There’s no beating around the bush, we were poor, and they were quite good, but it still feels like we threw it away a little bit – especially for the second goal.
I’m not sure I subscribe to this. He’s a good keeper, solid in the corners and has good command of his box, but I don’t think the saves he made today are beyond Scz. Kane’s effort in the first half was probably the best of his saves, and Scz has good ability over shots from distance. Also if we want to be frank about it – as Gunnerblog mentioned throughout the game – Ospina has a bad habit of putting his saves in bad places. The first goal was testament to that, and it happened a few times today. He’s… Read more »
Point taken, but how many saves has Ospina had to make in the past 4/5 matches (excluding today)? I can’t recall any other than Weimann’s causing issue, and today, under real pressure, he seemed to show a weakness to his game.
I don’t think I have to justify Scz’s credentials here. He won the golden glove behind ostensibly the same back four but he’s not without fault. We know he’s capable of it, but he’s had a poor season – on and off the field – so far.
Just made a similar comment on the article about Wenger’s comments. His performance has been totally overplayed. People love to run with narratives. Here’s another two for today: 1. Coquelin has been really good recently so he did well. (Personally I thought his passing was nervous-looking and he looked like getting caught on the ball when he got it. He also looked tentative in his defending whereas usually he defends more aggressively.) 2. Ramsey is shit, was awful today and should be sold. (He wasn’t great today, but he at least tried to maintain possession when needed, which Cazorla and… Read more »
If you cant hold on to the ball then deflecting it out to the side away from goal is the right thing to do. He did well to save the initial attempt I thought but was let down by his defence who did not pick up kane lurking by the back post even though he is their main danger man at the moment on his current form, and the defenders ought to have kept tabs on him and dont give him free oppurtunities like that. Second goal aswell was to easy for him and he was gifted a free header… Read more »
Unfortunately Rambling Pete isn’t here to take your call right now, but if you’d like to leave a message with your name, telephone number, work telephone number, fax number, email address, address, height, weight, religion, ethnicity, car registration, a list of hobbies, shoe size, any allergies or dietary requirements, mother’s maiden name, mother’s first name, dental records, a description of your week so far, blood type, favourite Beatles song, full employment history and a quote from popular culture you feel aptly defines your personality, even if its really obscure or just plain stupid, he’ll contact you once he’s found his… Read more »
He did look nervous and flappy, but the the point I have underlined yet again elsewhere on the blog is the team to a man looked nervous and flappy the entire game.
Its a pattern and its self-evident. Its always a collective fail in such games, not one or two having an off day.
He made some fine saves (though I think Szczeny would have many of them as well, especially with his reach), but looked a bit shaken at times with his distribution and some of the shots. Certainly didn’t help that we gave up so many corner kicks and free kicks. The lost certainly cannot be blamed on Ospina and he did keep us in it, but didn’t look nearly as confident as he had in previous matches.
In what world does Ozil deserve a 6?
I like him and all, but he barely contributed today. (Apart from the goal; nice finish)
And Ospina made some good saves, but he parried the ball all over the place!
No – Ozil didn’t have a good game, I agree but what do you expect when the whole team had the ball for around 20% of the whole game (and that too, mostly firefighting, clearing and mostly in our half)?
BTW, There was someone who actually called Ramsey ‘world class” box-to-box MF while I regularly called him as one lacking basics and fit at most on the bench.. Well, what do you think now? Put just a bit of press & pressure on him and you will see him brutally exposed (sadly, most of the team were y’day)
In my opinion he was man of the match for us. But his post save ball placement (jokes aside) is not ideal, I also get the impression he parries the ball at times when he might be able to keep it.
Side note, is it me or the BFG looks like he needs a breather? He didn’t have a particularly bad game (compared to the rest) but all those hoofed balls to anywhere seem may be a sign of tiredness.
Ozil needs to practice kicking people, he seriously never looks convincing in the physical battles.
Mmm I dunno. He certainly likes a bit of embellishment. His saves looked fairly spectacular today but if he dives unnecessarily and parries a ball into an attacker’s feet we’re looking at a different story—and that almost happened a couple of times today. Still, one of the better performers.
Yeah, this has me bothered too. I think he still should be the #1, but he doesn’t fill me with much more confidence than Sczc does.
Nickgooner
9 years ago
The saddest thing of all is having to listen to Arsenal supporters going into total meltdown after heaping so much praise on our recent improvements. We just wasn’t as up for it as much and got punished being under so much pressure for long spells of the game. Disappointed but still a long way to go this season. Hopefully we can make up for things on Tuesday night with a returning Sanchez hatrick!
Well said. Let’s not get top carried away, got more than enough for a good run in Europe, hopefully an fa cup win and a top four place. They were good, we were shit, it happens. Still think walcott should’ve started over welbeck but arsene clearly knows more than me, well be fine. Onwards and upwards.
if we “just wasn’t up for it” against FUCKING sp*rs – isn’t that a huge issue? Not up for it against Hull? Fine. But if these players can’t get up for it in a Derby against those fucks then sell them all right now and get some damned players who care to represent the crest.
Its also a sad thing to see a resigned attitude that this type of defeat will happen with some regularity.
It was the Derby. Now the attitude has to be ‘nothing to see here, just move on please’?
Yes, perhaps it does.
Leo
9 years ago
How can you rate Ospina so poorly? Would have been easily 5 if it weren’t for him. He can’t do anything on the first goal, the 2nd one his position might be questionnable but he made so many world class saves that he deserves at least a big 7. You can be sure that if Szczesny was in the goal we would have seen another result like last year against Liverpool or Chelsea.
You are deluded if you think all of those saves are routine for EPL goalkeepers. Some were routine, some were great but there were at least a couple that were world-class. It remains to be seen if he can pull them off consistently
I can only think of one actual good save that he made. I can think of plenty of times he pushed the ball back into danger when he should have tipped it round for a corner and plenty more times when he put it out for a corner when he could have caught it. Not to mention his terrible kicking. So many straight out for a throw about 35 yards up the touchline.
