That could be a Manic Street Preachers song title.

Anyway, well done Lom. You knocked Bernard out of the park there. Did you see Clichy yesterday for our winner what a useless plonker he is and it's incredible that City still play him.

It was. I felt for GG when he was telling the story about letting him know they wanted him to go up to speak to Leeds. I love seeing that goal he scored though against Liverpool in the littlewoods cup at Anfield. What a strike...

I think he made himself look a little manic actually. Shame, because on most issues regarding football he seems quite rational. Perhaps City still play Clichy because Guardiola doesn't think he's a 'useless plonker'.

17 years and I still can't work out if your posts are a serious commitment to satire (which after this time would be worthy of applause though slightly terrifying) or if you genuinely have no sense of irony...

Ps - I know Bayern aren't all bad...but helping out a few minnows doesn't make up for systematically dismantling any domestic competition by throwing their financial weight around for the last 20 odd years or more. I understand the competitive aspect, but announcing the Gotze signing a few hours before Dortmund's Champion's League tie against Real Madrid (before they even told Dortmund), even though the player couldn't move for another 2 months was a perfect example of how spiteful they can be with their domestic rivals.

PPS - If you wanted to give me helpful advice about moaning about match officials, it probably would have been more pertinent at a time when it was I rather than yourself who was moaning about officiating errors...

Obsession - on this forum. Don't be silly now.

On a more serious note - ANZAC day in oz & NZ. Can I thank all those who fought & gave their lives so that I can have the life and freedoms that I and others enjoy.

I have told you before about Bayern helping Dortmund in their biggest hour of financial need by meeting the wage bill of their players when in grave danger of going bankrupt. I think that more than makes up for signing Gotze and not breaking any rules by doing so. Anyway he's gone back to Dortmund now.

Do Manchester United, Barcelona or Real Madrid play three domestic clubs in financial trouble every year, meet all the costs of holding the friendly and letting the opposition keep every penny (or Euro) of the gate receipts? I don't know, just asking, becuse Bayern do.

I hardly ever mention refereeing errors. I have occasionally offered you advice on the issue, and well done for doing so less lately. So maybe you have found it helpful. A single post when dec brought the performance of the referee up in the Madrid Bayern game up was the only time I recall doing so recently, following your carual dismissal of it. It simply isn't something that interests me much.

Anyone got a link for this? Muchas gracias.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2byZj3oz3U

If that one doesn't work for any reason there are a few other versions on youtube.

Had a great day out at Wembley Sunday. Proper game that really wasn't over until the ref blew his whistle.

So many players had good games it's difficult to pick one but for his youth and for being basically thrown into a losing team I thought Holding was fantastic. I do think we've got the player the press keep saying Stones could become.

Great bunch of strangers where I was sat behind the goal (if Nacho had run on about three paces when he scored he could have jumped into my arms!) and much hugging/falling over when the goals went in and when the final whistle went.

Little thing but in the past I've always had to use the Stadium train stop but this time I used Wembley Park and it was so much easier/more relaxed to get out. On the way in I asked a copper where the queues started for Wembley Park (better to know) and he was quite helpful then his mate said the best idea was to leave five minutes before the end! Do flipping what! He must have seen the look on my face 'cos he followed it up with something about loads leaving early yesterday and got home easily. I just said "Yeah but that's T*tt*nh*m" and the first copper laughed.

Talking of the spuds, must have been a bit hard for the so-called best team in London (ahem!) to lose 2 semis in one weekend...

And with three at the back, good news for Chambers? Mertesacker out this summer? Totally out of favour it seems even though he extended his contract.

Good point about Chambers. To be honest I've barely watched him this year but whenever I've seen his name mentioned he seems to have had a decent game. Mert's complete lack of game time since getting fit, particularly with three at the back when I'd imagine he could play the pivot rather well, does seem strange.

Will be interesting to see what purchases/sales are made if we continue this formation into next term. You'd imagine at least one CH would be on the list as I can't think of anyone from the youths who I personally think is ready to step up. Nacho could play as one of the three (for me he only really settled into left back after the games he was drafted in at CH - he seemed more confident after that) and maybe back up for there and left back will be his role next term.

Certainly raises a lot of questions.

btw thanks all for the kind words the other night, and very sorry to hear about your loss Daz.

