Arsenal prediction and match thread

[Archie's penalty]

Didn't see it as switched off as was so f*king angry...figures!

[Royalee]

After hitting the post twice that was deserved, well done boys.

I wouldn't say deserved - Arsenal have been parked in our half all match and had 70% possession before our goal.

[sucatraps]

No wish to be a pedant, but in fact the possession was rated by BBC match facts at 40% 60% Well done lads big effort, Arse are a bridge too far is all

[Ian Royal]

After hitting the post twice that was deserved, well done boys.

I wouldn't say deserved - Arsenal have been parked in our half all match and had 70% possession before our goal.

We easily deserved something out of that game for our solid defending for 40 minutes, numerous corners and continual plugging away. Arsenal, however, easily deserved to win by two goals.

They are just so much quicker in mind and body than us. We seem 3 yards slower in thought from last season and at least 1 in body

[PremAddict]

Not to dig on Marcus, but Arsenal have a better keeper. Arsenal had 7 shots on goal to our 5.

Also, did anyone REALLY think the scoreline would be anything what it ended-up as? Just glad I didnt' extend my Setanta subscription to catch this match.

[Arch]

Meaningless match, really. Would have liked to have done better, but that would essentially have meant the game going just the same except Arsenal failed to find the net.

I didn't think anyone was really bad. Sonko had a poor game, as did Harper. Hunt was anonymous. I was very disappointed by Fae who lacked movement off the ball (more responsible for the third goal than Oster who'll get the blame) and most of his passes were into trouble.

This team just lacks a soul at the moment.

[semtex1871]

I wouldn't say deserved - Arsenal have been parked in our half all match and had 70% possession before our goal.

and yet another negative comment....you're a bit of a prick really aren't you. mind you you're still at uni so you're still a boy!!

oh, and think of something more original than fcuk off newbie???

[Archie's penalty]

I wouldn't say deserved - Arsenal have been parked in our half all match and had 70% possession before our goal.

and yet another negative comment....you're a bit of a prick really aren't you. mind you you're still at uni so you're still a boy!!

oh, and think of something more original than fcuk off newbie???

Good point Semtex - he is a bit of a prick. Haven't seen a constructive comment ever by the guy.

[Ian Royal]

Brilliant goalkeeping Hahnemann, write a book about that one you useless twat.

Why don't you F off and die you miserable old twat.

Hahnemann, bar two dodgy kicks didn't put much of a foot wrong. Convey did nothing all night, despite playing half the game on the left you retarded moron.

Oster came on and played some nice football. Was at partial fault for one goal, but hey, you'd expect at least one of the chaps stood nearby to make an effort to jog forward onto your ball rather than watch arsenal pick it up and score.

Kits should have started as the forward striker. He looked a cut above most of our team tonight. Fae looked lightweight and disinterested a lot of the time, but there cold be promise. I'd like to see Convey start the next match on the right and swap a lot with Hunt.

A Goal for Shorey may raise his game. Ingimarsson looked better after his time out. Sonko seemed a little off the pace. But then it was Arsenal.

[Greenwich Royal]

Meaningless match, really. Would have liked to have done better, but that would essentially have meant the game going just the same except Arsenal failed to find the net.

I didn't think anyone was really bad. Sonko had a poor game, as did Harper. Hunt was anonymous. I was very disappointed by Fae who lacked movement off the ball (more responsible for the third goal than Oster who'll get the blame) and most of his passes were into trouble.

This team just lacks a soul at the moment.

We don't need him back...

[Ian Royal]

Meaningless match, really. Would have liked to have done better, but that would essentially have meant the game going just the same except Arsenal failed to find the net.

I didn't think anyone was really bad. Sonko had a poor game, as did Harper. Hunt was anonymous. I was very disappointed by Fae who lacked movement off the ball (more responsible for the third goal than Oster who'll get the blame) and most of his passes were into trouble.

This team just lacks a soul at the moment.

Agree. I can forgive Harper, just don't think it was the sort of game he could do much in. Fae just didn't look like he knew what to do. A real shame.

[Royalee]

Brilliant goalkeeping Hahnemann, write a book about that one you useless twat.

Why don't you F off and die you miserable old twat.

Hahnemann, bar two dodgy kicks didn't put much of a foot wrong. Convey did nothing all night, despite playing half the game on the left you retarded moron.

Oster came on and played some nice football. Was at partial fault for one goal, but hey, you'd expect at least one of the chaps stood nearby to make an effort to jog forward onto your ball rather than watch arsenal pick it up and score.

