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Galatasaray v Arsenal review – Gunners reserves trounce the Turks

Arsenal could not have asked for a better start in Turkey.

With a second string side out, including some players like Bellerin in unfamiliar positions and some like Podolski and Campbell with hardly any minutes on the pitch, fierce home crowd and a Galatasaray team playing for pride and a new manager, it could have been a tough night for us.

But once Podolski has put Arsenal into an early lead in the first couple of minutes, latching on to a great ball from the excellent Chamberlain and smashing it into the top corner, the Gunners took complete control. The second goal was not long in coming and was very similat to the first, with the Oz playing Ramsey in on the left, but the Welshman’s finish was placed inside the far post.

We really could have had more than three goals in the first half, with Campbell bringing a sharp save and Podolski hitting the bar and plenty of chances, Ramsey’s second was worth more than one. It was an unbelievable strike with his left foot from long range.We will be watching that for a long time and he may never hit a football more sweetly and the Gunners were in dreamland at the break.

Unlikely as it seemed at kick-off, the 6-0 win that would have made us top the group with a Dortmund draw was on. But Wenger decided to give young Maitland-Niles and Zelalem 45 minutes to replace Ramsey and Flamini in the centre. That was probably always the plan and with Ramsey apparently feeling a twinge and Flamini having been booked, it was the sensible thing to do.

Inevitably the second half did not live up to the first and Dortmund took the lead anyway, so Arsenal had played it perfectly. We had to a lot more defending after the break but after some recent disasters, it was good to see the Gunners much more solid and committed. Unfortunately we could not keep a clean sheet as Sneijder scored a top class free kick with a few minutes on the clock. Buy a last second goal from Podolski left us on a high with the same 4-1 we won by in London.

Debuchy could only last 75 minutes so young Stefan O’Connor got a memorable debut and the Frenchman;s return to fitness is a massive boost. Now we just need to do some damage in the Premier League and hope for a favourable draw in Europe for a change. Hey, you never know…

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186 Comments

    1. Hell no. This game is just another proof of how headless Wenger has been this autumn.

      Enough is enough, #Wengerout

        1. It amazes me that fans with no football knowledge and whose only talent is internet postings can demand that Wenger leave.

          Sit down, get a another crisp, watch the game, and leave coaching for people who don’t own FIFA14.

          You really think Kronke listens to the rabble?

          1. one good thing about a manager who doesnt know who his best players are is that when he sends out what he thinks are second stringers like pod, we get good results.

      2. Listen, guys!!! We just beat the Turkish Giants, why do you want Wenger to leave? It’s not like we won’t secure fourth position in the EPL this season or won’t get knocked out in the next round of the CL, as usual.

        1. If we get drawn against Barca, Bayern I’m gonna assume we crashed in the group stages, makes no difference.

        2. And you’re going to be happy with a fourth place in the league and a secure exit in the first round of the knockout stages in CL? For god’s sake, where’s your ambition???

          These turkish giants ended last in their group with 1p in total.

          #SelectiveGoldfishMemory

        3. That was a poor poor performance by Galatasaray they gave so much space to us big mistake, I think they had over 20 attempts against us but all shots was a waste of time, i’m over the moon for wining some great individual performance Rambos goal i stil can’t belive what a goal excellent and he looked relived hope it will help him to settle now, OX was as always dangerous Debuchy looked solid for 60 mnts all in all good night and it was entertaining to watch no hart attack tonight 🙂

          1. so now when we kill a team away we blame the win on how poor the competition was? oh my, have we declined as a fan base, embarrassing,

            2. @luvdaguns

              Why does the truth hurt you so much? I have seen Galatasaray play many many times and they were pore today and I was not saying we was bad, the only declin on her people coment without thinking.

            3. some good performances from some arsenal players……

              but galatassary were also quite bad in the 1st half.

              both can be true at the same time.

          2. We still managed to get 4 goals away in a champions league match.T
            hats hard to do mate, Madrid only got 4, who did they play, and it was 11 vs 10
            Nit picking now..

