There is no doubt that Arsenal are left in a tricky situation after a no score draw with Besiktas in the fiurst leg of the Champions League play-offs. The away goals rule can always come back to haunt you if you don’t get one, but most Arsenal fans will be more concerned about us having to face the second leg without Aaron Ramsey.
It just highlights how much the Welshman has turned his fortunes around at the club, from being seen as a jinx and a sure sign of defeat, to being the player we look to as our talisman and the one to get us out of trouble. But I cannot complain too much about the two yellows, even though the second was a touch soft.
The fact is that we need to beat the Turkish side without him, and with no disrespect, if arsenal cannot do that then we shouldn’t be in the group stages. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain certainly stated his case for a start next week, while Wilshere may do better being a little more withdrawn. Also, the whole team should be up to speed by then. And don’t forget, Gooners, that we should have Ozil, Podolski and Mertesacker available as well, giving the team much more attacking and defensive options.
The European red card also means that Rambo can really go for it against Everton on Saturday and that game could be just as important, if not more, come the end of the season. Don’t panic, Gooners, not yet anyway…
look at Atletico .. they sold their best players and still looked solid..
its manager tactics
Totall agreee…..
every season its the same old shit…
As a team we look very weak, Our midfield have no bite to them as we keep buying little fancy players but they are no good at takling and getting stuck in, Santi for me this year dont want to play maybe he is looking for a move !!!! Jack in in and out of games he is so inconsistanat, Arteta past his best and needs to be replaced, Wenger needs to look at the time and improve it, Last year we got Ozil this year we got Alexis but we are not using them to there full potental, Ransey is class but we can keep hoping for is magic to get us out of shit, Giroud for me is a waste of time we need a top top forward he battles away but he is far below the class we need,
their no chance we’ll play worse than we did today
even without ramsey
we’ll be alright
Very true, Wenger should learn to deploy different tactics during the game (one trick pony) and make sub’s for Christ sakes. Wenger’s policy of giving players certain players chance to play at the expense of the team winning is acceptable. We had potential match winners on the bench but he stuck with underperforming Jack and Carzola on the pitch.
As for Girould, men even though his not in full form the man has to learn ball control or atleast running a few meters with the ball! It hurt watching our midfield battle for the ball play OG in only for him to loose the ball with a weak touch/sloppy touch. OG is only good in the box lashing onto the ball or one turn and shoot on goal, however the modern game requires abit more work and intelligence from the striker. In modern day football, you cant win major trophies with him as your lead striker.
“not acceptable” oops, abit emotional as last nights performance gave a some how negative impression to the rest of Europe. People actually expect big things from us and looking at last nights performance lets not right off our Turkish opponents so fast. We need to step up
Why all negative and point finger to our player and manager after just one not so good result. The same team beat Man City 3 nil to claim the CS not long back.
We are missing 3 first team players in Ozil, Mertersacker, Walcott.
Our season preparation is disrupted by the World Cup more than Atletico and much more than our opponent Besiktas
We have to travel a long distance after an intensive game on Sat and play in one of the most hostile stadium.
And please give respect to our opponent – they are way fitter and work their sock off since the start. When we are down to 10 men, you expect them to push us but no, we are the one who got the better chances. They are all exhausted (see how Cabaye running past 2 of their players, and Ox danced between 4 defenders) as they had aggressively closed down our players for the first 75 mins denying us any space. If the cunt referee does not dismiss Ramsey for a small shirt tug, we could have win it within the last 10-15 mins with 11 on the pitch.
Sometimes we look poor because our opponent is good as well. Just be patient, we need to support our team to get through the tough start of the season – CL qualification also gives Wenger more money to strengthen the squad before the market close.
COYG
I am not sure Cabaye watched the game last night let alone playing last night.
If we are strong in depth we shouldnt be worrry about losing a player…..
Sadly we are not, and even when we have good players on the bench Wenger cant make a change until a player limps off or waits for the 84th minute. I really wish we had an assistant couch who could challenge Wenger and actually bring in some new tactics. A combination of Bould and we groom a new guy to take over Wenger after his time is done would be good (e.g. Berkamp / or any better alternative)
Not a problem jack will take his spot and that will move santi out of the LW to the middle where he is comfortable.
we are not going 2 win anything with giroud upfront + the pitch was crap as expected but at emirates it will be a different game hopefully podoslki will start upfront
nothing new
its been mentioned for the last 2 seasons and nothing has been done….and will not be done
Wenger is to blame for not adding a top CF,we scored the least amount of goals of all the top 4 yet we still have Giroud as our main striker,all he’s done is buy replacements and not add to our squad!
