Arsenal

[Steve007]

Play the first team and get our big players injured. If we lose 2 or 3 we can kiss the premiership goodbye. Idiot.

Players can get injured at any time, training, playing, walking up the stairs - you name it. Wenger thought he could field a weak team and get away with it. He keeps doing this and it always comes back to haunt him, be it with a loss or an extra game which defeats the object of what he was trying to do in the first place. He won't be able to get away with fielding that team up there so he's going to have to play the likes of Nasri & RVP if he wants to get a result.

[redbloodcell]

There's a higher risk of it happening when they're playing a proper match though, especially one in which you're expecting tough tackling from a lower league side.

[hercules]

The team put out is good enough to win, they're on the fringes of the first team, but the shape was wrong that's all if Walcott and arshavin had started it would've been a lot better than seeing bendtner out wide.

[wev]

The shape was wrong, there was a lack of cutting edge and an air of laziness. You don't have 70% possession and 20+ shots at goal against a Championship side and then have to rely on a penalty to get you a replay unless something is wrong with the players and system.

[Rocafella]

The squad isn't good enough to get away with wholesale changes like we saw today and against Wigan. Now we've got a replay we could really do without. At least we're still in it though. You would assume this is the team that will be put out to face Ipswich in the CC. They're going to have to do better than they did today, otherwise we could easily go out.

[carlito]

It's not a weak team mate. It's using your squad - it's a the reality of being active in so many competition. There was no reason that we couldn't have won with that team.

If you think it does tire out players playing every week you should cast your mind back to Villa when they almost took our Champions League spot - they squad seemed to consist of about 15 players in total and they played the same 11 each week. They dropped that 2 goal lead right at the death to Stoke was it? Then simply faded away - they were just tired and couldn't stick it for 90 minutes each week. That happened two or three seasons for them - fantastic form all season, but then burned out and bleed their points away at the end of the season. They were so ruined as I recall that, having made such a massive noise about being in Europe, they didn't even send a single first team player to their draw against Spartak Moscow or whichever russian side it was.

Individual mistakes and lack of form on the day was more to blame than team selection for me.

Denilson, as he always has been, is a liability on or off the ball anywhere near our box let alone in it. Normally he gives the ball away in a stupid place, this time he stuck his leg out in the box like he'd never played the game before and gave away a penalty. Apart from the header they didn't have much else did they?

Bendtner, who I have stood by historically, had a fucking shocker as did Arshavin, who I have never stood by. Of our four attacking players, along with Chamakh and Rosicky, those two are the ones we would be expecting goals from. Chamakh, as much as I like him, doesn't relish taking on shots, in fact he looks pretty fucking terrified of doing so sometimes and Rosicky retired from scoring a couple of years ago. That left the whole cutting edge of our whole team dull, the majority of our build up was pretty decent, but Arshavin looked a cursed man as soon as he got the ball and more often that not the attack broke down with him. Bendtner had four or five decent chances on the ground and in the air and probably should have made himself a couple more on top of that.

There were plenty of good things to take from the game - even if a replay wasn't one of them.

Gibbs' delivery throughout the game was outstanding and his lob attempt, although the wrong decision, was an indiciation of an attacking instinct and ability that Clichy, for all his industry, doesn't really have. It may well make a big difference to the end of our season that.

Djourou had another cracking game - what I used to see as a bit of soft core when he didn't lump into people and get stuck in seems to have refined into a remarkable composure. I'll continue to be impressed until he loses the ball on the edge of the area turning back on himself at which point I'lI throw a spazzy and demand he never plays again until he sorts his head out. Hopefully that will never happen.

Eboue looked really sharp going forward and, for the most part, defending. I think Sagna has been in fantastic form this season, most notably because he's become a source of quality balls into the box - but it's great to see we have that kind of quality available if we need it.

Obviously the Szscezny (still no) looked good too - lets hope we can hold on to him.

