Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

+16
SUPERCARTTS
silver
VendettaRed07
evian
SamuelJayC
furiouswindbottom
urbaNRoots
Rev
TalkingReckless
Sina
bloodless
Eman
Wilson37
Raptorgunner
RealGunner
Jay29
20 posters

Page 1 of 2 1, 2  Next

Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Jay29 Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:01 pm

First Half

There was nothing of tactical interest to comment on in the first half. Stoke set-up how we all expected them to; one bank of four, one bank of five and Crouch several yards in front of them. The ownness was totally on Arsenal to break them down.

Our passing and build-up wasn't particular quick or incisive. Stoke were solid and made absolutely no attempt to counter, so it was always going to be hard to play our through. Arsenal played a lot of passes in front of them and only got in behind when Walcott used his skill to get past Wilkinson down the right hand side; unfortunately, his crossing from that side wasn't particularly great.

Notably, Arsenal didn't make much use of Giroud as a spring board. Although he made himself available often, Arsenal were reluctant to try and thread a ball through to his feet, were reluctant to play a quick, direct ball up to him and didn't try to make runs beyond him; Diaby made run beyond him, Wilshere didn't make any.

So it clearly wasn't working in open play. There is, of course, another route to goal called set-pieces, and surprisingly Arsenal created three great opportunities from corners. A corner from the left fell to Chamberlain, but his finish was poor from six yards out. A corner from the right found Giroud unmarked but he, strangely, opted to try and set someone up instead of scoring. Another corner from that side, cleared but played back in by Walcott, found Koscielny, but he couldn't direct the header either side of Begovic.

We should have been ahead going into half-time.

Second Half

Despite usually improving in the second half of games, it was more of the same. Stoke continued to keep their shape and Arsenal continued to play the same way. We created a couple of chances down the left when Monreal got forward, but some good defending and wayward finishing meant we couldn't find that goal.

Even the introduction of Cazorla and Podolski did little to change the pattern of the game. Stoke were practically playing 6-3-1. They had no intention of trying to win the game, so it was understandably difficult to find ways to goal.

Sometimes in these situations, you just have to be content with scoring via a set-piece or scrappy goal. Podolski's deflected free-kick finally put us ahead, although the linesman did his best to rule out a perfectly good goal.

Stoke made three subs at once in an attempt to salvage something from the game, but we were having none of it. We defended well in the closing stages and got a deserved win.

Good three points

I'm sure some will be annoyed we struggled to break down a bus yet again, but generally we played well. There are some games where the other team just doesn't want to play and you have to win in a scrappy way. Realistically, we needed to score early in order to make the game more comfortable.

But I'm not going to complain about three points and a rare clean sheet. Chelsea lost and Everton drew, so we gained ground of them, and we're now only a point off the top four, albeit Spurs have yet to play. We're unbeaten in four games in all competitions now and have winnable games against Sunderland and Blackburn coming up. With any luck, we can get a decent run of form together.

Let's pray that everyone stays fit in this mid-week international break.


Last edited by GoonerJay29 on Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:35 pm; edited 1 time in total

Jay29
World Class Contributor
World Class Contributor

Club Supported : Sevilla
Posts : 19996
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 30

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by RealGunner Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:05 pm

lmfao at the title

absolute hate that scummy rugby team. Disgrace to football.

We won cheers

3 points, clean sheet and everton n chelsea dropped points.


Last edited by RealGunner on Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
RealGunner
RealGunner
Admin
Admin

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 89513
Join date : 2011-06-05

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Raptorgunner Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:06 pm

The blind linesman. :facepalm:

Great win, but we should have done better.

Stoke are shit and I hope they get relegated.
Raptorgunner
Raptorgunner
World Class Contributor
World Class Contributor

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 18057
Join date : 2011-06-05

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Wilson37 Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:07 pm

happy that we got the deserved win..
Chelsea losing to Nouveauchateau..
But Everton scores in the last min to gain a point leaving us sixth.. Neutral
Wilson37
Wilson37
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 2576
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 35

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Eman Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:09 pm

Dat title :bow:

We got a...clean sheet?? affraid
Eman
Eman
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 3029
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 31

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by bloodless Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:10 pm

Raptorgunner wrote:The blind linesman. :facepalm:

Great win, but we should have done better.

Stoke are shit and I hope they get relegated.

stoke are shit but we are only 11 points ahead of em after 25 games lol...says alot about us too Razz

Absolutely deserved win, sometimes you just gotta win how you gotta win! giroud's movements towards goal just has to improve! can't wait for diaby to be fit again man, his legwork.... :O

bloodless
Starlet
Starlet

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 592
Join date : 2011-06-05

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Raptorgunner Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:12 pm

Gervias coming back soon? affraid affraid
Raptorgunner
Raptorgunner
World Class Contributor
World Class Contributor

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 18057
Join date : 2011-06-05

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Sina Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:12 pm

two back to back clean sheets vs stoke cheers
Sina
Sina
Fan Favorite
Fan Favorite

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 9671
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 33

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by TalkingReckless Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:13 pm

Diaby was beasting in the middle today, now if only he could improve his decision in the final 3rd.

and Nacho had a solid debut, and showed flashes of whats to come.

Arteta and Jack started off badly by losing the ball and slipping a lot but improved in the 2nd half
TalkingReckless
TalkingReckless
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 4200
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 32

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Rev Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:15 pm

Another win against Sunderland next week would do us a world of good ahead of the Bayern match.

Our back four of Sagna-Merte-Kos-Monreal shouldn't be changed.

Cazorla as a sub wasn't as effective, but he needed some rest.

