[aaron.d]

Good display of finesse and class by RvP once again in Arsenal's last encounter. Poor AvB's losing streak continues. Its inevitable that he will be pulled up for international duty with his current form. Man United look a bit lack-luster without Cleverley, can't wait for Christmas or hopefully he will return in time for the QPR fixture. Let's see how we fare tonight as we take on Benfica. Another must-watch will be the Napoli - City game. Any predictions guys?

[Panko]

Chelsea and Arsenal qualify for knock-out stages of Champion's League, while both Manchester Clubs exit to Europa League.

Well done Chelsea And Arsenal! It will silence the critics!

[ssh1979]

I am one proud Gooner. Kudos to AV-B for well managing an ageing and transitioning Chelsea side.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Panko

Chelsea and Arsenal qualify for knock-out stages of Champion's League, while both Manchester Clubs exit to Europa League.

Well done Chelsea And Arsenal! It will silence the critics!

Woooohoooo!

Ecstatic am I. Ecstatic. Arsenal qualify and even better - the Munchester Klebs are out!

Though the match against Olympiakos was quite a sad one. Gives me greater respect for Szczesny.

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Woooohoooo!

Ecstatic am I. Ecstatic. Arsenal qualify and even better - the Munchester Klebs are out!

Though the match against Olympiakos was quite a sad one. Gives me greater respect for Szczesny.

If Szczesny is injured we are surely doomed. I just cannot believe we have 3 jokers in our team as goalkeepers - Almunia, Manoone and Fabianski. This summer Wenger must sell them (not loan them out) but sell them. There is no evidence for them improving and they should be shown the doors. Buy a Goalkeeper Wenger!

As for the Manchester Clubs:
Man City - They were in a tough group. Took things a little lightly and paid the price.

Man Utd. - Poor quality of mid field. I am sure Ferguson will buy some one this January.

[Saanil]

Great weekend for Arsenal fans! Brilliant strike from Robin Van Persie again to save Arsenal. Arsenal had many chances during the game but the finish was missing. Walcott was particularly impressive. Gervinhio and Ramsey too had great chances.

Man Utd winning convincingly at home against Wolves. Liverpool too managing to win with a Suarez header. Newcastle went down agaisnt Norwich City. The most important match of EPL is indeed the City vs Chelsea match on Monday (But I will not be able to watch it). Of course the most important match is the El Classico!

[deetjohn]

Sublime volley by RvP for the win and mark a great day of celebrations.

Here is Henry holding back his tears at the unveiling of a statue of himself outside the Emirates Stadium to celebrate Arsenal's 125 years.

Thierry Henry in tears at the unveiling of his statue - YouTube

[Saanil]

Barcelona 3 - 1 Real Madrid. I did not see the match as the kick off was late into the night. I saw the goals today morning. Real Madrid have so far been excellent in the La Liga! But Madrid's most important match was against Barcelona. Although Madrid got the early goal Barcelona showed why they deserve to be champions!

The other day some of us were having discussions about which league is better - La Liga or EPL. People mostly were of the opinion that the La Liga is not that competitive and that EPL game was faster and better. I also had such an opinion but then I started to think about it. True that La Liga's 1st and 2nd position is always Barcelona or Real Madrid. But that does not mean the other teams are not playing well - It is just that the top two teams are simply over shadowing the others. In Fact I would say the leaders of EPL are now where close to the leaders of La Liga - Do you really think Man Utd, City, Chelsea or Arsenal are a match to Real Madrid or Barcelona? I simply do not see that. I know Barcelona and Real Madrid have their Messi's and Ronaldo's but then EPL does not have them - it does not mean you keep on comparing the two leagues. I want to ask all those who think EPL is better than La Liga – Why do you guys think so?

[Panko]

Originally Posted by Saanil

In Fact I would say the leaders of EPL are now where close to the leaders of La Liga - Do you really think Man Utd, City, Chelsea or Arsenal are a match to Real Madrid or Barcelona?