[Rocafella]

Our first eleven on paper is enough to challenge the top sides. However our squad isn't good enough to the point that we can make eight odd changes from the team that beat Chelsea and Birmingham and still expect to come away with a win, especially with the amount of goals we concede. Not that I think Uniteds or Chelseas is either. I can only think of City who could field almost an entirely different side and not see a huge drop in quality. When Djourou isn't playing, we are much weaker at the back, even with our best attacking players on. You just listed the likes of Denilson, Bendtner, Arshavin and Chamakh. It's fine playing rotating one or two of them in, but when you bring them all in at once and ask them to keep getting results, then you're asking for trouble and are a lot more likely to see results like today and Wigan.

Of course tiredness is a factor, but we have a young, fit squad who should be able to keep up with the games at the moment. Chelsea made two changes (I think) from the side they played against us and got an important win against Bolton. Seldom have I seen Fergie make eight odd changes between league games either. He knows consistency is key and when a team is winning, the worst thing you can do is swap players in and out en masse.

[anders limpar]

Bendtner and Arshavin were an absolute disgrace today. TWICE Arshavin ran over to the bench when the numbers came up, begging to get subbed.

Now I understand that creative players by their very nature drift in and out of games, but you'd never catch Bergkamp not bothering to look up as he misplaced a five-yard hospital ball to the opposition or taking four hours to walk back onside. It's got to the point where I resent the lazy little cunt being on the pitch; Arshavin's 'I can't believe you're making me do my homework - IT'S SO UNFAIR' demeanour gave me the rage so much today I ended up shouting at nobody like a mental tramp.

Fucking 'fashion degree' my arse.

[CandyBob]

With the exception of Arshavin, every player out there today put in the effort. That's how it seemed from the Clock End anyway. You get all of this talk of the fringe players not being good enough and the team today being unbalanced but it wasn't like that at all. I can't even really see how anyone can say Bendtner had a bad game. Maybe the TV gave a skewed perspective and his finishing on a couple of occasions was poor but you cannot fault the effort as he ran his socks off. He was certainly more effective than Chamakh and Arshavin.

On the whole we dominated the game and but for some poor finishing, would have won it easily. The Arshavin one on one miss in the first half would have been game over, as they offered nothing except for a header from a corner that was well saved by Chesney. We could have scored two more in the last 5mins alone.

It's funny that the players get such a hard time but the support, holy smoke. Some of it was shameful today. The Leeds fans made us look like mugs all game long. I saw hundreds around me today who didn't even open their mouths for the whole game let alone offer any real support. Fucking disgrace tbh.

MOM Djourou. Absolute mountain.

[Guest]

Is Arshavin not just turning into a fat pie?

When I first saw him I thought he was a bit maradona-esque. Perhaps he is just accelerating his career to become as rotund as the ArgieLargey himself.

[CandyBob]

Is Arshavin not just turning into a fat pie?

When I first saw him I thought he was a bit maradona-esque. Perhaps he is just accelerating his career to become as rotund as the ArgieLargey himself.

The problem with Arshavin is that all he wants to do is the glamour. He'll pick the ball up, try to do something magical, inevitably run straight into three defenders, then shrug his shoulders and do exactly the same thing next time. It was actually quite pathetic in the end and he clearly didn't want to be on the field. To see him start to run across to the touchline every time the 4th official held up the board for a substitution was pretty sad really.

He is clearly a fantastic player, and his assist and goals stats this season are very good, but he looks very very unhappy.

[Lucky]

Only a reserve game but damn

[carlito]

Yeah, as well as that I notice that lanky spanish Bieber-a-likie Ignasi Miquel didn't play as he is on stand by for the first team thanks to Squillaci crocking.

Worrying times.

[Dude Ranch]

Only a reserve game but damn

Fucking hell! I read it as 0-1 at first.

[The Fox]

New centre half incoming then?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/11/arsenal-thomas-vermaelen

I'm getting pretty worried about Vermaelen now.

[BlinkyBear]

New centre half incoming then?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/jan/11/arsenal-thomas-vermaelen

I'm getting pretty worried about Vermaelen now.

