EnglishOxide Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 I can't be arsed with anyone who thinks Arsenal are title favourites. Not a chance. They're 4th for me. They need one of Cazorla or Wilshere back as in right now. If they aren't back by the weekend then it may be too late for them because Spurs will knock them out of the race. A lot also depends on Sanchez rediscovering his form too, but the midfield is the problem. Flamini, Ramsey and Ox aren't good enough. Coquelin is holding the fort and he is inexperienced himself. Elneny looks a decent passer but nothing more and still has to adapt to the nature of the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan LCFC Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 They need one of Cazorla or Wilshere back as in right now. If they aren't back by the weekend then it may be too late for them because Spurs will knock them out of the race. A lot also depends on Sanchez rediscovering his form too, but the midfield is the problem. Flamini, Ramsey and Ox aren't good enough. Coquelin is holding the fort and he is inexperienced himself. Elneny looks a decent passer but nothing more and still has to adapt to the nature of the league. I just don't think they've got the collective bottle. They prove it time and time again. Sanchez is a winner but other than that I'm seeing a lot of talent and no real bottle. It was absolutely embarrassing the way they played at Man Utd. Exactly the type of performance that reeks of everything bad about Arsenal in recent years. I don't think they as a club have enough of a winning mentality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donut Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 They need one of Cazorla or Wilshere back as in right now. If they aren't back by the weekend then it may be too late for them because Spurs will knock them out of the race. A lot also depends on Sanchez rediscovering his form too, but the midfield is the problem. Flamini, Ramsey and Ox aren't good enough. Coquelin is holding the fort and he is inexperienced himself. Elneny looks a decent passer but nothing more and still has to adapt to the nature of the league. Players like Cazorla and Wilshere wont win you a title. There lies the problem. They are a player short throughout the spine of the team. A solid and mobile defender, a leader in the middle of midfield, and a top quality striker. They didnt need all 3 this season. They certainly needed the striker, maybe even that would have got the over the line. The "top" clubs have all been rubbish this season and they havent cashed in. And seeing their nearest rivals improving so rapidly as they go backwards makes it twice as bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan LCFC Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Wenger's persisted with too many 'good' players when he should've signed real top quality. I'm not having it that the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott, Flamini, Giroud (he's good but not absolutely top drawer), Mertesacker etc... are the best they are capable of attracting. They settle for too low. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishOxide Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 For all the bluster of not having a spine and needing a tough tackling midfielder and a better defender, they have the (joint now) second best defence in the league. I disagree that players like Wilshere and Cazorla won't win you the title. They are 2 of Arsenals 3 best centre mids and have been out for extended periods this season. When Cazorla has been in the team this season he has been the difference maker for them, it's no surprise their performances have dipped since injury. He's not some luxury playmaker either, he was playing a good box to box role. On the striker issue, Giroud has banged in plenty, but Walcott has been completely spineless. For someone with so much pace he ain't half reluctant to knock it past a full back and get in behind. He has no aggression or killer instinct, although to be honest I blame Wenger. He turns 27 this month and doesn't seem any better than when he was 16. He has been completely misused. Welbeck is good enough. Ultimately, Arsenals downfalls so far have been injury in midfield and Wenger's tactics. The bottling aspect is there, but isn't the main factor and they may yet turn this around IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donut Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 For all the bluster of not having a spine and needing a tough tackling midfielder and a better defender, they have the (joint now) second best defence in the league. I disagree that players like Wilshere and Cazorla won't win you the title. They are 2 of Arsenals 3 best centre mids and have been out for extended periods this season. When Cazorla has been in the team this season he has been the difference maker for them, it's no surprise their performances have dipped since injury. He's not some luxury playmaker either, he was playing a good box to box role. On the striker issue, Giroud has banged in plenty, but Walcott has been completely spineless. For someone with so much pace he ain't half reluctant to knock it past a full back and get in behind. He has no aggression or killer instinct, although to be honest I blame Wenger. He turns 27 this month and doesn't seem any better than when he was 16. He has been completely misused. Welbeck is good enough. Ultimately, Arsenals downfalls so far have been injury in midfield and Wenger's tactics. The bottling aspect is there, but isn't the main factor and they may yet turn this around IMO. Would have to totally disagree to be honest. Giroud gets hatfulls of chances and should score more. Wilshere has only ever been a peripheral player in his career and a vastly overrated one at that. Walcott needs to be SOMETHING. If hes playing as a stiker he wont be pushing it past defenders, he should be making intelligent runs. He doesnt. And they are most definitely bottlers because in the biggest games they are always found wanting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bne123 Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 And just think, everytime we win one, they have to win two to overtake us. Other way to look at is if we draw & they win they overtake us with their superior GD. Also looking at the table - Spurs have dropped only 5 points since Christmas (thats 10 games). We have dropped 12 points. So, thats 7 points made up by them - this even includes their defeat to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bne123 Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Maybe I am being harsh, but I have been down to WHL four times in the last 12 months and we could have won all four games. Personally think Spurs are not that great, although of course they may well win the league if other teams lose their way. When we won 1-0 last month, they huffed and puffed and made one real chance against us in 90 minutes. Kaspers save on to the bar, otherwise a routine clean sheet, rewarded with THAT header near the end. They may have had the possession, but against a well drilled team like Leicester, they had no real ideas. If Arsenal get a win at the weekend, I would expect them to come on strong, particularly after almost certainly being out of Europe. You are certainly being harsh mate. Since that game, they have won 6 in a row. Any team that wins 6 wins in a row, is playing at top of their game. They havent lost away since day 1 of the season. I would have wanted them to continue in FA Cup but they are out of it. In all possibility they could be out against Dortmund too in next couple of weeks. But regardless, they are rotating the players & squad so well at the moment. Every time I see them, I cannot see any fatigue in them. They are coming from behind late in the games, means that they are fit & not tired. I am worried about their form. I am worried that finally injuries could catch up with us this season, with Kante injured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bne123 Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Spurs - Arsenal game to be a draw would be perfect result for us. But if theres got to be a winner, I have no idea whom to support. IMO, If Westham can get a result against Spurs, I would want Spurs to win over Arsenal. That would certainly mean end of Arsenal challenge. If Spurs win over Westham, then I certainly dont want them to win over Arsenal. Its tricky. I guess, best we could do is forget others & focus on our next game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
americanfox Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Spurs - Arsenal game to be a draw would be perfect result for us. But if theres got to be a winner, I have no idea whom to support. IMO, If Westham can get a result against Spurs, I would want Spurs to win over Arsenal. That would certainly mean end of Arsenal challenge. If Spurs win over Westham, then I certainly dont want them to win over Arsenal. Its tricky. I guess, best we could do is forget others & focus on our next game Arsenal, because they are further back. Easy. That makes the title gap five points, versus two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reynard Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 You are certainly being harsh mate. Since that game, they have won 6 in a row. Any team that wins 6 wins in a row, is playing at top of their game. They havent lost away since day 1 of the season. I would have wanted them to continue in FA Cup but they are out of it. In all possibility they could be out against Dortmund too in next couple of weeks. But regardless, they are rotating the players & squad so well at the moment. Every time I see them, I cannot see any fatigue in them. They are coming from behind late in the games, means that they are fit & not tired. I am worried about their form. I am worried that finally injuries could catch up with us this season, with Kante injured. Agree completely with this. They are the form side at the moment. Personally I'd say they were the favourites to win it even though we have 2 points more at the moment. They have a bigger squad than us and more players capable of affecting the outcome of a game. The next two games are tricky for them but I can see them easily beating Arsenal and getting at least a point at West Ham. The loss of Kante for us is simply huge. We have no player capable of replacing him. We must win tonight and against Watford nothing else will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