Jack Wilshere has been the most injured Premier League player over the past six seasons.

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/10850137/who-is-the-premier-leagues-most-injured-player-over-the-past-six-seasons

fat Sam is an azz. I've never accepted that 'that was the past' narrative he says about Wenger before. He hates Wenger. Always have, always will and the hypocritical fat b@stard has the nerve to ask for loanees from time to time.

http://www.football.london/crystal-pala ... e-12943322

“The real surprise for me was Arsenal,” he said at his pre-Tottenham press conference on Tuesday.

"We played them on Monday night and destroyed them. I've never destroyed an Arsenal team with all the clubs I've had quite like we destroyed them on that day. In every department we ended up being better than Arsenal that night and that has never happened for me in my entire career.”

The 3 at the back thing has apparently been played at least once by 17 of the 20 premiership teams.

I'm still to be convinced by it for Arsenal or generally, the reason being is that I think the 3 at the back with wing backs is used to cover up the weaknesses of those 5 defensive players - who should be able to play in a back 4. I use a similar principle with the 3 central mids (often a holding, box to box and attacking). Years ago you played 2 CM and they had to do the lot, with 3 central mids you get ready made excuses for attacking players not defending or tracking, similarly for holding players offering nothing but a shield - think back to when Vieira and Petit did it all.

Anyway back to the 3 at the back. CBs who struggle in a 2 get the assurance of another CB in there to help them, and full backs turn in to wing backs to exploit the modern tendency for full backs to be far better going forward than they are at basic defending.

Maybe I'm old fashioned but I like my full-backs to be able to defend 1 v 1 and get up and down the line all day long. Think back to Ashley Cole, wingers in his pocket and flying on the overlap for Henry and Pires - all in a back 4.

For me the best CB's in prem history won't be CB who perform well in a back 3.

(I realise many brilliant italian defenders play in a 3)

I can see why Gazidis would say no to work back in America soccer

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football ... t-arsenal/

There really isn't any domestic position in America that has the same stature as The Arsenal. If a joint America/Mexico bid is accepted (I'm surprised at a joint bid given the acrimonious relationship politically, athletically, somewhat culturally). Its not ongoing.

No one, least among Americans will know who he is but the football world knows who is running The Arsenal. Perhaps he fancies himself as a sort of David Dein eventually?

As the article intimates I think he sees it as a job undone. I think he would love to be the one who is credited with Arsenal's resurgence.

Hi Rich.

Being an expert on tactics* your post got me thinking about how no matter how you set up the team you still need to get 11 players to cover the same sized pitch and how sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same.

Take your second paragraph mentioning Vieira and Petit. Hopefully calling it extremely early but I wouldn't be surprised if they turned out to be the best midfield pairing of my lifetime. But in your description of the midfield three being holding/box to box/attacking they only cover 2 of the 3 - you need a Bergkamp to fill the other spot. Although back then it was called 4-4-2 I really don't see the difference between Özil's role now in the 4-3-3 and Bergkamp's in the 4-4-2. Deeper than what we used to call #10 with a roving centre forward and two inside forwards tasked with the scoring. So just for example then/now from front to back could be Henry/Sanchez Pires/Welbeck Ljungberg/Walcott Bergkamp/Özil then Petit/Xhaka and Vieira/Ramsey. One is called a 4-3-3 and one is called a 4-4-2 but as far as I can see what they're meant to be doing and where they're meant to be on the pitch pretty much match up.

As for the three at the back...well that may not work with the above so like you I'll leave it and blame the Italians.

*I've read Jonathan Wilson's 'Inverting the Pyramid'. That's got to count for something.

Thanks Exiled.... Very well put together documentary.

Really liked my seat the other day. Turns out I was sitting in the seat next to it for the Wotsit Shield victory over them.

I agree - they did a great job there.

btw I've been posting a lot of random pictures of Arsenal stuff I've got on twitter recently. You don't have to use twitter or anything to see them - just use this link and scroll like [redacted due to purdah] https://twitter.com/N5_1BU/media

There's some other pictures and stuff down there but it's all safe for work...unless your boss is George Osbourne anyway. Oops.

I'll hope for a Man City win. We get more mileage out of Man Utd losing and hopefully Liverpool stuttering to give us a window.

