CL: Arsenal vs Dinamo Zagreb | 23/08/06

[kopzilla]

didnt watch the match but adebayor missed the target again..its a bit worrying

 

[RocktheCasbah]

It's getting a bit sad, this obsession with van Persie I have to say.

Bit bemused by the slagging we seem to be taking in the media. The bottom line is we never really looked in any danger last night, we had a three goal cushion fashioned from a magnificent performance away from home. Yeah, we were 1-0 down for most of the night, we were also 3-1 up on aggregate for most of the night.

We had half our regular first team missing and for all that, despite the huff and puff, could have had a couple of goals before half time. Wenger's substitutions really opened the game up and given the grief he generally gets regarding substitutions, I would have thought a little more credit was due. Though it probably isn't rocket science to think replacing Ade with Henry with 20 minutes would be a good idea.

Was great to be in the stadium though. The media can talk about a graveyard if it suits them, it wasn't like that where I was sat. I gotta say too, much as I loved Highbury, Ashburton Grove is a truly world class stadium, it's amazing to me to that we now have a stadium like that. The ovation Henry got when he came on was spine tingling. Great to see little Theo cauing trouble too.

 

[RocktheCasbah]

Sabre is right actually, RvP is quickly heading the Reyes way.

How he played last night was very untypical. He is a player who needs confidence from the manager and an extended run in the first team. He doesn't need substitute appearances, they will only hold him back.

But Wenger has already stated van Persie will be starting on Saturday. I don't think taking him off 20 minutes early should be a problem for Robin, especially if it's to keep him fresh.

 

[jay-d]

Sabre is right actually, RvP is quickly heading the Reyes way.

How he played last night was very untypical. He is a player who needs confidence from the manager and an extended run in the first team. He doesn't need substitute appearances, they will only hold him back.

Thought Cesc was very poor, he looked tired and not focused at all. It's baffling why he had to start this game.

Substitute appearences? He started the game. And was bought off I believe as he will start on Saturday. We can't have this molly coddling of players, they need to be men and fight for their places.
I personally don't think Reyes and RVP are anything alike and RVP has enough mental grit to perform no matter what.
Your right about Cesc though, his passing was poor and he over elaborated on a few occassions which could have cost the team. But if he never started the CM pairing would have been Song and Flamini and I shudder at the mere thought.

 

[RocktheCasbah]

As for Hleb and Rosciky, imo they don't offer any width and just clog up the middle and take the ball awway from Cesc which cannot be allowed to happen.

A bit harsh on Rosicky after one game.

 

[Gurgen]

Sabre is right actually, RvP is quickly heading the Reyes way.

How he played last night was very untypical. He is a player who needs confidence from the manager and an extended run in the first team. He doesn't need substitute appearances, they will only hold him back.

Thought Cesc was very poor, he looked tired and not focused at all. It's baffling why he had to start this game.

Substitute appearences? He started the game. And was bought off I believe as he will start on Saturday. We can't have this molly coddling of players, they need to be men and fight for their places.
I personally don't think Reyes and RVP are anything alike and RVP has enough mental grit to perform no matter what.
Your right about Cesc though, his passing was poor and he over elaborated on a few occassions which could have cost the team. But if he never started the CM pairing would have been Song and Flamini and I shudder at the mere thought.

And that once again proves that we need signings and competition for places.

There are so many things wrong with this team right now I don't even want to think about it. I can honestly say I've never been less confident going into a season under Wenger.

 

[hesham]

But Wenger has already stated van Persie will be starting on Saturday.

Were did you hear that Rtc?

 

[pg1989]

As for Hleb and Rosciky, imo they don't offer any width and just clog up the middle and take the ball awway from Cesc which cannot be allowed to happen.

A bit harsh on Rosicky after one game.

Even when we beat Zagerb he didn't impress me, he never goes down the fl;anks and takes away from Cesc in the middle. We need more width, both our late goals were from Walcott getting down the wing and crossing it, we should start the kid and see how he gets on. If we aren't going to give a Walcott a chance i think we are going to have to get Reyes back in, we just can't play like we did in the first half yesterday!

 

[jay-d]

Sabre is right actually, RvP is quickly heading the Reyes way.

How he played last night was very untypical. He is a player who needs confidence from the manager and an extended run in the first team. He doesn't need substitute appearances, they will only hold him back.

Thought Cesc was very poor, he looked tired and not focused at all. It's baffling why he had to start this game.

Substitute appearences? He started the game. And was bought off I believe as he will start on Saturday. We can't have this molly coddling of players, they need to be men and fight for their places.
I personally don't think Reyes and RVP are anything alike and RVP has enough mental grit to perform no matter what.
Your right about Cesc though, his passing was poor and he over elaborated on a few occassions which could have cost the team. But if he never started the CM pairing would have been Song and Flamini and I shudder at the mere thought.

And that once again proves that we need signings and competition for places.

There are so many things wrong with this team right now I don't even want to think about it. I can honestly say I've never been less confident going into a season under Wenger.

And on that I'm in total agreement with you. It's not just the numbers either, there just seems to be an imbalance in the squad which is quiet alarming.

 

[hesham]

RvP had a good game.
Although i dont like the idea of him constantly drifting to the right, he needs to stay more centrally.. It didnt help that Eboue wasnt making his usuall runs and Hleb kept drifting inwards, i'd like to see him stay more around the D area were he operates best.

