Quote:
Originally Posted by phelan
Torres is back. I knew he would show up for the Liverpool / Chelsea fixture, and boy did he ever. His first touch was brilliant for the first goal, and there wasn't anything the defense or Cech could do to stop his second. It's good to see him back to full speed. Chelsea looked dangerous (Malouda really should've scored on that half-cross from Drogba), but Reina did well to keep them at bay.
Out of all the London teams, Arsenal did the worst. There, I'm a Gunners fan, and I've gone and said it.
Arsenal had absolutely nobody but themselves to blame for their loss. Cesc looks like he's half strength (apparently he is), van Persie had no business on the pitch (one training session does not mean a player is 100% fit), Chamakh looked lost. Defense was shoddy, although the red on Koscielny is harsh. Fabianski flapped a bit, first in several games, but it damned us into giving 3 points to Newcastle. There was NO motivation, NO creativity, nothing to take pride in. They were stuck in first gear, and forgot where second was.
I think Wenger has to really rethink how he motivates this squad. Against West Brom we looked horrible, but this game, it looked like we cared, but never got off the ground. I'm not sure what he's telling the squad, but it's NOT WORKING. There's no reason for us to lose to Shakhtar midweek, then get spanked by an Andy Carroll UNMARKED HEADED GOAL on the weekend. Especially after we mauled both teams weeks prior!!
At least Wilshere looks like he hasn't missed a beat, and I'm still hopeful that Arsenal can turn things around. RvP is back (sort of), once Vermaelen returns our 1st choice defense will be intact once more. I hope Nasri isn't out for a while. Looked like he faded after taking that knock to his leg. And to his credit, Arshavin tried to make things happen when he came off the bench. Guess he doesn't like riding pine sitting around in plushy seats.
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Couldnt agree more with your entire assessment. As much as I hate em, its good to see L'Pool knock Chelski back a few pegs. Torres looks to have gotten his touch/shot back, good to see.
As far as the Arsenal match, yeah, we were knocking the ball about and didnt know what to do with it, we had no desire to get forward with any kind of vigor, final balls were horrible, the red on Kos was harsh, but his positioning in the first place led to him having to make the foul, i'll chalk that up to needing more games. I dont know wtf AW is thinking putting his best striker into the match with one training session under his belt. Fabregas played like he was carrying an injury, close control was terrible, giving up possession all over the pitch with needless runs, Chamakh was invisible. The only positive I gained from the match is that Arshavin is a great super sub and that is where he should remain for awhile, he came on and added spark. Oh, Jacky was pretty solid, he was up and down the pitch, hard in defense, his passes were at least attempting to put someone through, just, his overall work rate was second to none, best player on the pitch for us on the day.
Here's hoping next week looks better. Oh and I pray to god Nasri didnt pick up a long term injury.