Wenger said this during the weekend I think. Part of me wouldn't be that unhappy if TommyV is out for a bit longer if it means Wenger does the decent thing and spends some cash on a quality CB like Metersacker, Cahill or Jagielka.

So long as Vermaelen actually comes back, of course.

[The Grand Pursuivant]

Wenger said this during the weekend I think. Part of me wouldn't be that unhappy if TommyV is out for a bit longer if it means Wenger does the decent thing and spends some cash on a quality CB like Metersacker, Cahill or Jagielka.

So long as Vermaelen actually comes back, of course.

Mertesacker would be an amazing signing. He's in a completely different league to Cahill and Jagielka. I refuse to get my hopes up about it though, one of those clubs that actually spends money will likely get him.

[Lucky]

It looks like we will actually be buying a CB now TV is doing a pretty good impression of Rosicky.

I hope AW goes for a proper one though and not a Squillaci stop gap type of signing.

[carlito]

Mertesacker would be an amazing signing. He's in a completely different league to Cahill and Jagielka. I refuse to get my hopes up about it though, one of those clubs that actually spends money will likely get him.

Yeah he is in a different league, the Bundesliga. Which makes him a far less preferable option in my opinion. Centrebacks very rarely immediately adapt well to a new league.

What makes you say Mertsacker is in a different league to them anyway? I remember seeing Bremen get fucking tanking about 6 nil or something this by Stuttgart and Mertsacker looked an absolute donkey. Aren't they teetering just above the relegation zone?

In fact a quick check of Sky Sports tells me that they have conceeded more goals than every other team apart from the three in the relegation zone. Hardly an outstanding advert for his defensive marshalling.

[The Fox]

Mertesacker is clearly very good though and I think I'd prefer him to cahill, but I'd probably take jagielka over him if we need someone to perform right away.

Anyway we'll no doubt end up with that spahic bloke ie koscielny mkII for about £3m. Or no one.

[Sinister]

There's always Sol. Again :S

Sorry if this has been linked already. But Sol Campbell again?

[carlito]

I'm no expert on German league football I just watch the games they have on Sky and ESPN from time to time and he's really never impressed me that much, in fact I have thought as I watched him "can't believe he gets so much hype", he just looks a bit slow and lumbering. You get away with that in Bundesliga, I mean Sami Hyypia looked fucking mustard every time I saw him play the other season for Leverkusen and he was well off the pace towards the end of his Liverpool career.

I feel that Mertsackers reputation is undeservedly enhanced by the performance of the German national team and the speculative Newsnow headlines which raise his profile.

It's also odd that people who dislike Squillaci would want Mertsacker as they appear to be big lunky defenders of a very similar mold.

[Daley]

I know he is a big lump and about as un-Arsenal a signing as you could make but if Blackburn are willing to let Chris Samba go for £6m (as rumoured after he bitched about Big Sam getting the chop) I would bite their hand off.

[Dude Ranch]

I know he is a big lump and about as un-Arsenal a signing as you could make but if Blackburn are willing to let Chris Samba go for £6m (as rumoured after he bitched about Big Sam getting the chop) I would bite their hand off.

I think I'd be tempted too, I thought that when it first kicked off at Blackburn. He's pretty mobile for a big guy and very imposing.

[Mars]

I'd go for Cahill or Samba

[Steve007]

Only a reserve game but damn

Heard about this yesterday on Talk Sport. I know it's only a reserve game but that's one hell of a mauling.

[carlito]

In our defence Villa do always seem to have very good youth/reserve sides.

I think they beat us last season too.

Still 10 - 0 is not good.

[Arc'Tan'Gent]

We'll probably sign another French League 2 player who turns to be be unsurprisingly mediocre.

[carlito]

Yeah because we are such great fans at Arsenal that we dismiss a player after his first half season in a new league. Wish Man United had done the same with Vidic after his shakey start in English football.

[The Fox]

Koscielny will probably come good. He's a tidy player, certainly decent on the ball. But I still think it's fair to say that neither him nor Squilacci were the immediate solutions needed to our problems at centre half.