We are not the only one who are frustrated with Giroud, Wenger had worked on that since last season (bid for Higauin and Suarez). He also knows Giroud is the plan B striker at best.
Yes we desperately need a new striker but we cannot satisfy with wasting money on mediocre or the same shit happen again (so dont mention Martinez, Bony, Huntelaar – they are not the proven world class one they need). We have money to spend but we are not like Chelsea or Man City who can just trash a player if they are not up to the job. We simple cannot afford to spend like 30M on Martinez then next season bench him and sign another striker if he does not perform. Look at how Spurs struggle to offload flop like Soldado.
Be patient as many good strikers are not available in the market and in Arsenal wage range, rumour still circle around linking us with Cavani, and everyone talking about us making a big siging once our CL status confirmed
I totally disagree with you as this is the same thing that was said by a few guys when we suggested Costa as our front man. Bony is scoring goals non stop for a mid table team with very average midfielders. Bony would have scored the chances Giroud missed last night. I am not saying Bony is world class but almost any striker that have scored more than 10 goals for an average team in the league will do better than Giroud in an Arsenal shirt.
I watched him last Sat in Man Utd match and he is average, a sharper Giroud at best. He had one good season but once he got some reputation, defenders will learn him and track him. Only if he can put in another 20 goals this season then I rate him, else he is just another one season wonder like Michu, Benteke. For now still unproven, we should not gamble on him and pay inflated fee.
WTF are you talking about, Bony scored 34-36-26 in the last 3 seasons.
The guy is a natural goal scorer, if we had him up front being supplied by our midfield he would be on 30 goals a year.
I’m pretty sure we have already won two trophies with him up front? and Podolski has never scored a goal for us when playing as a striker. he’s awful there. we just need to stop playing Santi out wide and give Joel a chance
We’ll have Özil, Mertesacker and Podolski back for the second leg. Not too worried, though I thought it was a bad performance from the whole team and foolish by Ramsey.
I blame Wenger partly for Ramsey’s red card, the game was played at full speed for the 1st 50 or so minutes and players were tired. Even from the comfort of our homes we all saw that Ramsey was tired and he was a silly mistake away to getting another card.
WHY DOES WENGER FEAR MAKING CHANGES DURING THE GAME!!! I mean we had players on the bench who would have been potential match winners (TR7 for Wilshere or Rambo before the red / Campbell for Carzola who was poor the entire game). We all saw what the Ox did when he came on. At the rate at which we are going players will be worn out before mid – season, we cant be making changes in the 84th minute all the time! What’s the point of having players on the bench if you cant use them to change dynamics of the game.
Well on a post yesterday I suggested resting the likes of Ramsey and Alexis for this game, other folks at justarsenal seemed to think it would be silly to rest them after the first game.
Well now Ramsey is shattered, can’t possibly be 100% for Everton this weekend. Do we play Alexis against Everton? He’s played 2 games already and given the importance of winning the second leg, we can’t miss him for that game can we? But we can’t expect him to play both of those games as well as the ones he’s already played. Same with Wilshere and Cazorla. This is why squad rotation is key, we can’t go into important games like this with a tired squad.
Yes they’ve only played two games, but they aren’t even fully fit yet. No way they can play 5 games in 15 days.. The Germans have to be our saving grace now..
You can not have Cazorla on the left with Giroud. 2 of your front 3 with no pace. Completely unbalanced, esp with a tight midfield 3.
cazorla & wilshere are similar type of players we need pace hope wenger drops cazorla & play ox at the home game
Wilshere must also be dropped I don’t know why he’s always spared from criticism and Rosicky must come in to bring that energy we missing
Exactly. And then playing wilshere along with ramsey and only having 1 player with pace does nothing for our attack, sanchez would be all alone cause he’d be the only 1 that’d make the run and he’s the only with PACE so he even had to wait on others.
Since ramsey is out, wilshere should play the b2b role, and have campbell or the ox start on the left with ozil or santi as the #10.
