Arsenal

[Stagger Lee]

Liverpool, Dortmund, Man U. WWL. I'll take that.

[sith]

Agree with Humdrum; they created fuck all and didn't defend especially well and we really should have taken much more out of that game. No one really stood out for us and we looked tired in the first half and we lacked that bit of pace and verve that Rosicky, Rambo (in the right position) and Theo can offer.

Rooney and Smalling both had great chances!

Aside from a couple of amazing crosses from Sagna you created pretty much nothing. Your big players didn't turn-up, simple as that really.

[humdrum]

Gnabry really opened them up when he came on should have been on from the start rather then cazorla

[Shimmyhill]

As a neutral ( ) i thought it was a good game, Man U just stopped Arsenal playing and took their chance - they also created more but for me bossed and dictated the play. However it was at Man U and if Wenger had been cooking again so who knows how under strength your lot were.

Watch Spuds v Newcastle if you want to see a game with the wrong result.

I guess tho thats it, Arsenal out of the chase now - can only be Man U to win now with everyone else out of the race

But seriously, a good game and i still think Arsenal have one of the best first 11's in the league if not squad, should make for a great run in all round really.

[Rocafella]

A very weird game that. We didn't deserve to win, but it was definitely there for us today. United looked nothing special at all.

I know it's easy to jump to the Arteta/Flamini argument after the game's over, but when you have the league's in-form midfielder scoring goals for fun, you don't shift him wide right where he struggles. We looked so much better when Wilshere came on, meaning we could actually impose ourselves more on the game.

Giroud isn't a top striker. Bottom line. He works his ass off every game and credit to him for that, but we need more than the occasional flick on in the big games. Has to offer more. Sagna put in some fantastic crosses today which he was nowhere near. The last one him and Nik should have done better with.

Overall it's gutting to lose again there as we could have got something considering our away form, but in the grand scheme of things we're still top going in to the international break and we've had a big set of games this past week. So it could be worse.

[hercules]

Gutted to lose, but our threadbare squad got exposed today. Really need to invest in a top striker come jan 1st. Bendtner should never be near our squad.

[toythatkills]

We needed a goal and we brought on Bentdner. It's not his fault we lost but it shows how little back up we have.

We've got Podolski, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, etc, but they're all injured. That's just unlucky.

How many forwards(ish) should you have? Seven? What if six are injured? Thirty? You're never going to have "enough" if injuries all pile up at once as they tend to do at Arsenal.

[gizmo1990]

What a sucky result. Given all the other results it was a glorious opportunity to win today and send out a real statement plus stick the knife in United.

[emjay2kay]

It's a crap result, especially after the favours WBA, Sunderland and Newcastle have done you this weekend, but at least you're in a position where you've been able to lose a game and still top the league.

And I think you've still got your best (or second best) points haul at this stage of the season compared to any other where you've won the league. So not all bad. Just got to bounce back in a couple of weeks against Southampton and hope the international break doesn't extend your injury list any further.

[toythatkills]

It's okay, I don't think we've got anyone on international duty, they're all injured.

[dogsout]

Giroud isn't a top striker. Bottom line. He works his ass off every game and credit to him for that, but we need more than the occasional flick on in the big games. Has to offer more.

That's a bit of an overreaction, isn't it? Suarez and Sturridge didn't look so great against you lot a little over a week ago. It's not as if Giroud had a lot to work with today. He's not enough on his own, no. But I think, on the whole, he's shown he's a very good player since you signed him. I don't really see how you could improve on him significantly without breaking your transfer record again, or being very, very lucky/astute in the market.

[Silent Runner]

We've got Podolski, Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, etc, but they're all injured. That's just unlucky.

How many forwards(ish) should you have? Seven? What if six are injured? Thirty? You're never going to have "enough" if injuries all pile up at once as they tend to do at Arsenal.

Fair point, no argument from me.

It just drives me spare when that waster comes on.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

Can't believe we lost to that shower of shite, apart from two set pieces they did fuck all.

could have got something today I feel, two great crosses from sagna that I still don't know how we didn't score from.

We almost entirely neutralised everything you had. Özil, Ramsey and Cazorla did nothing. You did shit all and deserved to lose.

[The Fox]

Impossible to say we deserved anything from that game, but clearly we've got way more in our locker than that. United though? Nah.

I think we'll be a different proposition with Walcott in the side. Arteta was excellent today, especially given he was ill, and Vermaelen did fine. Main negatives were Giroud and Ramsey giving the ball away far too cheaply, and Cazorla and Flamini were both pretty terrible in general.

[Stagger Lee]

Fair call we didn't score a goal but what a twatish delivery. Hope you choke on it.

