Starting XI: Szczesny, Debuchy, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Flamini, Alexis, Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil, Welbeck
Subs: Ospina, Chambers, Gibbs, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Podolski
__
A see-saw match at home saw us deprived of 3 points by a late Martin Demichelis header. Two very good goals from Wilshere and Sanchez had given us an equaliser, and then a lead, but they were overshadowed by poor defending for the game’s opener from Sergio Aguero, and Demichelis’s equaliser. In the end, there were as many positives to take from this match as negatives, and it’s quite clear that our transition from a 4-2-3-1 to a 4-1-4-1 is going neither smoothly, nor innocuously.
Pre-Game
The main talking points going into this match were whether Welbeck would start (he did), whether Ozil would play (he did), and whether Flamini would keep his place as midfield anchor (he did).
City were missing Yaya Toure, and having lost Fernando to injury as well, it meant we were treated to the grotesque sight of Frank Lampard once again trotting up and down the pitch. Just when we thought we’d seen the last of him…
First Half
We had an energetic and bright start to the game, pressing well, moving the ball quickly, and with a lot of direct running. This led to a couple of dangerous chances for Sanchez early on after good work from Wilshere, then a half-chance for Welbeck after being teed up by Ozil, and then the first big moment of the match in the 11th minute – a defensive mix-up from City which saw Welbeck nip in behind, and lift the ball perfectly over Joe Hart.
A little too perfectly unfortunately, because the ball bounced back off the post to safety. A good start for our new signing though, and it’s worth noting that neither Giroud or Sanogo (from what we’ve seen so far) have the nous to attempt (nevermind execute) that type of finish. Whatever we saw from Welbeck today augurs well for the future – he’s very quick, works very hard and hassles defenders, can get in behind, and has good technique.
We continued to impress, but then as we’ve seen so often with this Arsenal side (especially this season), we conceded a goal from nothing in the 28th minute.
Despite the fact that we were dominating, and camped in their half, we lost the ball with a stray pass on the left and City were at us in a flash. Navas broke free down the right and crossed for Aguero to poke home at the near post. This was to be a recurring theme as the night went on, with Navas especially finding as much space as he wanted – mostly on the right, but also through the middle on occasion – and using his pace very purposefully.
There were so many questions to be asked about that first goal. Our central midfielders had pushed out wide and were high up the pitch leaving Flamini on his own in the middle; a careless pass gave City possession, and with Navas and Aguero on the run, the counter-attack was sudden and caught us completely off-guard (why this happens, Dennis only knows). The defending and covering wasn’t particularly great – Monreal, Flamini and Koscielny were all culpable to various degrees.
Ramsey in particular was guilty of poor decision making throughout the first hour. He’s a very good player, but his tendency to try the Hollywood thing every time (be it a shot, pass, or dribble) often breaks down attacks, and leaves us exposed in the middle (when he drifts out wide, or too far forward). Perhaps he needs to get back to basics again.
Rather than switch on after conceding the goal, we almost let them score a similar one straight after. In the 31st minute, good work from Navas and Zabaleta on the right created an opening for Silva, but Szczesny saved well with his legs.
The rest of the half ended without incident – there were a range of very hefty challenges from City players throughout the first half, and this seemed to intensify in the last 10 minutes of the half. The targets were Debuchy, Ramsey, and Alexis – who was fouled 8 or 9 times in total. The little Chilean was probably the man of the match, and in an endearingly simplistic approach, had seemingly decided to take the game to City almost single-handedly – spending large parts of the match running up and down the pitch trying dribble through their whole team, and then running back all the way to his own corner flag to help defend.
Second Half
The second half started with Arsenal favourite Samir Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Fucking-Twat taking the field to replace a clearly unfit Lampard.
We regrouped impressively, with Sanchez continuing to look dangerous, and almost creating an early tap-in for Welbeck. Worryingly though, Man City were still having far too much joy on the counter-attack.
The equaliser came in the 63rd minute, with brilliant passing and movement between Wilshere, Welbeck and Ramsey. The Welshman played the ball to Wilshere just inside the box, and our #10 took three sublime touches before lifting the ball over, across, and around Joe Hart at the near post. A wonderful finish.
From that point on, we stayed on top, and after a couple of chances for Debuchy and Welbeck, took the lead through a terrific goal.
Our attacking for large parts of this match, when good, wasn’t necessarily fluid like the Arsenal teams of old, but threatening in a kind of disjointed, enthusiastic, youthful way. We pressed and harried, and after a cross was cleared from the left, and headed back in, Alexis thumped a wonderful shot past Joe Hart’s far post in the 74th minute.