Kits should have started as the forward striker. He looked a cut above most of our team tonight. Fae looked lightweight and disinterested a lot of the time, but there cold be promise. I'd like to see Convey start the next match on the right and swap a lot with Hunt.

A Goal for Shorey may raise his game. Ingimarsson looked better after his time out. Sonko seemed a little off the pace. But then it was Arsenal.

[floyd__streete]

Good tonight: Gunnarsson, Hunt, Kitson. Arsenal. The chant back to Arsenal's "we'll never play you again" of "you f*cking said that last year".

Bad tonight: Harper, Convey, Sonko. The relentless obviousness of it all. The Reading fans who chanted En-ger-land in a baffling display of anti-Arsenal defiance when precisely 2 of our starting line-up tonight were english (3 if you include Murts).

[Arch]

A big "NO" to Convey on the right, by the way.

[Blue and White Toucan]

Isn't Harper English technically as well? That makes 3.

[Hahnemann's Hairdresser]

Good tonight: Gunnarsson, Hunt, Kitson. Arsenal. The chant back to Arsenal's "we'll never play you again" of "you f*cking said that last year".

Bad tonight: Harper, Convey, Sonko. The relentless obviousness of it all. The Reading fans who chanted En-ger-land in a baffling display of anti-Arsenal defiance when precisely 2 of our starting line-up tonight were english (3 if you include Murts).

The 'we'll never play you again' chant really is useless when we've still got to play them at the Emirates.

For what its worth, we will never play like that (however neither will most Premiership teams to be fair) whilst we play like an 'English' team. The one thing that you do learn whilst watching Arsenal is that the foreign style is so technically superior to the English style it's embarrasing.

[RobRoyal]

Just been announced that Fabregas has completed 100 passes tonight. Well done midfield.

Jesus Christ. So Reading lost to Arsenal and you've thrown your toys out the pram. How sad.

[Royalee]

Just been announced that Fabregas has completed 100 passes tonight. Well done midfield.

Jesus Christ. So Reading lost to Arsenal and you've thrown your toys out the pram. How sad.

I wouldn't mind so much if we were beating dross like Fulham and Sunderland, but unfortunately we aren't, so can't afford to take any game lightly.

[holsgrove breaks a leg]

The result was a formality of course with Arsenal playing impressive stuff however some dissapointing things remain after this defeat. I have never seen Reading play in such a negative fashion, in many ways it was a 4-4-2 ( though an odd one at that with kitson a wing back at times!) yet with this formation we did not take the game to them other than the firset few mins and last 10 or so in the second half. I agree with others on here that as the home team we should be in the oppositions faces and try to out muscle but it rarely happened.

Not that being negative is always a bad thing especially against class opposition but we played negativly and badly today. Take Man U, we were negative in our approach but got the tactics right as we man marked the danger men and we ultimately out smarted them. Today we had a blanket of 8-9 men inviting pressure and had players marking zonally which meant we were chasing shadows.

I just feel let down with the approach today as its something we have not been brought up on especaiily at home, in some ways the 4-0 defeat last season we at least looked more dangerous in front of a better performing team then- Arsenal played ok today but didnt have to get out of 2nd gear. Of course the concerning fact reamians the amount of goals we are conceding, you are not going to come away with points if you regularily concede 3-4 which we have been doing. Kitson worked hard as did (pains to say it gunna) but nothing else of note- i have to say i thought fae was shocking he needs to put in some decent performances before he is viewed as another cast off. Our season could well be determined by the pretty woeful other 5-6 teams below us, the next home game v Boro is huge, 3 points is vital when we have tough games against Man C and Liverpool.

I am constantly looking towards Jan for much needed reinforcements and hope by then we are not sucked into the dogfight- we need a few players who can command an instant impact and to challenge the very players Coppell had laid his trust in who are not responding in the right way-no competition (and lack of quality) in the squad is actually beginning to hinder our chances

[Arch]

I am constantly looking towards Jan for much needed reinforcements and hope by then we are not sucked into the dogfight- we need a few players who can command an instant impact and to challenge the very players Coppell had laid his trust in who are not responding in the right way-no competition (and lack of quality) in the squad is actually beginning to hinder our chances

The much needed reinforcements are a double-edged sword. What's really lacking is the instinctive understanding of the last two years - illustrated most clearly by their third goal, where Oster lays off a first time pass that would have had Sidwell or Harper away, but Fae and Bryn just stand and watch it roll to an Arsenal player. Merson says bad pass form Oster, but honestly it was a Reading pass of the last two years with no one instinctively picking up on it.