The second half certainly wasn’t much fun from an Arsenal point of view, the main thing is that we took the three points and that we did in the 2-1 win.
Here’s how the players rated.
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Monday, December 23, 2024
The second half certainly wasn’t much fun from an Arsenal point of view, the main thing is that we took the three points and that we did in the 2-1 win.
Here’s how the players rated.
3points baby !!
Flamini was so awful when he was on.
Give a break to Flamini. Other players were worse but Flamini seems to many the guy who shouldn’t have a place in the squad. Sergeant Flamini is to me a good servant of the club.
I don’t think he was that bad, but it seemed difficult for him to get involved. I just wanted to see him run through cabela’s back a few times and get a warning/yellow haha…
Me too, when he was on I only wanted to see him fly tickle people in the middle than try to hold the ball in his own half.
I agree with Monreal is Tasty. I thought Flamini was absolutely aweful and should never wear the Arsenal shirt again. The gap between him and Coq is huge. Coq absolutely bossed the first half and even in the second when we were under pressure, he still won his tackles and kept possession with his passing. Flamini was broaght on to add a little solidity in the middle. He did te exact opposite. His first touch was to give the ball away, he did it another 5 or 6 times and he was never in the right position to provide extra… Read more »
I don’t understand the point of Flamini. He’s actually a defensive liability at this point. No joke, a tired Cazorla was a better DM than he was. We would have been better served bringing Walcott on
Shame there’s no way to give them ratings for each half, probably end up with a set of 7s and 8s and a set of 4s and 5s.
Yeah, especially for Coquelin. He was immense in the fist half, but he was cuplable for the goal for not tracking the obvious run (do we call that pulling a Flamini?) and he gave the ball away dangerously at least 2-3 other times. 8 in the first half, 4 in the second IMO.
Couple other players you could say the same thing about.
I think you will find he wasn’t as he was involved on the lefthand side in a prior situation trying to stop
their attack. There was a central midfielder missing though and I think you can guess who that was.
Coq cant be expected to do all the defending on his own.
Coquelin was however right there when the run was being made and he should have tracked it. Coquelin was on the man with the ball, and when that man went to take on Monreal he should have dropped to cover the obvious run. Not flaying the guy, but I do believe he was partially responsible. As is whoever didn’t track the run of the goalscorer. I can’t recall exactly but I imagine that would fall on Ramsey or Cazorla.
I just saw the sequence again and you are correct , was caught ball watching when he could have done more to disturb cabella but someone else should have tracked Sissoko.
Oh I agree, it’s not like it was down to him alone. There were 3 defensive errors in a row that led to the goal, his was just the third. And I agree about Ramsey going AWOL too. I think it shows just how important Coq is to the team now. When he has a good half we look immovable, when he has a poor half we look shaky. It’s not healthy to have such a dependence on one player to shield your defense. Ramsey needs to get a good talking to or else we need to get another DM… Read more »
ramsey denied giroud twice. And for that he gets 4. Ospina 8. Literally kept us in the game 2nd half.
He also wasted (“completely fucked up” is more accurate) a fine through ball by Goroud in the 22nd min sending the ball to GK when trying to round the keeper.. So he gets 3..
Giroud has 9 goals in 9 games since being crowned ‘the hottest player in the EPL’.
Confidence.
Great tackles and defensive work from Coquelin yet again but he gave away the ball a lot today, all of which could have cost us. A draw tomorrow between Liverpool and Utd and a win at the Emirates vs pool and top 4 is pretty much guaranteed.
3 points bitches!
Arsene needs to focus on developing Chambers as a centre back, where he is much more naturally suited. Doesn’t have enougb pace to be a top level full back, but could become an excellent centre half.
Although to be fair, if not for Debuchy’s injuries he’d hardly ever play at right back.
I think that’s the plan , but he needs gametime more
than anything at his age and right now his only chance is
at RB right now.
he looks great and confident running forward though. I think with Bellerin and Debuchy ahead of him then CB (or even holding mid) is the place for Chambers.
Wenger could be doing something similar with Chambers as he did with Ramsey and other more centrally suited players. Sticking them out wide and to teach them how to work in tighter spaces, amping up their endurance levels, and giving them less room to pass out of, all of which are skills/traits that can benefit a future center back.
Just a thought. I could be talking total bullshit, of course.