Charles
9 years ago
If a 5 is average these grades are far too high. Also, I don’t think Ospina was at fault for either goal, but I would be very curious what people thought about him diving for every shot. Could’ve dealt with some stuff much more cleanly if he wasn’t playing for the cameras. That Mason shot in the first half he dove for would’ve hit him in the elbow if he’d stuck out his arm.
Both “dived” and “dove” are standard usage and acceptable, in case anyone cares about the claim beyond the ethnocentrism.
GoonieGooGoo
9 years ago
Surprised at how much their physical game unsettled us – yes Atkinson was garbage but I thought we’d come a bit further than that with teams who try to bully us. Think our defensive game plan gave them the initiative, sadly. 🙁
Didn’t think it was necessarily physical but more high intensity (although how Mason didn’t get a yellow until about 15 minutes to go I don’t know).
I think the execution and intensity of Arsenal’s play was the problem today, rather than bad tactics.
It must be said that motivation is also part of the manager’s job, so Arsene should shoulder some of the blame, but it must be difficult to get the balance between defensive caution and attacking intent right (it worked out ok against Man City, but maybe more of a ‘derby’ approach would have been better today?).
Unfortunately we saw what happens as soon as Arsenal steps up their physical play with some referees. Instant yellows for every foul. It was quite disturbing to see that after Mason’s flying scissor on Ozil, and about 432 sliding tackles from behind by them.
I give Aaron +.5 recovery point for the late shoulder block to shut down their counter right in front of their bench.
spinner
9 years ago
Bad performance by the team collectively, which is reflected in the player scores.
These cunts won’t finish above us though, we could be up to 3rd by Tuesday.
Henry! Chance!! Goal!!!
9 years ago
Bad performance all around. This was on the players for putting in a disjointed performance all over the park. F grade for the players. F grade for the manager for showing Sp*rs too much respect. They are not as good as our approach suggested. I understand that approach against City or Chelsea, but Sp*rs? Nope
+ 1 mate! Too much respect for Sp*rs. I guess its time to unleash Gabriel too. He can pick his spot when both our defenders are plating Sh*t
Man Like Ozil
9 years ago
I know it’s a bit picky to focus on the particulars of the match but I lost count of the amount of times they kicked it upfield (to our defence) and we failed to retain it – too many times today Per’s first touch let him down. They pressed so well that they really capitalized on that.
Lei
9 years ago
This is now starting to scare the hell out of me! Before the Stoke away game, I dreamed we were losing 3-0 at half time (which happened). Then, before the home game vs that same team, I had a dream where we won it 6-0 (it ended up 3-0 but we still won). At the start of this week I dreamed (nightmare actually) we lost 2-1 in the Sp*rs away game, and the next day I had another dream in which the supporters were going back home with sad faces after we’d lost that same game. Then yesterday, I had… Read more »
Özil scored the goal (and has been on fire since back from injury), and Santi is in the form of his life and has been our best player not named Sanchez this season. I understand the point, and Rosicky has been amazing, but it’s not a simple decision. I think both Santi and Ö were ghosts today. Partially because we couldn’t make a simple outlet pass for shit.
For Rosicky to start, it would require Ramsey to be on bench. That just isn’t possible in Wenger’s book. Anyone who saw the weekend game and knows about football would see that Ramsey is the team’s weakness. Needs 2-3 touches always to know what’s going on around him,which slows the rhythm of our play. But what does Wenger do? He gives him 90 minutes. Rosicky has no hope of starting and Arsenal will struggle to finish in top 4 unless we get a lucky break like a few months ago, where Wilshere and Ramsey got injured.
Agreed and it is baffling. Kept on the bench through the start of the season, I thought one and all, including Wenger himself, were waxing lyrical about Rosicky.
Even if not starting why the hell was he not bought on to play the entire second half??
73N00G
9 years ago
One of the shittiest displays this season. For a week I really thought we took a huge 180 turn in the opposite direction but really we’re a fucking roller-coaster.
We are not on a roller coaster, just not up to it when we meet the big teams, not that spuds are a big team, but u know what I mean… I know, I know, Man City you say, but The mighty Hull almost done them today and they had a stronger team out
After calming down a bit, I suppose it was just meant to be their day, they played well and everything went right for them! But when is it ever our day, that game against city was the only game in years were everything went our way!! Chelsea win every week and also get that bit of luck even if they play like utter dogshit!! What must we do for things to go our way??!!
And Arsenal take the sun away again…Just when things settle and we look like we are making significant strides something like this happens. Very disappointed with the team today…Every one tried hard etc, but we were just poor…They just couldn’t get it going today. Santi and Ramsey where especially poor today. Missed the ball carrying play of Sanchez and Ox…While Theo offers pace, he does fuck all with it except his darting runs in off the line…Pissed me off with his small cameo..Failed to control one of our only good pieces of play in the 2nd half and then just… Read more »
Cygan's Magical Left Foot
9 years ago
We could not even get the player up for a fight in the NLD. Most of the players were playing as if it was 5 aside kick about. This lose hurt more than the game against that pup team at Stoke. Players like Ramsey will always know the manager will find excuse for them and play them the next game, why fight for your place when you guaranteed to start the next game no matter what?
Fourth place trophy fight starting AGAIN.
DialSquareGoon
9 years ago
It sucks, but in derbies, these things happen. Nothing to get worked up about: We didnt cover ourselves in glory but we didnt become shit overnight. We’ll have a strong response vs. Leicester and bounce back.
You’re right, in the long run this makes no difference Spuds have to go to Anfield next while we have Leicester.
We just have to hope the Mancs drop points this weekend.
Gooner Inside the Beltway
9 years ago
0/10 – game plan that treats Spuds as if they are Real Madrid -10/10 – feeding the Harry Fuc#*ng Kane hype machine Welbeck was very rusty the entire first half, but grew into the game and was the wrong man to substitute. Giroud reverted to the flopping, prancing, moaning player that we saw too much of before his injury. Would have subbed Akpom on for him early in second half to give Spuds another big, pacey danger to worry about. And even though it was a brief cameo, have to say that Theo looks a shell of himself, is in… Read more »
Calling Giroud a flopping ,prancing and moaning player is pathetic. Just see the number of times did won the long balls we played to him it was as if we had become stoke city version 2.0. That too he did that so isolated always against 2 or 3 opposition players. Giving Per and nacho the same rating is evident bias. The 1st goal goes to show our set piece frailties remain how can you leave their striker whose right now the most in form one in the division unmarked. Per is the captain and no time during the match did… Read more »
Wenger's Bottle
9 years ago
Koscielny really should have done better for the second goal, he didn’t even jump with that overrated Arsenal reject.
