year I thought would have had as many goals as OG.
You don’t watch the Champions League? Your Messiah Wenger talks about it a lot and fails miserably in it, time and again. You could come up with all the excuses in the book but the facts speak for themselves. Look at the league table, when you’re not watching all the clips, Arsene is in, in the Invincibles Documentary.
Never watched a game played in any other league?
Truly shocking!
Of course Champions league but watching teams where only 1 or 2 teams have a chance of winning year after year, sorry not my cup.
BOTH Giroud and Ramsey get another start because of favoritism and merely to anger those who dared to criticize him for these stupid selections the last game.
Wenger is back to coaching because of favoritism and out of spite – to thumb his nose at the fans and his critics.
Now it is just getting sad.
Whatever the result it’s still Wenger OUT!!!..even winning the game 5-0 must not change anything,Wenger has shown he has no respect for the fans!
Hahaha ?
Wenger is having a laugh mate.
He picked that team to spite the fan’s ?
Yes because he knows he is untouchable. To him fans can go to hell. Very stubborn.
If Ozil wants to break the assist record, he should just pass to Alexis every time we attack
I don’t see Giroud scoring
He will.
I cant believe we are starting with ramsey and giroud again? Wenger just clearly has his favorites! What happened to Campbell? Im so pi@&£ off!
He needs to go!
Norwich have just dropped to 19th place in the league,
More incentives for them to come out fighting!
Whereas West Ham have closed the gap between us and them.
Any live reports from the crowd at the Emirates? ?
Whats happening down there… Any fights? … maybe our lads and wenger could pick up a few tricks in that department?
So you reward your player for playing dung by picking them again to do the same. What a useless man. If some one gave me a million I could do the same.
On a match day like this, I support who ever the old man says should put the Arsenal shirt. Better they do well than the frustration Wenger is meting on me.
Wenger and giroud; a better love story than twilight. Unfortunately…
If I may ask, how did Giroud and Ramsey earn their places in the starting line up for the last game and this one??. Campbell has always proved himself at every opportunity but?. El neny and Iwobi earned their places with performance, this must apply to everyone. Pathetic !!!
Campbell isn’t even on the bench…. what the hell?
It’s easy for Wenger to bring back his kids straight into the team but give Campbell a day of while his kids were out for so long due to injury while Campbell was always fit on the bench
EXACTLY. There are better choices for BOTH positions.
Virtually anyone could do better than Giroud at striker right now. (Welbeck, Walcott, Campbell – anyone). And Coq is far better than Ramsey at guarding the defense and distributing the ball forward.
Wenger chose these players out of favoritism and to thumb his nose at those who criticized these same terrible decisions the last game.
Walcott is even worse tbh, so why not put Alexis in the CF position ?! He did well for Barca playing as a no9 !! Put him in the centre and either Campbell or Iwobi on the left, problem solved
2nd to the ball Norwich 3 chances already.
Damn the atmmosphere is rather interesting
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This game looks like our SOS – Same Old S@*t – ably getting the ball into the final third, with Giroud and Ramsey losing it in the penalty area. No pressing and weak defence.
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That was the protest everyone was going on about??? What a half hearted disorganised bottled attempt of a protest. Pathetic
Same as Arsenal. A lot of expectations, poor execution. Sadly.
How Ramsey is a starter at arsenal is beyond me…..he wouldn’t even start for Bournemouth…
Arsenal herself aren’t even interested in playing………….. Nuff said
Stadium full of proud loosers…
the majority has speak! SO SAD
Giroud is totally the wrong player for this game we need to get behind their defence, which requires speed
Boring as F***
*Legs on the TV* *Now Snorring* …….grrrrhhrr
I don’t understand… This is a must win game as man city is unlikely to lead to a result … Yet no style or pressure or ideas against a hapless team …30 mins and not a shot on goal… Ramsey and giroud and mert are championship level players and no more … In fact am not sure giroud is even that level ….
It’s almost as if Wenger and the team want to fail, from awful team selection to players playing in their flip-flops.
that ‘protest’ was embarrassing
Phew thought I was the only one who thought that. That was really embarrassing and has just showed the entire country Wenger is still a loved man. That “protest” has actually just done us MORE HARM THAN GOOD
Before people misunderstand my point- I WANT WENGER OUT!! But that protest was awful, There was like 100 people protesting. That will show the board that the vast vast vast majority of fans still want him in charge. I just don’t know what to say any more. The people who want Wenger in are the same people watching this utter utter $hit!!
We should ask Newcastle or Aston villa to teach us how to protest……
Anyone for Rafa? This game is an absolute joke.
rafa nadal?!
look i know giroud is having a tough time but i dont see how a decent backhand on clay can help us here
I don’t know … seemed to work on Giroud’s jaw just now…
hahahaha
Hahaha ?
Was there a 10% discount voucher left on all the seats for fan’s who didn’t protest and a 30% discount for all the fan’s that sing ” There’s only one deluded Wenger” ?? ???
Half hearted protests with Time for change placards from less than 10% of the fans. Followed by 30% of the stadium singing there’s only one Arsene Wenger. Thankfully the disgraceful, self obsessed, ungrateful and narcissistic plastics don’t reign at the emirates…..just in their own little worlds. Unless things change at 78 mins the paying fans have spoken…get lost plastics!!
I think am watching one of the most boring first half our season,and to see a deluded fan boldly showing his support and wenger,saying he’s ashamed of Arsenal fans is really unbelievable
that must be “Krish”
Krish doesnt even know where london is
“Showing his support for Wenger”
I’m sick and tired of us always passing the ball on the edge of the box and give the ball away and than concede on the counter attack! All this possesion counts for nothing we’re just wasting our own time!
Jesus I know this is a tactic but damn, Norwich’s entire team are around their 18 yard box. When teams park the bus it makes an already boring game that much worse when you have no intentions of playing some real football. With that said we don’t help the situation any by constantly trying to walk the ball in the net…
The solution is shoot on sight
This is a very boring game. Players should be paid an ok salary with results bonuses, same with ‘top’ managers..
arsenal playing
pass pass pass fall down
pass pass pass hit the player
pass pass bore
john ruddy should have brought his xbox hes wasting priceless call of duty time here
While we have disjoint amongst Arsenal fans, we can only expect more of the same. Maybe those Wenger supporters were planted by Kroenke or Wenger, who knows?
Or Spuds possibly
Norwich look more likely to score at the moment, do we want to drop out of the top four? Certainly looks like it.
Will some one go into that changing room and stick the boot into a few of those lazy bollo……..and tell them to play out wide this is shit
If anyone needs further proof of wenger’s utter inability to lead a quality team then that 45 minutes should be it …. Shocking failure of a manager
norwich deserve a lead here
boos at half time
4 times in last 9 games we havent registered a single shot on target
sad
Wenger can blame us all he likes, but needs to do some navel gazing himself. We look like Stoke.
We need Campbell and Wellbeck, it is so obvious. Even Tim Sherwood is saying so. Why on earth isn’t Wenger seeing it? Doesn’t make sense.
Griezmann has just scored for Athletico……… Congratulations to the boy
Utter sh** is taking place at the Emirates…..Boring down ere
That guy turned down Wenger his own countryman to play for Simeone in the summer of 2014. Do you blame him?
Yeah let’s play the same team that couldn’t win in our last game, it should work this time. Don’t even know if I’m more pissed off with Wenger for this selection or the players for being on vacation. I counted at least 3 clear chances Norwich should have taken the lead and Cech saved a couple.
Giroud was totally the wrong man for this game, he was at the beginning of the half, and he is at the end of the half. Could any PL manager do worse than Wenger at the moment?
Correction.
Giroud is the wrong man for arsenal period.
The only way he ever scores or he is ever going to score is The type of goal your grandma can score.
A TAP -IN
The only fans I see protesting enthusisticly are the Wenger fans that want him to stay. What a joke.
Well what can I say ..just bloody disgraceful I can’t see what the future holds for us under wenger ..not only that I hate to say its really Boring.lets hope better in the second half
Ozil sent him a nice long cross & he headed the ball away from goal ? What the heck is Giroud doing ?
I feel nauseated watching a 3-legged donkey leading Arsenal’s attack ! Totally no sense of positioning ! No football skills ! Can’t run for his life !
Shoot ffs
We literally have NO idea of what to do to win this game..
It’s Norwich FFS!
There is no creativity in the middle …. Need either wilshere or cazorla …
DANIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!
Welbeck – there was never any doubt he would get a goal
and OG the knockdown assist.
Good goal from Welbeck.
How many more fouls by Norwich is this idiot Mike Jones going to ignore?
Can we bring on Coquelin to shore up the defense please Wenger?????
What a ball ! Ozil !
mesut ozil
how the hell did he even control that?
i feel like i should have fainted when he did that
What is Mike Jones on???? Clear corner from save from OZil yet he gives a goal kick!!
OMG that ball from Ozil to Sanchez on the break!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We need Coquelin to give some steel to the defence…. Living dangerously at the back
Mystic Meg?
Let’s just hope he doesn’t bring on Walcott…….
I fear a 1-1..sorry.
Hope we score another but more important is that we dont concede
Phew..
Goodbye alex i appreciate what you have done, i wish you every success
Not to be overwhelmed by the hallowed victory we should be putting teams like this to the sword in the first half. His starting team was dire no umph up front. WelBeck changed the game, well hello why did he not start? Even 1 up we were all waiting for the sucker punch. After all Norwich are 3rd from the bottom. Well again its the home supporters fault that we are in such a state.
….because teams fighting relegation at this time of year are notoriously easy to play right? Wrong.
boring game
Watching a very poor game . But am proud of the 100 fans who protested. At least ,,they are not deluded like the rest. Oneday,,,my love for arsenal will fade forever. I can’t be having nightmares all the time we play. Well,,,if things go too bad,,,,I have Madrid to support. Don’t blame me. Its like arsenal have no focus and directions
Stop talking about it & do it, if you have actually entertained the idea- you are clearly one of the plastic, fair-weather fans. Put any thought into why it was such a tiny minority protesting perchance? Commenters on this site are becoming unbearable.
Off you go then. Toodle pip.
We don’t want “fans” like you.
Ugly win, but a win. Thank God for wellbeck
No review article?
yeah sorry guys
an emergency came up and I was in charge
I better be nice to admin for a while
COYG
Arsenal=Apathy
Player ratings from Arsenal – Norwich
Cech – 8
Bellerin – 6
Mertesacker – 6
Koscielny – 7
Monreal – 6
Mohamed Elneny – 7
Aaron Ramsey – 6
Alexis Sanchez – 5
Mesut Ozil – 6
Alex Iwobi – 5
Olivier Giroud – 5
Gabriel – 6
Danny Welbeck – 7
Francis Coquelin – 6
What do you think
giroud 6????? same as ozil? he was more a 2 ffs he is supposed to be a striker but he just passes in the box , it was lucky that welbeck was in the right place