It was a superb display of the Chilean’s ability, and just reward for his effort and endeavour. He’s not necessarily the most efficient or creative player – there were plenty of blind alleys run down, plenty of passes not-spotted/wasted and other frustrating moments, but he does have fantastic pace, strength and skill. The excitement factor alone is going to be a big, big plus over the course of this season.
After a bit more dominance from us, the game then turned on two incidents. First, Kolarov replaced Fernanindho for City, giving them a pacy attacking outlet on the left, in addition to Navas on the right. Then shortly after, Mathieu Debuchy was stretchered off after appearing to seriously injure his ankle, with Calum Chambers coming on.
Almost immediately after, City equalised. Kolarov’s 83rd minute corner from the left was headed in by an unmarked Demichelis, with the Arsenal defence in disarray once more, and Chambers marking nobody.
The narrow-minded, pea-brained, completely unremarkable ex-footballers that continue to live on in commentary boxes love complaining about zonal marking vs. man marking (“Zones don’t score goals, players do” and other such shit), and blissfully ignore the fact that our zonal marking gave us the best defensive record in the league from set pieces last season. The problem isn’t zonal marking, it’s more that we seem to be completely switched off and distracted in important defensive situations – counter-attacks, free-kicks, and corners. We’ll have to hope that this is just early season jitters and/or lethargy.
And from that point on the game turned City’s way completely.
In the 88th minute Kolarov hit the post with a thunderous drive, and soon after it was Edin Dzeko’s turn to strike the woodwork. Dzeko again threatened, forcing Szczesny into a great save, and there was a horrifying moment when Nasri put in the rebound, but he was thankfully offside.
There was time for one last scare in the dying seconds when the ball almost broke to Kompany to following a Silva free kick, but after 96 minutes, it finished Arsenal 2 – 2 Man City.
First Big Game of the Season Deconstruction
Having been on top for large parts of the match, and done well to come from behind and take the lead, and then concede an equaliser in the last 10 minutes, we might feel aggrieved to only be coming away with a draw.
However, having had (arguably) the better chances, and hit the woodwork twice, City might feel exactly the same way.
Defensively, we were worrying – teams are counter-attacking with too much ease, and one hopes that it’s just a case of some players still getting back to full match sharpness rather than a coaching/personnel/formation problem.
Other than that we competed well, showed a great appetite for the game, and in Alexis we have a player who is going to trouble every team we face. We mostly outplayed, and almost beat last season’s winners, and that’s no mean feat.
Ozilwatch / Formationwatch
There is a distinct lack of Ozil mentions in the match report. That’s because there was a distinct lack of Ozil influence in the match. The German started on the left, contributed little, and didn’t really offer much protection to Monreal. Later he switched to the right, contributed little, and didn’t really offer much protection to Debuchy or Chambers. There was a brief period where he came to life… drifting into the centre from the right as City chased an equaliser, but that was short-lived. He’s clearly struggling to fit in to things.
Many coaches have spoken in the past of how traditional number-10s/trequartistas struggle with the pace and intensity of the Premier League when playing in the middle. They aren’t able to find the space and time they need, and if they aren’t goalscorers who can move into advanced positions, then they often end up on the wing, which can be totally hit or miss. Especially since the modern wide player has to be able to double up as a fullback (and we’ve seen Ozil’s impact in that regard for Coleman’s goal at Goodison Park).
Ozil started last season as the central player at the tip of midfield in a 4-2-3-1, but for whatever reason, Arsene has decided to switch to a 4-1-4-1 this year, with either Flamini or Arteta sitting, and Ramsey/Wilshere/Cazorla/Rosicky occupying the two central positions. Arsene’s 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 had evolved with a rotating midfield trio – without a fixed holding player. So the last 3 or 4 seasons have had Wilshere/Song/Arteta/Rosicky/Cesc/Ramsey all playing a variety of roles in the centre of midfield. With Ozil, the trio stopped rotating – Arteta holding on his own, Ramsey playing box-to-box, and Ozil doing whatever Ozil does (good in the first half of the season, not so much in the second).
Perhaps the formation change is to get the best out of Ramsey’s runs into the box, Wilshere’s qualities in an advanced position, or to prepare for the double wing threats of Walcott and Sanchez, no one knows. But given that Ozil’s best position is clearly in the centre, only time will tell if AW has some grand plan for him.
