It was Williamson that Bendtner "ran into", wasn't it? I'm pretty sure it was revenge for the situation earlier in the game where Williamson brought down Bendtner off the ball to make sure he wouldn't get first on an excellent cross from Walcott. That one would have pretty much guaranteed 1-0 since Theo got the ball past the keeper and everything. No one's talking about that, though.

What comes around goes around, I guess. Newcastle should just keep their mouths shut and accept that they got matched in their own tactics.

Indeed Klaus, what i was getting at on the previous page, and the whole of last night off the forum. That's just the media for you though.

Koscielny vs Newcastle (no music apparently, courtesy of WMG):

His distribution and ability to intercept the ball is amazing.

Anyone got highlights of Saturdays game? Still haven't seen anything of the 1st half.

Lovely quality video, although frankly Arsenal and American rock music go together like chalk and cheese.

That video should come with a "contains heartbreaking material" warning. Nobody told me Paris would be invoooolved 🙁

Watching that video makes me sad.

10 days later

Extended highlights from the reserve game vs Everton:

That 3rd Arsenal goal by JET was ridiculously good

Someone has made a compilation out of Benik Afobe's performances for Huddersfield Town so far:

Some neat skills in that video. I love the part 50 seconds into the clip where he embarrasses the same defender twice in a row before having a target-bound shot blocked. It's interesting to see how well he measures up against full-grown men too. The lad's only seventeen but he seems to cope just fine physically.

Good find. Think he will have a decent future with us if circumstances permits.

13 days later

Lansbury vs Ipswich:

Gibbs vs Wigan, courtesy of Ricky:

4 days later

A few good touches, but it seems like overall it wasn't a great performance from him. Maybe it's the quality of the team he's playing on and their typical style of play (I have never seen Norwich play to my knowledge), but he seems to just kick it up the field and hope the striker can latch onto it. With that said, he does seem to have a good physical presence about him.

I really don't like his reactions when calls don't go his way though like 5:15. Sure, it was probably a corner, but his reaction is completely egoistical. And not the good kind of ego like Chesney has, but a petulant kind of ego that can sometimes do more harm than good.

I thought he was superb. Don't mind his reactions either. He plays with a lot of passion, so the emotions are bound to come out. Not to mention that he should have got both the corner and the throw-in. It's easier learning to control emotions than to add hunger and commitment to your game, mind.

Let's hope he keeps this up. If he keeps impressing, I'm sure he will find a Premiership side to go on loan next season. Then he can really force himself into Wenger's plans.

I love that he's tenacious, agile, pretty quick, has good stamina and doesn't shy away from physical battle. With the inevitable physical development he will go through in the next few years, I can see him turning into just the type of midfielder I like best.

Definitely. It's the kind of stuff that comes across as a bit disappointing in youtube compilations I guess, but Lansbury is so well-rounded in his game. He can pull off some sublime passes in the attacking end but he's equally capable of playing a disciplined game in the heart of central midfield.


I reckon that's just about the best individual performance in the Premier League this season. One thing that really stood out was Samir's movement, he's in perpetual motion, always looking to make and then exploit space, such a contrast to seasons gone by.

Bebatov scored five last week mate.

That wasn't even the best individual performance by an Arsenal player this season.

Berbatov's a useless cunt, doesn't count.

Walcott against Blackpool was the best Arsenal performance in my humble opinion.

Thanks for the Nasri compilation. Noticed a couple of things.

  1. He has incredible strength. Most wingers would fall at some challenges he faces, but he stands his ground, and that creates opportunities for him to punish defenders, as they lose their balance or orientation. Someone like Ronaldo would have been wriggling at the ground after many of the challenges Nasri withstood.

  2. In the open field, he is very right-dominant. In close spaces around the goal, his left foot suddenly plays a big role, and it is a cultured left foot, capable of executing deft movements and generating lots of power. If he can integrate his left foot more in the middle of the park, he will be even harder to mark.

If you look closely, at 4:14, the defender actually steps on his heel and his boot comes off, but he continues and nearly puts it on a plate for Arshavin.

That was the defenders boot that came off.

15 days later

A good interview to listen to. Thanks Ricky! Just confirms what they have been saying from the Brentford camp all along.

Loved what he was saying about when Sneezey first walked into his office! Stay for the season but then he is off to be in goal for Arsenal... Love this kid´s attitude!

7 days later

Is there a better midfield player in the world?

Ricky1985 wrote:

Is there a better midfield player in the world?

There's exactly one guy who's better than him, but he's 31 next month and didn't really start to produce the goods until his mid-twenties.

It was a great performance by Cesc. I can't believe he got less than fifteen percent of the votes in the man of the match poll.

Didn't realise that Xavi was born in 1980. I'm sure that mob will be throwing some Qatari Rial at us this summer.

Klaus wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:

Is there a better midfield player in the world?

There's exactly one guy who's better than him, but he's 31 next month and didn't really start to produce the goods until his mid-twenties.

It was a great performance by Cesc. I can't believe he got less than fifteen percent of the votes in the man of the match poll.

He did get the offical MOTM award and the bottle of wine though.

Well, from our team, Song was excellent. Other guys like Walcott and Song put in a shift as well.

Klaus wrote:
Ricky1985 wrote:

Is there a better midfield player in the world?

There's exactly one guy who's better than him, but he's 31 next month and didn't really start to produce the goods until his mid-twenties.

It was a great performance by Cesc. I can't believe he got less than fifteen percent of the votes in the man of the match poll.

Lampard, if you care to call him a midfielder, is better. Essien too.

Cesc is definitely among the very best though.

Zico wrote:

Well, from our team, Song was excellent. Other guys like Walcott and Song put in a shift as well.

Song was so good that you mentioned him twice.

In all seriousness, Song was the best player on the pitch by a distance, only Sagna came close but he's a rightback.

Cesc was good but not great. I think we can definitely expect more from him and in my mind that is only going to be helped from having VP and (to a lesser extent) Walcott in the team. Cesc is a player that relies on partnerships, understanding with other players and that was something he had with Hleb in 07-08, which was what made him (and us) good that season. At the moment, he had Nasri to play off of but there is still room for improvement in that partnership but there both intelligent players, so (if) given time, it should come good.