[exwhyzed]

Just when you lot thought you were good again.

D e l i c i o u s

[Stagger Lee]

Fuck I'm going to love it when you finish sixth.

[Silent Runner]

Just hit report and ignore these sad acts who only post when they win.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

Fair call we didn't score a goal but what a twatish delivery. Hope you choke on it.

Mm, hypocrisy. Your lack of depth is being shown up - better be hoping the break is kind to you, Bendtner starting would be a hilarious catastrophe.

Just hit report and ignore these sad acts who only post when they win.

And you piss and moan when you lose, calling us a shower of shite.

[Stagger Lee]

Hypocrisy. Check the definition on that.

Edit: no one called you a shower of shit.

[Gabzy]

Why are you in here goading rather than celebrating with the rest of us in the Utd thread? Pretty sad, tbh.

[hauk]

Though that was a pretty poor showing by Arsenal, although it sounds like the squad were hit by illness maybe? Maybe also feeling the effects of a lot of high profile games and a thin squad in certain areas + injuries obviously!

United really do have a good defense and the Rooney/Van Persie combo are always good for a goal. You have to question the way they sit back (not just against us mind) at home though. If I was a United supporter I'd hope that they could bring in some quality midfielders in the next year, as they are really lacking in that area. I know Moyes had a reputation of being cautious away from home at Everton, but I seem to remember he set up some pretty decent midfields over the years, better than on display for United today for sure.

[AlwaysBeClosing]

Why are you in here goading rather than celebrating with the rest of us in the Utd thread? Pretty sad, tbh.

Lol whatever. I'm going down through the threads by newest first. Get over yourself.

[Gabzy]

Get over your trolling. Or get banned, whatever.

[The Fox]

Just when you lot thought you were good again.

D e l i c i o u s

Hadn't seen you around lately. Still 5pts clear of your mob of course. It'll be more than that come May.

[dogsout]

AlwaysBeClosing, listen to Gabzy. It isn't too late for you yet. The same can't be said for exwhyzed; he's gone for a 24 hour break.

Thanks for reporting him instead of taking the bait, gooners.

[Rocafella]

That's a bit of an overreaction, isn't it? Suarez and Sturridge didn't look so great against you lot a little over a week ago. It's not as if Giroud had a lot to work with today. He's not enough on his own, no. But I think, on the whole, he's shown he's a very good player since you signed him. I don't really see how you could improve on him significantly without breaking your transfer record again, or being very, very lucky/astute in the market.

It's not an opinion based on today alone. I think Giroud has been great this season, but I think nearly all Arsenal fans will agree he isn't a top class striker. I'm not a scout, but if we have to break £40m to do better than him, than there's something wrong.

I think my main gripe with him is he just isn't clinical enough. You seldom see him get more than one goal in a game because he has to work very hard to fashion a chance for himself (mainly due to his lack of pace) and when he does, he struggles to put them away. Take the missed dink against you guys last week as an example.

He has an awful lot going for him and he's a fantastic target man, but I think we'll need more than that in the centre forward spot if we really want to win the league this season. It looks like I'm out to just have a pop at him, which I'm not really, it's just that games like today show why we need that little bit extra in his position.

[hercules]

We need options. Giroud is a very good player. Getting a top class striker is hard as there aren't many of them around and with the market, the price is over inflated. Also he plays every minute of every game, he's probably knackered by now as there is no rotation due to bendtner being the back up.

[Liamness]

United really do have a good defense

Funny thing is that has been a weakness of ours this season. Evans has been playing really well, but I would say that his colleagues (particularly Smalling) really stepped it up today.

You have to question the way they sit back (not just against us mind) at home though. If I was a United supporter I'd hope that they could bring in some quality midfielders in the next year, as they are really lacking in that area.

Yeah, after we scored we pretty much had to play compact and with a deep line. The only other (legitimate) way there is to protect a lead is to try and keep the ball, and we just don't have the players to do that. I think we started with intent so I'm happy with the approach we took, nothing wrong with being practical once you've got a lead, especially if

[The Fox]

I'd argue that Giroud is turning into a top class striker, and is a great fit for this team. He's still got room to improve too I think.

That said we do definitely need another option, I'm just not sure what that option should be. I guess ideally you'd want someone who could play alongside him; if you get someone like Llorente then one of them is going to get Chamakhed on the bench, and it doesn't really give us an extra dimension. Problem is finding anyone good enough in January is probably going to be impossible.

It's worth mentioning that having Walcott or Podolski available would have made a big difference, of course. We have been rather predictable in our attack without those guys and I think we've done really well to cope without them for so long.