Good game, fair result. Great goals by Alexis and Jack, set piece defending scares the shit out of me every time. It doesn’t look good for Debuchy, does it.
Ozil was shit
David silva plays well on the wing, why cant ozil? 42 million?
At least it’s not a break for Debuchy. Could be worse, but still a big loss considering how well he’s been playing.
A break can often heal much faster and cleaner than torn ligaments in an ankle. My guess it’s going to be three months or so for him which leaves us with 4.5 defenders (.5 for Gibbs as it’s just a matter of time until he is injured again). This has turned into a true crisis for Arsenal at this point. The only positive is it will give Chambers a chance to continue to play and be on the pitch.
Don’t know why this is being voted down. Damage to the ligaments is much more difficult to repair than a fracture. Ruptured ankle ligaments would be 3 months minimum.
And if you don’t see having 5 fit defenders 4 games into a Premier League season (which includes a total of zero back up central defenders) as a crisis….then I don’t know what is then.
Luckily Debuchy will be back just in time for the January transfer window, so he’ll be LANS and we won’t bring anybody in, of course.
It’s being thumbed down because there is one rule here: Say something sweet about Arsenal = thumbs up. Say something critical about Arsenal, however true = thumbs down.
The truth does not live on the internet. That poster is spot on. The Debuchy injury highlights a negligence on the part of the club to bring in a defender in the summer. No matter how many times that idea gets thumbed down, it’s nonetheless true.
I voted up but I think perhaps it’s the alarm bells that turned off a few people. It’s worrying; I agree, but I don’t think that it’s an injury crisis quite yet nor do I think it is a given that it’s only a matter of time before Gibbs gets injured again. I know what his record is, but he has shown that he can play for long periods of the season injury-free as well. Hopefully this will be the case, because a fit Nacho and a fit Gibbs gives us a lot more solidity since we can play the… Read more »
I disagree, I think we were better than City and a win for us would have been the fair result.
But if you look at the table, it’s hard to see us doing anything more than the usual fourth place scrap and if Falcao starts scoring like Costa is, that is going to be one hell of a scrap.
Different Arsenal team but it’s shaping up to be the same story.
Simone’s boys turned Real over at the Bernabau last night. Now there is a man imbued with more Brian Clough in him than any other Manager currently operating and that certainly includes Mourinho, whom he emphatically bested last season.
Simone’s teams do not suffer from inferiority complexes.
when I look at the table I see everyone, more or less, has only played 4 games.
now we start to regret not buying more defensive options ( chambers apart ) . one more injury at the back ( likely ) and we are in deep shit ! if you looked at the starting line up , we had Monreal and Ozil ( dont get me started with him ! ) on the left , against Navas and Zaballeta . a recipe for disaster . and it proved to be . they killed us down that side
Yeah I don’t understand how we didn’t defend that goal. Part of me feels like it’s Flamini’s fault for not sticking with the far post and getting in szcz’s way, but obviously the more glaring problem is that there was literally 2-3 unmarked gigantic man shitters just chilling 4 yards from sczez. I can’t help but feel that’s where Giroud would usually be, and our lack of ability to win aerials against Kompany/Demichelis was very apparent today.
The pace, though, had glimmers of the Arsenal of the past, and it was beautiful.
And Wenger said Fabregas was not brought in because Özil had taken his place. And then he make Özil a Winger. Wenger Logic. And I dont understand why anyone would buy the worlds best number 10 with 36 assists in his last season for Real Madrid, and then try to make him a Winger, a position where he is clearly uncomfortable. He must be regretting his move to Arsenal with promises of having the team built around him his main reason for joining. On the wing we would be better off with Podolski than Özil as he atleast offer some… Read more »
I think it would be fair to say..
We were fucked right in Debuchy.
Not a bad result in the end, a draw against the champions, i’ll take it. But, what a game Jack had, MOTM performance with Alexis second. Who would’ve expected such an improvement on Jack’s performance, almost Ramsey-like.
That attitude lose us the league or even challenging season after season. Do you think any top team would think not a bad result drawing to the champion after being 2/1 up with 8 minutes to go?.
Fourth is NOT a trophy.
Not after being 0-1 down no.
We were at home in case you didn’t notice and these type of games where the championship won or lost. To win the league the bare minimum is to win your game against your rival at home and nick some draw against them away from home.
27 points out of 93 in the last 5 seasons against our rival is NOT good enough. it should be around the 50 points and above of we want to compete unless you happy with fourth and blaming everything else.
I believe Man $ity lost to Chel$ki at home last season, and drew to Sunderland. Try checking your fats before making an arse of yourself next time.
Ha! I meant ‘facts’, unless you are keeping Fatgooner at home, which would explain a lot.
I am talking 5 seasons not one game in a season here or there. City took 6 points of UTED 3 of Pool, 6 of Everton that is 15 out of 24 (Spuds don’t count as they are a middle table team that happened to be in north London even though us and City took 6 points of them). We only took 7 out of 24, those 8 points are the difference as we lost the league by 7 points. And the user names. obviously you are into dirty stuff, why don’t you go all the way dirty and call… Read more »
“To win the league the bare minimum is to win your game against your rival at home”
That was your argument, and I answered it. Now you’re just changing your argument.
Bullocks. It’s a myth that the league is won and lost during the big matches. Remember a few years ago I saw a table towards the end of the season. This was before shitteh started doping with cash. In the “top four league” against Chelsea, Man Utd. and Liverpool we were clearly the best in the top matches, leading by around 3-6 points. We were still way out of the title race and ended up in 4th. Why? Because we didn’t manage to grind out the dirty wins on poor days. That’s what made utd. so good. Not because they… Read more »
ya jack’s well and truly back boys , but sanchez is still MOTM for me.
i thought his post match comments would be” i am not a human being”
really that guys a machine
Then you will take a loss at Dortmund because they are a very good team and the boys were tired from the City game.After that a draw at Villa would be okay with you because we were tired after the Dortmund trip and Villa had beaten Livepool.Why do you make excuses for the team when even Wenger is refusing to do so?
slightly concerned how lost the BFG has looked since coming back. I know today pace/skill of Aguero was a problem but even his reading of situations looked off. Although to be fair the defending by the team was again shocking.
Will Campbell ever get a chance on that left wing?
No, he won’t get a chance. I am not worried about Campell to get a game or not, what worries me not playing Rosicky who he never had as a bad game as Ozil did today even when he was playing with one leg. What does one has to do to be dropped by Mr Wenger? Bring Rosa in and drop Ozil.
I think we should start a bring back Rosicky campaign. I miss that scampery legend
I think we should start a “bring back Rosicky campaign”. I miss that scampery legend…
I hope that the reason he wasn’t on the pitch to day is that he will be playing on Tuesday,
but I would have loved to see him playing today especially in the last few excruciating minutes between 20 – 06, mins before last whistle…..
I love Rosicky. I really do. But playing him over Ozil? No chance.
I disagree, we were top for the first 20 minutes and we scored two classy goals; but if our defence remains as shambolic as it was today we are f*cked and or have serious problems.
Why oh why is AW so blind to the defensive problems we have, or is he? I am also bearing in mind Blogs’ point about how good they were last season…. it worries me.. it is our weak point for sure, but AW and Steve Bould must be aware surely?
seems not.
Poor old Rosicky as well, sign a new deal just to be sitting on the bench.
ROSICKY wasn’t even on the bench today. I’m really getting tired of people making excuses for Ozil. That dude needs to be dropped.
I agree. Currently, Ozil is a passenger. Rosicky may not have the same level of talent, but he’s hardworking, will track back and tackle, and increases our tempo.
Maybe a short sting on the bench will motivate Ozil?
*stint
If Arsenal would stop conceding from set pieces like that, I would be so happy.
I don’t care about conceding from set pieces or not, all teams do and last season we only conceded ONE and won most from home. So our set pieces defending is not bad and our away record show we are not a soft team any more. The problem we don’t have good enough DM to be a top team, not enough cover at the back, playing players who is out of form while the team drops points to regain their confidence and of course a manger that doing the same mistakes season after season and expect different result, blaming an… Read more »
Thanks Clyde 😀
Okay Clyde.
that would mean buying top class defenders
Overall we played much better than previous games, and to be frank it does feel like 2 points dropped than a point gained. I wouldn’t so much put the blame squarely with Mertesacker for Demichelis’ goal, but in all honesty our German contingent looks absolutely knackered. Both Ozil and Mertesackar looks so out of pace. I hope they’re rested against Dortmund, but that means shifting Chambers into the middle, and Bellerin on the right, hardly ideal. And fuck this, watching Chelsea now makes me want to puke, their fans now wet themselves that they play “beautiful” football and all the… Read more »
Ozil anonymous
anonymous and awful
looked like he couldn’t be bothered to put a shift in.
Bit harsh, he didn’t start too well but I thought he grew into the game and looked good in the second half when we were dominating. But he needs to be playing in the centre if you want to see the real Ozil. Wenger has to decide between playing him there or dropping Wilshere and this 4-1-4-1 system. Very hard call to make but it should be Ozil playing in the middle or not playing at all.
An alternative which I’ve been pondering would be a 4-4-2 diamond which Liverpool played last season with: Szczesny Debuchy Per Kos Gibbs Arteta Ramsey Wilshere Ozil Walcott Alexis That’s the only way I can think of to get Ozil in the middle without having to drop Ramsey or Wilshere. I also think Ramsey and Wilshere would play well in this system as they are both good offensively and defensively, and can cover the wings. Arteta would play the Gerrard role well, controlling the game with his passing and closing down the space. While Ozil would be in his element having… Read more »
Alexis and Danny up front is perfect for the diamond because of their fitness and work rate. They never would stop harassing the full backs which means the opposition fullbacks have to sit deeper, bringing our fullbacks into play. Their fitness also means they don’t stop buzzing around, drifting in an out, so the centre backs have to always keep and eye on them, opening up space for the mids if they track them or giving them time on the ball if they don’t. Seems like the perfect system for the players we have. But Wenger always tries to fit… Read more »
Mr Wenger will keep playing him on the left until he finish him with confidence and lose of from then dumb him on the bench just like he did before to one great player and second good player. Remember Arsha and Poldi? History repeating itself!!!!.
His work rate makes Arshavin look like a Trojan warrior.
Ozil tried hard but he just isn’t efficient in the defensive area. He is not a good tackler, he does not have good interceptions… but still he is trying but it doesn’t look that why. And today when he was moved in the middle he showed a lot better performance. But Ramsey’s work rate today was awful. He was always jogging when City had counter attack. For me he was the worst player on the pitch.
I’m surprised Ramsey played considering his injury during the international break. Should have been rested for Cazorla or Ox I still think he played ok though, and got the assist for Wilshere
With both Wilshere and Cazorla ahead of him for the number 10 role, we should really sell him and spend the money on a proper winger. Because Özil will never be a Winger. He is a natural number 10, and one of the best in the world aswell in that role, as anyone that used to follow him at real Madrid would know. But he is not strong enough to be number 10 in the premier league the pundits say. At the same time technical skillfull national teams wipe their ass with a physical English national team. The best teams… Read more »
A very good point against City. However I think we could have won it. Very promising signs of how great we will be this season. I seriously think we under paid for Sanchez considering what Manure paid for their players.
However, I really think Ozil needs to get his game right. Maybe the 60k + fans at the stadium need to sing his name and he will wake up. His work rate needs to improve drastically. There is too much quality in him than currently shown.
His work rate shouldn’t be an issue because he is not meant to have defensive responsibility.
Everyone has defensive responsibilities, even No.10s!
I agree, we need to support Ozil while the rest of the country is slamming him.
bollocks !!!! the guy didn’t want to leave real in the first place , and it shows ! how many lackluster , average , lethargic performances must he play before you realize hes not anywhere near a 42 million investment ?
I also agree, I reckon a version of the DB10 song with “We’ve Got Mesut Ozil” ringing out around the stadium will raise his performances. He is an amazing player who is struggling. We need to support him, slagging him off is just counter-productive.
Thinking the turning point was Ramsey miscuing from that lovely lob over Shitty’s defence from Wilshire. Would of put my house on him putting that away to make it 3 – 1
We looked superb at times and they couldn’t live with us for long periods.
Fernandinho showed what we are lacking, he was a constant thorn in Jack and Aaron side and broke up play countless times.
We scored 2 great goals, shreading shitty to bits in the process and conceded IMHO, two really weak goals. Should’ve, could’ve but didn’t!!!
Arsenal definitely trending upward–this is very exciting. Only took about 70 minutes of football post-transfer window to really drive the “why didn’t we sign another defender” nail right in, huh?
Completely agree with what you’re saying, but please never again describe a football team as “trending upward.”
Now I see why the report was so late, it’s become even more comprehensive. Great stuff.
Yes Bloggs. You should have warned us.
I was F5ing for about two hours and I even sent the wife out to look for you.
Good point or a horrible two points lost there….I don’t know yet but we are still unbeaten LOL
Up The Arsenal
First of all, would having Jack as the CDM and Ozil as the nr 10 not work? Out with Flamini, and in with Cazorla on the left, cause Ozil was dreadful today..