Goonerratic
9 years ago
I believe if Arsene had started Rosicky it might have been a different story altogether as the margins are very fine… Team’s passing level became much less shit when he came on. Makes the right decisions on the ball – which is crucial to retaining possession in midfield area. Ramsey needs to be dropped for a couple of games now. Today we wouldn’t have had to defend for our lives like that if Cazorla and Ramsey could focus on not losing the ball cheaply. Also, changes should have come early on.. warning signs were there to see in the first… Read more »
Tomas moved quicker. Everyone dallied in the middle of the pitch and got caught. That was their plan. Play narrow, smother, and kick. And it worked. TR immediately thought and moved quicker to get space and push upfield.
I initially questioned Cazorla coming off, but caught myself that i was only doing so because of previous performances. The change was instant.
MT
9 years ago
I think that Spuds won today because they isolated Giroud. I think he is the most important player in Arsenal built up play and today he always had 2 or 3 players behind his back. But Ramsey and Cazorla were not good enough, they didn’t take the ball forward as they should. And for today I fault Wenger only for making substitutions that late. And because of time wasting early in the game. But mixed feeling about Ospina today. He made some good saves but they looked tough to save because of his height. I believe some of them would… Read more »
NepaliGooner
9 years ago
It’s Not The End Of The World…Let’s Take This As A Lesson And Bounce Back Against Leicester..I Am Sure Spurs Will Drop Alot Of Points In Future As Usual And We Know That LONDON IS RED..COYG..!!!
MrGooner
9 years ago
A repost of what i had said earlier: Okay lets anayse what the hell just happened. We went to play our rivals in our good form while they were in their good form. However as we saw today Santi and Rambo and even Le Coq were off it today. Ozil did play well out there on the left keeping possesion/tracking back/scoring the goal. I also thought Giroud was pretty damn good considering the service he recieved. Welbeck was a good choice and his contribution showed that. I quite liked the fact that he hated those cunts as much as me.… Read more »
And on Giroud -I’m certain that assist was intentional. Watch it again, he opens up his body and cushions it to Ozil.
CdnGunner
9 years ago
Why is Ramsey starting every game? It must be based on last year’s performance. When teams try to pressure us in midfield, Rosicky’s speed and acceleration would help us break the pressure and keep hold of the ball.
Timbo
9 years ago
Coquelin played rather well today, intercepted and cleared the ball. Also fed it to SC or AR but they could not produced. Strange but not unexpected to see Arseblog get at him when it sees the slightest chance to do so.
I thought he didn’t play that badly either, but I don’t think it’s necessary to take a dig at blogs for a different perspective, especially since it’s pretty obvious a lot of others didn’t see it the same way. Coquelin had no options in front of him to move the ball on, and scrambled his arse off constantly closing down and chasing. we had nobody getting space and moving quickly enough to keep the ball until Rosicky came on because they all got closed down quickly and didn’t up the sense of urgency. That really is the story of the… Read more »
Danny
9 years ago
The way some of arsenal fans see football is some how strange and surprise. If not Ospina maybe the scoreline could have been different.Ramsey has 10% accurate pass and nobody talks about him. I didn’t get this point been harsh on Ospina.
Uba
9 years ago
They all had a stinker, but how bad is RAMSEY. The guy cannot even as much as make a five yard pass!
That he is on £100k a week is a crime.
I would sooner have Dembele playing for us.
You should switch to sp*rsblog if you truly believe that
billp79
9 years ago
with a defensive set up you would expect better defense further up the pitch. I though Ramsey has been a bit anonymous this year…this game was a good example. you could see Tot’s were directed not to let any Arsenal player turn up the field with the ball…that led us to our own downfall as our possession in tight spaces (one/ two’s) were not clicking. We didn’t stretch the field too well and our lack of possession prevented us from spreading the ball to wider areas…kudos to the tots for the high pressure. Ossy has to work on his distribution…he… Read more »
David Seaman's Ponytail
9 years ago
I just think it was summed up with the description of Ramsey’s performance. ‘The harder he tried the worse it got’. Ospina was bound to have a flappy game but I’d still have him there over Wojo as he seems calmer. Early doors though. Personally, as much a talent as Ramsey is, I would start Rosicky over Ramsey any day. The determination,desire and passion he shows far outweighs Aaron’s. I like Ramsey but he doesn’t work enough for a midfielder, going back. He still has memories of that blinding season he had. I totally get it but it isn’t needed… Read more »
This isn’t FIFA 2015 and you can’t just plug players in wherever you want. rosicky and ramsey don’t play the same positions. You would replace Ramsey with jack, Arteta or Flamini. Jack and Arteta are injured, of course, leaving Flamini.
dan
9 years ago
I think the player we missed the most today was the OX, he brings energy to the team which we needed so much today but lacked, he is like a young tomas hope he continues developing.
Ex-Priest Tobin
9 years ago
I’ve copped some flak for being too negative on here, but we were undeniably pathetic today. We won’t get top four this season, and Alexis will be out the door. I’ve been saying it all along, and soon I will be proved cortect.
Mark
9 years ago
Wenger certainly setup defensively like we did against City, but it was a bit too defensive. If he was looking to counter attack from it it’s tough without three of our fastest players out there (though Welbeck did show great speed on the goal). It was a match taylor made for Rosicky’s technical skill and composure. Not saying that we didn’t try hard, but Tottenham was so much more energetic than we were all over the pitch, very much like matches at Liverpool last year for teams. They are certainly going to be at a team to challenge us for… Read more »
loose_cannon
9 years ago
Think today was a bit of a reality check. We probably read too much into the man city game so we tried to soak up the pressure. But we really should have got at them. We weren’t nearly positive enough, especially at 1-1 and that let Rose and Walker come forward without fear of the counter attack. At times it felt we were stuck in two minds and thats why we lost. Never want to lose a derby but its not a complete disaster and hopefully we’ll learn from this too.
yeah- I think wenger missed a proper sub (Flamini or Gabriel for Ramsey) prior to them equalizing…he’d still offensive options after that….he didn’t protect the lead…
SDB
9 years ago
i don’t think we can play the same style we played away at city without ox and alexis on the wings. today we didn’t win the ball enough in midfield to counter attack. when we did win the ball we lost possession quickly. not sure what’s wrong with ramsey, especially seeing as he’s been given every chance to get into some form. ros might’ve been the better choice today from the start. we missed alexis today and on top of that it was the day santi seems to have run out of steam. loved ozil’s goal. 3 goals in 3… Read more »
they denied santi and ramsey the ball by pressurizing the defense..simples
Thierry Walcott
9 years ago
Disappointing midfield performance, disappointing result especially against the scum. The shape was suspect definitely after the recent games. Otherwise I expect us to come back stronger in the upcoming games. Let’s all get back behind the lads. COYG!!!
BoomBoom
9 years ago
Coq is GREAT against weak sides. Make a Pass longer than 3 meters please. Wellbeck is GARBAGE. Ozil is overrated. Why does Nacho start over Gibbs?!?!
Bit harsh. Coquelin has played well against good teams before (a certain game against Man City for example). I thought he was below his best today but that stemmed from a general lack of intensity from the team as a whole. Welbeck is better than average and he was quiet going forward on the whole, but most of what we did going forward came from him, and he gives much more protection to his fullback than Walcott (too much time for the cross on their 2nd goal), so I can understand why he started. What we needed was Alexis or… Read more »
Probably, but I do think Coquelin has been better than Flamini these last few games.
Uba
9 years ago
Someone pointed out that the approach was wrong. Completely agree. The fact that we sat back against City and got a result didn’t mean we go the same way to a team, that, man for man we more than matched. Having chosen the wrong approach, Arsene also picked the wrong personnel to interprete his game plan. We were missing pace in the injured duo of Ox and Alexis yet Wenger left Theo and Rosicky on the bench. There was no outlet to relieve the pressure the few times we saw the ball. It should have been Welbeck through the middle,… Read more »
Conchetumadre
9 years ago
Oh Alexis, I really missed u today.
Abhi
9 years ago
If Atkinson was septic balls, then our performance today was Fournier’s Gangrene!
santori
9 years ago
Did not pressure them high up the pitch enough.
When you allow your defense to come under persistent duress, this is what can happen.
If Coquelin was Flamini, he would be blame for the loss.
That said, it was our collective game that was lacking. Going ahead early, we got too cautious.
Arsenal
9 years ago
I think we never managed to make a good transition from defence to attack.
Strangely Cazorla and Ramsey had a poor game, i don’t understand why the manager
won’t start Rosicky instead of Ramsey, since Rosicky for me is fitter and his form
has not been disrupted by injuries. And finally if we wanted to play counter attacking football,
why we didn’t start both Walcott and Welbeck on the flanks.
Ruan
9 years ago
These games are too unpredictable we actually played quite well and were fairly solid defensively. The goals came from a good player in great form so I don’t think we were that bad. It’s horrible to lose to those utters c*nts but we will finish above them again this year. It’s good we can get back on the horse so soon on Tuesday and lets hope they drawer wth Liverpool wednesday
Ruan
9 years ago
*draw bloody iPhone
Arseblood
9 years ago
How ironic it would be….this is our best squad in 9 years and we don’t get 4th.
Also if we do manage fourth…Liverpool or Spudz win the Europa League and 4th won’t be good enough anyway. We are in big trouble…
Its terrifying how quickly Ramsey is playing himself OUT of the fans heart.
SDB
9 years ago
what’s really frustrating is man city and liverpool dropping points and we’re unable to take advantage. also, it wouldn’t have hurt for wenger to change things up a bit at half time.
santori
9 years ago
I think the Walcott/ Ozil combination was working for us so I’m not sure why we tinkered with Welbeck wide.
Welbeck wasn’t bad but to me, it’s either Giroud or him up top.
We did not have enough intensity to kill the game first half (or indeed second)
Save 75 cents
9 years ago
Our first touch let us down ALL day long.
sabonation101
9 years ago
Were going to come back from this and be just fine I know were get to 4th if not 3rd. No worries
thintaramando
9 years ago
I said it last time I heard that Ozil, Giroud and Santi are the best attacking trio and I doubted it because none of these guys do run. Some games really need somesprinters like Bolt
Oh you should really look at the stats mate. Özil is a fast player. Why do you think Löw and Wenger are playing rather HIM wide, than Kross or Cazorla. It’s a big misconception that Özil is not fast. At the Worldcup he was actually clocked running at speeds high as 31.79 km/h. Making him officially the fastest german Player in Brazil that year… Don’t believe me? Look for yourself: http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/02/40/20/43/61_0708_bra-ger_ger_playerstatistics_neutral.pdf (Page 6)
Thats actually only a tud slower than Walcotts supposedly record speed of 32.7km/h.
Good point, and thanks for the link. I love Ozil and cannot understand the Ozil bashers, maybe he is just too classy for some ‘fans’ to understand, or just too fast for them to notice. When he has been criticised in the past for lack of work rate Arsene has pointed out his running stats, which indicate that he has run further than most at an average of 11 plus klm per game or was it 13 plus?. Any rate it was a lot!
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I dred to think what score it would have been without Ospina.
I’m not sure I subscribe to this. He’s a good keeper, solid in the corners and has good command of his box, but I don’t think the saves he made today are beyond Scz. Kane’s effort in the first half was probably the best of his saves, and Scz has good ability over shots from distance. Also if we want to be frank about it – as Gunnerblog mentioned throughout the game – Ospina has a bad habit of putting his saves in bad places. The first goal was testament to that, and it happened a few times today. He’s… Read more »
When was the last time you’ve seen Sczesney make a save?
Point taken, but how many saves has Ospina had to make in the past 4/5 matches (excluding today)? I can’t recall any other than Weimann’s causing issue, and today, under real pressure, he seemed to show a weakness to his game.
