Arsenals 3rd FA Cup trophy is still a target

Arsenal progress to the last sixteen after narrowly beating a good Burnley side. Goals from Chambers and Sanchez booked our place in the next round but despite dominating the game, it was a nervy last 20 minutes as the Clarets pushed for an equalizer.

A typical Cup tie, the game was contested at a frantic pace. Our second goal was one of beauty as we broke out of defence and with a quick passing (seven passes) counter attack the ball eventually arrived at the feet of Sanchez who calmly scored. It could have finished 3-1 when Burnley were in full attack mode near the end of the game and a break sent Walcott bombing forward with just the Burnley keeper to beat, but he fluffed his lines.

Wenger had made several changes to the side which lost to the Chavs, and Ozil and Ramsey were conspicuous by their absence. However, Coquelin, Chambers, Gibbs, Iwobi and the new boy, Elneny, all had good games, with special mention to Iwobi and the Egyptian. Iwobi was assured in midfield and his passing was accurate and precise. He really would be a better option than Walcott at the moment.

The Egyptian covered a lot of turf during the game, he seemed to be everywhere and showed that his fitness is similar to Sanchez. He tried a bit too hard at times but that’s understandable, he obviously wanted to make an impression on his debut and nearly did on a couple of occasions with shots from outside the box.

Elneny looks as if he will be a good addition to the team, in fact he looked as if he was made to wear the red and white, he definitely looked the part. The stats say he had the most touches of the ball than any other player (100), and had a 96% completion rate, which shows how he got involved in the game.

It was good to see Le Coq back in the side, in the first half he was clearly getting acclimatised to his first full match after a period injured, but in the second half his confidence became more assured and he had a good game.

So we go into the pot this evening for the last sixteen draw. There are still a few premiership sides which it would be good to avoid, the two Manchester clubs, Crystal Palace, Liverpool or West Ham, Watford, WBA, Everton and Chelsea if they both win today and of course, the wankers from N17.

We are number 3 in the draw…… and games to be played the weekend 19-22 February. Here is the full list for the last sixteen:

1 West Bromwich Albion or Peterborough United
2 Leeds United
3 Arsenal
4 Manchester United
5 Reading
6 Liverpool or West Ham United
7 Manchester City
8 Shrewsbury Town
9 Watford
10 Carlisle United or Everton
11 Crystal Palace
12 Blackburn Rovers
13 AFC Bournemouth
14 Tottenham Hotspur
15 Hull City
16 MK Dons or Chelsea

Just before I conclude todays report, another Arsenal player on loan, Akpom scored a hat-trick for Hull yesterday. Well done Chuba.

 

 

The Burnley witch hunt… let’s hang the bastards.

 

FA Cup day…. and we’ve got something to defend and a chance to make history. Just as they made history in Pendle, near Burnley, in 1612. One of the most famous witch trials in English History. Twelve were accused of murdering ten people by witchcraft, of the eleven who went to trial, nine women and two men (one had already died in prison), ten were found guilty and executed by hanging, one was found not guilty. Can’t explain why one was found not guilty, not in those days, everyone was found fucking guilty.

What else is interesting about Burnley, well it’s in Lancashire, so Lancashire hotpot is famous…..

and rightly so, it’s bloody yummy

Lancashire women are hearty and welcoming, they like to cuddle you and surround you with their large ample breasts and warm bodies and feed you their Lancashire Hot Pot…… bloody yummy.

 

Bury Black Pudding, created when you had to use up every single part of a pig, so the blood was cooked as well….. Bloody yummy.

And then there are Eccles cakes, full of currents and baked with puff pastry…… bloody yummy.

So what about our opponents, Burnley FC, nicknamed the ‘Clarets’, perhaps after the Black Pudding. Founded in 1882 and one of the founder members of the Football league in 1888, their home ground has been Turf Moor since 1883. They’ve been League Champions twice, way back in the dark ages and won the FA Cup in 1914 when every other player was off at the Front fighting for King and Country.

They did however, reach the quarter finals of the European Cup in 1961. They were quite famous in the 50’s and 60’s for being dead ball specialists and developing the unknown concept of ‘Total Football, which made them one of the more attacking sides during that period.

And don’t forget all the inbreeding that went on up there in Lancashire, here’s an example from 1905, a photo of two Burnley supporting brothers….. their father was their uncle and their mother was their sister and it’s recorded that she was their aunt too.

Furthermore, it still goes on, as this headline from the Burnley Daily Herald proves:

CCTV APPEAL: Man seen touching himself and making kissing noises at young girls in Burnley town centre.

