Post Game Arsenal Views
We've done a post game questionnaire on Arsenal-Land forum. Please feel free to add replies in here :thumbs: Dicko posted: Which player had the most influence on the game? Flamini from Arsenal's persective, not just the goal he was brilliant in the first half going forward which isn't his usual role and he cause the Villa defense plenty of problems. In the second half he reverted back to his more defensive role, mainly due to Villa taking control of the game. He carried out this role impeciably aswell. Did Villa deserve at least a draw? Maybe, i felt we dominated the first half and could of scored 3 or 4, there would have been no coming back from that. I felt because their was only 1 goal between the teams though Villa came into the second half with more attacking intent and closed Arsenal players down quickly rather than giving them space like in the first half when they produced their magic. What was that on Flamini's shirt? The name 'Katita' although the significance hasn't yet been revealed. For those who made the trip to Villa Park, have you noticed any improved changes since your last visit? n/a Which Villa player impressed you the most? Ashley Young, so direct he isn't scared to run at defenders and has bags of pace. He doesn't need to do the unnecessary 20 step overs or the trick he is a modern day winger beat his man for pace and put a decent ball in. I expected Agbonlahor to be the danger man but i understand he wasn't 100% so we didn't see the best out of him. I almost forgot of the threat of Young worrying about Agbonlahor. Carew also impressed, he is great outlet and can hold up the ball well. Forming a brilliant partnership with the two yong English boys. How do you see the season progressing now for Arsenal and for Aston Villa? I feel if Arsenal can avoid more injuries to key players and keep up their current form we can win the league, maybe doing well in a cup competition. The least Villa can expect is to re-join the top half of the Premier League come the end of the season. No team will look forward to going to Villa Park, except maybe Man Utd . I expect you'll qualify for the Uefa Cup. How do you feel not having ANY English players in the starting XI? Doesn't concern me as much as the media who seem obsessed by it. Walcott will come good and if the market rates lower we could see the likes of Micah Richards join. But at the moment i wouldn't sacrifice the success we are having for more English players. How much more impressive is Villa Park than the Emirates? Not at all

Albo Posted: Which player had the most influence on the game? Hleb. Even though he went off prematurely (cheers for that!) he was the orchestrator of everything that Arsenal did well in the first half. Villa just couldn't deal with him Did Villa deserve at least a draw? I could see how that would be the opinion but I think we deserved our three points. Away from home against an inform team, missing our key CM and completely dominated the first half from a footballing perspective. the second half we showed we could dig in and it was only our own inability to hold onto the cleared ball which kept the Villa surge going forward. We limited Villa to a couple of shots outside the box, Carews header off the bar and Laursens toe poke wide. Not the way Arsenal usually like things to go but good to know we can do it. What was that on Flamini's shirt? Some suggestions on the forum. have a browse For those who made the trip to Villa Park, have you noticed any improved changes since your last visit? N/A Which Villa player impressed you the most? Agbonlahor. Good on the ball. You could tell he was carrying a knock though. How do you see the season progressing now for Arsenal and for Aston Villa? If we can get through December without dropping more than 4-6 points and we recover well from any setbacks, who knows. the lads have shown they can handle a loss or a tricky fixture. It's a matter of key players staying injury-free, which is a bit of a concern at the moment. Villa, will be tough to take points from at home and have proven they can beat sides like Blackburn. A positive season for you guys and a good buiding block I think you'll agree. How do you feel not having ANY English players in the starting XI? Not bothered. Roch posted this recently. Might clear a few things up http://www.arsenal.vitalfootball.co.uk/%20...%20p?a=502277 How much more impressive is Villa Park than the Emirates? Response not merited

designerx posted: Which player had the most influence on the game? I think despite the majority of Arsenal players having a fairly average second half Eboue had a pretty good game, but i would say Flamini had the most influence on the game, mainly in the first half of course, i was surprised to see him play in more of a Fabregas role rather than his normal defensive midfield position, i thought he done a great job of of playing through the middle and comming forward behind Adebayor, he probably should of got 2 goals out of his 3 chances too. Did Villa deserve at least a draw? Yes and No, i beleive you get what you deserve but it was a good team performace from Villa and if it were another team and i was a nuetral fan i guess i would classify a draw as a fair result. What was that on Flamini's shirt? No idea, i think it was Adebayor busy trying to hug him while he was trying to get his shirt over his head, so like most people i couldnt really see it. For those who made the trip to Villa Park, have you noticed any improved changes since your last visit? N/A Which Villa player impressed you the most? Carew had a decent game but i think Agbonlahor was probably the stand out again. How do you see the season progressing now for Arsenal and for Aston Villa? Well obviously i hope Arsenal can retain top spot in the league, there is a long way to go and it will be tough but i think we can do it, as for Villa i know at the moment your up the sharp end of the table but i think if you were to scrape in to the UEFA cup it would still be a great acheivement given your squad size and, in many areas, lack of experience. How do you feel not having ANY English players in the starting XI? Im fine with it, obviously Arsenal being an English team i would like it see a few English players in there but the performace of the team comes first and unfortunately the English players we do have are not quite good enough... ....yet. How much more impressive is Villa Park than the Emirates? Umm Errr, i have to go, i just spilt my juice. Sorry.

