It's a shame because that three-man midfield was looking pretty good

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat Vegas

What's betterer Parma ham or Jamón serrano

I prefer Parma imo, Serrano has a weird after taste.

I am being general here. San Daniele is nicer than the Parma brand.

I think I'm in the Spanish camp with this one, f. It's fattier imo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by redgunamo

It's that ruthless cynicism we lack. When was the last time one of our strikers flagrantly dived to win a crucial penalty.

Was it Eduardo against Celtic?

Though it may not have been a dive.

We've had a few yellows for diving though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ash

I am referring to a phase of the match against a Bayern side who were clearly determined to try and score ten goals against us, and who started the game in the same way as the previous leg - by not letting us have a touch of the ball for ten minutes. During that phase we wrested control of the game, scored a triffic goal, had a decent pelanty shout, and should have scored again but for the clumsy, mirror-gazing bearded lummox up top. Of course the game changed when an offside player dived in the box for which our captain was sent off.

And yes, I am specifically referring to Alex "Chambo" Oxlade-Chambolain, whose recent performances in the centre of the park suggests that he is good enough to play there. Sadly, it will be for another club. :-(

I thought AOC did well for the first half in tandem with the complete midfield trio – despite claims from elsewhere that a certain member of the triumverate was again awful.

In the second half I saw him applauded for effort in the face of adversity when all others appeared to have thrown the towel in. *******s to that. While I will openly and willingly admonish a footballer for appearing not to try I will never, ever applaud a very well rewarded footballer for trying hard. That Sir is the very least I expect.

In general over the period I think he has openly struggled as much as he has excelled. At Stamford Bridge for example he was like a child lost in a grown up environment, totally out manoeuvred and played by the masterful Matic and Kante.

He is, like most of our young British core, tactically ill-disciplined and while we applaud his full on hustle bustle style he has so much to learn. Being allowed a handful of matches centrally each season is not the future.

In general with him plus Xhaka and Ramsey they still leave themselves very open to positional isolation and will be hugely exploited by good football teams. Both he and Ramsey will need to restrict their natural tendency to pile forward while Xhaka will follow play, as is his game. They are still missing a specialist who will be happy to restrict himself to the benefit of others.

It is only when Wenger works out what the fúck he is trying to do as opposed to simply assembling resources will we move forward to the next level as he himself puts it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ash

We've had a few yellows for diving though.

Not sure that's quite the same thing, to be honest :-\