But where are Burnley FC now? They’re in the Championship, somewhere near the top and doing well, in fact, they could even be promotion candidates. Last week they thrashed Derby 4-1 and are on a good run of form.

Do we have to be careful today? They are quite capable of causing a Cup upset, Wenger needs to field a strong side if we are to continue our march towards a third FA Cup trophy in a row and make history.

Who do we have available? Sanchez and Özil are fit, it looks as if Le Big Coq will be fit, I hope Cech plays but there are rumours that Ospina will be in the team and I’m sure our new chap from Morocco will get a try out today as well. The BFG won’t play because of his red card so Paul Easter will be included next to Kosser, Gibbs may come in for Monreal but Bellerin has to play because we don’t have anyone at the moment to deputize for him.

Up front, your guess is as good as mine, take Giroud, Walcott, the Ox, Campbell and Iwobi, put their names in a hat and pull out two.

So what are our chances? I don’t fucking know, I’m not a football bollocks expert! I prefer to post black and white photos of naked women, get drunk and have a fucking laugh.

I’m 100% sure that there will be a result though.

It could end up two ways, we thrash them and go through easy peesy, or they cause a cup upset and my dream of us making history goes down the drain just like the blood of the witches in Pendle in 1612. Let’s just hope they haven’t put a spell on the referee or offered him a free lifetime supply of Black pudding and ample bodied Lancashire women.

Come on you fucking Gunners.

Language problems could cause Arsenal FA Cup exit.

Four candles? Nah, Fork Handles…… Handles for Forks!

Welcome to the GunnersoreArse blog. Being blogged 918.74 kilometers (in a straight line) from the Emirates Stadium.

Why does Wenger have to be so honest? Why does he have to tell the media all his intimate thoughts? Why did he feel a need to tell the press that Paulista Gabriel could be a problem in our defence because he doesn’t understand a word of English?

If he plays in the back four today, surely Middlesborough will target an area where they know communication between our players could be a problem. Koscielny shouts to Gabriel (in his French broken English) “hey Gabby, get over to the left and take their centre forward”, and Gabriel moves backwards putting the whole ‘Boro forward line onside to score their first goal. Monreal shouts in his shaky English accent tinged with Spanish, ” Gabby, cover me, I’m going forward”, and Gabriel moves towards the right back instead and the left side is left uncovered and ‘Boro score their 2nd goal. The big Coq says to Gabriel in his Cockney French accent, “Gabby, stay back I’ll go up for the corner,  cover for me”, but instead Gabriel goes up for the corner as well, leaving the defence lacking in players when ‘Boro storm forward on the counter and score their 3rd goal. And so, Arsenal, the FA Cup holders go out of the cup because one player cannot understand a word of English.

If the FA Cup back line today is Chambers, Koscielny, Gabriel and Monreal, poor old Paulista will have to comprehend English spoken by an Englishman, a Frenchman and a Spaniard. I suppose Nacho could speak spanish to the Brazilian, or do they speak Portuguese in Brazil? And if at some point if the Big Fucking German has to come on and play alongside the Brazilian………Chaos and confusion!

Wenger has said that Gabriel’s poor English could cost his side goals.

“When you don’t speak English and you don’t understand ‘Come out, come back, right, left’, it is a problem for a defender,” Wenger said.

“You need to know the key words. Offside. Referee. Foul.” and he said further, “If you mix ‘going forwards’ with ‘going backwards’, it can cost you.”

Language barriers can be a source of confusion. Take it from me, having lived in another country with a different language for over fifteen years. Some embarrassing and awkward situations can arise, I’ve experienced it. However, could it cause problems in our defence? Furthermore, if the manager thinks it’s a problem and doesn’t put Gabriel in the side, how long will that be for? How long will it take the Brazilian to learn enough English to enable him to play without a communication breakdown?

Middlesborough are not going to be a push over. They are riding high in the Championship and are likely candidates to move into the Premiership next season. Do we really want to introduce a non- English speaking centre back into such an important game? A game that if we win propels us towards the final and retaining the FA Cup.

I wonder at what level he is currently? I assume he can say “yes” and “no”, and probably “Thank You” and “Please”. He may even have got to the serious level of, “I like you” and ” What’s your name?”. I’m sure Coq au Vin has taught him how to say, “Shut the fuck up”. And perhaps Giroud has taught him to roll on the floor with his arm in the air, shouting ” Ref… foul”. However, will he understand something shouted at him in the heat of the moment, in a period of sustained pressure and confusion?

“Paul Easter, get back you fucking idiot” (put in there French, German, Spanish, Chilean or English accent as appropriate) and barely audible with the Emirates crowd making a hell of a noise. He’ll have no chance.