I would love to see anyone on the LW right now – As you state, Campbell and Ox are the most obvious choices. With the current lineup Arsenal are effectively playing without a LW unless Sanchez switches to the left.
No worries. The pitch was pathetic. Players were not fit at all. The match is at our home. We have a very strong. Ozil will be back. Rosicky, jack etc are there. We will win. It was important not lose that away leg. Should have won but lets face them at emirates. We will go through.
if arteta injury is serious wenger needs 2 get cdm he shouldn’t wait for cl qualification the fact that wenger will make a big signing only cl qualification shows his confidence
poor planning
Ramsey`s red is not a disaster that a top club can`t handle. Talking of top clubs and , as an Arsenal fan for many decades, I have to say that “in this modern world”, right or wrong, they are not the elite. Mourinho has Wenger`s measure no doubt about that, I call him the `Buccaneer`, he has that swashbuckling look about him (handsome bastard too). No, he wouldn`t last two minutes at Arsenal (they`re of the old school) but with the wild Russian he can`t go wrong.
I hope Wenger can see our squad is not strong enough at all,he’s only signed replacements and Sanchez we need reinforcements,players who will better the squad even the CB he will sign is a replacement for Vermaelen where’s the CF,DM,LW we need?
In the past I have believed that Wenger MUST see what the fans and analysts see. But after many years I cannot say I believe it anymore.
I don’t think Wenger sees what the fans see nor does he care what the fans thinks. He is secure in his beliefs (ego) and will not budge until HE sees the need.
We all must decide if that is acceptable to us as fans because that seems to be the reality.
The game was one of the worst Arsenal performances I have seen. We looked clueless with the ball. The pitch was like the park where I play footie. But excuses aside, it was poor showing.
The only thing I liked in this game was the way Debuchy was up for a fight when Jack was trying to be bullied by that Besiktas player. The way Debuchy and Flamini ran at him was, something missing in the team.
But one thing I realised was without Mesut we are like a lion without its claws. I have never seen us so confused with the ball. Besiktas was made to look good with our performance. Cazorla, Jack, Ramsey was just running in to players with the ball. No entricate passing, no weighted through balls. None.
Yes, we were riding our luck. Bilic’s attitude was disgusting through out the match.
The most positive thing is we can only get better.
Giroud needs to be dropped, he wouldn’t score even if he had Ronaldo, Di Maria, Xavi or Messi around him
People go on about how ‘good’ our transfer business has been this summer, but in truth, we haven’t got what we needed; A DM and striker
Arteta has a sprained ankle. 2 games into season 9 players out
wenger needs to take some tough decision whats point of having diaby if remains unfit all the time & same for myachi/coq/miquel
It has been good – it is just not finished. Sanchez will clearly add to the team and Chambers has been a pleasant surprise.
Hopefully Wenger sees it as unfinished also.
Wenger is waiting for UCL qualification next week to use that money to sign a player before deadline, at least i hope. Now we need to buy a proper DM for the future and loan in Loic Remy with the ability of purchase at the end of the season. That will push him to play better for us. We will not get the top class CF we need this season so i think a loan for Remy is a good move. At this point i will feel better seeing anybody else but Giroud upfront. Our game looks great with Sanogo upfront but he is too injury prone to be reliable. With a new DM and Remy we will have way better chances to achieve something. Oh and before you thumb me down, first try to think of any good striker we can get at this time, knowing Wenger won’t be splashing money on one.
There was a reason Sonogo started the Palace game. That is because Giroud is not match fit. Sonogo was injured. Giroud had to deputise. Fan favourite Poldi and Theo could do that, but they are no where near that. One is still in holiday mode, and the other injured his a**of when we needed him the most.
Say what you want but what if Giroud came late like Poldi back. Than Wenger would have been no option but to start Akpom upfront.
Giroud is not world class. Even my dog knows that. But don’t riducle him for things beyond his control. He was not fit to start a match. He puts in a shift. And does what asked.
Also Santi should have scored that opener that went begging across the face of goal.
Was lack of match fitness to blame when Giroud missed the chance from Ramsey’s through ball,was match fitness to blame when he fell over in the box instead of taking a shot,Falcao has been injured for 6months but if he gets 1 chance he scores that’s the sort of striker we need!!
That’s why Falcao worth 50M and earn 300K a week. Giroud worth 11M and earn 80K.
Yes we need a striker like Falcao as Giroud a super sub at best, should not be starter for big club as Arsenal.
