The Arsenal Society VIII

Maybe Nasri for Diaby, but that side is more than enough to beat Birmingham. We have to remember this competition is designed for our kids/squad players. We'll have the players on the bench if needed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/9406115.stm

Sprained ankle for Walcott, no need for the hissy. He'll miss the final and maybe the Orient game (which he probably wouldn't have played anyway) but i'd think would be back for your next league game. And Barcelona.

If we don't win on Sunday I'm gonna tear my balls off in fustration

First off, it was a very good win. We're obviously going to be significantly weaker without Van Persie and Fabregas, and we weren't able to get the fluid movement and passing going. Although it's obvious that I rate the kid, all 'biasness' aside, he was again magnificent in terms of effort. He was all over the pitch making tackles and very composed on the ball as you'd expect. Nasri supported well but without Van Persie, everything that goes to Bendtner comes straight back and so they can't link-up well. The wins so far this year have mostly been comfortable and there has been no problem scoring goals but these type of scrappy, 1-0 wins are massively important. Djourou has really become an important player and tbf to him it's not something a lot of people were expecting. Another one, along with Wilshere and Szczesny, who has really stepped up this season when needed.

I'm more than capable of separating performance from result and even if Arsenal had drawn or lost today, there wouldn't have been any complaints about the ref from me, so I don't know what the fuss is about on here. The injuries were not caused by tackles (and even if the Walcott one was, it wasn't a reckless tackle -- just unlucky with the fall). Everyone knows how Stoke play and they did play to their strengths but our guys were handling it well and we weren't really troubled too much. The nervousness probably came from knowing that 2 key players had gone off injured and our less than impressive record with seeing out a lead but the corners and delap throw-ins were dealt with reasonably well.

I'm gutted for Theo because I'm sure he would've been playing at Wembley on Sunday but whatcha gonna do? If it's just the twisted ankle, it's a painful one but he should be back within 2 weeks -- maybe making the Sunderland game. But if it's ligament damage then he's screwed. Arsenal might not be though because the fat bastard put in another good shift today; running at defenders, his brilliant assist for Walcott's missed sitter, his tracking back....even an excellent sliding challenge at our corner flag which actually happened to hand Stoke possession but he had a good game overall.

Fabregas is obviously the bigger worry even if his injury isn't as serious. Our chances of winning are significantly reduced when Cesc's not on the pitch. By all accounts it's a hamstring problem but the club doesn't know whether it's just a strain or whether it's a real pull...assessment on Thursday. Although I understand that some fans want the players to taste some sort of success and think it could be a springboard for maintaining a strong challenge for other trophies but I couldn't really care less about the competition. It was fun to watch us beat Tottenham and initially we used the competition well to give players returning from injury, like Van Persie, some game time as well as checking out a few of the youngsters like Lansbury, Eastmond and Gibbs but now I think the CC run has served its purpose. It's not worth risking Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri, Song or any other important player in. IMO.

I dont know if ill make sunday or no, but all i know is that from this moment to sunday 16'30 i wont sleep if its necessary. Ive waited...Too long to captain a final for arsenal and i wont give up till the last second.

I think the carling cup is important because the players made it so. They've made the carling cup their first Hurdle. If wenger hadn't started trying then we would've never ever cared but since the players and the manager have talked it up so much. And this 'winning block' the players have, which I've always called bs on (we haven't won for the past 6 years because we weren't good enough) has been established in the psyche of the players. Then I think it's vital that we win the cup else we'll lose momentum significantly and the players will doubt themselves. Going into the barca game and the rest of the games as winners rather than losers is vital for a team who have dug themselves into a psychological mess

First off, it was a very good win. We're obviously going to be significantly weaker without Van Persie and Fabregas, and we weren't able to get the fluid movement and passing going. Although it's obvious that I rate the kid, all 'biasness' aside, Wilshere was again magnificent in terms of effort. He was all over the pitch making tackles and very composed on the ball as you'd expect. Nasri supported well but without Van Persie, everything that goes to Bendtner comes straight back and so they can't link-up well. The wins so far this year have mostly been comfortable and there has been no problem scoring goals but these type of scrappy, 1-0 wins are massively important. Djourou has really become an important player and tbf to him it's not something a lot of people were expecting. Another one, along with Wilshere and Szczesny, who has really stepped up this season when needed.

I'm more than capable of separating performance from result and even if Arsenal had drawn or lost today, there wouldn't have been any complaints about the ref from me, so I don't know what the fuss is about on here. The injuries were not caused by tackles (and even if the Walcott one was, it wasn't a reckless tackle -- just unlucky with the fall). Everyone knows how Stoke play and they did play to their strengths but our guys were handling it well and we weren't really troubled too much. The nervousness probably came from knowing that 2 key players had gone off injured and our less than impressive record with seeing out a lead but the corners and delap throw-ins were dealt with reasonably well.

I'm gutted for Theo because I'm sure he would've been playing at Wembley on Sunday but whatcha gonna do? If it's just the twisted ankle, it's a painful one but he should be back within 2 weeks -- maybe making the Sunderland game. But if it's ligament damage then he's screwed. Arsenal might not be though because the fat bastard put in another good shift today; running at defenders, his brilliant assist for Walcott's missed sitter, his tracking back....even an excellent sliding challenge at our corner flag which actually happened to hand Stoke possession but he had a good game overall.

Fabregas is obviously the bigger worry even if his injury isn't as serious. Our chances of winning are significantly reduced when Cesc's not on the pitch. By all accounts it's a hamstring problem but the club doesn't know whether it's just a strain or whether it's a real pull...assessment on Thursday. Although I understand that some fans want the players to taste some sort of success and think it could be a springboard for maintaining a strong challenge for other trophies but I couldn't really care less about the competition. It was fun to watch us beat Tottenham and initially we used the competition well to give players returning from injury, like Van Persie, some game time as well as checking out a few of the youngsters like Lansbury, Eastmond and Gibbs but now I think the CC run has served its purpose. It's not worth risking Fabregas, Van Persie, Nasri, Song or any other important player in. IMO.