Secondly, its beyond me how Ozil wasn’t substituted with Cazorla around 60 minutes or something..
Over all, fair result, but can’t not be disappointed after such quality goals and being up 2-1!
COYG
Cos Ozil on a bad day can still provide the killer pass.
i can produce a killer pass if i stand around long enough !!!!!
true talk
For my regular Arseblog News monthly payments of £0.00, surely I should expect earlier publication of match reports. Or shouldn’t I?
Sorry, that’s my fault. Blogs was tied up today, so I filled in for him, and it took me a while to get it done!
You’ve been spoiled.
Thanks for the report Sul, enjoyed it, sure it will be smoother next time.
ozil needs to play in the middle, that’s where he will thrive.
Much improved with Welbz leading the line, promising. I love Jack Wilshere.
The report says Dzeko hit the post. It was actually a great one-handed save by Szcz.
Noted, and fixed, thanks.
Alexis….what a goal
I loved Dan Roebuck’s reaction on Arsenal Player: “PICK THAT ONE OUT!!” Fantastic stuff.
Really feel for mesut, the guy is class, and his passes, when he gets them right are always well weighted and precise and he adds a measure of attacking efficiency which we have lacked. It’s a shame he is so desperately out of form, and it is clearly playing on his mind. One thing I do hate is pundits consistently claiming that he hasn’t got the pace or strength to make it in the premier league. That is what sums up why the English national team have struggled so often, because physicality has been placed above genuine skill and technique… Read more »
One of him or Ramsey could sure channel some of last year’s better performances, I can’t be the only one thinking one of them might need to see the bench next match
Ramsey is currently our top scorer and just assisted our equalizer today. Opta also says he has been directly involved in 50% of our goals scored this season. Has he hit the form of last year? Nope. Does he/will he need to improve on his current showings? Yep. But keep in mind we’re playing a new formation and if he’s out of form and still being productive, I’m happy to keep him on the field while he’s still contributing with the intention of him playing his way into the form we know he’s capable of. If we can make Jack… Read more »
“That is what sums up why the English national team have struggled so often, because physicality has been placed above genuine skill and technique and intelligence.”
One million thumbs up mate.
My theory is that he feels like a failure in that he took a ‘step down’ coming from Real to Arsenal. I know the thumbs down will rain down on me after that but let’s be fair, Real is the biggest team in the world.
I’m also getting the impression that everyone’s forgotten that he missed all Germany games because of his ankle injury. I don’t think that he played all that badly today, clearly it was not his best game but he had some decent moments. But I also feel that he just needs a run of games injury free before he can hit his stride. Just because he’s incredibly gifted technically doesn’t mean that he’s not like every other player, in need of some game time and proper fitness work. I get the feeling that a lot of people want to drop him… Read more »
I have one thing to say to the injury gods: FUCK YOU
Shite defending but we played quite well compared to the other games
Well played today some great passing and movement ! Alexis is starting to look more settled n welbeck had a good debut unlucky not to have scored . A as for ozil I don’t think he had a bad game he did some good things n maybe Wenger is playing him on the wing to get used to playing without much space before moving him central ,he did the same with Ramsey and Wilshire ! And it would have been good to see casorla
AW did that to Ramsey when he was struggling to get into the team; and it was meant to be educational. Why do that to an apparently world class player?!
Exactly. Do that with Wilshere and Ramsey aged 18 to give them an education.
You dont fucking do that with a 25 year old you paid £42 Million for, supposedly rated as world’s best number 10!!
We dont have the fucking time.
How many years does Wenger think he has left?
He needs to go for the jugular ASAP!
Built a fantastic stadium and legacy, now go out on a high and fucking win some big boi medals!
Put ur balls on the line for once Wenger
I tend to beleive your education never ends, and given he is in a new league it might help him a littlle…I believe it’s more a tactical thing though to give him more liecense to roam and find spaces, the thing he’s best at.
And, given that we outplayed the champions, it didn’t work too badly.
Today we showed everyone that we can compete with the likes of Citeh. Alexis continues to impress – he works his socks off and has bags of skill. Wilshere showed idiots like Jamie Redknapp what he can do when he gets in his game. Ozil disappointed today but he will come good soon. Hope Debuchy’s injury is not as bad as it first looked.
dude we were at home, with the players we got its no excuse not to have won it.
Its time this team started winning matches.
Being an arsenal fan is like having the greatest sex of your life, and nearing an apocalyptic orgasm, but then your partner pauses and utters, “I’m tired. I think I wanna stop”, leaving you with the worst case of blue balls medical examiners have ever seen.