    2. No, I don’t want everyone singing Wenger’s praises again, not because of one game, this always happens, when we win its Wenger in, when we loose its Wenger out, bottom line is, we’re still not good enough under Wenger and when we get stuffed up at Anfield again next weekend then everyone will hate him again. The man needs to go.

      1. It amazes me that fans with no football knowledge and whose only talent is internet postings can demand that Wenger leave.

        Sit down, get a another crisp, watch the game, and leave coaching for people who don’t own FIFA14.

        You really think Kronke listens to the rabble on the internet?
        Kronke is an absentee owner, he flies is twice a year and Wenger has AFC running profitably.

        Are you going to fire Wenger, are you on the board? Do you have Kronke DNA?

        Please, a fan wanting to fire Wenger is like a teen wishing for sex with Jessica Alba. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN !!

        1. what a horrible attitude! we are arsenal fans: thats why we want more.
          should we all keep our heads down?

    4. no wenger still has to go at the end of the year.
      Such a shame he didn’t send the boys out in the second half with the belief to go and score the 6, played it cautious when we had nothing to lose, absolute lack of optimism meant we lost top spot

      1. 17 year old kids, you want them to both score hatricks from the half way line.
        Justarsenal way of thinking.

        1. No im not saying that, they were just set out with the wrong mentality and were told to slow the game down and defend which probably means we’ll be knocked out first round

    5. okay! Now we are eligible to talk about POSITIVES…….. How many POSITIVES were there in this match?…….. Lets start with poLdi, then campbell then Niles, zelalem etc…….. L()L

    6. Just how fickle are our fans???
      One that’s 1, ONE fookin win and the sheep follow each other.
      Yesterday anti Wenger thumbs up/down were running at 70-90%, today nigh on 50/50.
      Any fan that changed their mind after one game should be ashamed of themselves.

      Ramsey was the difference in that game, soon as he cam off we looked blunt.
      Let’s see how many sheep are calling for him to be benched now?

      Spineless sheep you make me laugh!

    7. Is it me or does sczesney look a lot skinnier this season? Seems to have lost some physicallity? maybe thats why he is struggling for form? Idk just an observation

    9. Wenger’s “weaker” team always perform well…..those times when he claim he’s ravaged by injuries, or has players banned?????????
      The two players we all feel should be in the starting 11 or at least be rotated with others(LP9 and Campbell) had 6shots on target two goals and uncountable through passes not to mention the interventions defensively.
      That was our best first half this season.
      Used to praise LP9 for his left foot just didn’t know he’s right was fine at cool finishes as well.
      every player was fine except may be Sir no goal.
      WE HAVE A GOOD SQUAD MISSING ON JUST A FEW PLAYERS, WENGER IS OUR REAL PROBLEM SO HE MUST GO.

        1. Don’t matter what he does, he will be benched. He scored and won possession, made crucial tackles in the middle which lead to counter attacks.

          Logic -> bench him.

  4. Poldi scored in the last min, how you right that fast ????RAMBO GOAL WAS THE BEST GOAL IN FOOTBALLS HISTORY.

  7. Very nice game to watch. Can’t say I was very impressed by Galatasaray but also not very impressed by our 17 yrs old boys. O’Connor had the excusse that the usually plays CB. But what a player Bellerin is.
    Now you all have the answer why Campbell can’t find game time in EPL. Podolski can’t function without support, that much is obvious. I reckon that with Giroud in he could have got a hat trick.
    Oh well, at least we have the screamer from Rambo as the goal of the season.

    2. Blindness incarnated,you defend a washed up manager and you are not able to recognize talent where it is.
      Campbell has all the attributes of a good footballer,he is fast,can dribble and is a good passer.I agree he is raw but whose fault is it,the lad had barely more than 2 hours of play the entire season.Ox is coming good now because he can plays a lot and has confidence that even if he is poor he gonna play.Campbell and Poldi are under pressure when ever they have play time.Campbell had a good game and gonna be a talent in the future where ever he is,I like him.
      Good game,I wish wenger would rotate more and give more than his circle of favourite.
      Substitution early,that a new,maybe he gonna start to listen and change,we can dream.

      1. Well, if he does have the qualities (and I don’t doubt that) then all he has to do is to show them on the pitch. Wake me up when that happens.

