Jack's Back

By Boris Mellor
October 28 2012

I do worry about the sanity of football fans sometimes, for 83 minutes Arsenal had struggled against the team bottom of the Premier League, and then on 84 minutes finally managed to bundle in a scrappy offside goal, a few minutes later fans were singing, “The Greatest Team The World Has Ever Seen”.

Perhaps it was irony, perhaps it was relief, mind you if we get to sing that with justification at the Theatre of Dreams next week I will buy a Cultzero T with it emblazoned on the front. Somehow I doubt I will be spending much on T shirts next week.

I do hope that those who blame referees for Arsenal’s lack of progress over the last seven years don’t forget to thank Anthony Taylor for his kindness in allowing the goal to stand. Also his card for M’BIA (That will do nicely) was most welcome, although it was justified some refs may have bottled it. All this from a man considered by the crowd not to have known what he was doing.

The crowd were supportive of the team, as a parent is of a child recovering from illness. Gently urging them on and hiding its exasperation at the incompetence of some players. But even the loyalist of supporters could not hide snorts of derision when Santos was announced as the player of the month. Talking of incompetence there is someone who can go.

Syd the cabbie had won £85 for a £20 stake a few weeks back. On Wednesday he had put his money on a Desmond, he claimed he had got it half right, but they wouldn’t pay out on that. I said I had given up betting, but he persuaded me to give it a go again, so I hedged my bets with a punt on a 2-1 win and a draw. When I messaged him at the end to ask if I had won anything he texted back I should contact Gamblers Anonymous.

But I digress, surely the match was more interesting than all this drivel you ask? Well only  marginally, the first 80 minutes was like the performance against Norwich and Schalke rolled into one. In the first half Cazorla has a floating role and rarely managed to engage with the game. Giroud continues to morph into Chamakh.

Jack was a lone bright spark in the gloom, given a huge welcome by the crowd, he played well with some fine full-width game changing passes.

Clearly it was all going nowhere and on 67 and 71 minutes Wenger brought on Walcott and Gervinho. The crowd gave Theo a warm welcome, but did its very best to hide its exasperation at the poor man’s Adebayor. On 81 minutes Gervinho had to be substituted, and Arshavin found himself unexpectedly, and enthusiastically, cheered on to the pitch.

I couldn’t help noticing that for a small bloke that he wears very large shorts, but that never did Alex James any harm. However, with Jack, Podolski, and Gervinho all gone, and perhaps more importantly the centre back M’bia also departed, Arsenal began to play with some real tempo.

When the goal finally came the keeper, and the bar, had kept it out three times before Arteta stabbed it home. One nil to the Arsenal crowed the crowd. They were spot on it was the first clean sheet since the 15^th of September. This was followed by the more insane song mentioned above.

Clearly the absence of Diaby and the sale of Song have undermined the team, but let’s not claim that injuries and absences explain this poor start to the season.  The team is full of internationals who have managed to score one goal against two teams in the bottom three. The reality is that Arsenal struggled to score against a team that has now gone 21 games away from home in the Premiership without a clean sheet.

Even against such poor opposition Arsenal’s defence looked suspect, in the end the three points were protected in the dying minutes by a superb block by Mannone. But it’s the other end of the pitch that is the concern where there is a lack of a discernible replacement for RvP’s goals.

No need to contact Gamblers Anonymous I will not be betting on Arsenal next week.

The Greatest Team World Has Ever Seen Beat The Mighty QPR

Discussion started by Arsenal Times , 28/10/2012 11:02

Arsenal Times
28/10/2012 11:02

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012:11:01:21:49:20 by Padre Pio.

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Merlion96
28/10/2012 14:37

Season start is a flash in the pan.

October is the emergence of the real TEAM 2012/13:
Disjointed;
uninterested players;
struggling to meld new players and exisitng players into a team;
Arteta and Ramsey getting each other way;
Arteta and Cazorla getting in each other way outside the box;
Wilshere and Cazorla occupying the same space in the middle, no width;

Poldolski and Giroud having got a clue where are the passes coming from;

Let's face it.
It was the much maligned DEFENCE that saved our bacon.

You don't shoot, you don't scored.
We had degenerated into such mediocrity that we can't marshalled 10+ shots on TARGET PER GAME.

A TEAM still struggling to devleop udnerstanding..and why I called it the October Blip; as sadly, they can only come good as usual every year, during spring in MArch/April with last gasp lunge into Top-4 by May 2013.

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Ballistix
28/10/2012 17:07

Stood next to two long term season ticket holders yesterday one was debating to let it go after 20 years to follow the Barmy army on their next world tour. The ground was cold outside but warm in the area I stood. The stewards were no where to be seen and it was nice to stand for the whole game. We looked cautious the whole game and nervy. The lack if real attacking the first half concerned me further. I was glad at half time that the goal mouth opportunity was only 18 rows away and the seat I was stood against was good. I had gone for a 3.1 prediction but the bloke next to me reckoned we would edge it with one goal and he was right, from the right of the goal we could not tell if it was offside but the sense of relief was palpable in the crowd. Playing as we did next week we will suffer at the hands at Man U barring a miracle or a good sending off I can't see us getting anything with Man U.

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Padre Pio
28/10/2012 18:30

Man U murdered Chelsea in first half today

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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eduardo
28/10/2012 18:40

and still needed favours from the ref to win the game

*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*

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Padre Pio
28/10/2012 18:53

so did we

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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eduardo
28/10/2012 19:16

*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*

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Merlion96
28/10/2012 23:32

Yup.

Like Hernadez, Arteta was standing at goal-line and then move a step forward to head the rebounce against goal-post and then poked it into goal.

SImialrly, Suarez was robbed off a winner as replay shown he was clearly not off-side.

Well, we got the rub of teh green, same as ManLeeds...very interesting next weekend.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde team.
WHich one will show up at OT?

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