Arsenal v Aston Villa Post-Match Thread

[caster troy]

I just watched some clips on youtube to cheer myself up, Rotterdam/shaftin the noses/Dwight Yorke etc`, what a big mistake THAT was.

I did the same, went for the '96 league cup final. Little, Ellis, McGrath, Taylor... that is AVFC to me. Lambert, Lerner, Dunne, Ireland... no thanks, not fit to be associated with the club.

[pooligan]

Still trying to work out how we manage to have Vlarr and Bent out injured despite not playing for nearly a fortnight and and according to our clueless manager having  had a much needed break .Arsenal have played three games in a week and yet still looked fitter than us.

[maidstonevillain]

Unfortunately, we have far too many thickies among our personnel.

Starting with the manager.

[john2710]

Our season won't be defined by what we did today nor next week, it will be the 6 games that follow where we need to win at least 3 of them.  Problem is I can't honestly see us being 'man enough' to achieve it.

The best we can hope for is going into our last game at Wigan needing to win to stay up.

Individually we are good enough, but collectively we are not. There are just so many occasions, in every game, where we are crying out for an old head to organise the team. 

[Greg N'Ash]

Still trying to work out how we manage to have Vlarr and Bent out injured despite not playing for nearly a fortnight and and according to our clueless manager having  had a much needed break .Arsenal have played three games in a week and yet still looked fitter than us.

On extra fm whatever they call it nowdays, they said Bent wasn't injured but dropped. Anyone know for sure?

[SamTheMouse]

We haven't been able to defend since the start of the season, and things have not improved. Vlaar is our best (and only senior) defender, and is incredibly injury-prone. Lambert chose, for some reason which escapes those of us with a brain, not to enlist any experienced cover. Our full-back positions are porous, our midfielders do not track back, when we lose the ball the whole team spends its time bouncing on its heels staring fixedly at the ball and totally ignoring the opposition runners...and it all means that if our forwards don't score at least three goals per game, we usually end up losing.

We are fucked. Thanks Lambo. Would it really have hurt to sign another decent defender?

[martyn ellis]

couldn't get a ticket from Villa and it's my traditional away game as I live just down the road. So I sat high up with the Arsenal lot who by and large thought played poorly and had hearts in mouths every time we attacked. Got the impression they thought they had got away with it. And the noise from the Villa fans down to my left was impressive.

[Matt C]

Feels like we've got a bit of fight about us again which is at least a little encouraging.

Hope Vlaar isn't out for long.

[brian green]

It has come as a genuine surprise to me how thick Lambert is.   I should have suspected it because stubborn, inflexible people usually are thick.

[Ads]

In the past twenty five years we have won four times at Arsenal, including Dalian's winner in the cup.

Losing there has never been a barometer for either success or failure.

[Malandro]

how the feck can he say "The confidence is there" our defenders are terrified when put under any pressure. We as fans know it and the opposition managers really know it.

Somebody else said we'd be better with somebody like Shittu and they were right. Being a world beater isn't important in defence for us now - we just need people with bottle.
Too late though isn't it.

[Ron Manager]

Plenty of clubs in danger all the way up to West Ham. I think we might just make it but it will go down to the last two games.

And then Mr Lambert's services will no longer be required and next season we can start afresh.

.....yet again!!

[Irish villain]

I don't post here as much as I used to because I have been saying the same things for the past two years.

it really is depressing that the club haven't tried to address those issues, the footballing and non-footballing things that have been dragging this club to the relegation places since August 2010.

Time is running out. Everybody needs to quickly address the on-pitch lack of stomach, stupid unforced errors and ridiculous inability to either defend or attack set pieces. Off the pitch, the lack of ambition, investment, direction and pride needs to be sorted this summer for once and for all or we will definitely go down next year. That's provided we haven't already dropped this season which is still a big if.

[Irish villain]

Plenty of clubs in danger all the way up to West Ham. I think we might just make it but it will go down to the last two games.

And then Mr Lambert's services will no longer be required and next season we can start afresh.

.....yet again!!

We should stick with Lambert regardless. The problems at villa run much deeper than the man in the dug-out. Imagine who the board would appoint to replace Lambert?

[eastie]

Paul Lambert on injured trio.


Paul Lambert is sweating on the fitness of Ron Vlaar , Darren Bent and Shay Given after the trio missed Villa's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal.

Skipper Vlaar sat out of the clash at the Emirates after picking up a calf injury in training earlier this week.

Darren Bent missed out on the Gunners encounter too because of a bruised foot.

Shay Given was also absent for the trip to the capital, with Andy Marshall taking the injured keeper's place in the squad.

Lambert gave no time frame for the injuries but he will assess the fitness of the trio this week.

"Shay has a little strain," said the manager.

"Darren got a kick on his foot. Ron got a knock on his calf early in the week."