Yes! At least Man City & Chelsea are. In fact, it's Chelsea who have given Barca run for their money in recent past. And Arsenal had beaten Barca in first leg of last year's CL. Man U needs at least 2 experienced mid-fielders in their ranks and then they will be much much better outfit. What a signing Sneijder would have been!

I want to ask all those who think EPL is better than La Liga – Why do you guys think so?

It's because of the overall quality of players and clubs over the period of time. Just have a look at fight for 4 CL spots in EPL and even for avoiding the relegation. It's fierce.

[Panko]

Chelsea did what other teams in EPL have failed to do so far! They beat Man City!

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Barcelona 3 - 1 Real Madrid. I did not see the match as the kick off was late into the night. I saw the goals today morning. Real Madrid have so far been excellent in the La Liga! But Madrid's most important match was against Barcelona. Although Madrid got the early goal Barcelona showed why they deserve to be champions!

The other day some of us were having discussions about which league is better - La Liga or EPL. People mostly were of the opinion that the La Liga is not that competitive and that EPL game was faster and better. I also had such an opinion but then I started to think about it. True that La Liga's 1st and 2nd position is always Barcelona or Real Madrid. But that does not mean the other teams are not playing well - It is just that the top two teams are simply over shadowing the others. In Fact I would say the leaders of EPL are now where close to the leaders of La Liga - Do you really think Man Utd, City, Chelsea or Arsenal are a match to Real Madrid or Barcelona? I simply do not see that. I know Barcelona and Real Madrid have their Messi's and Ronaldo's but then EPL does not have them - it does not mean you keep on comparing the two leagues. I want to ask all those who think EPL is better than La Liga – Why do you guys think so?

La Liga is just Barca and Real. Even other top teams like Athletico, Villareal, Valencia etc can not touch them! The disparity in income, as well as quality is just appalling. These 2 clubs hog all the TV income (Real make about 150m, Valencia makes about 20m! Imagine the difference). In the forseeable future, nobody is going to even come close to Real and Barca in La Liga. there was a very interesting article in Guardian by an Spanish Football observer about how La Liga is simply going to die in future because of the hegemony of the two big clubs. Almost all the la liga clubs are heavily in debt and incomes are very low (thanks to Barca and Real's greed). Didnt we have a strike at the start of the season because of unpaid wages and low incomes in La Liga? Still Real and Barca have the heaviest wage bills in football (even bigger than Man City).

On the other hand in EPL there are at least 6 quality teams that can beat each other. Its more fierce. Maybe the footballers are not of the same standard as Messi, Xavi, Iniesta and Ronaldo but then who in the world are. (Nobody in Italy is of that class, not even Schnijder. In Germany only Munich have some quality in Nueur, Swienstiger, Muller, etc.) But apart from Barca and Real theres not much quality in the spanish league (Both these clubs have been scoring goals for fun against all opposition all thru the year! This itself tells how bad others must be!) While in EPL even at Spurs (who are outside of top 4) there are world class players like Modric and VDV. Nobody is as dominant all the year around.

If you ask me the best major league has to be the German league. Quite regularly we see different teams claiming the gong. Surely Bayern is quite huge compared to others, but still they dont dominate year on year. And most clubs are quite debt free and owned by fans themselves. It is as perfect a league as you can get.

Finally personally I find Barca's football incredibly dull and boring. They play football as if it is a game of chess (slow and patient). I like how Real are playing these days. And I like the fast counter attacking game played in EPL. Football, for me, means willingness to get stuck, attack at all costs and at all times, defend at all costs, pace, tricks, etc etc. No tiki taka football for me please!

[Panko]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Sublime volley by RvP for the win and mark a great day of celebrations.

Here is Henry holding back his tears at the unveiling of a statue of himself outside the Emirates Stadium to celebrate Arsenal's 125 years.