promised land Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/35692857 I do like that photo and the line under it, Forest fans must be livid. Edit, arse holes, the BBC have changed it, it was a picture of Clough and Taylor holding the old league trophy up, but Taylor had a Derby badge on his jacket and it was the baseball ground, caption underneath said Forest winning the title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingcarr21 Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Spurs - Arsenal game to be a draw would be perfect result for us. But if theres got to be a winner, I have no idea whom to support. IMO, If Westham can get a result against Spurs, I would want Spurs to win over Arsenal. That would certainly mean end of Arsenal challenge. If Spurs win over Westham, then I certainly dont want them to win over Arsenal. Its tricky. I guess, best we could do is forget others & focus on our next game Surely the best outcome is Arsenal winning. Keep the gap at 5 points. Its only 1 team that needs to overtake us for us to miss out on the title. Would rather 2 teams be 5 points behind than have 1 team 2 points behind and the other 8 points behind Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Doctor Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Surely the best outcome is Arsenal winning. Keep the gap at 5 points. Its only 1 team that needs to overtake us for us to miss out on the title. Would rather 2 teams be 5 points behind than have 1 team 2 points behind and the other 8 points behind Depends how the midweeks go - If Arsenal win then we'd not want them winning again, suddenly they're building up momentum and will probably shorten the gap a bit. A draw would be best unless Arsenal win and Spurs lose in the midweek games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammered Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Lads we need to stick to the plan - Tottenham wins f*** all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Surely the best outcome is Arsenal winning. Keep the gap at 5 points. Its only 1 team that needs to overtake us for us to miss out on the title. Would rather 2 teams be 5 points behind than have 1 team 2 points behind and the other 8 points behind Well obviously, but a draw gives neither side a boost and makes both teams lose out on 2 points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Jesus I didn't realise just how bad Palace were doing - 7 losses and 3 draws from the last 10 games, that's proper worrying form for them. In that time, even Villa have won 2! Prior to the WBA - Palace game, Schmeichel senior came out and said that besides Leicester, Palace were the big surprise this year. "They play good football and I see them winning this match". 30 minutes in and they're 3-0 down. It's as if he hasn't actually looked below the top 5 in the league table since November. Embarrassing as always when he opens his gob. Palace might well do what Newcastle did last year and just scrape survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foxfanazer Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Prior to the WBA - Palace game, Schmeichel senior came out and said that besides Leicester, Palace were the big surprise this year. "They play good football and I see them winning this match". 30 minutes in and they're 3-0 down. It's as if he hasn't actually looked below the top 5 in the league table since November. Embarrassing as always when he opens his gob. Palace might well do what Newcastle did last year and just scrape survival. Surely West Ham are the next success story after us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
filbertway Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 To be fair, Palace have been without Sakho and Bolasie for ages haven't they? Take 2 of the most dangerous players out of a team and you're not going to be left with much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammered Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Surely West Ham are the next success story after us Please allow me to doubt that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingcarr21 Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 me saying an Arsenal win is best was based on us all winning the midweek games. Obviously a draw would be nice between spurs and arsenal. That still means Spurs would be 4 points behind us though. that's why I would sooner Arsenal beat Spurs to keep Spurs 5 points behind us. (Obviously if we win against Watford) Tbh there will be so many twists and turns the title wont be decided in the next week. We need to realise its not the end of the world if we drop points. I get the impression fans will cry their eyes out at 1 defeat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shen Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Surely West Ham are the next success story after us Or even Spurs or Watford. Peter Schmeichel is clueless... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M0901 Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 As an aside thought Nathan Redmond looked very decent on Saturday and seemed to suit a counter-attacking style well. Only 21! Think we should keep tabs on him. Agreed on Redmond, very good player. Think they missed Hoolahan a bit too Not sure about bringing Redmond in though, would you count Gray as the same player? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
possiblygeorge Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Not Man City. Have a horrible, horrible feeling we'll fall over in the last month and have it snatched by Tottenham. Turns my stomach inside-out just thinking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain... Posted 1 March 2016 Share Posted 1 March 2016 Not Man City. Have a horrible, horrible feeling we'll fall over in the last month and have it snatched by Tottenham. Turns my stomach inside-out just thinking about it. It's the problem with leading from the front, if we were in any other position, we would be ecstatic with finishing 2nd and running the leaders close, but leading for so long it will feel like a failure to finish second in the league (never thought I would say that about us). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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