Ramsey should be benched for cathorla
Ozil, maybe for a game or two, to get his energy back.
Ramsey and Cazorla are differnt types of player.
#findramblingpete
We desperately need a CB… I think even more than a DM which in itself is in critical need of reinforcement.
BFG’s lack of pace severely limits the team tactically. To accommodate his handicap, we just don’t push the defense up to compress space. We get away with it against most of the league but the better teams exploit this flaw regularly.
BFG should be used like Germany did in the WC.
On injury per match, this is insane!
Anyways I won’t take this draw as a good result. Maybe I need some time to cool down and analyze the match correctly, but I think we were the better side and clearly could’ve won.
For those praising Chelsea, yeah they’re very impressive. They’re also very leaky at the back and they’ve only played Burnley, Everton, Leicester (yeah, the team we couldn’t beat) and Swansea. I hope Wenger has a plan for his ex-prodigal son. Then we just have to figure out how to contain that Costa c*nt.
its tough to make the arsenal bench now. Wilshere goal + assist. We were on fire before aguero scored.
Good result considering we played most of the match with 10 men. Ozil was nowhere to be seen. Shocking that he was not replaced at any point. It is starting to get a bit worrying.
In terms of quality of football I thought Arsenal were much better than City and deserved the win. If they’re the ‘best’ team in the league then I’m quietly confident we’ll do well this season.
they are not the ‘best team’ in the league at the moment chelsea are running away with that tittle
It looks like the 4-1-4-1 is designed around Ramsey and Wilshere as the future (and present) of our midfield. And if they both hit form at the same time, it’ll be brilliant and exploit the new pace on the wings. But it sacrifices a classic #10 role, which is problematic when you have Ozil who struggles elsewhere. Not sure the solution, but Ozil needs fitness and confidence.
Jack was brilliant!
I dunno whats up with Ramsey…he needs to find his insane form from last season.
Wheres the player ratings?
Also Ozil will come good.
People have short memories, just over a year ago when at Real he was regarded as perhaps one of the top 5 attacking midfielders in the world. Now he’s spoken of derisively after every game. His form may be poor but the class is permanent.
Have faith like Wenger did in Ramsey, we are lucky to have Ozil.
Remember, when Gareth Bale was ‘unveiled’ at Madrid it was Ozil’s name the crowd were chanting.
He’s still doing some good work, creating space is one of the hardest things to do and he always seems to manage it, even if his ‘proper’ end product isn’t there, I guess you expect more from someone with that ability, I do anyway.
One of the best matches to watch so far this season. A lot of excellent football, and I’m quite satisfied with the way we played.
Also, I like the look of Welbeck up front. He’s a lot more mobile and technical than Sanogo, and clearly offers us more overall. An inch away from a goal today, but that’ll come.
Ramsey stuttering still but hopefully will come into form. We did play some really nice stuff at times, Wilshire and Alexis looked great, just need to sort out the sloppy goals we’re giving away. However, I think my mood about this match is somewhat affected by having had to listen to that chucklefuck Owen for an hour and a half, I’d probably look on the game more favourably if it wasn’t for that.
Still, the table’s not too bad, the chavs aside we’re amongst all our other competitors so we’re not doing too badly by comparison.
But we have to be very careful with Chelsea. We want the title not fourth.
True.
Ozil wide isn’t working. It is there to accomodate playing Jack and Ramsey. Clearly Wenger feels Jack is better for the balance of the team as he offers vertical penetration being able to carry the ball by feet, an ability only offered by the elusive Diaby. Since Ramsey has for most parts been banging them in, he gets a berth. but with Ramsey under par today, thought it would have been wise to switch Ozil in field and had the pacy Ox take the LW spot. Jack can sit deeper with Flamini (or Arteta whom in hind sight we should… Read more »
Ozil….bloody hell. He drives me insane. I think we’ve bought a right lemon. He’s just not got it and maybe this league isn’t for him. If we tried to sell him in January we’d be lucky to get half of what we paid for him. I think he just looked good in a stellar Real Madrid team that plays in a weaker league.
He needs a bit more aggression to his game. I think it will help centrally but his commitment has to be there. Playing the killer assists is one thing but the overall game has to developed. He isn’t the full article either despite his obvious talents and has to work harder on his weaknesses. But given the talent he has, its hard not to keep him on as it just takes that one moment. Ramsey had a similar ineffective game today. It happens. One of them should have been pulled off late on in lieu of a bit more legs… Read more »
Err Ramsey assisted Wilshere’s goal?