Agreed. Bambi on ice again. I like Caum and hope he has a strong future at the club, but he’s in fourth place behind Debuchy, Bellerin and Jenks at rb. I’d rather see him given the chance as holding mid. But if not there, alternative at cb. In the meantime, keep playing Hector at rb. He’s immense.
Fatigue was obviously a big factor in the second half. Would like to have seem some rotation and perhaps earlier substitutions but good to see them hang on for the win. Not so long ago we would have come away with only one point after that kind of second half onslaught.
What is it with Le Coq’s hooter?! Poor guy’s going to be in for reconstructive surgery over the summer at this rate …
Fatigue obviously and a much more convincing Newcastle team made tings very exciting. Their gameplan was Ayoze and Ameobe trying out Chambers and Gabriel. And something that we should have expected and reacted to. 3 games in a week with minumum rotation. Flamini was just awful but others just were running on empty. All in all a great win given the teams condition.
Imagined if we rotate Flamini in from the start in this game.
Imagined if we played Walcott who refused to help Chambers defend from the very beginning.
Same old bollocks about Flamini. He had one stray pass bc it was under hit from just coming on. Did nothing wrong. Not sure which game Arseblog or you are watching. Instead, the Cabella strike which could have gone in, Coquelin was robbed in midfield as he was on another occasion. Of course conveniently, it isn’t his fault. Same as against West Ham when Kayoute went by Coquelin rather too easily. Had it been Flamini (or Arteta) it would be about a lack of pace or some rubbish. I like Coquelin and he put in some good tackles but I… Read more »
grateful for that win. It was so narrow! phew!
Calum is just not a fullback in my opinion. I just don’t think he’s convincing in that position, but he’s comfortable enough on the ball to be a superb centre back.
I haven’t been impressed with Aaron at all this week, his performance at Monaco included. His goal glossed over a performance filled with poor decision making, and today’s game was another, just without the goal.
That’s just me though.
It’s easy to be critical of the 2nd half, but with Monaco fatigue setting in and against a team that would have regarded it as more or less a ‘free hit’, you’ve gotta to accept that sometimes it’s just about hanging on. At the business end of the season, I’ll take winning looking knackered over drawing looking pretty.
Fair ratings overall. I do think Gabriel put in enough work to get an 8 though. Very important interceptions, has great pace, also smart tackles. Guy has been a great purchase.
Considering 12 months ago our Jan signing came pre-banjaxed and inspired a huge amount of scorn from us fans, I feel Gabriel has (due to his quality) dodged so many bullets during his integration period.
And a rested Mert is a more happy, effective Mert. He looked miserable after Monaco, deserved a day off today.
Welbeck the same rating as Flamini? That seems off. Welbeck was wasteful but also threatening and tackled back well. Flamini was a goddamn mess out there. As much as I like his spirit, days like today make me cringe every time he gets the ball.
Thank god we have Giroud- fantastic showing from him again, and I’m so happy for him that he’s been proving the haters wrong. Way to go, HFB.
True, Flamini made Coquelin look very good, and sadly he was not.
Flamini was perhaps bad (not as much as you are saying) for the 20 minutes he spent on the field. Other players were bad for 45 minutes (at least).
Disagree. Flam really did not help in the slightest. Rating is too high. Welbeck has so much talent and pace, but just doesn’t seem to get the end product. He deserves higher rating than Flam for yesterday’s performance but Boss needs to sit him tell and work with him on turning those near things into results (e.g. the shot wide in first half and the fluffed cross after getting 1:1 with Kruhl in secomd.
I’m not sure what you lot are watching. Flamini came in and did his job. He made one stray pass with his first touch (which is acceptable bc he wasn’t use to the pitch) But he did nothing wrong thereafter. In fact, Coquelin was the one who was too easily ghost passed (I believe by either Sisoko or Ameobi) which led to a very dangerous Cabella strike. Also he did not cover on Cabella late on which let to another block having to be made last minute by Koscielny who was understandably irate. Similarly against West Ham recently, Kayoute went… Read more »
Yeah…its irking to see some negative comments about Welbeck (they now seem to be a cliche trooped out on cue by some). Its as though if some decide they like one player, they have to run down another. Cazorla, Sanchez, Monreal and Welbeck all had sub-par performances today because they were off their feet following Monaco. This was evident in the first half let alone the second. Inspite of this, Welbeck got an assist. There were numerous things to criticize in this game, all standard fair (weird choice of players, lack of rotation and a lack of focus) but we… Read more »
I would rather say be ‘intelligent’.