 

[pg1989]

RvP had a good game.
Although i dont like the idea of him constantly drifting to the right, he needs to stay more centrally.. It didnt help that Eboue wasnt making his usuall runs and Hleb kept drifting inwards, i'd like to see him stay more around the D area were he operates best.

Yeah a very impressive performance by Rvp. Lovely skill.

 

[Gary]

But nobody said on this forum that Dinamo played good yesterday and was upsetting Arsenal through about 70 minutes, I think that Dinamo players were decent opponent on Emirates. Congratulations gooners, though, Dinamo should play better next year.

 

[cubbz_th14]

attendence recored was 58,000 something but there was sections where there were bare seats available - the stadium looked fantastic under lights - we was piss poor the first half and never really looked to created anything untill changes were made. what is it with us taking corners - when will this change or will it ever ! ? - RVP had a good game overall, Ade got a lot of stick from the crowd and no doubt, he is rash and needs to work on his finishing - theo got a standing applause when he came on and the kid has got pace, is already making those confident run, i wonder what him and henry will do if they play upfront as time passes. was pleased to be there for my first game at emirates and look forward to many more this season. shall re-size and post some pics later today. oh and yes, the dinamo fans certainly houl non-stop and are passionate, the only thing that annoyed me was when they started chucking bottles or something when fabregas was on the corner -

 

[nidza7]

But nobody said on this forum that Dinamo played good yesterday and was upsetting Arsenal through about 70 minutes, I think that Dinamo players were decent opponent on Emirates. Congratulations gooners, though, Dinamo should play better next year.

True indeed.

Thanks mate.

 

[yoinkster]

Not a fun game last night, adebayor doesn't look like he's got a first touch any more, hoyte didnt look up to it {but playing out of position so I suppose you can let him off}, midfield looked very weak without gilberto and was hopelessly overrun to begin with.

on the plus side though, that Theo kid whoever he is sems like a good buy, surely done enough for a starting place for a game now ?

so that's two games, three goals from midfield ... do we employ strikers at The Arsenal any more ? :razz:

Exiled, did you put an Arsenal flag on the front of the tier ? The stewards took it down because two girls in the 2nd row complained, they said, and I quote, that they "couldn't see the corner flag when the wind blew" ... how lame is that !!

 

[sabret00the]

Sabre is right actually, RvP is quickly heading the Reyes way.

How he played last night was very untypical. He is a player who needs confidence from the manager and an extended run in the first team. He doesn't need substitute appearances, they will only hold him back.

But Wenger has already stated van Persie will be starting on Saturday. I don't think taking him off 20 minutes early should be a problem for Robin, especially if it's to keep him fresh.

You're right overt van Persie obsession is bad but that's not the case i'm making or the feeling i'm implying, i'm just stating what i saw last night. ultimately he put in a performance worthy of 90 minutes. players who play well get to play 90 but for him because he might start on saturday he only gets 60? surely that's wrapping him up in cotton wool? he's a 23 year old professional footballer and needs to be treated as such. the fact that he knew he was gonna be made to come off and instantly looked a lesser player is a bit alarming. i would say the same thing for any player.

anyway, the squad is incredibly weak.

 

[BBB]

the only thing that annoyed me was when they started chucking bottles or something when fabregas was on the corner -

WTF???

 

[asajoseph]

To be honest, Arsenal last night looked like Manchester Utd. two seasons ago - a few exceptionally talented players, but too many weak links in the side, and far too little cohesiveness. There are, to be blunt, too many players in the Arsenal squad at the moment who simply aren't good enough.

4 years ago, we had 5 or six players who were world-class - Henry, Vieira, Campbell, Ljungberg, Pires, Cole - even Bergkamp. Beyond that, pretty much every other position was filled by solid, high quality premiership players like Lauren, Gilberto, Keown. Now, we've got maybe two or three - Henry, Toure and Fabregas. And beyond that, the remaining players have so many question marks over their heads that it's obvious that they're not going to mount any kind of serious premiership challenge. One day they'll click and we'll thrash Charlton by 5 goals. The next, they'll struggle to beat anyone, because the level of quality, as it stands, is so low.

We've become obsessed with hoping that talented youngsters might one day become world-class superstars, and we've forgotten the level of brilliance that was required to win a Premiership trophy - we're a long, long way from where we were.

 

[RocktheCasbah]

But Wenger has already stated van Persie will be starting on Saturday.

Were did you hear that Rtc?

Evening Standard yesterday.

sabre, if Arsène wanted to bring him off to rest him before Saturday's game, bearing in mind the fact that we're not even a week into the season proper, then that's good enough for me. I don't think Robin, or you, or anyone should take his removal yesterday as a slight on his performance.

A bit harsh on Rosicky after one game.

Even when we beat Zagerb he didn't impress me, he never goes down the fl;anks and takes away from Cesc in the middle.

Like I said, a bit harsh after one game.

 

[asajoseph]

the only thing that annoyed me was when they started chucking bottles or something when fabregas was on the corner -

WTF???

I don't think it was a bottle - more likely a coin or a lighter. I was sat next to the Dinamo fans, and it defo wasn't something large. They threw a few plastic bottles at the police, and at us though, but nothing really worth worrying about.