Arsenal Preview

[tchocky]

Injured.

Excellent Rovers chance there. Benni hadn't touched it Roque might have scored. Looking better now.

EDIT: Just waiting for a sucker punch.

[Exiled_Rover]

Injured eh? Like every other left footed midfielder we own.

Bentley and Emerton carved open L'Arse there. Benni really should have scored.

Edit - I thought Wenger was just being polite when he said Bentley would play for his team now, during the week's build up. After half an hour I can tell you he wasn't joking, he'd walk into the L'Arse team.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Once the first 10 minutes went by, we grew with confidence and we stopped making silly mistakes.

I just hope we keep this up second half. Arsenal don't look like scoring if they carry on playing like they are in the final 3rd of the pitch as our centre backs have been rock solid so far.

We've got a great chance to pinch a goal from a set piece if we keep feeding the ball down their left side. Bentley and Emerton are doing well.

[mattjansen]

Hughes has got the tactics seriously wrong today! Why the hell is mokoena on the bench and Benni in the centre of midfield? We should pack the bloody midfield and stay deep against arsenal.

For the people talking about champions league, well, watch the game. Hopefully we can get away with 2-3 goals in the sack..

I say Hughes has got it perfectly right, Berner and Benni took some time to get into position as Benni was supposed to mark Senderos for the corner. But after that we started passing it around and created some chances, i rather lose 2-0 tryin then just give the game away.

[tchocky]

We've got to put Roberts on for Benni. Preferably within the next 15 mins and not when there's 5 mins left.

[Tim Southampton Rover]

I know that possession doesn't always mean anything but in both halves we've had the possession stats show Arsenal 39% and Rovers 61% which how we've stopped Arsenal playing their dominant one touch football which takes teams to bits.

We're playing well considering we've got a lot of first team regulars out. Ooijer and Khiza are playing superb as well as Friedel. Let's hope we keep this up and get an equaliser.

[sleepyjack]

Benni was supposed to mark Senderos for the corner.

Why have Benni mark the second best header of the ball in their side?

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Because our best player at heading the ball was marking their best player

[Exiled_Rover]

How is Benni McCarthy constantly offside? It's uncanny.

[tchocky]

Looks like we're still playing "stop arsenal" tactics. Thats fine and dandy and we're doing it well. But right about now we should probably start to try and equalize. Looks like the players have forgot that we are in fact one down.

Axe on for Tugay.. ? The old man must be knackered. Can see no other reason to take him off before a 2 week break.

Roberts on for Benni. Could have come on 20 mins and 3 offsides earlier.

[stuwilky]

Oh God.

Moko at Centre Half.

[Ben-2000]

Ooijer injured, Richters on

[krislu]

Axe on for Tugay.. ? The old man must be knackered. Can see no other reason to take him off before a 2 week break.

Very strange sub that, very strange. Tugay looked fine to me..

[tchocky]

We don't even look remotely close to scoring. It's a shame we cocked up so badly on that early corner to let them score. We've played decently well enough/had enough luck to deserve a 0-0, but never a 1-1.

[budha]

The whole team is knackered. Reid, Warnock, Berner.. they can hardly run anymore. Quite a display from Arsenal.

[Exiled_Rover]

What an awful performance. Good job by the board on strengthening the squad in the summer - games like this is what you get as a result.

[tchocky]

NEEXT!

Maybe we can get to the magic 40 point mark in our home game against Bolton...

[Tim Southampton Rover]

Adebayor scores with his first real involvement in the game.

2-0 to Arsenal.

We just look tired now and only really conceded because we're trying to get that goal.

FT

Well played Rovers.

Excellent effort. We made this a real contest and you can tell by the supporters and the Arsenal players that they are glad they got that win. Only good things can be said about that performance considering the players out and the fact that Arsenal are probably the best team in the country.

[LeChuck]

In terms of containing Arsenal, we did a very good job. As was the case against Everton though, we had absolutely no cutting edge. Santa Cruz is a very willing worker, but you have to wonder how long he'd put up with the lack of support and service he's receiving at the moment.

Bentley's performances against Everton and Arsenal, coupled with his last half an hour with England, show he's completely wasted in the middle and needs to be moved back out wide so he can get back to what he does best.

[Dunnfc]

Just got in and havent seen the highlights yet but sounds asif we were playing a hardworking style game.

How did McCarthy play?

2 weeks break will do our knackred sqaud the world of good.

[krislu]

We are in desperate need for someone who can run down channels with some pace. If you look at our team it is vey slow and our strikers both like the ball in their feet and never seem to make smart runs.

Fairly happy with the result, better than last year thats for sure.

[chocky]

I thought they had no real belief they would get a result...porr passing and constantly losing the 50-50s...a bit more belief they could have got the equaliser..then that c :angry2:t Adebayor would get a second in the last seciond...

[Dunnfc]

Weve got half a squad out fellas and we are away to arsenal, what do we expect?

[brfcjon]

some say we contained them...

Not the game I saw. They had 5 or more really big ones. It was to be expected and I dont blame any rovers player. We just played a much much better team today.

Friedel looked good though=)

[Mr. E]

We played "good"?

I don't see what's the point in sitting back all game when we can't kick even kick it forward once or twice. With the exception of Friedel who has the biggest credit for keeping the score respectable, we were utterly helpless and useless in every way. We lack the quality - fine, but we also lack any desire and determination. The players were out there simply to get this game out of the way.