I don’t think I have to justify Scz’s credentials here. He won the golden glove behind ostensibly the same back four but he’s not without fault. We know he’s capable of it, but he’s had a poor season – on and off the field – so far.
Yes Michael Owen said the same thing, the prick.
Just made a similar comment on the article about Wenger’s comments. His performance has been totally overplayed. People love to run with narratives. Here’s another two for today: 1. Coquelin has been really good recently so he did well. (Personally I thought his passing was nervous-looking and he looked like getting caught on the ball when he got it. He also looked tentative in his defending whereas usually he defends more aggressively.) 2. Ramsey is shit, was awful today and should be sold. (He wasn’t great today, but he at least tried to maintain possession when needed, which Cazorla and… Read more »
Not to start name calling or anything, but… What a cunt.
Hmm, not sure if I’ve got my point across rather badly or just that what I’ve said is completely at odds with everyone else.
Just to clarify, I don’t think Ramsey is shit – that was my point about all the other negative comments about him today.
Also, I think Coquelin is good, but wasn’t great today, so shouldn’t get slack because he’s been so good recently.
If those thoughts are what is being downvoted so much then I hold my hands up – everyone’s entitled to their opinions an’ all.
Nuance and comprehension aren’t your strong points, obviously.
If you cant hold on to the ball then deflecting it out to the side away from goal is the right thing to do. He did well to save the initial attempt I thought but was let down by his defence who did not pick up kane lurking by the back post even though he is their main danger man at the moment on his current form, and the defenders ought to have kept tabs on him and dont give him free oppurtunities like that. Second goal aswell was to easy for him and he was gifted a free header… Read more »
I thought you were Rambling Pete for a moment.
Best reply of the day!!
Talking of replies, you know how sometimes…
I miss Rambling Pete 🙁
Me too!
Unfortunately Rambling Pete isn’t here to take your call right now, but if you’d like to leave a message with your name, telephone number, work telephone number, fax number, email address, address, height, weight, religion, ethnicity, car registration, a list of hobbies, shoe size, any allergies or dietary requirements, mother’s maiden name, mother’s first name, dental records, a description of your week so far, blood type, favourite Beatles song, full employment history and a quote from popular culture you feel aptly defines your personality, even if its really obscure or just plain stupid, he’ll contact you once he’s found his… Read more »
Chesney back in for me please. We brought the lad up, and he really is a good solid keeper finally. A bit of a prick but that’s we want
Ospina looked nervous and flappy today,
I expected goals to go in when I saw that, disappointing after his recent games.
He did look nervous and flappy, but the the point I have underlined yet again elsewhere on the blog is the team to a man looked nervous and flappy the entire game.
Its a pattern and its self-evident. Its always a collective fail in such games, not one or two having an off day.
He made some fine saves (though I think Szczeny would have many of them as well, especially with his reach), but looked a bit shaken at times with his distribution and some of the shots. Certainly didn’t help that we gave up so many corner kicks and free kicks. The lost certainly cannot be blamed on Ospina and he did keep us in it, but didn’t look nearly as confident as he had in previous matches.
In what world does Ozil deserve a 6?
I like him and all, but he barely contributed today. (Apart from the goal; nice finish)
And Ospina made some good saves, but he parried the ball all over the place!
Bad performance overall. COYG
No – Ozil didn’t have a good game, I agree but what do you expect when the whole team had the ball for around 20% of the whole game (and that too, mostly firefighting, clearing and mostly in our half)?
BTW, There was someone who actually called Ramsey ‘world class” box-to-box MF while I regularly called him as one lacking basics and fit at most on the bench.. Well, what do you think now? Put just a bit of press & pressure on him and you will see him brutally exposed (sadly, most of the team were y’day)
Whatever the score, it’s another unnecessary dropped points.
Why bother to rate the boys when collectively, they were not at the races at all.
Because we MUST know whose fault it is and then complain about him until he plays better
In my opinion he was man of the match for us. But his post save ball placement (jokes aside) is not ideal, I also get the impression he parries the ball at times when he might be able to keep it.
Side note, is it me or the BFG looks like he needs a breather? He didn’t have a particularly bad game (compared to the rest) but all those hoofed balls to anywhere seem may be a sign of tiredness.
Ozil needs to practice kicking people, he seriously never looks convincing in the physical battles.
nice to see u agree with me now… once you’ve stopped swearing
2-1 Spurs probably
0-1?
Harsh on Ospina. Made fantastic saves & surely cenented the No. 1 spot
Mmm I dunno. He certainly likes a bit of embellishment. His saves looked fairly spectacular today but if he dives unnecessarily and parries a ball into an attacker’s feet we’re looking at a different story—and that almost happened a couple of times today. Still, one of the better performers.
Yeah, this has me bothered too. I think he still should be the #1, but he doesn’t fill me with much more confidence than Sczc does.
The saddest thing of all is having to listen to Arsenal supporters going into total meltdown after heaping so much praise on our recent improvements. We just wasn’t as up for it as much and got punished being under so much pressure for long spells of the game. Disappointed but still a long way to go this season. Hopefully we can make up for things on Tuesday night with a returning Sanchez hatrick!
Well said. Let’s not get top carried away, got more than enough for a good run in Europe, hopefully an fa cup win and a top four place. They were good, we were shit, it happens. Still think walcott should’ve started over welbeck but arsene clearly knows more than me, well be fine. Onwards and upwards.
No Welbeck had a good game and put in a shift. Wallcott is useless defensively…
Predictable response especially after a derby which significantly clouds ones judgement.
if we “just wasn’t up for it” against FUCKING sp*rs – isn’t that a huge issue? Not up for it against Hull? Fine. But if these players can’t get up for it in a Derby against those fucks then sell them all right now and get some damned players who care to represent the crest.
Its also a sad thing to see a resigned attitude that this type of defeat will happen with some regularity.
It was the Derby. Now the attitude has to be ‘nothing to see here, just move on please’?
Yes, perhaps it does.
How can you rate Ospina so poorly? Would have been easily 5 if it weren’t for him. He can’t do anything on the first goal, the 2nd one his position might be questionnable but he made so many world class saves that he deserves at least a big 7. You can be sure that if Szczesny was in the goal we would have seen another result like last year against Liverpool or Chelsea.