        1. Tell me what he has done wrong in this game,he had not a great game but he had a good game.Did he had to score to be good in your eyes,from my point he had a very good contribution defensively and offensively.
          You compare his performance and thos of may of Wenger favourites all the year long and you will see that he did well.

          1. Well,at least we agree he did not had a good game. Here’s a start. And no, throwing Wenger in the mix does not make your argument stronger (if you had one) and certainly does not impresses me or allows you to get away with it.

            1. .Nevermind Campbell is just a arsenal player,we both have opinions on him and it will change nothing of our life who win.I wish him good,i wish Wenger good and i wish you good.good night.

          2. Firstly, let me say that I like Campbell and think he has a great future. But I was quite disappointed with his performance in this game. It may not all be his own fault – maybe he was trying too hard to impress, after being on the bench just about the whole season. But he was indecisive, lost the ball to the opposition too many times, did not run off the ball much and his passing was not good at all.

  8. Great result and some good performances which I hope will gives a bit of confidence to get three points on Saturday.

    1. when he started last yr he was a bit uninspiring. but today he was on. yes, he *IS* inconsistent. i think he’s worth 30min in some PL games. not the 10 that he gets.
      great to see ramsey and caz scoring in last 2 games.
      great to see pod getting 2 today.
      just a bit of balm for the stoke result.

  10. Don’t know some of you guys were slating Joel, I thought he had a decent performance. Sure he dribbled a lot, but ffs who hasn’t on our squad?

    1. I don’t undestand what he did wrong? His corners were bad but I guess in everyone’s mind is that one mispass he made. He was decent on the first half, on the second he and our whole team disappeared.

      1. he did nothing really wrong, problem is he did nothing right either, if a defender, thats fine, but as a striker, need to see something, anything, Poldi shined, damn I dig watching him, he kinda sleeps and the boom, he nails it

      2. due to our anderlecht experience, once we scored 3 , we shut up the shop.
        thats not disappearing.
        actually we dont really know how to shut up shop properly: what u saw was arsenal’s version of it.

  11. Unfortunately our game ended when Zelalem and Niles came on.. looked like we were playing with 10 men.

    Ramsey, I really hope he gets the confidence boost he needs. Podolski, great game. He defended really well, no one can deny it.

    So, let’s hope PSG wins tomorrow so we won’t have the chance to face Barca. Then we just need to dodge Real and Bayern..

  12. Always never enough!

    When will we start to get all that is needed to move a step further? Maybe when Arsene leaves that seat.

      1. Are you well at all? Nothing was directed to you, why the attack? You can lick Arsene’s ass if you want, my opinion about him remains unshaken.

        1. Wenger had to take off Flamini and Ramsey, i think you should support a team that never loses.

    1. @captaincumstain Guess what Arsenal reserves looked better today than the A-team against Stoke on Saturday!

  14. what if we’ve gotta face bayern again and bayern beat us 1-3 at the emirates again and we beat them 2-0 at the alliance and bayern qualify with the away goal and chelsea win the champions league and we fail to finish top 4 and hull get their revenge and beat us the fa cup and sanchez go back to barcelona cuz suarez cant score and ozil move to man city and man u win the premiere league and wenger doesnt resign and giroud welbeck remains our strikers and flamini arteta our defensive midfielders and merty our defender and captain until 2030 oh oh oh oh oh 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

      1. whos trying too hard mate?? ive been arsenal fans since rvp was still our captain….. 🙁
        i dont even know u at justarsenal mate ure a plastic fan mate ure a spurs in disguise stop trollin at justarsenal go to justspurs n go support adebayour ur boyfriend 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

    4. Haywill, I’ve been a Gooner since 1971!!!! That’s 43 years – probably longer than you are old. So I deserve the right to tell you to f… off. Your rant does not even deserve to be rated, either negatively or positively. It’s just a lot of crap. I do not understand this mentality – it seems very few people that contribute to this site have any loyalty at all. WERE ARE STILL THE INVINCIBLES! The season is still early. Of course anybody that thinks we can win the EPL is dreaming, but losses to Man Utd and Stoke do not define a season, and slowly our injured players are returning. I refuse to join the chant for the removal of Wenger, although I do not always agree with the way he does things.

  16. Good turnout. People will now be overrating Poldi though. He is still at best an impact sub, although I believe he should get more game time off the bench. If he started he will get exposed just like at Bayern, sadly he is too 1 dimensional.

    Can we stop swinging on Campbell’s nuts now?

    1. I agree, but against the bottom half of the EPL he can play to his strengths. He’s probably the most fearsome forward we have besides Sanchez. I think (hope) he proved he can still finish with the best of them. As much as I love Ox, he still has a way to go in regards to his finishing. He can stretch defenses very well, I just think Poldi and Sanchez will be more efficient, not necessarily more effective against some of the smaller teams. COYG

  17. I do not understand why Wenger has treated Podolski the way he has. It beggars belief. Podolski is arguably our best finisher and even though he lacks in speed, I would still put him above Sanogo.

    1. that’s the thing though… He’s only known for his finishing. But I agree, he should be played more

    2. God, you people! Just because he’s a good finisher, doesn’t mean he should start. It’s about balance. Why compare Podolski to Sanogo when he doesn’t have the qualities to play centre? Wake up.

  21. Since like the AKBS hoping podi and Campbell failed so that they got the bullet to defend wenger.

  22. Merse would do better than slowmo-Sanogo..
    .. Hell.. Even Quinny would..!

    Wenger out for giving this lucky lucky man a start in football when there are literally hundreds of better footballers out there!!!

      1. yeah, i too was hoping for sanogo to use this to build. but nothing.
        lets see akpom.
        put sanogo on loan. sorry: thats the way of the world.

  23. If (and it’s a big IF) we avoid Barca, Madrid and Bayern in the next round then I will be very happy.

      1. why bother fear if you wanna win the champions league your gonna have to face the best if not first round the second round this is not league cup or fa cup this is the champions league

  25. @admin
    we’ve gotta ban the spurs captainwestham is surely a spurs u’ve gotta ban her shes surely a troll n and even if she wasnt a woman u still have had banned her cuz i dont like her and im a regular here i rarely comment here lately but im a loyal like walcott 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

    1. Wow ive gotten under you’re skin, you’re a clown mate, everyone laughs AT you.

      Ignore him Admin, he’s just bitter that ARSENAL HAVE WON, AND HE’S STILL MOANING.
      Like Merson just said, “it’s really hard to score 4 goals away Chapions league.

      Now leave us alone, as will i.

      HHAHA liverpool

      1. URE ONE OF THE REASONS ARSNEAL CANT PROGESS UVE MEDIOCRE MENTALITY!!!!!
        ive wathced these youtube video we used to be the invincibles u know… 🙁 🙁 we won a lot of titles every other teams were afraid of us… 🙁 🙁
        HAVE U WATCHED THE VIDEO MATE???? HAVE U???

        4. so u don even know the history of arsenal fc mate how old r u mate ure just a kid oh oh oh oh 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁

          1. 92-93 Gooner mate, Ian wright days, we bought him from palace.

            So You’re an invincible Gooner i take it ?

    3. @haywill you should post an article on here. Prob be the greatest article of all time. Be sure to add several facial expressions

          1. Not sure who makes me laugh more haywill or slow-mo-Sanogo ..

            Hmmmmm haywill anytime..!! Classic comments…
            Captain.. West Ham..?!?!?!?!?!?! Haaaaaaaaa

  27. Why is everyone complaining about Campbell? The Ox, Ramsey, Sanogo, Welbeck, Ozil, Wilshere, etc play game after game and are poor in 80% of those games but keep being given chances until they hit a bit of form, our starting 11 have been poor all season but they keep being given second chances, we are already 15 games into the league and none has justified their starting place apart from Sanchez. Poor old Campbell is required to come in every after 10 matches and have MOTM performances? Why don’t we give him a run of games like the rest? Smh

    1. Yes but you forget that Campbell as a winger does not face much competition yet he is not very reliable. Ox is clearly in form and Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere have to fight each other for the midfield. Add to that Cazorla.
      I do wish he is played more often (and probably it will happen) but truth being told, he’s not really ready.

      1. I think wingers spot is the most competed spot in the team. Even Özil is put there instead of Campbell (gods know why).

        Can’t say he’s not ready, really after like 2 matches. OX has been great altough I don’t know if that matters since his end product is non-existent. Once Walcott gets fit, I think he will cement the right wing spot and then Campbell won’t have a chance. OX with his physicality and no end product could work in the midfield for some matches.

        Some commentator said ‘he lacks confidence because Wenger lacks it for him’ to which I agree. Give him some PL games, then we can say if he’s ready or not.

      2. Comrade Budd,you seems to have the same kind of vision of things as wenger.
        Do you try to put down the lad in order to justify his unfair treatement by Wenger,not nice if it s the case,the lad seems humble,hard worker and has a lot of natural talent.a lot of team were and are after him and I believe he will end up being a great player in the futur if he find a suitable team where he plays.

  28. Just saw photo of Podolski pretending to polish Ramsey’s boot. He is a fun character. I’m glad he got to play and score a couple

    Btw.. please send Sanogo on loan. He NEEDS regular playing time to improve

    2. I totally agre with Yaya on loan and I think Podolski is a great addition when we are playing teams that park the bus, Podolski the super sub.

  29. You know what.. With Alexis, Özil, Ramsey etc. I don’t really fear anyone.. Yes there’s a lot of potential draws where we’re not favourites, but I wouldn’t rule out beating those teams.. Plus we’ll have defensive reinforcements in January, and hopefully a fit Koscielny..

        1. yeah, the front looks really good [ and we need that depth bc at any given time 50% of our front is out w injuries]
          but the back: that’s a wenger masterpiece.

    1. Mick & ned

      Agree we don’t have a bad team… Just Poorly managed.. And wtf do we have Bould if our defence is so bad??? Wouldn’t fancy us against anyone half decent.. Swansea, Stoke etc..

      Doubt we would give either Madrid, Bayern or Barca a game with our weak midfield and slow defence.. But you never know..
      Maybe slow-mo-Sanogo could distract the opposition in such a way to even confuse himself and his own players that he inadvertently scores a winner..??

  31. Wow, Wenger is the best manager in football history! Surely i was wrong when i first stated “WengerOut”! Loss at stoke doesnt matter anymore, Wenger is going to win us all the trophies! Proof? We won against Galatasaray!

  32. I really dont care what u fickle gunners fans say about #joelcampbell just because he had an ok game doesn’t mean hes useless how many game #Ramsey had b4 he could’ve score i don’t understand u fake fans sometimes! Maybe if he gets more playing time from that #brainless man #aw it can make a huge difference.. & by the way #awout!!!!

  33. How is Sanogo a footballer? Wenger is a strange person to think the likes of Sanogo are Arsenal standards. The guy looks clueless, he looks unstable in possession, can’t hold on to the ball, no link up, poor touch, not smart enough, can’t score etc.. What does Wenger see in him?

    3. he is only 20 years old! give him a break, he got called for some very soft fouls in the air today and every game he has a great attitude

  34. If only we had beaten anderlect and didnt let a 3 goal lead slip away a while back finishing 3-3 we would have won the group with dorthmund getting a draw with them!

  35. Reserves? Ox, schez, debuchy, flamini, chambers, sanogo, ramsey. All have been considered starters although mostly through injury. Good result great to see ramsey score two and off course poldi, schez looked good, and good to have debuchy back. Sanogo and campbell poor tonight. One decent window and we could be strong for the run in.

  36. Arsenal always play well in
    meaningless games like
    tonights game. Mediocre players
    like Podolski and Ramsey shine
    against average or useless
    sides like Gala or Norwich.
    However when we play Man City, Utd, Chelsea
    Bayern or Barca the team freezes and capitulates
    and the Ramseys and Podolski’s disappear.

  37. Things we’ve learn’t from the game tonight:
    1)Ramsey has found his form again, meaning he’ll be running forward everytime and neglecting his defensive duties.
    2)Podolski still has a quality finish.
    3)Debuchy is back to try save our dismal defence.
    4)Arsene Wenger should still go.

