re: Arsenal@ManU 2:00CST/ESPN2

At this point ManU has way better defensive players and way better defensive organization. We need to start dropping money on some defenders. Their goal was a stroke of good fortune, but we need to start building from the back instead of the front. Kos and Squid aren't long term solutions. Maybe decent back up players. We might even need to drop Clichy in favor of Gibbs. Wenger needs to stop bargain hunting.

This game clearly illustrated that the center backs not only cost us goals against, but they are costing us from scoring goals as well. They are just so horrid that Arsenal when faced with an opponent with talented defenders they can just sit back and weather the storm, because if Arsenal goes too far forward their center backs will surely give up a goal. It's frustrating to know that they are poor enough that Arsenal can't really push forward when they want.

I just got back to my office and saw the result.

Our point-less streak against Chelsea and Man U continues. Having not seen Rooney's PK today, whose was worse: Drogba yesterday or Rooney today?

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Have you been watching Chelsea the past month?

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Unfortunately, yes. However, the teams we have been putting out there, especially when Essien was suspended, were not that good. Much better than they played but not that good. Also a month long slump is a little different than a 5 year trend. They have guys like Nasri, RVP, Fab, Arshavin, Walcott, Chamakh and they can't score a goal or win a game against a good team.

GURU

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effort today

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Not really in question. We played hard and credit has to go to ManU and their defensive form and discipline. Cesc should not have played and the nature of the match was more of a Walcott and Bendtner, not RVP and Cesc type game.

ManU will probably not lose at OT all season.

Just going to shite out a bunch of thoughts here:

Rosicky doesnt do us too much good as our central midfield playmaker. Perhaps he should not be written off though, because he's a solid backup, but when playing elite sides he doesn't really lend us much steel or savvy. He didn't find much space with his passes and his dribbles were always cut off.

Man U pressed very well. Sagna and Clichy's link up passes were hurried, which lead to sloppy, panicked distribution out of the back.

On the other end, as expected, they had superb discipline keeping shape, and knowing exactly when to rotate their zones. When that happens and nasri gets double or tripled teamed, our most potent threat was cut off. It's a small tragedy that Cesc wasn't fully fit for this game, because doing so would free up at least one of them to single coverage.

I hate that you can't help but feel intense caution and anxiety as the opposition closes in on our 18.

There just wasnt any team understanding in this match. Chamakh got little to no good service from our wide players, Arshavin shite his pants again both going forward and giving away dangerous free kicks. I can scarcely remember us putting together more than 12 passes in the attacking half besides the time when they were comfortably shelled and letting us pass it from side to side.

Alex Song and Wilshere played hard, but Al was horrible. I'm sad to say that this has become another position where we could splash some cash on an upgrade, along with everyone in our back 4 except for Sagna. Wilshere stills needs significant experience before we can look to him as a consistent performer.

The positive is that still, no side in the EPL has looked very dominant, at least consistently. United did not play a great game. That's why I am not really disheartened that we have had little to no success against the bigger teams. People love to focus on these marquee matches but the battle is all about taking points from the rest of the sub top 4 table dwellers. That is my only hope, in seeing that every team thus far have squandered lots of points.

Dear Arsene, please reconfigure our lineup so that AA is gone and we give Theo a shot.

Szczesny looked assured, but as already mentioned, his distribution could use significant work if this match is any indication of the way he usually performs.

Great post Leauxgan.

I was thinking the whole game, despite his OG last year, this was a game we could have really used Diaby instead of Rosicky. Theo will get his chance I think. Not even Wenger can brush aside AA23's craptacular play the past few matches. I don't hold much hope for this season, because Chelsea won't keep up this poor form, and Man U are back healthy and dominant. As long as they have Rooney, Vidic, and Rio healthy, we'll never catch them.