World class saves? He made some decent saves that any premier league keeper should be making, he makes the saves look better than they are.
His tendency to push the ball towards the onrushing attacker is a concern & something Szczesny doesn’t do.
You are deluded if you think all of those saves are routine for EPL goalkeepers. Some were routine, some were great but there were at least a couple that were world-class. It remains to be seen if he can pull them off consistently
I can only think of one actual good save that he made. I can think of plenty of times he pushed the ball back into danger when he should have tipped it round for a corner and plenty more times when he put it out for a corner when he could have caught it. Not to mention his terrible kicking. So many straight out for a throw about 35 yards up the touchline.
If a 5 is average these grades are far too high. Also, I don’t think Ospina was at fault for either goal, but I would be very curious what people thought about him diving for every shot. Could’ve dealt with some stuff much more cleanly if he wasn’t playing for the cameras. That Mason shot in the first half he dove for would’ve hit him in the elbow if he’d stuck out his arm.
‘dove’? Must be an Americanism. We use the term ‘dived’. Here in the UK, ‘dove’ is a type of white bird.
Great insight. I may say color instead of colour at some point. Try not to be thrown.
feck off
I thought it was feck owf.
Both “dived” and “dove” are standard usage and acceptable, in case anyone cares about the claim beyond the ethnocentrism.
Surprised at how much their physical game unsettled us – yes Atkinson was garbage but I thought we’d come a bit further than that with teams who try to bully us. Think our defensive game plan gave them the initiative, sadly. 🙁
Didn’t think it was necessarily physical but more high intensity (although how Mason didn’t get a yellow until about 15 minutes to go I don’t know).
I think the execution and intensity of Arsenal’s play was the problem today, rather than bad tactics.
It must be said that motivation is also part of the manager’s job, so Arsene should shoulder some of the blame, but it must be difficult to get the balance between defensive caution and attacking intent right (it worked out ok against Man City, but maybe more of a ‘derby’ approach would have been better today?).
Unfortunately we saw what happens as soon as Arsenal steps up their physical play with some referees. Instant yellows for every foul. It was quite disturbing to see that after Mason’s flying scissor on Ozil, and about 432 sliding tackles from behind by them.
I give Aaron +.5 recovery point for the late shoulder block to shut down their counter right in front of their bench.
Bad performance by the team collectively, which is reflected in the player scores.
These cunts won’t finish above us though, we could be up to 3rd by Tuesday.
Bad performance all around. This was on the players for putting in a disjointed performance all over the park. F grade for the players. F grade for the manager for showing Sp*rs too much respect. They are not as good as our approach suggested. I understand that approach against City or Chelsea, but Sp*rs? Nope
+ 1 mate! Too much respect for Sp*rs. I guess its time to unleash Gabriel too. He can pick his spot when both our defenders are plating Sh*t
I know it’s a bit picky to focus on the particulars of the match but I lost count of the amount of times they kicked it upfield (to our defence) and we failed to retain it – too many times today Per’s first touch let him down. They pressed so well that they really capitalized on that.
This is now starting to scare the hell out of me! Before the Stoke away game, I dreamed we were losing 3-0 at half time (which happened). Then, before the home game vs that same team, I had a dream where we won it 6-0 (it ended up 3-0 but we still won). At the start of this week I dreamed (nightmare actually) we lost 2-1 in the Sp*rs away game, and the next day I had another dream in which the supporters were going back home with sad faces after we’d lost that same game. Then yesterday, I had… Read more »
Dreamer – if only there’re was some way you could capitalise…..
The only joy from watching the match live today, was seeing Rosicky’s reaction straight after Kane scored the second.
A lot of players had their heads down, and Rozza went to them one by one to try to fire them up. Too bad it didn’t work.
I swear if Wenger does not start Rosicky the next game, I will be extremely pissed off. TR7 is always either decent or fucking brilliant.
Yep, TR7 should have started instead of Ramsey or Ozil, especially as he loves playing against the Spuds. Santi might have had a better game then too.
Özil scored the goal (and has been on fire since back from injury), and Santi is in the form of his life and has been our best player not named Sanchez this season. I understand the point, and Rosicky has been amazing, but it’s not a simple decision. I think both Santi and Ö were ghosts today. Partially because we couldn’t make a simple outlet pass for shit.
That said, TR7 for Ramsey at half might have changed things.
For Rosicky to start, it would require Ramsey to be on bench. That just isn’t possible in Wenger’s book. Anyone who saw the weekend game and knows about football would see that Ramsey is the team’s weakness. Needs 2-3 touches always to know what’s going on around him,which slows the rhythm of our play. But what does Wenger do? He gives him 90 minutes. Rosicky has no hope of starting and Arsenal will struggle to finish in top 4 unless we get a lucky break like a few months ago, where Wilshere and Ramsey got injured.
Agreed and it is baffling. Kept on the bench through the start of the season, I thought one and all, including Wenger himself, were waxing lyrical about Rosicky.
Even if not starting why the hell was he not bought on to play the entire second half??
One of the shittiest displays this season. For a week I really thought we took a huge 180 turn in the opposite direction but really we’re a fucking roller-coaster.
We are not on a roller coaster, just not up to it when we meet the big teams, not that spuds are a big team, but u know what I mean… I know, I know, Man City you say, but The mighty Hull almost done them today and they had a stronger team out
After calming down a bit, I suppose it was just meant to be their day, they played well and everything went right for them! But when is it ever our day, that game against city was the only game in years were everything went our way!! Chelsea win every week and also get that bit of luck even if they play like utter dogshit!! What must we do for things to go our way??!!
Well the Mancs were doing that for more than a decade now. We’re the Arse, we certainly never made life easy for ourselves.
How many yurs have the Arse been slappin Spurs?
Ozil scored. Then did absolutely nothing
Yes, Özil scored. And then defended. A lot.
He got kicked a lot. That’s not nothing.