Tubzinho posted: Did Villa deserve at least a draw? Based on the second half performance I would agree that a draw would have been a fair result for both teams. What was that on Flamini's shirt? Katita. I think only FR will know what thats all about. For those who made the trip to Villa Park, have you noticed any improved changes since your last visit? N/A Which Villa player impressed you the most? I would say Agbonlahor since Young, who was also impressive, dived and tried to win a penalty at the expense of Sagna which was not very impressive at all. Both though have great raw attributes and can be moulded into very good Premiership players and England squad players as well. It is a pity that both (Young was when he was at Watford) have been priced out of a move to Arsenal. How do you see the season progressing now for Arsenal and for Aston Villa? One step at a time for us, we just have to focus on each game and keep going. I would be delighted if we were still in title contention by Easter and in one of the cups as well. As for Villa, you should be a top ten side easily, and you are building a decent squad. Not quite European qualification material yet though. How do you feel not having ANY English players in the starting XI? Not that bothered. When you are in the position we are and play the football we do it doesn't matter where players come from. Any of the teams outside the top four would trade their squad for our squad without a doubt including Aston Villa. Anyway, we have a good crop of young English lads, led by Theo Walcott coming through the ranks and I would expect at least 3-4 of them to be in contention for first team places in the next 5 years and a few of the others who don't make it here to be good Premiership players / possible England squad players anyway so this really annoying nationalistic thing that people think bothers us will be cast aside. How much more impressive is Villa Park than the Emirates? *wink*

IG posted: Which player had the most influence on the game? Hleb Did Villa deserve at least a draw? No What was that on Flamini's shirt? Katita For those who made the trip to Villa Park, have you noticed any improved changes since your last visit? Which Villa player impressed you the most? Young How do you see the season progressing now for Arsenal and for Aston Villa? We will win PL CL FA Carling How do you feel not having ANY English players in the starting XI? Dont give a toss. How much more impressive is Villa Park than the Emirates? You decide that. Someone isn't having a good day :o

IG :lmao: Surely someone came to Villa Park?

Matt posted: Which player had the most influence on the game? Flamini, that was easily his best game of the season so far. He has surprised a lot of people this season. In the summer everyone was expecting a partnership of Gilberto and Fabregas in the middle but now Flamini is keeping Gilbs out. Did Villa deserve at least a draw? No. We dominated you in the first half and we should have got a few more goals. In the second half we absorbed your pressure as we tried to kill the game. Overall, I think 2-1 is a fair result. Although had you nicked the draw I don't think anyone would say you were lucky. What was that on Flamini's shirt? His heart? For those who made the trip to Villa Park, have you noticed any improved changes since your last visit? I didnt make the trip this season but I have been there a few times in the past and to be honest every time I visit it does seem to get better. At first I thought the security was poor because I couldnt find any segregation between the fans but the last time I was there we was seperated quite well. Overall Villa Park is a nice place to visit. Which Villa player impressed you the most? John Carew. I thought he was past it but he proved me wrong. He always looked dangerous. How do you see the season progressing now for Arsenal and for Aston Villa? I think we will win the league or at least finish a close 2nd. As for Villa, mid table - Uefa Cup place could be on the cards if you keep up this good run of form. How do you feel not having ANY English players in the starting XI? We have Walcott coming through as well as a few other quality english players so give us a few years and things will be different. As for now, it don't bother me in the sligh-*test*-('"). Use Spurs as a comparison. They have English players in there squad and they are struggling, we have none and we are top of the league. What does that tell you? How much more impressive is Villa Park than the Emirates? Thats funny.

It would be nice if some of you Villa boys and girls gave your opinions on the questions asked so we could see how biased us Gooners really are... ;)

:hehe: Biased is a bit of an understatement to be honest. Villa were worthy of a draw on Saturday and it was there for all to see. The only problem was, we were playing Arsenal, possibly the best team in the league (aside from the Villa of course ;) ) and you were simply magnificent in the first half. And while Matt compares yourself with Tottenham on the English players question, I think thats not a very fair comparison because a few of the English players Spurs have are generally shit.

Some really sensible answers given, I think. I would say we were worthy of a draw but to lose by one goal to a team of Arsenal's standard is certainly no disgrace, especially after the way Arsenal played in the first half. I have a lot of good memories of trips to Arsenal in the past and out of the "big four" currently, I really hope you guys win the league (only whilst its beyond our reach, obviously). And as impressive as the Emirates is, I really miss Highbury. :cry:

I hope in the next couple of years, you'll be seeing the Villa as the sort of place where you'd be lucky to even get a draw out of it ... Have you found the move to a new ground difficult to adapt to? I mean, from your point of view as well as the team?

I was there for the first Premier League game at the Emirates and I have to say, the approach to the stadium and standing outside and looking up at it, it's just awe inspiring. However ... I felt slightly let down when I went inside. Don't get me wrong, its still a very impressive stadium - I just thought the outside was more impressive than the inside. :!: Still, on the positive side, the Lord Nelson pub is slightly nearer to the Emirates than Highbury ... But yeah, that's always my worry. There's continuous talk about having to move stadiums if/when we become a team "of your stature" and it scares me a little quite honestly. I love Villa Park, I love the fact its a traditional old ground, I love the approach to the ground with the church and Aston Hall and now the newly renovated Holte pub. I'd hate to lose all that. :down: