i'm not understanding his decision to start with Ox on the bench, subbing Henry on at the half (god bless him, but his legs have long since departed), and starting a player thats been out for months against a strong side like Milan. He screwed the pooch hard on this one and there will be alot asking for his head in the morning. Like I said, i've always stood by him, but the trophy drought, not bringing in world class talent and his poor decisions over the past few years have been enough for me to change my view and want the man gone. I'll always respect the man for what he did, but as it stands, we're out of the champs, we'll be fighting for 4th and we'll most likely gift Sunderland the FA tie, nobody, no matter how much wages he makes, will not want to play for us. RvP, enjoy the beaches of Spain.

Just buy Olic from Bayern

are the rumors for RvP to Madrid legit or are you referring to another team in Spain Red?

thos aren't legit, those are made up BS by madridians, as usual. f*ck their propaganda.

he will either sign for barcelona, or remain at arsenal. i doubt rvp will go anywhere else, honestly.

Wow, tough game to watch that. Milan bossed midfield and the passing and movement of Robinho, Boateng, Nocerino and Ibrahimovic tormented the back four all night. Marking was some of the worst I've seen. Even RvP seemed to struggle to make an impact. Walcott and Ramsey both not on form too, it just wasn't Arsenal's night I suppose. I agree with everyone too, probably should have started Ox, the boy has pace like it's nobody's business and probably would have given Abate a harder time out wide. Djouru or whatever his name is has got to go I'm afraid. Looked erratic and unsettled since he came on and gave away a stupid penalty that effectively ended the tie. I never really understood why Wenger keeps fielding this player, I don't think I've ever seen him play a solid game. Based on the lineup and strategy, do you guys think Wenger was trying to play it safe, bag an away goal or two and take the tie back to London?

In saying that, I think what I witnessed in Milan proves a bad omen of Chelsea's tie next week, based on Chelsea's recent performances, and we might be in for a long, LONG night in Naples. Hamsik, Cavani, Lavezzi, Pandev, Lucarelli, all available, and sure to stretch our defense to the limit, a defense that has been questionable at times this season. This team can counter in the blink of an eye, and our midfield and defense might struggle to keep pace. Cech has been suspect at times, JT is not the rock he used to be, Cole caught out in possession frequently, Luiz looks confused half the time, Cahill still acclimating to the team, Bosingwa almost always out of position, who knows, I might be on here next week analyzing an even worse defeat, and it doesn't help our players don't have any confidence in the manager. If the players don't believe in the system, we don't have a chance. Not looking well for English clubs to advance to the quarter finals this season. :shakes head:

Hard to be place the blame all on Arsenal and Wenger though, they played against a rampaging, supremely confident Milan side; look every bit a team that can advance to the semi finals this season. Looks like for us, it'll be a battle for 4th place lol, difference between Tuesday night and Thursday night football. The way Chelsea have been performing the past few weeks, I don't think we deserve to represent England in the Champions League honestly. But good luck to the Arsenal boys at the return leg, I'm sure it will be a more entertaining game for the supporters playing at home.

Djourou played well last season. He's shorn of confidence this season though, as he hasn't had a consistent run-out, and let's face it, he's 4th choice behind Verminator, Kos, and the BFG. I'm just glad I don't have to see Squillaci.

As much as he said he was going to be aggressive, he absolutely played it safe, tried to nick an away goal, and take it home to the Emirates. 2-1 loss would have been acceptable, even 3-1 maybe. I have faith we can knock 2 goals past AC Milan at home.

4-0? Unacceptable. Hope he fields everybody against Sunderland, FA Cup is all we have now.

Also - rampaging, supremely confidence AC Milan side is not what I saw against Udinese, who caved at the Friuli simply due to injuries (Isla and Di Natale in the same game? Oh dear). We just simply folded in on ourselves after KP Boateng spanked the first goal past Szczesny.