He does what he shouldn’t at times like the time when he should have passed to Giroud or Rosicky instead of taking on the keeper from that tight angle and your team mates have acre of spaces. That would have been a superb assist and a chance to calm the nerves of everyone. I see potential for an immense player in Danny but he needs to iron out his pass vs take on decision making and head-eye co-ordination. For a lad that tall, his heading is as poor as mine.
Chambers is no right back, he was awful caught out so many times, how Ramsey gets ninety mins is beyond me, Alexis looks tired, Santi had an off day, Wellbeck was good but once he improves his finishing he will be outsanding.Why Wenger sat there for so long while Newcastle were carving us apart proves how out of touch he really is. Any other manager would have made a sub, but no le fraud, he doesn’t inspire any one sitting there
Would rate Ramsey and santo much lower than a six. Very poor. Monreal, Coq and of course Giroud did great. Flamini is useless to this team. At least on the field.
0/10 for the fucking atrocious linesman. Hope he’s fired for getting literally every offside wrong
We missed Ozil’s calm possession in the 2nd half. Excellent substitution to bring on Rosicky for just that reason.
That one really did work.
Goes to show the value of experience – there were plenty of opportunities for Tomas to go for a more risky pass, and he does have the skill to pull those off, but by choosing a more conservative pass in those moments he seemed to put the handbrake on a few people that needed it.
You are not saying but you know its true. Sanchez should be rested, Ramsey and Chambers benched, Flamini bye. Santi straggled and we missed Ozil keeping ball.
Typical ozil. Invisible for almost the whole game
And so was Theo as usual.
I thought Chambers had a better game than Monreal. Those last 15 minutes, Chambers tightened up while Nacho was getting destroyed by Cabella.
Also I thought the second half was screaming for Walcott. Newcastle was pressing way too high up the field, there was a ridiculous amount of space a player like Walcott could have exploited.
Even in a ridiculous amount of space, Theo has the amazing ability of running straight into an opposing player.
Personally I wouldn’t have felt comfortable with him coming on today when battling and hold up play were so important.
Voted you up even though I disagree with your conclusion.
In the 2nd half Newcastle were flooding the midfield, meanwhile both Ramsey & Welbeck were high up the pitch (presumably fishing for a counter attack goal) One or both of them should have dropped 10m deeper to help deal with the midfield battle. Walcott would have been like for like.
Ramsey always seems to be in an inappropriate position, I wish he would attend to his defensive duties a little more, especially after losing the ball at the edge of an opponents D
Three points away from home Well done Gunners!
A win, 3 points, enough said!!
Just want to know if anyone has stats on number of back passes Coquelin has made since being back compared to Arteta and Flamini.
Arsenal to win the BPL!!!! WOOT WOOT
I agree with everything except coqs and girouds ratings,giroud should have atleast 8,5 i think he even deserves a 9. Coquelin played an amazing first half keeping the ball on newcastles side and in Arsenals possesion. Second half coq played good but not that exceptionally and after getting his nose smushed once again he still played at about a 7 rating and this says a lot about him since he has played like every single game. I think he deserves atleast a 8 rating.
More Coq stroking. I am a big fan of Coquelin and predicted he had a prole this season (maybe not as big a role as he is part of though) BUT this Coq bias is annoying. Coquelin made several mistakes today which if he were Flamini the knives would be out. As it is Flamini is getting blame for nothing here again. Fact is we dropped second half and Flamini wasn’t on the pitch. Coquelin was. But it did not stop us looking vulnerable. Need I remind the coq strokers that Coquelin was also part of the team that ship… Read more »
“Not always at his best coming for crosses but his defenders made sure he wasn’t exposed.”
What situations are you thinking about? I think he’s doing great at crosses, and I can’t remeber any cross where he has done anything wrong.
Nothing specific but Ospina doesn’t instill confidence in dealing with crosses. When you watch other games when a goalkeeper is facing a siege, he usually takes a lot of pressure off by just plucking the ball out of the air. I never get the feeling that Ospina is good at that. He always seems to get into a scramble with a ton of players around and the scare that anything might happen, or he often punches punches the ball away. Maybe its just a coincidence that so far the best he could do in the situation was punch away but… Read more »
One of Ospina’s problems is that he lacks the build and height to dominate in a crowd, which makes it more difficult to claim the ball from a corner or other set-piece. It’s a disadvantage, admittedly.
