Comments on: Arsenal 2-0 Middlesbrough; the Good, Bad, and the Ugly http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/arsenal-2-0-middlesbrough-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly/ An Arsenal FC blog from an American perspective Thu, 16 May 2013 23:16:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: nycgunner http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/arsenal-2-0-middlesbrough-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-3898 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:59:36 +0000 http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/?p=2100#comment-3898 I dont think your theory was wrong. It’s one thing to play Cesc in the hole vs. Boro but it’s an entirely different prospect to play him in the hole vs. a real team. So far the two games where Cesc has played well in that role was against Wigan and Boro… and I’d even go as far to say that the Wigan game was 50/50. However I have to say that for his size Nasri is not a bad defender. He doesn’t seem afraid to stick that foot in. Similar to Miguel Veloso in that regards. However, we could see Diaby back playing in the hole tomorrow while Cesc plays deeper. Impossible to say actually. I guess I will just have to wait for Arsene to surprise me. Again.

]]> By: CaribKid http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/arsenal-2-0-middlesbrough-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-3896 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:51:14 +0000 http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/?p=2100#comment-3896 Vidic and Rio should be able to nullify Ade for the most part, even if Ade is motivated and interested.

Ergo, the key will be the surrounding cast of Fabregas, Walcott and Nasri who will have to slot into the middle and provide goals. The other sub-plot is how as a team we defend against Berba, Rooney and Ronaldo, each of whom can beat us with a single moment of brilliance.

Theoretically, Manure has the better side and should beat us easily without Arshavin. In reality, they seem to be one of the few top sides which seem unable to fully contain Arsenal in the past 4 years. I can’t see us beating them at Old Trafford, but a 1-2 defeat will give us more than a fighting chance to even the score at the Emirates.

It’s a toss up, but I see Arsenal being the bridesmaid once again due to our injuries and the absence of our best player, the cup tied Arshavin.

]]> By: WC http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/arsenal-2-0-middlesbrough-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-3895 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:16:21 +0000 http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/?p=2100#comment-3895 Well I hate to burst your bubble Tim but you said it already – Boro are a terrible team, so saying Cesc scored 2 goals when playing in the hole vindicates Wenger’s formation is kind of a fallacy no? With the horrible showing by Boro we could have had Silvestre in the hole and he could have probably scored a doulbe with the way the Riverside was playing. It’s still not Cesc’s best position or rather as you said it doesn’t allow him to fully utilize all of his assets.

Boro have and are a team that’s been going down since McClaren left. I don’t think McClaren is a great coach – I actually think he’s terrible. However he was good at cup games and managed to make mostly sensible buys. Southgate is just sponging off the team McClaren built but now that Gareth has had a chance to put his own touch on the team we can see the results – relegation. If Southgate wasn’t an ex-Boro player he’d have been sacked a year ago because quite frnkaly I’m not sure how the board even allows him to stay on for so long.

Fergie definitely has a puzzle to consider because there won’t be Arshavin in the CL game and Song will most likely be anchoring mid instead of Denilson so he’s still going to have to go to numerous game tapes to even begin to understand how to counter us on Wednesday.

]]> By: gooner sems http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/arsenal-2-0-middlesbrough-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-3894 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:54:22 +0000 http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/?p=2100#comment-3894 i am not so sure djourou is even better than silvestre also i don’t want to sound pesimistic but you simply can’t compare us in the cl (without ARSHAvin)to the epl but hope ade nasri cesc theo up their game they will make the diffference

]]> By: Tim http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/arsenal-2-0-middlesbrough-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-3892 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:46:58 +0000 http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/?p=2100#comment-3892 I like your scenario GRP.

]]> By: GRP http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/2009/04/27/arsenal-2-0-middlesbrough-the-good-bad-and-the-ugly/#comment-3891 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:36:24 +0000 http://7amkickoff.wordpress.com/?p=2100#comment-3891 So we need to gain 7 pts more than Chelsea to take 3rd (since we lose on goal difference):

Here’s a possible runout path to 3rd, not probable but possible:

We beat Portsmouth (away), Chelsea and Stoke (home) and draw Man U away. 10 pts

Chelsea lose to us and draw all 3 other matches — Fulham at home (who is fighting for European football and has played Chelsea to a draw a few times in recent years), Blackburn at home (unlikely but Allardyce might be really up for the fight if Blackburn drops this week), and Sunderland away (fighting on the final day to stay up). 3 pts

Of course, if Man U advances to CL finals and Liverpool fades in the Prem, then Man U might be vulnerable to us winning at Old Trafford in the league. If we magically took all 12 points left, then Chelsea can upgrade one draw to a win (total of 5 pts) and still lose 3rd to us…

Ahhh, to dream….

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