Jon - thoughts on AVB? Think he'll stay, with Roman and his famously twitchy trigger finger? AVB has not addressed any of the club's weaknesses.
The defense is in SHAMBLES, Terry or not, Cahill is misused, Luiz is a playstation character, Torres is a joke, Cole is injured, Essien is horrible (is he still playing?), Bosingwa is one of the worst defenders I've ever seen in my life (and as a Gunner we know all about shitty defenders), etc. etc. etc. In fact, I personally think the only shining light on the Chelsea squad is Juan Mata.

Well you're right about the team that played at Udinese at the weekend, but let's not forget, Milan had injuries of their own. This was a Milan side short Boateng, Van Bommel, and Ibrahimovic. 3 players equally decisive in the victory over Arsenal last night. Van Bommel was the link between defense and attack for Milan last night, and played his holding midfield sentry role very well. Rarely caught in possession, very few loose passes, and he squeezed Arsenal's midfield into making mistakes. And Ibrahimovic out, well for me, he was the man of the match Tuesday night. He only scored from the spot yes, but his movement, his passing and just his presence made a world of difference. Arsenal defense had no answer for him. Kevin Prince was out the Udinese game as well, and he's proving his worth time and again. Amazing technique with that volley for the opening goal. You're right too, Arsenal looked shell shocked, and deflated after Prince sunk the ball past your keeper, but that was the trigger for Milan to play with their tails up. They could have easily still been in the game 1-0 down, and as you said, finished the game maybe 2-1, take that away back to the Emirates, but Arsenal looked defeated even before halftime.

You'd be right about that, I'd say Juan Mata has been a gem for us this season. Danny Sturridge has been pretty good as well, but he's a bit inconsitent and has now come out and showed his frustrations with the club and manager for being played out of his natural position, which means he could move out this summer, which would be a huge loss. So many problems at the club, but you've hit mostly all of them. Essien's not the sentry he used to be, Lamps' age showing, Torres STILL wayward in front of goal, Bosingwa should be playing for Wolves, and the manager looks like he has no answer. I'd like to say that AVB will stay, but with rumors swirling of Guus Hiddink returning, Jose Mourinho suggesting he might return to the Prem after he leaves Madrid, Roman might get ancy and sack AVB after this season. I think he will be sacked if we finish out of the top four. It's a shame really, because I think he could be a great manager, but as we all know, the Prem is a different beast compared to Portugal, it takes something really special to have great success your first go round. We're still in the FA and Champions League, but I think there's a very real chance there won't be any silverware for Chelsea this season. It's easy for me to come to terms with that, but we have an owner who expects to win championships every season, sometimes it just doesn't work that way.

THIS. Boateng has a huge impact on the team on and off the field, so with him back things where looking good before the game. I too agree Arsenal looked shell shocked just after the 1st goal. As a Milan fan, i never thought RvP stood that great of a chance throughout the game with T. Silva waiting for him, i firmly believe Silva is one of the best center backs out there right now.

on the return leg i see Arsenal scoring 1 mayyyybe 2 goals but Milan WILL score as well. looks like the EPL is going out this champions tourny at the hands of 2 Italian teams....who said Italian football was boring :eekdance:, slowly but surely they are stepping it up and not just playing the known defense italian football they are known for.

Italian football was never boring to me. I loved watching Udinese play for the past few seasons. Di Natale is one of the few players I thoroughly enjoy watching in the Serie A (I actually really want an Udinese jersey, but I'm broke and need to conserve money now).

I've also had a soft spot for Fiorentina for years. Never really a powerhouse team, but they've been fairly easy on the eyes in recent seasons as well. Jovetic is the man this season, but there were years where Gilardino was actually good! (I even have an '08 Fiorentina home jersey :tup:)

I'd agree with you. It's not exactly what it was in the 80s and early 90s, but Serie A is quietly making a comeback.

You guys are right except Inter is still playing boring football!:P Forza Milan!

:icon18:, :iagree:

ouch

Has Andr Villas-Boas Been Sacked Yet? NO.

it gets harder for me to wake up to watch the arsenal every week.

I'm happy I did not have to wake up early to watch today.

That's really the only positive I can take.