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Written by Shane Thomas

Published: Thursday, 25 October 2012 07:00

Arsenal moved from a state of slight concern into discernible worry after their second moribund display in five days, which resulted in a deserved loss to the Germans, Schalke. To paraphrase the sporting aphorism, Arsenal lost 2-0, and were lucky to get nil.

Weakness in possession

Despite dominating the early stages, at one point having 74% of possession, Arsenal seemed to lack any clear idea of how to break Schalke down. The German outfit were well organised, swiftly getting all 11 players behind the ball, and looking to close down Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta at every opportunity.

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Written by Joe Smith

Published: Wednesday, 24 October 2012 23:06

Arsenal followed up their disappointing weekend defeat to Norwich with another to Schalke in the Champions League, taking them out of the driving seat in Group B.

Vito Mannone – 4 – another unconvincing performance from Vito, highlighting the need for a top class goalkeeper. Brought down Afellay early on and could have conceded a penalty.

Carl Jenkinson – 5 – didn’t do anything wrong but also didn’t get forward as much as usual. Perhaps a bit jaded.

Per Mertesacker – 5 – solid performance from the reliable BFG, however he didn’t really have much to do.

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Written by Tom DiMaio

Published: Saturday, 20 October 2012 20:31

I sit here attempting to write a two-sided discussion about tonight’s ‘events’, but I’m finding it incredibly difficult.  We were awful, there are no two ways of putting it and there is no way of disguising the fact.

If you asked me to point out any key Arsenal chances, I couldn’t.  We didn’t have a single clear-cut opportunity on goal except for a Gervinho one on one that you always fancied the keeper for.

Norwich are in my opinion one of the two worst teams in the league alongside Reading and to not win this game is inexcusable.  Not a single player played particularly well although it has to be said apart from the goal the defence had very little to do.

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Written by Tom DiMaio

Published: Sunday, 07 October 2012 01:48

Tonight’s game against West Ham was a game that I really thought we would win. We had to.

Although it cannot be denied that West Ham are experiencing a solid run of form, 11 points from their first six games is a clear indication that this game would not be easy.

But despite the fact that on paper, the teams looked like they would provide an adequate match, the quality in our team always looked likely to out perform an Allardyce team.

Big Sam’s at it again

It has been a while since we’ve played a Sam Allardyce team, and it’s not a fixture Arsenal fans have ever looked forward to.

We guessed what we were likely to receive and no doubt we got it. Long ball after long ball after long ball, the same thing every time, this was made more worrying by our seeming inability to defend balls flying into the box.