Really? Apart from his (relative) lack of height, I think he’s dealt really well with crosses – & that, in fact, this was much of the reason he’s kept the position. I think it was the FA Cup game against Hull City when he was just repeatedly plucking their crosses out of the air that earned him top billing. Funny how we all rate players so differently at times.
There were two or three where he came and didn’t get anywhere near the ball, though he tightened it up towards the end
This
Mr. Blogs tends to be a bit hard on Ospina, but he preserved the win for us in the 2nd half with that desperate save.
Bellerin 10/10 imo
Like others, thought Gabriel deserved an 8.
He’s the anti-Costa. Looking forward to their match-up in a couple games time. He was cautious and decisive today and I like his spider-sense for danger – very very good signing so far.
chambers always gets exposed when he starts. he tries to do too much with the ball and doesn’t have the pace to make up for his mistakes. would rather have jenks + that transfer fee back at this point. hope he proves me wrong.
Risky today BC :
1) Backline. Chambers IS a RB (as he was with Soton) But he is a bit lower down the learning curve than Bellerin and his defensive positioning is suspect.
2) Gabriel is trying too hard and there is always a danger that he may lose composure have a Koscielny first season moment. That said, he did decent for us.
3) the midfield as a whole dropped second half and looked a bit heavy in the legs. Alexis was included bc of his energy levels but he is in dire need of a rest.
Giroud is world class. Another good brace. Waiting for the day he gets his hat trick.
Another useful game from Welbeck (if a bit leggy later). The absence of Walcott is telling on overall effort. Still, hope to see Walcott play a more important part for us. If not that contract issue will possibly be up this summer.
Put it another way,
Against West Ham recently, Kayoute ghost past Coquelin as if he wasn’t there. Had it been Flamini or Arteta, there would be calls for his head.
Flamini pops up for a goal. Had it been say Giroud, it would have been him being in the right position at the right time.
A bit of balance due.
Our 3 DMs wont stop Kouyate in that situation. He was faster, taller and stronger than them to intercept. Any rash tackle surely wont help whats with ref quality and West Ham set pieces.
On the goal, its good judgement from him to provide width when the pressure are off us unlike todays game. If its Giroud the praise are well deserved as it should be a forward game to score in the right position at the right time.
Why not?
It only takes one.
Clearly rubbish.
You can’t have it both ways. If someone ghost past Coquelin (as Sisokko did to almost set up Cabella for a goal), is it also because nobody can stop Sisokko?
Utter bias.
Is that you Mathieu?
Do not understand why you gave welbz such a low rating, especially since it was his header that set up the first goal, i agree that his decision making was off, but the amount of times he gave our team some respite with his strength and willingness to run with the ball should not be underestimated. He may not be the most technically astute, but he’s honest and did well for the team today.
Welbeck is strong, fast and willing but his technical failings are an indictment of the Man Utd academy that he was at from a young age. His balance and touch are just not there and I struggle to see that it is just a case of waiting for him to become clinical because technique and balance are fully developed by now. That is why he has never scored enough goals at senior level. We are so eager to anoint a new English star that we keep using the false equivalency with a player like Henry who only scored lots of… Read more »
First half we were brilliant and Rambo or Welbeck could easily have made it more. Second half was really poor though reminded me a lot of the second half of the spurs game where we just seemed unable to cope with a team pressing us extremely quickly and high, our ball retention really suffers in those situations which is a slight worry. Highlights the importance of a Ozil or Rosicky figure in the team as they use the ball better than anyone, Tomas really showed that when he came on in that spurs game and again to some extent today.… Read more »
I rate Özil a 0. He was totally invisible today. Maybe the pundits are right about him. HA HA! Seriously though, am I the only one that gets nervous when Ramsey has the ball? I know he has a great engine and all. But he is culpable so often no matter where he is on the pitch. He either dallies with the ball or tries some inane “trick”. Can’t say I enjoy having him on the field these days. I’m open to a different perspective though if anyone has one.
Giroud is so fucking sexy.
Yes.
Ramsey was positionally indisciplined today. He was making marauding runs into the opponent box too often as one who’s playing as a false nine. He even got in Giroud’s way to score on at least two occasions. He should focus more on being a CM than wanting to be a goalscoring glory hunter.