  39. Interesting, waiting for the draw next week and for some reason i think we will have a good run in this season CL, thats how confident i am. As i have said from the start of the season, this team just needs a DM and a CB to challenge any team.

    Our main problem has been defending as a team and not necessarily the players defending, so even if we do get the DM and CB needed, we still need someone on the pitch to organise the players, now this is where i agree with Jamie Carragher about comments he made about Mert, he does not lead the young arsenal charges or commands his team to get in a defensive shape when they do not have the ball, he does not provide a back up for his young players who are under pressure or provide guidance on how to deal with the issues in the match.

    I by no means think Jamie Carragher is brilliant i rather think he is a Hypocrite, but his points rang true, arsenal needs a leader in the CB and DM role, someone who not only leads on the field but off the field also, Mert is not the solution and i dont see him offering any education for our young CBs coming up

  42. What a good performance from all!! Great to see some new boys stepping up and giving the Scneider the finger! Well done lads, I truly believe with 3 top signings in 1st x1 we will be title challenges, gotta get 2 CDM’s 2 CB”s and we away… why the f*ck can’t Wenger just do that?

  43. Let”s stop slagging our Arsenal and get behind them. Wenger doesn’t read our posts or opinions and couldn’t give a f*ck what we say. So Let’s just support the amazing talent we have.

    1. lol a typical fan who flip flops from wenger in to wenger out. One against one of the worst UCL teams in GS’s and Wenger is God once more. This is why Arsene is going to be our manager for 3 more years, and we’ll keep being average for that length as well.

  45. nice match to watch, but i always remain realistic, we still end up 2nd in group because of some silly 3 goal lead we threw away. We all predicted a 2nd place finish and thats exactly what we got. Cant even top Dortmund who is having their worse season in decades. Not saying it wasnt a good win, but im not shortsighted. Wenger will still get us knocked out in R16, and 4th place in EPL. Sorry to be the negative nelly hear, but just a reality check for those who randomly fell in love with Wenger again after this match. Ridiculous amount of Arsenal fans just flip flop opinions game to game.

  46. Great result.
    Now let’s hope we don’t get punished severely for placing 2nd and somehow try to avoid the big 3 (Bayern, Barca and Madrid)- well at least for the next round anyway

  47. Poldi, Ramsey and Ox put in some nice performances today and according some fans on this site that means Wenger is suddenly a genius again??

    Seriously how fickled can you get?

    Poldi’s performance just proves Wenger has been WRONG not to use him much more. That is it. And Campbell is joining many other former gunners who manage to play great for other managers while Wenger coaches the quality and confidence right out of them.

    1. Just be happy about 3 wins in 4. Don’t worry – you’ll have plenty more opportunities to cry and p1ss and moan.

  48. WENGER will redeem to my eyes when we beat CHELSKI, MANURE…I am not taking an ounce of credit from the Boys for todays win GO GUNNERS….but does not change a thing…Prince POLDI must be on the first team with GIROUD as his SUB maybe even Welbeck…we have a man that wants to proof himself and today he did, could’ve easily score a Hat Trick, when was the last time if ever than GIROUD did the same

  50. Say what you like Ramsey`s volley goal was a pearler. Podolski is an opportunist and should rotate with Cazorla. Great display from the youngsters.

  51. Sanogo scores against Dortmund, and you say he had a very good game, some good touches a la Carzola, and an enviable hold-up play. He has a presence at the opponents’ defence, bla, bla, bla..
    When he doesn.

  52. Much better performance. any chance it had something to do with the booing after the stoke shambles? I hope it did. What is good for Newcastle is probably good for arsenal. Thanks to our stoke away booing fans for getting the message through to the manager and team that they gotta fight to wear that shirt

  53. Much better performance. any chance it had something to do with the booing after the stoke shambles? I hope it did. What is good for Newcastle is probably good for arsenal. Thanks to our stoke away booing fans for getting the message through to the manager and team that they gotta fight to wear that shirt
    PS: take it easy on me, there’s only so much laughing I can take

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