And Arsenal take the sun away again…Just when things settle and we look like we are making significant strides something like this happens. Very disappointed with the team today…Every one tried hard etc, but we were just poor…They just couldn’t get it going today. Santi and Ramsey where especially poor today. Missed the ball carrying play of Sanchez and Ox…While Theo offers pace, he does fuck all with it except his darting runs in off the line…Pissed me off with his small cameo..Failed to control one of our only good pieces of play in the 2nd half and then just… Read more »
We could not even get the player up for a fight in the NLD. Most of the players were playing as if it was 5 aside kick about. This lose hurt more than the game against that pup team at Stoke. Players like Ramsey will always know the manager will find excuse for them and play them the next game, why fight for your place when you guaranteed to start the next game no matter what?
Fourth place trophy fight starting AGAIN.
It sucks, but in derbies, these things happen. Nothing to get worked up about: We didnt cover ourselves in glory but we didnt become shit overnight. We’ll have a strong response vs. Leicester and bounce back.
You’re right, in the long run this makes no difference Spuds have to go to Anfield next while we have Leicester.
We just have to hope the Mancs drop points this weekend.
0/10 – game plan that treats Spuds as if they are Real Madrid -10/10 – feeding the Harry Fuc#*ng Kane hype machine Welbeck was very rusty the entire first half, but grew into the game and was the wrong man to substitute. Giroud reverted to the flopping, prancing, moaning player that we saw too much of before his injury. Would have subbed Akpom on for him early in second half to give Spuds another big, pacey danger to worry about. And even though it was a brief cameo, have to say that Theo looks a shell of himself, is in… Read more »
Calling Giroud a flopping ,prancing and moaning player is pathetic. Just see the number of times did won the long balls we played to him it was as if we had become stoke city version 2.0. That too he did that so isolated always against 2 or 3 opposition players. Giving Per and nacho the same rating is evident bias. The 1st goal goes to show our set piece frailties remain how can you leave their striker whose right now the most in form one in the division unmarked. Per is the captain and no time during the match did… Read more »
Koscielny really should have done better for the second goal, he didn’t even jump with that overrated Arsenal reject.
I believe if Arsene had started Rosicky it might have been a different story altogether as the margins are very fine… Team’s passing level became much less shit when he came on. Makes the right decisions on the ball – which is crucial to retaining possession in midfield area. Ramsey needs to be dropped for a couple of games now. Today we wouldn’t have had to defend for our lives like that if Cazorla and Ramsey could focus on not losing the ball cheaply. Also, changes should have come early on.. warning signs were there to see in the first… Read more »
Tomas moved quicker. Everyone dallied in the middle of the pitch and got caught. That was their plan. Play narrow, smother, and kick. And it worked. TR immediately thought and moved quicker to get space and push upfield.
I initially questioned Cazorla coming off, but caught myself that i was only doing so because of previous performances. The change was instant.
I think that Spuds won today because they isolated Giroud. I think he is the most important player in Arsenal built up play and today he always had 2 or 3 players behind his back. But Ramsey and Cazorla were not good enough, they didn’t take the ball forward as they should. And for today I fault Wenger only for making substitutions that late. And because of time wasting early in the game. But mixed feeling about Ospina today. He made some good saves but they looked tough to save because of his height. I believe some of them would… Read more »
It’s Not The End Of The World…Let’s Take This As A Lesson And Bounce Back Against Leicester..I Am Sure Spurs Will Drop Alot Of Points In Future As Usual And We Know That LONDON IS RED..COYG..!!!
A repost of what i had said earlier: Okay lets anayse what the hell just happened. We went to play our rivals in our good form while they were in their good form. However as we saw today Santi and Rambo and even Le Coq were off it today. Ozil did play well out there on the left keeping possesion/tracking back/scoring the goal. I also thought Giroud was pretty damn good considering the service he recieved. Welbeck was a good choice and his contribution showed that. I quite liked the fact that he hated those cunts as much as me.… Read more »
And on Giroud -I’m certain that assist was intentional. Watch it again, he opens up his body and cushions it to Ozil.
Why is Ramsey starting every game? It must be based on last year’s performance. When teams try to pressure us in midfield, Rosicky’s speed and acceleration would help us break the pressure and keep hold of the ball.
Coquelin played rather well today, intercepted and cleared the ball. Also fed it to SC or AR but they could not produced. Strange but not unexpected to see Arseblog get at him when it sees the slightest chance to do so.
*produce
I thought he didn’t play that badly either, but I don’t think it’s necessary to take a dig at blogs for a different perspective, especially since it’s pretty obvious a lot of others didn’t see it the same way. Coquelin had no options in front of him to move the ball on, and scrambled his arse off constantly closing down and chasing. we had nobody getting space and moving quickly enough to keep the ball until Rosicky came on because they all got closed down quickly and didn’t up the sense of urgency. That really is the story of the… Read more »
The way some of arsenal fans see football is some how strange and surprise. If not Ospina maybe the scoreline could have been different.Ramsey has 10% accurate pass and nobody talks about him. I didn’t get this point been harsh on Ospina.
They all had a stinker, but how bad is RAMSEY. The guy cannot even as much as make a five yard pass!
That he is on £100k a week is a crime.
I would sooner have Dembele playing for us.
You should switch to sp*rsblog if you truly believe that
with a defensive set up you would expect better defense further up the pitch. I though Ramsey has been a bit anonymous this year…this game was a good example. you could see Tot’s were directed not to let any Arsenal player turn up the field with the ball…that led us to our own downfall as our possession in tight spaces (one/ two’s) were not clicking. We didn’t stretch the field too well and our lack of possession prevented us from spreading the ball to wider areas…kudos to the tots for the high pressure. Ossy has to work on his distribution…he… Read more »
I just think it was summed up with the description of Ramsey’s performance. ‘The harder he tried the worse it got’. Ospina was bound to have a flappy game but I’d still have him there over Wojo as he seems calmer. Early doors though. Personally, as much a talent as Ramsey is, I would start Rosicky over Ramsey any day. The determination,desire and passion he shows far outweighs Aaron’s. I like Ramsey but he doesn’t work enough for a midfielder, going back. He still has memories of that blinding season he had. I totally get it but it isn’t needed… Read more »
This isn’t FIFA 2015 and you can’t just plug players in wherever you want. rosicky and ramsey don’t play the same positions. You would replace Ramsey with jack, Arteta or Flamini. Jack and Arteta are injured, of course, leaving Flamini.
