The Arsenal FC thread

[Shzm13]

Great CL win victory for Arsenal. Better late than never

 

[Renz]

Great CL win victory for Arsenal. Better late than never

Arsenal haven't won anything yet.

 

[Shzm13]

Sure they did, they won the first leg. Here's the recap

 

[Renz]

Sure they did, they won the first leg. Here's the recap

Big deal. It's like having the lead at halftime. I repeat, they haven't won anything yet.

 

[Shzm13]

I suppose the opportunity of another Messi hat trick at Barcelona is still very alive. All things considered, there was a 90min match played today, and Arsenal was victorious.

Compared to last year, this Arsenal team seems to be in better form and should put up more of a challenge.

 

[English on tour]

Big deal. It's like having the lead at halftime. I repeat, they haven't won anything yet.

very good point, but it was a pretty good game i have to say

 

[Mathew81]

Typical Arsenal. Cesc gets injured the week before the carling cup final, Van Persie gets injured right before the half and a screw up at the back right at the end loses the game. Trophy-less since 2005.

 

[Chaplin]

I have never seen a team that needed an injured player more than Arsenal needs Thomas Vermalen.

 

[Shzm13]

The always-reliable RVP will miss the Bartha clash with an injury.

Nuts... :-----------(

 

[Renz]

I suppose the opportunity of another Messi hat trick at Barcelona is still very alive. All things considered, there was a 90min match played today, and Arsenal was victorious.

Compared to last year, this Arsenal team seems to be in better form and should put up more of a challenge.

No Messi hat trick. His brace was enough.

 

[English on tour]

Good game but that RvP sending off was a joke!

Seen worse mind you, I once saw a player sent off for just laughing at his first yellow

 

[Renz]

Good game but that RvP sending off was a joke!

Seen worse mind you, I once saw a player sent off for just laughing at his first yellow

Like this? Never heard of a player being sent off for tackling a streaker.

Player gets red card for tackling intruder
Associated Press

LONDON -- The streaker wore green. The soccer player saw red.

A man wearing nothing but a bright green thong and a curly black wig dashed onto the field during a low-level game in England on Monday. Dorchester player-manager Ashley Vickers ended the intruder's 30-second jaunt with a thudding, neck-high tackle during the 70th minute of the game against Havant & Waterlooville.

Vickers was shown a red card for violent conduct with the score 1-1.

"I'm dumbfounded and speechless," Vickers told local newspaper The Dorset Echo. "My only thought was to get hold of him so we could get on with the game. I managed to grab him and bring him to the ground, and the funny thing was the stewards actually thanked me for it. But the ref decided to send me off and it beggars belief."

Dorchester lost 3-1, a blow to the team's hopes of making the playoffs in England's sixth tier of soccer.

The intruder, meanwhile, was marched out of Westleigh Park and banned from the stadium.

The streaker -- whose outfit resembled the "mankini" worn by Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" movie character -- caused a stir among the 458 spectators by running amok between stunned players. Two officials failed to stop the intruder before Vickers stepped in.

The ejection -- automatic for a player who attacks anyone on the field -- angered Dorchester's players, who complained in vain to the referee. Two more visiting players ended up being sent off in the final 10 minutes for unrelated incidents, leaving the club with only eight players at the final whistle.

http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/ne...gets-red-card-tackling-scantily-clad-intruder

 

[Chaplin]

Officiating was horrendous on both sides. Van Persie didn't deserve the red card, and Barca should have gotten a penalty in the first half when Djouroo took out Messi just inside the box. It evens out, but the reality is that the better team won.

What upset me the most was Arsenal's tactics at the end of the 1st half. Wilshere is a great player, but there was no need for him to become a thug the whole game.

 

[Chaplin]

Wow. Didn't see this one coming. The article doesn't say it's a done deal, but they are reporting in the UK that it is.

Jens Lehmann to return to Arsenal

 

[Mathew81]

Wow. Didn't see this one coming. The article doesn't say it's a done deal, but they are reporting in the UK that it is.

Jens Lehmann to return to Arsenal

Unfortunately Almunia is the only heathly GK at the moment so they had an ermgency situation. Also, Djourou is out for the rest of the year so that means Squillachi is going to be the starter at CB. It's not looking good.

 

[Shzm13]

Racism at the Emirates

 

[Chaplin]

Racism at the Emirates

Um, you should really tell the whole story--it was an international game with Brazil and Scotland, so it probably didn't have any Arsenal fans. This is reaching and desperate, even for you Shzm.

 

[Shzm13]

Didnt want to make a new thread about it.

I wonder how it'll affect this kid once he's brought over to the EPL. I knew Spain was well-known for their racism, Danny Alves says this stuff happens to him regularly, even at Barcelona. I didnt think this stuff happened in the UK, but i guess it does, although ive yet to see it in the EPL.

Neymar said: "I feel great and scored two but what happened with the banana is sad. I don't want to make a big deal of it. I was running down the touchline in the second half and saw it but I didn't see where it came from.''

Santos forward Neymar, who has been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea, said on Brazilian television channel Sportv: "They were jeering me a lot, even when I was about to kick the penalty. The entire stadium was jeering. This atmosphere of racism is totally sad.

"We leave our country to play here and something like this happens. It's sad. I'd rather not even talk about it, to keep the subject from escalating.''

 

[Chaplin]

Didnt want to make a new thread about it.

I wonder how it'll affect this kid once he's brought over to the EPL. I knew Spain was well-known for their racism, Danny Alves says this stuff happens to him regularly, even at Barcelona. I didnt think this stuff happened in the UK, but i guess it does, although ive yet to see it in the EPL.

Hate to say it, but I'd look at the Scottish fans as the guilty culprits.

 

[Mathew81]

I think the title race ended today. ManU were down 2-0 but scored 4 late goals to win. Arsenal did what they've been doing a lot of lately, lots of possession with little to show for it. 0-0 draw at home against Blackburn. ManU's lead is 7 points now. Arsenal do have a game in hand but I don't see them making up the difference. With Van Persie being played as a lone striker teams just pack the box and let Arsenal pass it around. Then they wait for a counter attack and chances are one of the centerbacks or Almunia will screw up and let in a goal. I think Wenger needs to play Bendtner or Chamahk with RVP to give them an aerial presence.

 

[Mathew81]

It appears that American Stan Kroenke is launching a takeover bid for Arsenal. He's already owns the Denver Nuggets, St. Louis Rams and Colorado Rapids.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/9453736.stm

 

[Mathew81]

Terrible run lately. 1 win in the last 7 and they've slipped to 3rd behind Chelsea and are going to have to fight off Man City to avoid 4th. Typical late goals given up because of dumb mistakes and they've struggled to score in a few of those games as well. Most teams are packing the box and letting Arsenal pass it around because Wenger is playing Van Persie as a loan striker up top and they have no aerial threat. The only team who played wide open against them was Tottenham and Arsenal scored 3 but they blew a 2 goal lead, again.

 

[Shzm13]

Excellent game by Arsenal, they dominated possession and prevented Manchester from creating anything all day.

 

[Mathew81]

It was a good game. Although at first it seemed like Arsenal were going to have trouble scoring again as ManU was packing the box and letting Arsenal throw in crosses even though nobody with a decent header was playing. But they scored when they finally didn't use the slow build up they've been using lately. They attacked before ManU's defense could organize and it paid off. After that they had a few more chances since ManU had to open up their game. Fortunately Arsenal didn't have their typical late game screw up. It would have been so much better if they still had a legitimate shot at the title.

 

[Mathew81]

2 wins in their last 12 games. They'll need to win their last game and have Man City drop points just to finish 3rd. So disappointing.