Wenger – I was nervous before game, but the subs made the difference for Arsenal
Arsene Wenger was more relieved than over-the-moon after Arsenal’s late winner against Aston Villa yesterday. Wenger admitted that he knew it would be a difficult game at Villa Park as it always has been historically.
He said: “You go to City and then to Villa and I have to give fantastic credit to my players, they have given absolutely everything in the last three days with two difficult away games.
“For us to respond well was vital. I was a bit nervous I must say because for us you have experience and history with us coming to Aston Villa – it is always these kinds of games where it is marginal to win or to lose.
“I was a bit nervous because I knew how important it was to win and I knew that it would be a difficult game.”
Yossi Benayoun was brought on (along with Andrei Arshavin) ten minutes before the end, and just seven minutes later had put Arsenal back in front. Wenger was full of praise for the Israeli international.
“He is well integrated in the group, is a fantastic professional and has a great spirit,” Wenger said. “He is a very intelligent boy and tonight he did fantastically well when he came on. The changes who came on did very well and stabilised our game I think – Yossi came on and won us three fantastic points.
It seems that every time Benayoun comes on he makes a difference. When will Wenger realise this and give him a chance to play the full 90 minutes???
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Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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Out of tune?. Like or Dislike:
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we need an aggressive defender, Mertesacker is not an aggressive player
a defender must be rugged
Opinions divided. What do you think?
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Hopefully that game was a one off… We played really bad but thankfully luck was on our side for once
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Benayoun did well when he came on, but what about Rosicky?!? He had a blinding half hour when he came on, made the difference himself! All the team decided to play when he came on, on the other hand… Arshavin’s time is definately over…
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The question I always ask myself is why doesnt wenger at one moment use Benayoun,Arteta and Arshavin or Ramsy in the starting lineup,because that combination knows how to win matches?
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it was tv5′s fault, his header to mertesacker was too short.
Anyways, great win and hope all our games could end like this
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Wenger should also think of starting with Arteta and Benayoun in the lineups.
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Saw the highlights … in no way was that merts fault… what on earth was that poor header back to him about? Clear it if your not sure or at least make sure your pass gets to the intended player and if at all possible try not to do a hospital pass!
Also … by subs being great, i take it he means benny! Arshavin was his usual poor self i see.
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Mertesacker was not to blame for the goal conceded. Vermalen gave him a short pass through a weak header
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another 3 points in the bag. we need to get used to winning ugly, just keep chipping away. hope spuds loses tonight and it will be perfect. got wolves and Qpr during christmas, so another 6 points. hope chambo and ryo gets some game time ( cover for gervinho for african cup ). now just need guys to return to full fitness and mount for a serious title challenge.
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i would not blame mertesaker..the pass to him was bad and acward to handle..i think he did well cause he could have been sent off otherwise
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@martha/DougF Well lets be honest, Mert was the best defender yesterday. For some reason everybody seem to keep shooting at this guy. The goal was a mistake from Verm not Mert. The header from Verm was dangerously short and Mert could do nothing about it. Only way to stop is was draw a foul and he would have been off the field. Even the yellow card he got was not his fault either. He was merely doing a clean up and took one for the team. We are no longer hunted by set pieces and indecision in our own box and that is credit to Mert for heading and clearing everything out. He did well. Verm is our best defender but that mistake was his that resulted in the goal.No harm in being honest mate
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Why are we continuously pushing for ryo and AOC to get game time. We are having a good run and the team is consistent. Obviously our manager does not think that they are fully ready for the league. Just look at Frimpong last night, younger players tend to be inconsistent. The manager knows best, and he knows when a player is ready. Just give those guys time.
Also we seem to have forgotten that Rosicky has only just returned from injury and Arsene is probably nursing him back to full fitness. He is pushing hard for a start in the middle and its good that we have competition for places in the middle of the park. Maybe he would start against wolves.
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I never want the dirty spuds to get a point but I see Chelsea as the weak link at the moment. Hope they drop points. Maybe a draw will benefit us!!
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ROSISCKY IS BETTER THAN RAMBO WENGER SHOULD BRING HIM IN EARLIER THAN KEEPING HIM FAR TOO ONG ON THE BENCH RAMSEY SHOULD BE SUBSTITUTED EARLIER THAN THE 70TH MINUTE COZ TO ME AFTER 60MIN RAMBO STARTS MISPLACING PASSES,DRAGGING HIMSELF AND ALWAYS LOOKING OUT OF SORTS.ARSHARVIN SHOULD JUST GO!PERIOD
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Mertesacker was fantastic yesterday. Great performance, Vermaelen said on his twitter that Benayoun “saved him” yesterday, he’s conscious that it was his fault. Ramsey also said that he had a bad game and he thanked Benayoun for the 3 points.
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Sorry guys I know Mert can look clumsy at times but it was the Verminators fault with a very poor silly header back which did not really give him a chance so lets give the man a chance.
And Yossi and Rosicky were excellent last night.
As for tonight, I want the chavs to stuff the spuds good and proper!
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mert was actually solid yesterday.. n would like to see more of rosicky and benayoun, even if they come from the bench.. good performances from them most of the time they are on the field..
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All Benayoun doubters are now fans. I’ve always like his quality and hope Wenger buys him off Chelsea for a 1 year contract.
Rosicky is in form and has looked at his best this year. Ramsey needs a rest to reassess his game, especially his finishing which have cost Arsenal nearly 4-5 goals already this year
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subs rarely make a difference at our beloved Arsenal.
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people who say per is rubbish just luk at the entire game again and calculate who made the most clearances and interceptions 4 arsenal
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Walcott was siiiiiiiick!!!!
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Arteta,Mert,keeper and subs,except Arshavin of course,were great,but Gervinho,Ramsey and Frimpong were poor,very poor.
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Mert was solid last night! judge him one year later. how many of gooners said Kos was rubbish last year!
AW trains with younger lads everyday. he knows the best!
Theo has to improve more. otherwise another Ashavin or may not reach the same level of best Arshavin.
Ramsey had a bad night. he needs to be rest for a while. this is how young players improve themselves. he will give us surprise soon!
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kos-verm-mert-miquel
walcott-song-arteta-benayoun-rosicky
van persie
we should try this against lowly wolves..
while gervinho… honestly, i don’t really like the guy…
his gameplay is predictable.. he is only capable of finding corners… while his 1-1 with defenders was poor…
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mertesacker..another cygan im afraid
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Benayoun is a fantastic player, lets keep him for the other season, it will be good, what i wonder is about metersacker, he is not much good as koschienly and vamalen combination, it is good to keep him as a super sub when sagna and santos are back
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why would you guys always blame ramsey i knw he misses alot of chances bt if you think of it he has more assist than arteta but i do not disagree wth the fact that rosicky should be starting in more matches benayoun to
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Per z an exellent defender who needs tym to gel with english soccer. There are notable improvements especialy on setpieces. He needs to dvp a partnership w TV5 and e rest z history. I hav always been a great admirer of rosisky- he can pas e ball just lyk fab
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Arsenal doesn’t need to sign a new defender……How many games has arsenal lost on Martesacker’s watch…..only one (man city
the defence is so solid; koscielny and vermaelen have added something at the back.
Arsenal only need a top class striker and a midfielder….
Please get rid of chamakh…..
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suddenly some of u guys realise hw poor is rambo. shud gve rosicky a chance to start in that role for the next few games n rambo jst rest him for awhile n let the senior show him hw to do it.arteta n rosicky combination is a spark n thy cn cntrol the ball well in the middle.rambo keep missing chances.losing possesion n turning around like a merry go round n dnt knw where to put the ball.hope wenger cn see that cus i do in the past few games.
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Rosicky…………
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