I think the player we missed the most today was the OX, he brings energy to the team which we needed so much today but lacked, he is like a young tomas hope he continues developing.
I’ve copped some flak for being too negative on here, but we were undeniably pathetic today. We won’t get top four this season, and Alexis will be out the door. I’ve been saying it all along, and soon I will be proved cortect.
Wenger certainly setup defensively like we did against City, but it was a bit too defensive. If he was looking to counter attack from it it’s tough without three of our fastest players out there (though Welbeck did show great speed on the goal). It was a match taylor made for Rosicky’s technical skill and composure. Not saying that we didn’t try hard, but Tottenham was so much more energetic than we were all over the pitch, very much like matches at Liverpool last year for teams. They are certainly going to be at a team to challenge us for… Read more »
Think today was a bit of a reality check. We probably read too much into the man city game so we tried to soak up the pressure. But we really should have got at them. We weren’t nearly positive enough, especially at 1-1 and that let Rose and Walker come forward without fear of the counter attack. At times it felt we were stuck in two minds and thats why we lost. Never want to lose a derby but its not a complete disaster and hopefully we’ll learn from this too.
yeah- I think wenger missed a proper sub (Flamini or Gabriel for Ramsey) prior to them equalizing…he’d still offensive options after that….he didn’t protect the lead…
i don’t think we can play the same style we played away at city without ox and alexis on the wings. today we didn’t win the ball enough in midfield to counter attack. when we did win the ball we lost possession quickly. not sure what’s wrong with ramsey, especially seeing as he’s been given every chance to get into some form. ros might’ve been the better choice today from the start. we missed alexis today and on top of that it was the day santi seems to have run out of steam. loved ozil’s goal. 3 goals in 3… Read more »
they denied santi and ramsey the ball by pressurizing the defense..simples
Disappointing midfield performance, disappointing result especially against the scum. The shape was suspect definitely after the recent games. Otherwise I expect us to come back stronger in the upcoming games. Let’s all get back behind the lads. COYG!!!
Coq is GREAT against weak sides. Make a Pass longer than 3 meters please. Wellbeck is GARBAGE. Ozil is overrated. Why does Nacho start over Gibbs?!?!
Bit harsh. Coquelin has played well against good teams before (a certain game against Man City for example). I thought he was below his best today but that stemmed from a general lack of intensity from the team as a whole. Welbeck is better than average and he was quiet going forward on the whole, but most of what we did going forward came from him, and he gives much more protection to his fullback than Walcott (too much time for the cross on their 2nd goal), so I can understand why he started. What we needed was Alexis or… Read more »
Yeah but had it been Flamini, he would have been blamed for the defeat.
Probably, but I do think Coquelin has been better than Flamini these last few games.
Someone pointed out that the approach was wrong. Completely agree. The fact that we sat back against City and got a result didn’t mean we go the same way to a team, that, man for man we more than matched. Having chosen the wrong approach, Arsene also picked the wrong personnel to interprete his game plan. We were missing pace in the injured duo of Ox and Alexis yet Wenger left Theo and Rosicky on the bench. There was no outlet to relieve the pressure the few times we saw the ball. It should have been Welbeck through the middle,… Read more »
Oh Alexis, I really missed u today.
If Atkinson was septic balls, then our performance today was Fournier’s Gangrene!
Did not pressure them high up the pitch enough.
When you allow your defense to come under persistent duress, this is what can happen.
If Coquelin was Flamini, he would be blame for the loss.
That said, it was our collective game that was lacking. Going ahead early, we got too cautious.
I think we never managed to make a good transition from defence to attack.
Strangely Cazorla and Ramsey had a poor game, i don’t understand why the manager
won’t start Rosicky instead of Ramsey, since Rosicky for me is fitter and his form
has not been disrupted by injuries. And finally if we wanted to play counter attacking football,
why we didn’t start both Walcott and Welbeck on the flanks.
These games are too unpredictable we actually played quite well and were fairly solid defensively. The goals came from a good player in great form so I don’t think we were that bad. It’s horrible to lose to those utters c*nts but we will finish above them again this year. It’s good we can get back on the horse so soon on Tuesday and lets hope they drawer wth Liverpool wednesday
*draw bloody iPhone
How ironic it would be….this is our best squad in 9 years and we don’t get 4th.
Also if we do manage fourth…Liverpool or Spudz win the Europa League and 4th won’t be good enough anyway. We are in big trouble…
Or we win the Champions’ League 😉
Its terrifying how quickly Ramsey is playing himself OUT of the fans heart.
what’s really frustrating is man city and liverpool dropping points and we’re unable to take advantage. also, it wouldn’t have hurt for wenger to change things up a bit at half time.
I think the Walcott/ Ozil combination was working for us so I’m not sure why we tinkered with Welbeck wide.
Welbeck wasn’t bad but to me, it’s either Giroud or him up top.
We did not have enough intensity to kill the game first half (or indeed second)
Our first touch let us down ALL day long.
Were going to come back from this and be just fine I know were get to 4th if not 3rd. No worries
I said it last time I heard that Ozil, Giroud and Santi are the best attacking trio and I doubted it because none of these guys do run. Some games really need somesprinters like Bolt
Oh you should really look at the stats mate. Özil is a fast player. Why do you think Löw and Wenger are playing rather HIM wide, than Kross or Cazorla. It’s a big misconception that Özil is not fast. At the Worldcup he was actually clocked running at speeds high as 31.79 km/h. Making him officially the fastest german Player in Brazil that year… Don’t believe me? Look for yourself: http://resources.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/02/40/20/43/61_0708_bra-ger_ger_playerstatistics_neutral.pdf (Page 6)
Thats actually only a tud slower than Walcotts supposedly record speed of 32.7km/h.
Good point, and thanks for the link. I love Ozil and cannot understand the Ozil bashers, maybe he is just too classy for some ‘fans’ to understand, or just too fast for them to notice. When he has been criticised in the past for lack of work rate Arsene has pointed out his running stats, which indicate that he has run further than most at an average of 11 plus klm per game or was it 13 plus?. Any rate it was a lot!