re: Arsenal 2013/2014 Season Long Thread

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How is the Asia tour

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Food is rubbish.

Goals are plentiful.

this is the soccer board so lets get down to the nitty gritty


who has the bigger johnson... frimpong or diaby?

eta - peegs een ay bloinket

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Mine is already converted to imperial on my kit.

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Must have a hell of a time fitting yours in those sheep then, yeah?

#Welshproblems

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Fits fine in your mother...

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You obviously haven't seen my mom.

#poundingmorelikebouncing

please describe what was going through your mind while aidan white was fondling your package

I was thinking about your mom.



But seriously, I was just hoping he wouldn't break my third leg.

just finished the first half. guess i'll split up my thoughts again:

-Giroud's hat trick, particularly the last two goals, were very nice. All three were confident, comfortable, and impressive first time efforts, though the first should have been saved. He struggled a bit throughout the half but we looked rather languid going forward.

-I really like Gnabry. I think he could contribute for us this year, but it might be more beneficial if he goes on loan to another PL team or a Bundesliga squad. two-footed, fast, crosses well, has a good shot, very strong.

-Ox in the pivot beside Arteta was interesting. He's done it once before (vs. Milan in the second leg) and looked good then as well. Tough to make much of a judgment in this and that game though, considering they were very offensive contests. his burst from the midfield that led to the third goal was something we could really use. he's not a great tackler though and his positioning was a little suspect (again, tough to really judge based on this game). His athleticism next to Arteta is a nice combo though. If he doesn't show more creativity over the next couple of years in the attacking role, it could be interesting moving him into that slot.

-Sagna at CB is another player playing in a position for the second time ever (for us). He looked very good. Best defender easily for us in this half. And Vietnam actually threatened a good bit. he's so short but damn, he gets up. i'm cool with him as our 4th CB if we can't find a young talent.

-I don't like watching Poldi. i don't love his name, but aesthetically it isn't very appealing to me. he sits there and doesn't make any runs when he's on the left. he only runs when someone finally plays a 1-2 with him. he gets into good positions though. should've scored 2 in the first.

-Vietnam is a much better team than the Indonesian one. they should've scored at least one in this half. maybe two.

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KingTheoLSU

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Two first posts???? You and Aaron.

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Friend of OBUDan

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So how'd I do?

not quite as well today, buddy. you didn't seem to have quite the energy level today as you did sunday. you did have a pretty nice assist though.

other second half thoughts:

-Zelalem...holy frick. this kid is something else. played in the hole today. he has field vision can't be taught. watch this pass which releases Ox to set up Akpom for the tap in. 8:35 mark. had at least 3 others (that i can remember) where he played people in with exquisite passes that deserved goals. turns so nonchalantly. feels pressure. doesn't force things. the kid is special. i know they're trying hard to temper expectations but it's going to be tough. he's had as good a claim as any for title of best player over the first two exhibition matches. he damn well might get PT in the Carling Cup this year.

-Ryo didn't really cover himself in glory out there. Wasn't awful, but lost the ball more than anyone else by trying to take people on. looked good when he kept it simple. Did have a few nice dribbles. Very fast. very good control. tough to really judge him though. only played ~20mins. would assume its because he'll feature heavily in our next two matches in Japan.

-Olsson came in at right back around the 70th minute. actually didn't suck there but I wouldn't expect that will ever happen again.

-Aneke is really slow. Like maybe just barely faster than Per slow.

-Their goal was actually not on our backline of the time of Miquel-Per-Aneke-Olsson, surprisingly. Their midfield runner was unmarked because Jack and Rambo were jogging back. Miquel and Per might have done better, but more on MF.

-Great to see Jack back out there. Looked fairly sharp. Would have had a goal but their GK handled outside of the box and got sent off.

-Ox's goal was spectacular. GOLAZO.

-Eisfeld played wide left. Only real involvement was cutting it back for Miquel's goal.