Match Reports
ESPNSoccernet: An Emirates Stadium replay will now be required after an entertaining repeat of the 1927 final, which the Bluebirds won 1-0, failed to produce a goal.
Setanta: City ran themselves into the ground
Man of the match
Ross McCormack. The Cardiff supporter there at the bar turned to me and said that they had signed McCormack for £100,000 which is an incredible bargain considering how well the midfielder played for the Bluebirds.
The Good
There was no news about the Andrei Arshavin transfer saga which is a welcome respite.
The Bad
I really feel for Aaron Ramsey. This kid is only 18 and there he was thrust into the middle of a heated cup tie, against his old team, with the supporters giving him a hard time, and his old teammates roughing him up. He had an Eboue of a game and Wenger was right to take him off, though I can’t quite figure out why the Cardiff fans booed him off the pitch.
His inclusion at the start was very perplexing since Wenger had said the day before that he would only include him if it was for the best and clearly it was not for the best. With Rambo in the midfield the team played the worst 20 minutes I have ever seen an Arsenal team play. No, I take that back. The second worst, the worst was when Arsenal lost 5-1 to Man U and that fuck Nani did the seal dribble and was damn near kneecapitated by Flamini.
A bad day for the young man, but lets hope he learns from this and comes back stronger in 9 days; if Wenger risks him again.
The Downright Pathetic
This is hard because there were so many pathetic players out there today. For example, while Eboue was diving all over the pitch and generally looking like he doesn’t give two fucks, Adebayor was fluffing wide open shots. And when Arsenal did break and get an open shot it inevitably was hit straight at the keeper or right into the crowd. Or how about a defense that was shockingly inept for large stretches of the game and only kept a clean sheet throught the bad luck of their opponents?
It was so bad all over the pitch for long stretches that I actually started to enjoy the play of Alex Song and Abu Diaby. Figure that.
But I can forgive poor play, it happens, what I hate to see is 20+ minutes at the end of the match where Cardiff are huffing and puffing around the pitch and the whole Arsenal team just looks disinterested. Passing the ball side to side and not taking the match up another level. That was infuriating.
Incredibly, Wenger didn’t see it the same as me:
I feel in the first half we started very well, but overall Cardiff had a good committed game and created some chances. In the second half we were on top and it was the quality of their defending and their commitment that stopped us scoring. The pitch, too, was not easy, but it was a great cup game and showed what this cup is about.
Really? Arsenal started well? Nearly conceding 2 easy goals and the midfield in utter disarray? That’s “starting very well?” This has to be his version of a pep talk, because there’s no way he saw that first half and thought Arsenal were positive.
Like I said at the outset, it was the second worst performance I have seen from an Arsenal team and they will have to be a lot better if they think they are going to win anything this season.
Conclusion
Well, Cardiff get a rematch at the Emirates in 9 days and a good bit of the gate receipts, which is good for them. Arsenal, on the other hand, get a crowded fixture list right at the time when they have half the squad out injured, which is bad for them. But hey, it was a clean sheet, and our “not losing” streak is still alive, right?
I think you got the review spot on. Here’s an idea…why not sell Eboue, and use that money to add to the Arshavin bid? A very mediocre right-winger for a potentially explosive right/left/center midfielder makes sense right? Or is Eboue also back-up right back?
Wow are you way off. The Cardiff Fans were actually applauding when Ramsey came off. The “Boos” you heard were from traveling Arsenal fans because Abou Diaby was coming on. While the defense was poor the first 20 minutes, Cardiff could really only muster one decent chance for the rest of the game after. Song was a great presence in the Midfield, while Gibbs looked like he’d been playing left back for 10 years in the first team. The rest of the defense definitely didn’t do anything great, and the same 3 choke artists squandered opportunities for Arsenal Eboue, Bendtner, and Adebayor. I rather have Bendtner start on the Right Wing instead of Eboue because he is better in space than up close as a Center Forward. Fabianski also showed good decision making in coming out a couple of times to take balls early.
Wow are you way off. The Cardiff Fans were actually applauding when Ramsey came off. The “Boos” you heard were from traveling Arsenal fans because Abou Diaby was coming on. While the defense was poor the first 20 minutes, Cardiff could really only muster one decent chance for the rest of the game after. Song was a great presence in the Midfield, while Gibbs looked like he’d been playing left back for 10 years in the first team. The rest of the defense definitely didn’t do anything great, and the same 3 choke artists squandered opportunities for Arsenal Eboue, Bendtner, and Adebayor. I rather have Bendtner start on the Right Wing instead of Eboue because he is better in space than up close as a Center Forward. Fabianski also showed good decision making in coming out a couple of times to take balls early.
Sorry for double post, didn’t show up first time
George, they were booing from the 1st half
i agree id like to see bendtner tried at RM, not convinced it would work tho,
im really unhappy about eboue, he was starting to look the part before his injury and now hes awful
gibbs did look good which was pleasing – with all the hype surrounding wilshere and vela, this guy might just sneak into the 1st team squad ahead of everyone
very accomplished on the ball, a real footballer, really good to see. needs to improve defensively i suppose, but hes got a good footballing brain and shows excellent control
Well I didn’t catch the intros, but when Ramsey was subbed out they showed the Cardiff Fans clapping. Maybe they sobered up and realized they should support a product of their system.
Some clapped, most booed, even the announcers remarked about how uncool it was to boo him off.
Also, yes, Gibbs was the only defender who earned his paycheck today.
Not sure what to think about this one, save for some bits and pieces from Arsenal, it almost looked like two championship sides. Bendtner at rm, at this point why not. Fixture list just got more congested, not what we needed.
When Song, Gibbs and Diaby are the 3 best performers for Arsenal that says it all, although RVP and Nasri were decent.
Still prefer Fabianski over Almunia, a little erratic but commands his box.
Midfield of Eboue, Ramsey, Song, Nasri were totally outplayed, out tackled and dominated by Cardiff in the first stanza, especially with Nasri on the wing. Where was the MF combination of Eboue, Nasri, Song, Vela, with Nasri and Song in the middle, and what does Vela have to do to get a game?
As I’ve said time and time again, Bendtner always does better on the wing and just can’t seem to play all 90 minutes of a game. Lack of concentration or just the vagaries of youth? Who knows, but Walcott seems to have the same problem.
The Tv did show Ramsey being applauded when he left the pitch but was booed unmercifully before. Like Timothy said, it was asking a lot to start the kid in this cauldron and especially in the middle where he would be the focus of attention. Maybe starting on the wing or brought on as a substitute would have been more merciful for our 5-10 mill future star.
Like Barnaby said, it looked like 2 Championship teams playing. The question to be asked is whether we play down to the level of our opponent or maybe our squad is not good enough to cut it at the top.
I find it difficult to imagine any other top teams in the world featuring Denilson, Diaby, Eboue, Song, Silvestre and Bendtner as top contributors. Certainly not Manu, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern, Inter, Juve and AC Milan.
caribkid – Just 2¢, it’s a typical symptom of having an inexperienced team. They are brilliant against ManUre and Chelsea but seem unable to achieve those levels of performance against weaker teams (Hull, Fulham). Hopefully time (and experience) will fix the problem before it costs us too much (like the Champions League).
Cardiff played better than us full stop