The market is inflated and difficult, we are not the only one struggle to buy a class striker. Liverpool still does not properly replace Suarez, Dortmund has to sign a young player like Immobile to replace Lewandowsky, Juventus spent premium to get an unproven Morata which still has the buy back clause. Try to support and give understanding to the man in charge, it won’t be easy once you step into their shoes
I am not sure that starting Akpom is a bad idea at this point. I think he is inexperienced but has more talent and loads more pace than Giroud and he is more experienced and proven than Sanogo.
he is good but he’s not ready yet. he is a bit like Theo when he made awesome runs but just couldn’t finish. he will get there though
Arsenal can celebrate
a victorious away draw.
From bergkhamp to henry to van persie to…giroud to.. sanogo!! I don t like criticizing our players and understand they play thier best but over and over again we are reminded its not good enough
the drop in quality in our strikers is a big worry the fact Wenger doesn’t seam to acknowledge this is a even bigger worry!
after yesterdays match im convinced we need a clinical striker!
personally i don’t feel the transfer business with exception to Sanchez is that of a team pushing for the bpl let alone the CL i feel its a shame but its not all doom and gloom as we have alot of players to come back and still time left in the transfer window to make something happen…in Wenger we trust ay *coversface
So wenger gets a hefty pay rise and this is the result…..board happy if we gets another cl run even if we can’t get passed first knock out stage but fans being taken for a ride…the main point abt these two games is that we looked ordinary against lowly opposition…wenger’s wizards…please…created about 3 or 4 chances in 180 mins…ozils return will make a difference for sure but mert and podl will not bring anything not there already….splash the cash or another frustrating season ahead
When you raise a good point,learn to butress it with a relevant scenario. Y’all keep saying we only replace and not reinforce. Can you name me a team that doesnt replace? Costa and drogba for ba and eto likewise fab for lampard. The whole team bar the defence and keeper played shit but most of you single out giroud.if ramsey played shit its giroud.he got a red, its giroud. Common guys,learn to be fair in critising,dont just pick on a player. Yes, giroud wont take us anywhere and i pray wenger would open his eyes to see it but as par last match the mid to the front is shit. Please,stop all these carzola is not a winger. Can you name a team that played carzola as a cam?i will rather have you say carzolas legs cant do the lw work again. We need a cb(a decent 1), a dmf(spare me all these world class shit. Calvaho isnt worldclass but i would be happy if we sign him or any1) and also a cf(remy will do for now).
I don’t care whether or not you call Cazorla a winger or not. But nothing changes the reality that Cazorla NEVER performs well as a winger. He sometimes performs well when “assigned” to the LW but he really then just goes central and then the team has NO left winger. This in turn reduces the width and the effectiveness of the attack.
And in fact Cazorla has excelled at Arsenal most often when assigned to the middle. That is just reality. Why do you think everyone notices it and says it? Not just fans – analysts also. Everyone. (except wenger of course).
The only thing that was worse than Giroud yesterday was the pitch.
We need another striker Giroud 2nd choice simple!
I don’t know any fan who is satisfied with Giroud as #1 striker. But so many fans just get angry with him as if he is the enemy. He is not. He is the top goal scorer from last season – like it or not – that is the fact.
Wenger picks the players. Wenger decides the transfers. The anger should be directed where it belongs – toward Wenger if Giroud does not satisfy. Does anyone believe Giroud is trying to disappoint the fans?
We all want a better #1 striker. But this constant chorus calling for Giroud to be castrated does NOTHING. NOTHING. NOTHING.
From some comments, 1 can sense that some fans are happy we performed poorly so as to say”i told you so” which explains why some where jubilating cos arteta was injured. I just pray we land 2 to 3 more players.we just need to either sell or loan coquelin and miguel to provide space for two cos we stil have a spot left in the 25man squard.
Credit where its due. If you can’t win, don’t lose. Keep fighting boys.
There is still anger at Giroud – some of it deserved some of it not. But at least the comments make some sense now.
At least we all agree that Arsenal need a different striker to rely on even though Giroud is the top goal scorer in the club – need either Akpom or Campbell or a new transfer but Giroud will NEVER satisfy the fans – nah gunna appen.
Cant wait for Arsene. Wengers contract to run out.His time is up.New broom.required.