That was very touching! And the chant went on and on and on - "Thierry Henry...Thierry Henry....Thierry Henry....Thierry Henry."

What a player to have! Currently, he is training with Arsenal. There are rumors of him playing for Arsenal during Jan-Mar-12. (As MLS is yet to begin).

[deetjohn]

Yes indeed! A loan deal for Henry might be possible even though Arsene denied any initiation.

Here is a good article based on Arsene' interview with L'Equipe last month. Explains the thinking behind Arsenal' transfer activity last summer and shift of focus from all youth.

Arsène Wenger happy with Arsenal's health after emergency surgery | Amy Lawrence | Football | The Guardian

And eagerly waiting for the epic match tonight.

[Saanil]

Déjà vu!! This is the Arsenal of past 3 seasons. I am disappointed but then there is nothing than can done. After Monday’s results (Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool drawing) I thought Arsenal would surely climb to the 4th position. But I was wrong – Although we got a draw but it still feels like a defeat. The fight for the 4th position now continues. I know it is too early to comment on the future but I think Arsenal is going to miss the 4th spot (Please God prove me wrong!).

I do not want to speak of the game much. Statistics would be useless to look at – Because looking at the statistics anyone would have said Arsenal would have won the game. Time and again big clubs face such situations – Today it was Arsenal’s day to draw. How much ever we tried we just could not get that killer move. Headers, corners, free kicks – we tried all. A rotation of players was the key today and Arsene played it right. After getting a goal in the 8th minute everything was going fine until the end of the 1st half. Another stupid goal conceded. I really do not know whom to blame for the goal. 2nd half was completely dominated by Arsenal – it was complete one way traffic. Wolves did not even try to play football. The entire team tried to defend and eventually succeeded.

I think Arsene was a little late into substitution. Substitutes are one thing Arsenal needs to improve. Our substitutions are just not effective. Sorry Desi but I don’t think our substitutions were good. I would have preferred OX instead of Ramsey. Ramsey is not the instant kind of a player.

It was good to see Rosicky and Benayoun start for Arsenal. Both of them have the pace and the skill but they are still rusty. I understand they need more time but Arsenal does not have much of it. Our defence was pretty solid except for the goal. But I think such things cannot be avoided. Vermalean was solid at left back but I am not sure for how long he can deputize. We do need a temporary left back – hope that Wenger will address this issue in January.

People, who think this draw was a big blow to our title race, wake up!! – There is no title race for us! Do you really expect us to finish even 3rd? I think 4th is a reasonable position to just expect. Historically Arsenal’s form dips down after December. I really hope this is not the case. I just want our players to play their hearts out like they did yesterday. We need to kill off such games in order to challenge for the 4th spot.

I just wanted to ask one thing – Isn’t finishing 6th better than 5th? If Arsenal happen to finish 5th I think playing in Europa League will be a big disaster for our EPL hoped next year. I know my approach is a little negative here but I just want Arsenal to do well next season.

Meanwhile Spurs continue their good form against Norwich with a brace from Bale. Man Utd will be happy with the results of the Boxind day fixtures.

[saildrive]

I agree Saanil!

I too was watching the game and heartbroken at the end of it. No doubt Hennessey had some excellent saves last night.

But with Arsenal - you always know they are going to concede, unless they have scored atleast 3 goals. But that too doesnt hold true as they scored 4 and then drew with Newcastle last year. Just hate the state we are in right now.

TV has been excellent. love to see the aggro in the guy. Mertesacker had one good save off his feet, but all I have seen till date is that he back passes almost all the balls he gets on his feet.

RvP missed a few or had a few blocked by the GK of Wolves. Dont know if he will make it to the record now.

Dont know why Theo did not play and as mentioned by you even Ox. Seriously dont see us getting anywhere closer to the 4th place and even Q/F in CL against ACM is going to prove extremely difficult unless - Ibramhovic is injured. Another year gone by 7th in a row.

Life's not kind for AFC lovers