I still think there is a chance for top 4. I still think there is a significance amount we can salvage (FA cup, top 4). Who knows. If neither happens, so be it. We aren't expected to get either.

The downside is Wenger. It emboldens him.

I'd agree with what you say about Vieira and Petit Exiled, but I think Bergkamp consistently used to play in a more advanced position than Özil. That's not to say we never saw Bergkamp towards the back or Özil up front. We did and do. But for the majority of their time on the pitch, I feel Bergkamp was more advanced than Özil, meaning Özil was deeper than Bergkamp. Those heat maps that they used to have on MOTD, which gladly they've now stopped. But if they had them for both players, I'd be astonished if they didn't show what I just suggested.

Still unconvinced about the back 3 like others, our problems stem from focus, commitment and individual battles being lost not numbers. (See Agueros goal ludicrous defending)

I see the tactic being adopted purely off the back of Gabriel's shocking display againest palace when it showed how exposed we were. I fail to be convinced by one hardly impressive game againest boro and one decent game againest city. We're going to come unstuck... probably againest Spurs

I see a story online about tax frauds and raids at Newcastle and maybe Westham. If this is true there could be dramatic action that follows.

If I was Huddersfield supporter I would be hoping there was a lot of truth to this and would want to finish 3rd. Also Swansea or whoever finishes 3rd bottom may not be gone.

The punishment given to Rangers is well known and I would see no reason why both teams should not be taken back to conference league or at least the 3rd division if the same applies to these clubs.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor ... s-12945468

I'm talking about the Bergkamp in the line up mentioned not the first Wenger team. He played extremely deep compared to where a classic #10 would be expected to be and I can't see how describing him in his later years as an attacking midfielder doesn't describe his role better than striker.

Not sure the Rangers analogy applies here as they went out of business and a completely new club was formed but agree with your general point about possible relegation.

I will watch with interest. You may recall the Westham issue years ago with Aguero(I think) and they were lucky to avoid relegation. Maybe payback time.

Tevez wasn't it?

Not for me. Bergkamp was always a more classic number 10 forward than an attacking midfielder, even in his later years. Özil is a creative midfielder.

If that were true then he can't have been very good at it for the last 5/6 years he was at Arsenal. I think we can probably agree that if the formation is set up with a classic #10 rather than an attacking midfielder you'd expect more goals from the former than later. In Bergkamp's first four seasons his League goals (from wiki...) were 11/12/16/12 but after that it was 6/3/9/4/4/8 (I'm ignoring his last season for various reasons). Now I realise other factors come into it but surely those bald figures would at the very least suggest that he was playing a deeper role, that of a creative midfielder. Either that or his shooting got a bit sh*t which I don't buy.

I suspect it was more that he was getting old or slowing down that made him less inclined to score in his very later years. Also, the point at which his goal scoring slowed was when Henry joined. From around that point, I think Bergkamp became the less dominant forward at the club after playing with Anelka and earlier Wright. But I think he was still a forward. Sorry, but just watching the team play over that period would not tempt me to call him an attacking midfielder.

Until, of course, the 2005 cup final when Wenger opted to play him as a lone striker of course.

To great effect.

What I like about us playing three centrebacks:
- add height to the team. Theoretically that should us make us better at set-pieces.
- wingback could be Ox's best position?

Your point abt the formation being used to cover up the weaknesses of the 5 defensive players - well, surely that's a good thing!

Anyway, I expect Wenger to go with 2-3-3-2 formation next.

The Humiliation Cup final I should have added for Hoy's benefit when, pace Wenger, I had to throw up on the way home I was so mortified.

Never forgiven Wenger for playing Bergkamp in that role that day.

By the way, I agree with you, Bernard, he was a deep-lying forward right up until he got too knackered but that was pretty late in his career.

Anything new on the OX?

Will he be it for tonight's game

I'll answer it myself, he's on the bench.

33Cech
24Bellerín
5Gabriel
6Koscielny
18Monreal
29Xhaka
34Coquelin
14Walcott
11Özil
3Gibbs
7Sánchez
Substitutes
8Ramsey
12Giroud
15Oxlade-Chamberlain
17Iwobi
23Welbeck
26Martinez
35Elneny

Bellerin plays. Will it be a three or four at the back?

That midfield pivot is a problem

Good to see us shooting from outside the box. We must do more of these