Our midfield suddenly has options with Diaby returning and Ramsey picking up some kind of form. Proud
Rev
Rev
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 1708
Join date : 2012-08-01
Age : 28

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by urbaNRoots Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:16 pm

Really hate Stoke with a passion.

I'm so happy for this win, it feels like a trophy Laughing
urbaNRoots
urbaNRoots
First of his name

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 17215
Join date : 2011-08-11

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by RealGunner Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:17 pm

Solid debut by Monreal. Kept it simple and always acted like a 2nd winger in the end.

MOTM probably Wilshere/Podolski
RealGunner
RealGunner
Admin
Admin

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 89513
Join date : 2011-06-05

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by furiouswindbottom Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:21 pm

Arsenal's formation? 4-2-3-1.

Stoke? 10-0-0

What a joke! That was not parking the bus. This was Stoke's defence.

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSvpLmDs89aUbCXfIZuoJqvo_Ll7ZT2FyjCNVu9jWi83wWQnUkt
furiouswindbottom
furiouswindbottom
Hot Prospect
Hot Prospect

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 446
Join date : 2012-08-24

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Jay29 Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:35 pm

Done with the write-up. Not a lot to say today since Stoke had no interest in playing a game of football.

Jay29
World Class Contributor
World Class Contributor

Club Supported : Sevilla
Posts : 19996
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 30

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by SamuelJayC Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:42 pm

Went to the game, will post some pics and thoughts later. Very Happy
SamuelJayC
SamuelJayC
Fan Favorite
Fan Favorite

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 6396
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 34

https://twitter.com/samuelJayC

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by evian Sat Feb 02, 2013 5:54 pm

start pondering if Gibbs or Monreal could play RB...? scratch

it would b great if we can play with such two offensive wing backs. Thumbs up

evian
Prospect
Prospect

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 24
Join date : 2012-09-26

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by SamuelJayC Sat Feb 02, 2013 6:03 pm

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate BCHe-giCAAABP32

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate BCHew5LCIAE4Q0B

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate BCHeSlNCIAIFa2c

Bad pics I know lol, but my iphone batter was basically empty.
SamuelJayC
SamuelJayC
Fan Favorite
Fan Favorite

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 6396
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 34

https://twitter.com/samuelJayC

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by RealGunner Sat Feb 02, 2013 6:21 pm

Great pics mate Very Happy
RealGunner
RealGunner
Admin
Admin

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 89513
Join date : 2011-06-05

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Eman Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:09 pm

evian wrote:start pondering if Gibbs or Monreal could play RB...? scratch

it would b great if we can play with such two offensive wing backs. Thumbs up
We pretty much need a defensive fullback to counteract the offensive one. We concede enough goals as it is! Jenkinson and Bac still do enough offensively.
Eman
Eman
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 3029
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 31

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by SamuelJayC Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:17 pm

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate BCHtcG1CMAAgBNA

Difference between this and Koscielny v City (red card)?
SamuelJayC
SamuelJayC
Fan Favorite
Fan Favorite

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 6396
Join date : 2011-06-06
Age : 34

https://twitter.com/samuelJayC

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by VendettaRed07 Sat Feb 02, 2013 7:24 pm

Samuelj29060 wrote:Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate BCHtcG1CMAAgBNA

Difference between this and Koscielny v City (red card)?
refs are always more lenient with fouls happening with aerial balls. Anything short of shoving the guy over to the ground while in the air seems like its almost never really given.

The Dzeko ball was dropping right inbetween his feet

Its not really fair but thats how it seems to me
VendettaRed07
VendettaRed07
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 3447
Join date : 2012-08-09

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by silver Sat Feb 02, 2013 9:24 pm

I thought Diaby was rubbish. He was doing his best Denilson impression - sideways passing. Wasn't ambition with his running and getting into the box when Stoke clearly werent going to threaten in attack. His height, with Giroud would have presented the wingers with something to cross to.

Ox wasn't great either. I think he plays better on the right. A couple of times he got to the byline, but had to cut back in because he's not confident on his left foot.

Podolski and Carzola really added to the team. Carzola in particular was ambition with his running and passing. I thought Podolski should have come on earlier and played more centrally to take advantage of his long shot. Trying to pass our way into the goal clearly wasnt working. But we got the win in the end.

silver
silver
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 1305
Join date : 2011-07-20

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by SUPERCARTTS Sat Feb 02, 2013 10:05 pm

Such a drab game: sooo boring and lacked any real spark, The crowd seemed asleep too. Anything less than a win would've been another disaster. We won, so it's on to the next one.
SUPERCARTTS
SUPERCARTTS
Starlet
Starlet

Posts : 915
Join date : 2011-06-06

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Eman Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:10 am

Samuelj29060 wrote:Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate BCHtcG1CMAAgBNA
This has meme potential. If only we had a member of this section that specializes in memes hmm
Eman
Eman
First Team
First Team

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 3029
Join date : 2011-06-05
Age : 31

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Raptorgunner Sun Feb 03, 2013 12:12 am

Eman wrote:
Samuelj29060 wrote:Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate BCHtcG1CMAAgBNA
This has meme potential. If only we had a member of this section that specializes in memes hmm

In some countries that is consider rape. :coffee:
Raptorgunner
Raptorgunner
World Class Contributor
World Class Contributor

Club Supported : Arsenal
Posts : 18057
Join date : 2011-06-05

Back to top Go down

Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate Empty Re: Arsenal 1 - 0 Stoke City: Men vs Orcs, Siege of the Black Gate

Post by Sponsored content


Sponsored content


Back to top Go down

Page 1 of 2 1, 2  Next

Back to top


 
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum