CL: Arsenal vs Thun | 14/09/05

[gunnertilldeath]

i was at work when when dennis scored. i had been listening to the match on the computer and was about to cry but then dennis worked his magic. i was yelling and screaming on the top of my voice. the guy i work with was looking at me as if i was mad but it was the most incredible feeling. god i love dennis bergkamp. i put a poster of him over my bed along with thierry henry cos they are the only 2 legends at the club at the moment. dennis bergkamp be praised.

 

[yoinkster]

yup, I'll go along with that Toker, Hleb is looking like another class buy by Wenger and it seems someone has told Reyes now is his time to shine, I thought he looked decent against boro too {dare I mention that game :?}
I reckon Henry being out will serve us well, hopefully Hleb will get games and get used to runs that Freddie and co make and learn to slide the passes in which will finally widen our scoring options in games !!
I said this about Reyes last night and he got a lot worse after but I think Hleb will be the man for us this year, I just hope someone comes up with a song for him to show how much he's loved !!

 

[quattro]

i dont think it was a lucky win. thun had all the luck on the night what with us being reduced to ten men (that should have been a yellow at the most) and them scoring a total accident of a goal. we weren't sterling either, but we sure as hell deserved the three points. we scored on a header and on a long ball and i did notice a few crosses coming in the first half. it looks like maybe we are looking at a plan "b" after all. also, quincy looks like he can be useful this season.

a win on the first cl day. i'l take that any day of the week.

 

[GoonerDK]

No doubt about me being happy with the 3 points, we bagged.

Although I feel the fact that we might loose RVP for up to 3 games, completely overshadowes the win. And AFC must take every step necessary and beyond to get UEFA to overrule the ban. I am aware of the fact that it is not UEFA's policy to overrule a match official, but now is the time to change that approach. As they did in another case with the scousers. Or the fact that they seemed to accept a certain managers lies, accusations and him beeing responsible for a refs early retirement. All of this goes to show that if the media is interested UEFA will act accordingly...

TO UEFA : Or is it because they are wealthy clubs you fat fuc*s :evil:

 

[DOUBLE-YOU]

i thougth we deserved to win but i won't go over the top with the performance. there were good points.

1. the players took shots outside the box
2. Reyes seems to be getting back to his best. he didn't always give the final ball but he was very dangerous and played with a lot of desire.
3. Gilberto played like a true leader.

however i have to say...

1. cesc gave the ball away a lot more than i remember seeing him do.
2. toure performance is worrying. i think he relies on his pace and strength and doesn't read the game. he makes errors so he has to make those last ditch tackles which make him look good.
3. Freddie needs bergkamp (maybe Hleb) in the side as no-one else sees his runs.

all said and done a win is a win lets look forward to the next game.

by the way.....big shout out to all those crying for bergkamp to be dropped :wink:

 

[sabret00the]

Well the RvP sending off was just wrong but the other thing i wanted to say was that Freddie's style of play wasn't in tune with the strikers who were more interested in going for goal.

 

[ccc]

No doubt about me being happy with the 3 points, we bagged.

Although I feel the fact that we might loose RVP for up to 3 games, completely overshadowes the win. And AFC must take every step necessary and beyond to get UEFA to overrule the ban. :

what do you mean that? it wasn't even a red card, how comes get 2 extra games suspension?

 

[OneProudGooner]

Because you get 3 games for a straight red.. :!:

 

[patrick42uk]

same old story in europe. the opposition defends in numbers and stifles our attacking game, we strugglel to keep the concentration required for a clean sheet because our mindset is so focused on breaking the opposition defence. what was positive though is that we did mix it up. our first goal was a from a corner and the second from a long ball from defence.

 

[Canuck]

Hopefully we'll appeal to have RVP's ban reduced. Sounds like it could have been a yellow with many other refs...but them's the breaks right.
Everyone seems to think we were crap on the night because we didn't pound them. Well it seems we dominated in posession, even after going down a man and we just couldn't get a break with Pires, Reyes, Ljungberg all going close...positive for Quincy to come on and get a chance to show Wenger he's got the balls and the brain to play with the big boys. Positive to have Sol back.
Everyone seems to think that Thun should have been pushovers, but realistically they would have come to London with a purpose. They managed to knock out two teams with more push than them in the qualifiers so they must have been pretty much riding the high.
Soccernet said that their formation more closely resembled a 6-3-1 rather than a 4-5-1 most of the game. I seem to remember Basel (another Swiss team) beating ManUre at Old Trafford a couple seasons ago. (correct me if I'm wrong though...)
3 points...*whew* A little bit of guts too. Let's hope it's a turning point.

We weren't the only marquee name to get pushed by little fish. Brugge gave Juve a tough time of it. (fantastic keeper they've got...Stijn Stijnen) Villarreal held ManUre to a draw (they are alot less convincing without Riquelme...no plan B I guess.
:wink: ) Chelski only managed 1 goal against Anderlecht, and Inter only 1 goal against Artemdia. Big Cup doesn't respect big names any more.