When red nose retired new kids on the block where ready to take over but we are not one of them.I’ve.been a gooner longer than most and have seen more past sellbuy datemanagers than I. can count.His time is up..If you think this squad is good enough to win the EPL you must be nuts.Oh,I haven’t forgotten the FA cup mediocre scrambled. win.
If we are being honest, this early into the season it is quite concerning that the likes of Gibbs Arteta are injured already. Yes, the Germans are coming back but how long until they’re “match fit”? We can get around Rambo missing 1 game as we are ok regarding AMs but our Defence is thread bare even when Merts back. Our striker choice is woeful. I’m sure we will win at the emirates but some more serious work is needed with transfers.
I think we just need manolas as a back-up cb; bcos Chambers will be a great DM or CB, his perofromance was gr8; just imagine per n kos with chambers sitting in front of them, we got. D real deal, so manolas n cavani would be cool, but with arteta out, kheira, rabiot Or carvalho or even scheiniderlin wld be gr8
A few days ago I was reading how great Wenger is and how many games Arsenal would win this season. Now all I read is that the season is a waste with Wenger and the current crop of players.
Of course, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Arsenal are short a few positions. But the hopelessness is ridiculous.
Keep in mind, Arsenal had MANY players in the WC – the only EPL team with more I think was Chelsea – and they add new players like I change my underclothes.
Arsenal also have had more games early this season with this short squad. Comm Shield, EPL game and CL qual. And all these games with nearly the same players. The game in turkey was played only 3 days after Palace and included the long trip and an outing on a cattle pasture instead of pitch. And they escaped with 10 men and a draw.
Give these tired players a break. After a few days rest, and when more players return to availability, things will look much different.
We can only hope Wenger FINISHES the transfer business that is clearly unfinished.
agree with this..and sad truth is we only need a couple more real quality signings…but seems wenger is already digging his heals in…i think he still believes that diaby is the man for defensive midfield, that arteta can still run the mid field that grioud will finally come good in epl or that sonogo will bully other defences…none of these assumptions is grounded in reality (that s the problem with having an economist as a football manager)…and there is no excuse for overpaid professional athletes to be exhausted after a couple of competitive games..none…anyway just compare the workrate of sanchez to giroud or sonogo…
@mohawk
“Give these tired players a break”??
The season started 4 days ago and we already have tired legs??? gimme a brake dude. We ended the season needing a DM and Striker. We have started a new one still needing a DM and a Striker.
i’m not worried about arsenal going through, besiktas had their chance and they blew it.
I guess Campbell, Ox and Sanchez might start the Everton game because Giroud is tired not fit, Sanogo seems injured and Cazorla should take #10. With Ramsey Flamini as b2b, having back 5 as expected, we can give tough competition to Everton and hopefully we can introduce Ozil, Poldi and BFG as substitutes or even Rosicky instead of BFG will do!
My thought even one of the Campbell or Ox should go for Everton, probably OX, because he is looking dangerous, we can try Campbell for Besiktas home game.
My lineups
for Everton (A)
Pole
Debuchy Chambers Kos Monreal
Flamini/Rosicky Ramsey
Sanchez Cazorla Chamberlain/Campbell
Giroud/Campbell
Substitutes: Matinez, Bellerin, BFG, Wilshere, Ozil, Podolski, Campbell
for Besiktas (h)
Pole
Debuchy BFG Kos Monreal
Chambers Wilshere
Sanchez Ozil Podolski
Giroud/Campbell
Substitutes: Matinez, Bellerin, BFG, Wilshere, Rosicky, Cazorla, Campbell
Error : Flamini instead of BFG in Bench for Besiktas (h)
When I was a young bloke (about a million years ago) old, useless bastards used to be presented with the `gold watch` on retirement to thank them for their years of dedication and loyal service. Most sat on their arse for fifty years after leaving school and polished the leather seat until you could see your face in it. They also had a carousel of rubber stamps to show their authority. Nobody ever understood why they were there, they just were, like furniture. Maybe it`s gold watch time at Arsenal.
We are here bearing out how we feel on the inside, Will Wenger listen? He’s very sturborn. Again, playing Giroud in yesterday was awkard when we had Cambel on the bench the worst was when he substituted sanchez leaveing Giroud on the pitch.
With how he is playing so far, I wont miss him at all> I just hope its not back to the old poor Ramsey!