He can do (much) better overall thats for sure but continues to contribute to results. (Conducts the game at the Community Shield and scores as well, scores the winner against Palace, scores the comeback at Everton, assists the equalizer against City). Was also playing with a knock from that nasty Andorra pitch.
Meanwhile Liverpool bought themselves a real gem in Balotelli clearly.:D
Surprisingly quiet from the pundits about Mario. Not a squeak.
It would after all upset their world view that Brendan Rodgers is a Genius and Liverpool have bought well this summer (like Spurs…)
😉
The best thing about Wilshere’s goal was that it made Clichy look like Robbie Savage trying to do Quantum Physics. For that alone he gets my man of the match.
And great write-up Sul 😀
So very impressed with Wilshere and Sanchez, immense performances.
I have defended Özil since he came to Arsenal but now his poor performances have gone on too long. He was dreadful today. No passion, poor workrate, hardly any creativity and passing was off when it mattered.
Flamini was all over the place- dreadful defending that ultimately allowed the first goal to go in.
It was a shame because I thought Özil and Flamini let down the rest of the team today, who all in all put in a great game and played solidly. Overall promising performance.
Thought Ramey was worse than Ozil, if I’m honest. Ozil was creating space and opportunit4esi with his passikng and movement whereas Rambo was just about managing to keep up but not much more, don’t think either of them were truly awful, mind.
I swear Flamini was decent last season, but he seems so stale and static this season.
Jack put his hand up like ‘am a gooner, COYG’ and so did Alexis. good game for Danny Boy and Matbuchy hoping its nothing to serious. Nacho usually gets the stick after big games like this one but lets cut him some slack he was fairly good… Ozil was outofit! the game was screaming Santi nd Rosa in place of Ozil nd Ramsey. Good game though lets build on the fluidity and will come good, lezs do the job in Dortmund and at Villa. the BPL s back n Up The Gunners…
MOTM was Alexis in my opinion. He was a monster out there defensively and offensively. How many times did he get chopped down by poor tackles or dragged down by his shirt? City knew if they didn’t take him down he was gone. (ref was shit. There was only one team playing by the rules out there).
Watching Alexis score that goal after all the abuse city was giving him made me jump outta my chair cheering.
Wish we would of got all the points today but hopefully the coach opens his eyes to the holes we have.
Watching Alexis play just makes me very happy. All the effort is so positive, and, any time he makes an errant pass, or gets the ball taken away, he’s immediately streaking down the field to try and make up for it – and that volley was so nice.
ALEXIS IS A FUCKIN BEAST !!!!
Wilshere was immense and practically running the show. This was the Wilshere we knew and I hope his career will kick start from here. No excuse for Ozil today, he was pissed poor. Every aspect of his game was poor, including his most valuable element- passing. I sincerely hope he gets dropped for the next game and start building up his fitness. Cause there is no way he is physically fit enough at the moment, he used to draw defenders away and creating space but nowadays I realised opponents are getting on top of him by the out-muscling him whenever… Read more »
Wilshere started off well, then was losing the ball easily and running into players till the goal. That galvanized him.
As for ozil..had some nice touches in the first 20 minutes, but if wenger is going to play him on wings; at least play him on the right. He’s getting undeserved stick for playing in a position he isn’t comfortable with.
Great game for the neutrals, unfortunately I am a Gooner! Nice debut from Welbeck, who was more than a little unlucky not to break his duck with that magnificent chip. Fabulous spirit shown to take the lead after disappointment of coming playing so well early without anything to show for it. Perhaps most encouraging, the relentless motor of Alexis and a true MOTM performance from Jack. Both of our goals wonderful and well earned, both of City’s the result of defensive lapses. Why oh why do we seem to shut off so regularly? Would Gibbo have made a difference combating… Read more »
Cazorla should have came on because Ozil was in hiding
Wilshere stepped it up and Sanchez’s goal was a beauty.
decent game. we conceded goals in the lousiest way and scored them in a classy way. flamini was culpable for the first goal more than anyone else. poor challenge/lunge for the ball considering there were only 2 defenders behind and just aguero up top at that point. set piece goal was after a break in play and that suited man city better than us. we were dominating before debuchy got injured. that to me was a double blow. points dropped and a solid player injured. 🙁
Özil was really good today, fans claiming otherwise don’t really know much about football.
I thought I willed that almost goal from Welbeck in off the post instead of out :/