Trust me, I know these things.

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Man up, stand in line.

Bad day for Rooney. First he gets sat down in favor of RVP then after coming on as a sub he suffers a nasty gash on his leg that will keep him out of action for the next four weeks.

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You are absolutely entitled to state your opinion whenever you wish, and I am absolutely entitled to point out the stupidity of that opinion with the same frequency.

Bet you Swansea fans are gutted now that Rodgers is at Liverpool.

wait....

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Well that's 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back.

Thanks... Arsenal & Stoke.

Well, I guess the only thing I can say about today is, better start than last year. I think I've figured out the main reason Arsenal is struggling to score, it's because they try to be fancy with their attempts, case in point Giroud's attempted scissor kick when he really didn't need to do that. They need to just straight up fire it.

Liverpool grew into that half. Sterling doesn't look out of place at this level.

By the way... spoke to a manager yesterday and apparently the Swansea players wanted Laudrup out almost as soon as he arrived. Didn't click at all... a few protests within the squad etc. Now have a 100% record, scored eight goals and conceded none. I'm working on their next game on Tuesday.

Sterling looked quality. Joe Allen looks the business. Borini will get better the more time he and Suarez spend together. Lucas doesn't fit in Rodgers' system.

Really should have had all three points today.

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Arsenal aren't scoring because they don't have RVP. We said it several times last year, he WAS Arsenal's goals, with few exceptions.

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LFC scored 4 goals and only got 1 point today. Encouraging, but frustrating.

Arsenal couldn't score today against 11 goalposts. Maybe they should sub in their bank account, I hear it's very impressive.

You're really gonna use that shit ass excuse? Come on dude, I thought you had more common sense than that. Last year, Arsenal didn't score in their first 2 games, and lost the 2nd game. Funny thing about this, for a team that hasn't scored yet, they're ahead of Spurs and Liverpool, who have scored, in the standings. Liverpool and Spurs should have won this, and Liverpool embarrassed themselves last week when they shouldn't have. Arsenal's defense actually made a difference today against Stoke, and Arsenal always have trouble with Stoke especially at the Britannia.

look no shame in taking a point out of the Britannia, but I think what peaches is saying (and if so I agree) is that the loss of RvP will have an immense impact on Arsenal's scoring abilities. You cant deny it right now. Its why United bought him. He is world (world) class as he showed yesterday.

Arsenal will get on track but RvP really bailed them out of some games last season. Someone will have to step up... someone will.

As for Liverpool, what do you say? Rodgers new system both helped and hurt again today. Little bit too often our back line got stuck in trying to build out. Skrtel doesnt gift that last year because he never would have been asked to play that way.

2 points lost but I think confidence gained. Sterling was a revelation, and Joe Allen very surprising (as was Shelvey to be fair)

Gate, it's not an excuse. Losing RVP lost your team 25-30 goals in all comps. Someone needs to step up and fill that role, and so far no-one has. Giroud looks a decent signing, as does Cazorla, but Podolski is just not very good.

Anyway, Si, I agree. The system brought plenty of chances and created the set-pieces, but the defense is suffering as a result. Joe Allen looked great, as did Shelvey. I don't think Lucas fits, so I see Sahin taking the midfield role next to Gerrard and Allen, with Assaidi coming in to spell Sterling occasionally. Sterling looks every bit as good as we thought he could be. His pace is electric. Once Suarez learns to look up and find Borini/Sterling, we'll start scoring plenty. Disappointed to see Suarez still running his mouth too much. Yes, the ref was being fairly easy on some of those tackles from Man City's backline, but you need to shut up and keep playing. Hopefully he learns sooner rather than later.

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Liverpool were better than I expected today. I thought Suarez was absolutely rubbish for the most part... then he bangs out that world class free-kick. Still lacking a couple of truly world class players in key areas for me but that was more encouraging today for Liverpool than I was anticipating.

Arsenal just looked devoid of ideas. The usual pretty passing at times but they'd get to the edge of the box and... nothing. No inspiration. Nobody seemingly willing to have a shot. Only when Walcott and Oxlaide-Chamberlain came on was there any threat to Stoke... and that's because they were more direct and took people on. Podolski and Gervinho were just on the periphery throughout. Dip your toe in, lads. I think Giroud will come good and it's not a direct replacement for RVP that is required... more it's an attack minded player who can play in front of Cazorla/Arteta and provide a cutting edge plus get 15 or so goals.

Giroud looks like he COULD become that player, Rob, but there are never any guarantees in this game.

I agree about Suarez for the most part. That free kick was world class, though, and he still causes headaches for defenses. Borini's putting himself in great positions, and I think goals will come out of that. Defense really needs to figure it out, though, as at least 4 of the 5 goals we've shipped have come in the form of defensive lapses (I'm including penalties conceded here).

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2 games. 0 goals. Arsenal need a goal scorer...only one I see available (who is up to the talent of the club) is Dempsey.


They need to sign Dempsey. and they needed to do it two weeks ago.

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Man up, stand in line.

I'm using common sense, it's not an excuse, it's not a reason. Hell it's only two games, we can't be jumping to conclusions like 95% of the world. There's still 5 days left and Wenger has stated they are still looking at possible signings, I do get the feeling they are after Dempsey but they're surprisingly quiet about it if they are.

If Arsenal do go for Deuce then it's a fight with Liverpool, who Fulham are furious with apparently, but I do believe Arsenal would have the advantage as they can offer immediate play in the Champions League, playing time is another matter(Liverpool still have to figure out what to do with Carroll and Arsenal have Giroud and Podolski).

The Sun is reporting Wayne Rooney will miss up to 2 months of action.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sp ... games.html

Well, at last it's over. Spurs have agreed to sell Luka Modric to Real Madrid for upwards of £33 million. We've also agreed some sort of 'partnership' with Real Madrid, which I guess means that Gareth Bale will probably be playing at the Bernabeu next season, but could also result in Spurs getting more players like van der Vaart who are surplus to requirements in Madrid.

Fingers crossed that we can now find a good midfielder sometime in the next 4 days. I really want Dembele. Moutinho would be nice too. I don't want to see much more of Livermore or Jenas on the pitch while the game is still in the balance.

Former Arsenal player Ian Wright has suggested Arsenal make a bid for rivals Spurs player Jermain Defoe, what do you think Hawkspur? Is he crazy or is it a possibility?