I jest of course, I don’t think it will be problem at all. He’s a professional, he’s played at the highest level and he knows how to play at Centre Back.

What do you think? Should he play despite lacking the fundamentals of the English language? Is it a risk worth taking? Or am I just falando besteira?

OK , le temps pour un verre de vin et certains chorizo ​​épicé, j’espère que vous avez apprécié votre visite … jusqu’à la prochaine fois .

à bientôt

GunnersoreArse, an Arsenal Sunday supplement to out do all Sunday supplements. Struggling for readers and comments but never forgetting it’s obligations to keep Gooners informed and amused. In other words you bastards, I’m fucking trying.

January sales and keeping our hands on the FA Cup.

Welcome to the GunnersoreArse blog. Being blogged 918.74 kilometers (in a straight line) from the Emirates Stadium.

Transfer porn month.

Well, back to normal after the festivities, which for me means carry on as normal. I’ve never been one for waiting till a particular moment in a year to celebrate as if there is no tomorrow. Why wait until a birthday or New Years Eve to get bolloxed and out of your fucking head when you have 365 days in the year to do the same. Plain stupidity is how I see it, and is influenced by big business and corporations who think only of profit. A retail shop or supermarket can earn 50% of its annual turn-over during the short Christmas and New Year period. Fucking madness but the world joins in regardless.

Which leads us nicely into the transfer window, one month for managers to rush around like headless chickens, trying to find the new expensive toy which will keep the children (fans) happy. Arsène Wenger is in his normal January position, injuries and a suspension forcing him into the market place where he could be at risk of buying a dummy like Kaelstrom. From the statistics I’ve just looked at we have Welbeck, Flamini, Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere, Arteta, Bellerin, Gnabry and of course the glass man, Diaby all on the treatment table, having their egos massaged along with their thighs, calves and other muscles or tendons. Add to that list Giroud who is suspended and Podolski, who is injured but also abroad talking with another club, then we can imagine our French manager is already in the queue outside either Harrods or the Poundshop, depending on your viewpoint.

What is on the shelf in the shop then, something tasty and long-lasting or a short-term sweetener to keep the taste buds initially happy but ultimately, leaving you wanting more.

In the press and on the blogs there are the usual suspects being chucked around like the proverbial confetti, Edinson Cavani, William Carvalho and………. Winston Reid…. the list goes on. Will we get a player on short-term loan, or go for the longer stability of the team? Where are the most urgent needs in the team? And do we really need any new players? Wenger has to weigh all these things up before he commits to splashing the cash, which from some sources apparently, we have plenty to splash.

Add into the mix the other big clubs who will be in the queue as well, with their chequebooks open and negotiators on hand ready to beat us to the deal, then the whole process is a nightmare which will last a month, not just for our manager but for us as well, the fans. Oh what joy, all the usual blog shit and guesswork will rear its ugly head in a four week orgy of transfer porn and speculation. Enjoy.

Can we keep our grubby hands on the FA Cup?

Today it starts all over again for the Gunners, FA Cup 3rd round tie against the team we beat in last seasons final. Wenger said this week:

“We want another cup run and we want to, if possible, keep the trophy. We have won it five times in my period in charge, so that means we know the importance that it has,”

He also went on to say:

“What is for sure is that we have room for improvement and we have to manage to do that quickly.”

As we  found out at Wembley in May, Hull City are no push over. They will come to the Emirates with a plan and with the intention of leaving with a result. I’m not as confident as some, the Tigers beat Everton last week quite convincingly, whereby at Southampton we showed our defensive frailties once again. However, goalkeepers will probably be changed for the game against Hull, with Ospina coming in for Chezzers and hopefully, Theo will be ready for a full 90 minutes. But as with the defensive weaknesses last week, our forwards and midfield need to improve from that performance as well. Our shortcomings, excuse the pun, in attack was clearly evident against Southampton and how did we play, high balls into the opponents penalty area, where we had two 5’6″ players up against defenders all over 6′, it was painful to watch. Our passing fell to pieces and for a team that prides itself on its passing game, that is unforgivable. So as Mr Wenger says, “What is for sure is that we have room for improvement and we have to do that quickly.”

Understatement of the year after last weeks match and if those improvements aren’t made this week then I can see our grip on the FA Cup being grappled from our hands rather quickly. Enjoy the match where ever you may be watching, lets hope for a win but prepare for a defeat.

Right, time to continue with my New Year celebrations, still 362 days left, so a glass of wine and some spicy chorizo. Hope you enjoyed your visit…… until the next time.

à bientôt

The GunnersoreArse Sunday supplement, a haven of calm and tranquility and pictures of tits and arse, for those who like it that way.