 

[ccc]

Because you get 3 games for a straight red.. :!:

I didn't find the rule in UEFA's regulation, here it is:

As a rule, a player who is sent off the field of play is suspended for the next match in a UEFA club comptition. the control and disciplinary body is entitled to augment this punishment. for serious offences the punishment can be extended to all UEFA competition categories
http://www.uefa.com/newsfiles/19071.pdf

it means only one game suspension for robin unless uefa makes an extra dicision

 

[patrick42uk]

reyes ran a lot and showed a lot of individual endeavour, but i think he played a part in what was wrong with us in an attacking sense. there was a lack of movement i felt, except for ljungberg of course who would have been frustrated today because no one was picking up on it. more importantly, our passing lacked the tempo required to break a team defending in numbers. to create that tempo you need players to think fast, be aware of what they will do with the ball before it gets to them. split second stuff really, but i feel reyes take too long in making those descisions which often means losing possesion and attacking momentum. its actually been a feature of his game throughout his arsenal career. i'm not singling him out though because i think pires and van persie and fabrgeas played worse individually.

 

[MAK]

Hey, not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere in this thread but can anyone tell me why Hleb didn't start last night? Thought he was our best player v. Boro. It's not like he doesn't have European experience.

 

[jeromelee]

Not the most convincing of results. But then again, that's what Champions are made of. They can play badly and still win the match. Very important 3 points as Thun is regarded as the weakest team in the group. Dunno bout winning any silverware this season, but I always believe a team that wins when not at its best shows that when the team starts to click, everyone beware. We just need to click ASAP.

 

[Jinn]

Nope it was still on him when he lobbed the ball forward when Bergkamp scored. He is a more worthy captain than him and Henry in fact!

so that means Campbell is the Vice-Captain ahead of Bergkamp and Cole

and I think he's a real leader

It means that sabre's myth about a vice-captaincy is disproved.

 

[invisibleman18]

one thing that annoys me though; why does wenger wait until the 81st to bring on hleb and quincy? what's the point? what does he hope the two can accomplish in just 9(+++) mins...?

Thats a very good point. i think that is a criticism of wenger, often he either brings on subs much to late, or not at all. bringing someone on in the 81st minute, unless its for an injury does seem rather pointless. and especially for a young inexperienced guy like quincy. not really much he can be expected to do in 9 minutes.

didnt get to see the game here, just wondering, who was the captain today? i assume it was sol?

 

[invisibleman18]

never mind just looked back a page and saw it was sol.
the right choice IMO.

 

[mood]

My thoughts on the game:

We played very well I feel. Thun defended deeply, so the amount of chances we created was very good - we could've scored much more. It was just one of those days - ball just did not seem to go in. We dominated in every single way - their goal was one of their rare attacks and it was surely a fluke.. the player was attempting a cross in my opinion. We would've played much better and scored more with the extra player - RVP did not mean to hit the player. I feel sorry for him.

Player ratings:

Almunia - I can not really give him a rating as he did not have more than 2 balls to save.

Toure - 7 - Looked solid to me and should've scored as well. Great free-kick and good header towards the end of the game. Didn't have much to defend at though.

Campbell - 7.5 - with the captain's armband. He's been out for a very long time, and looked great today. His pass to Bergkamp was great and surely was a leader in the pitch and a role model. There was a big difference in the defence today surely, and hopefully he can remain fit throughout the season.

Cole - 7 - Didn't have much to defend.. did well sometimes going forward. could've been better though.

Lauren 7.5 - did very well. defended well.

Gilberto Silva - 8 - great header and did his job well.

Fabregas 7.5 - played very well..should've scored.

Pires 7.5 - He wasn't present much in the 2nd half (seemed very tired) but his 1st half was probably his best performance for Arsenal this season. I was happy from what I saw of him today.

Ljungberg 6.5 - not the best of nights for him. he started the game off well, but wasn't too good in 2nd half - he should've scored as well.

Reyes - 8 - he's showing great potential this season. I am enjoying every minute of the ball under his feet.

Van Persie 6.5 - didnt deserve his red, but he was rather invisible. i feel sorry for him.

Hleb 6.5,7 - he wasnt on for long.. but did well, he lost the ball a couple of times though - unlike him.

Quincy 6.5,7 - like Hleb.

Bergkamp 8.5 - made the difference. got the goal. the man's a legend. at 36, cant expect the best of him always.. but he's still fighting for the club. And he definitely is one of my fav players ever if not my fav.

When he scored the goal - I shouted out to the top of my lungs and enjoyed his celebration. He doesn't score much, so I enjoy watching Dennis Bergkamp score more than anybody else. I had my new kit on and it has 'Bergkamp 10' on the back. I told my friend -- the perfect occassion to put on this shirt.

 

[mood]

one thing that annoys me though; why does wenger wait until the 81st to bring on hleb and quincy? what's the point? what does he hope the two can accomplish in just 9(+++) mins...?

Thats a very good point. i think that is a criticism of wenger, often he either brings on subs much to late, or not at all. bringing someone on in the 81st minute, unless its for an injury does seem rather pointless. and especially for a young inexperienced guy like quincy. not really much he can be expected to do in 9 minutes.

didnt get to see the game here, just wondering, who was the captain today? i assume it was sol?

Sol was the captain.

About Wenger bringing subs on late. Totally agree. We only had 1 striker upfront and Reyes isnt much of a striker himself. I just couldnt stop looking at the time and waiting for Wenger to bring someone on.

 

[air]

Yes. "We need to be more direct." Why is it that when a few games go wrong we need to be more direct? Were you saying this in the unbeaten season? Why is it that when things don't go our way it's always a big centre-half, a big cente-forward and a goal grabber. Why all this old-English-football crap? I'm sure there's enough Carlisles and Herefords that have players do exactly what you want them to. Arsenal don't play like that. They have a playing style and they try to play it to the best of their ability. Sure people can make their point but it's all the same: Play a long ball! Shoot! Get stuck in! We need a big centre-forward!