I don’t care if I’m vetted down Oh what a bam bam! What a load of moaners on this comment page We won the bloody game away from home We should be thankful for the character of our team Chambers this! Ramsey that ! Ospina can’t kick pass the midway pitch ( blogs)! In a few months from now we’ll forget this 2nd half game and savour the 3 points which may progress Arsenal to 2nd or 3rd in the EPL. By the way, I thought Sissoko was alright for Newcastle ( I know he’s from another team, but it’s… Read more »
Actually agree with most comments here…we played Monaco midweek for gods sake, cut one and all some slack. Re Sissoko…he did look impressive (and of course has been sort of linked with Arsenal) but it’s been interesting to see the replies of Newcastle supporters in other forums. Many posters have commented he looked good in the second half and almost without fail a Newcastle supporter has then commented, do not get the wrong impression. he had a great game today but is dreadfully inconsistent. Several advised Arsenal not to even consider him seriously (a nice frank refreshing tone by NFC… Read more »
Unfortunately I couldn’t watch the game and I don’t watch much of newcastle anyway but as a Frenchman by origin I watch pretty much every France game and I can say that every time Sissoko has played I’ve been impressed although often disappointed to see him in the lineup at RM/RW over a more tricky player, he has constantly proved me wrong. There’s my 2 cents.
Clearly you’ve had crabs and it seems that u may not have instantly been able to get medication for it??? (I’m saying it with my Sherlock. Hat on. 🙂
We can get that second spot or maybe win the League with Ospina in goal. But I dont think we can do that, or even win the FA Cup with Szczesny in goal. And it seems the players have more confidence in Ospina than Szczesny….not to lose his cool, not to be cocky, not to come out unnecessarily, not to distribute the ball in a hurry and put the team under pressure, not to commit to a dive to one side early before the shot is taken, and most importantly to show maturity & calmness in goal. Remind me of… Read more »
Liverpool lost yesterday. Lets beat them next weekend & totally wiped them out of the top 4 picture!!
Bonus rating: 2/10 for linesmen for zero understanding of the offside rule and Mike Jones who thought it’s illegal to book people in football game.
We are all sick of poor refereeing but this type of game, with a referee deciding arbitrarily to ‘let the game flow’, just feels like the FA is taking the piss. Are there rules or not? If so, how is some numpty allowed to ‘interpret’ them? There was a moment which infuriated me with Remy Cabella tackling Coquelin on the sideline. Coquelin was shielding a ball going into touch. Cabella (as a forward with no tackling skills) barreled into Coquelin, took his legs out from under him and physically took him into touch. Cabella looked guilty, knew he was in… Read more »
6 wins in a row in the premiership next up is Liverpool come on the Gunners let’s keep it going and finish 2nd and long may Giroud keep on scoring!
Ramsey had a poor game I thought.
Why doesn’t the boss start subbing players sooner? At least two sub’s should’ve been done at the hour.
Well whatever it is 3 points we got. If they all get 8s and 9s for the first half performance Giroud bagged 2 (he is not world class apparently). If then they had hard time during the second half (I blame the Monaco game for that) they should be congratulated for defending collectively and preventing the Geordie Comeback. Some geezers are clearly hard to please
Is it just me or does Ospina scare the crap out of anyone else each time he goes for a cross or free kick in traffic?
A must have three points today with SH and TH winning, but hopefully will gain ground on both Man U and Liverpool tomorrow plus hope for some Liverpool red cards before our match with them.
Now have to hope some of our internationals are able to pull out of any games called up for next week.
Gabby finally gets an avatar (thanks blogs) the ‘park chu yung’ was always scary.. Giroud has to be Barclays’ player of the month and wenger too perhaps
Im not sure Sanchez needs at this point, goals, rest, English girlfriend.
I really miss the old AS17.
monaco game certainly drained most players so to win away against newcastle is much welcome! glad that there is a break now for our players to recharge and unwind, hopefully we stay fit. thought ospina did well today; welbeck’s making great runs but his finishing must improve. if he does, walcott will not make it to the starting XI. gabriel did well today considering it’s his first game having to deal with immense pressure in the 2nd half with koscielny. looking ahead, hope cazorla and especially sanchez get the break they fully deserve and we come back after the break… Read more »
Not a good enough excuse to rely on midweek game for tired legs. We still need to learn to close the game out with better authority. Maybe we need someone in the middle who can actually hold the ball for us like Diaby could had he been fit. We simply don’t learn. We are all over the shop when we should be playing keep ball near their corner flag or using the ball more efficiently and not trying fancy flicks late on. Sorry, don’t think this was a ‘great’ performance or show of ‘resilience. We rode our luck. COuld have… Read more »
Chelsea to hoof it up today and Maureen will have a king kev media meltdown! Watch this space!