“I am 30 years in this job, I make 50,000 subsitutions.
I have to justify to you every time I make a substitution?”
That one you do, monsieur.
What a shabby state of affairs. We all knew that his dithering summer would wreck the season and it’s done exactly that
But Wenger’s colossal arrogance is more insulting today than it’s ever been.
He’s only there because Stan Kroenke has no ambition and the board are timid time-servers.
In January, Arsene FC is fifth and 400-1 to win the league.
I’ll be amazed if they finish Top Four
Wenger took off the dynamic Oxlade, Arsenal’s best player, who had created RVP’s goal with a fantastic bit of ball control, a smart dribble and a cute pass, and brought on the lazy Arshavin with the game poised at 1-1.
Doing that killed the team, enraged the crowd, and lifted Man United.
As Gary Neville said, the substitution of Oxlade-Chamberlain stopped Arsenal’s momentum.
Van Persie was astounded by it.
The crowd booed vigorously to show their anger.
This was Wenger’s third consecutive league defeat.
Fulham 2 Arsenal 1
Swansea 3 Arsenal 2
Arsenal 1 Manchester United 2.
Yes, every team has a blip, every team has too many injuries.
NOTE THIS : A patchy, ragged, erratic performance by Manchester United.
Rooney was so, so average. United have 60% of a team right now. And Arsenal have 50% of a team.
This was a theadbare performance. Where are the ideas? Where is the belief? Where’s the defensive organisation?
This 4-3-3 “system” is crap. It’s too predictable, it doesn’t work.
Walcott played like a plank and Djourou was a fish out of water, etc etc etc.
But Arsenal still dominated big chunks of the second half and scored a beautiful goa lfrom a sweeping move, started by the excellent, powerful Koscielny, who hit Rosicky with a fine crossfield passs, and he found Oxlade with another long crossfield pass.
AOC controlled that ball with Brazilian skill, jinked inside, and produced a defence-splitting pass into Van Persie’s diagonal run. The Dutchman hit the ball first time through the legs of Jonnny Evans and his shot went in off the post for 1-1.
Valencia had headed in a Giggs cross in 45+1 minutes.
In 81, sub Paul Scholes found Valencia with a magisterial crossfield pass and the right winger then destroyed the Arsenal defence.
He came infield, played a one-two with sub Ji-Sung Park, and set up Welbeck for the winner.
Looking at the game as a whole, Robin van Persie doesn’t do enough.
Great players do more than that.
However, RVP is playing in a team that isn’t good enough to win anything.
What else is new?
Arsenal are now closer to Stoke than to Spurs.
Stoke are 8th on 30 points
Liverpool are 7th on 35.
Arsenal and Newcastle have 36.
Chelsea are 4th on 41
Spurs are 3rd on 46
Manchester United are 2nd on 51
And petro-dollar Manche$ter Citeh are top on 54.