Not losing focus and the benefits of squad rotation were major factors in Arsenal’s tight win over Newcastle, according to centre-back pairing Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny.
Koscielny’s close-range strike on 72 minutes was enough for the Gunners to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table to two points, but it was far from a vintage performance.
Reflecting on the game, Per Mertesacker admitted that the visitors counter-attacks caused constant problems and that maintaining a clean sheet was vital.
“We put in everything and we had to because Newcastle were good on the break and could have taken the lead as well,” he told Arsenal Player. “When you dig in and fight for you team-mates you get your reward.
“We never lost our lost our focus or our passion, and neither did the fans. We believe we can be a good team if we put the effort in. That is what it is all about. That is what I kept saying to the lads. To keep a clean sheet as long as possible and we did it all the way through.
“We are a threat offensively and could have scored more in the end. We need to share the ball better at times in front of the goal. We are pretty delighted with the performance where we did well and now we are looking forward to 2016 and having a successful season.”
Koscielny, who was rested along with Mathieu Flamini for the visit of Bournemouth on Monday, played up the benefits of rotation during this busy part of the season.
“During the Christmas period, when you play three games in a week, it’s very difficult for our physique,” he told Arsenal Player.
“We have a good squad and we were able to rotate against Bournemouth, so all the players who played were fresh and able to do their jobs well.”
He added: “We need to stay focused because we have many tough games in the second half of the season. Next week we have more tough games and important ones against big teams so we need to have everyone focused on the job.”
“We need to share the ball better in front the goal” This shows the team’s stance on the Ramsey chance. I’m all for players taking their chances and going for personal glory once the result is secured. But in that situation it would have been more sensible to pass the ball to Campbell who had to just tap in. If Newcastle had scored at the other end we would have come back to rue this chance. I remember ozil saying that he passed the ball to Ramsey in the villa game as he was in a much better position and… Read more »
Wenger needs to sit Ramsey and tell him Henry has held the record for assists that will likely be broken by Ozil this year. Who is he to want to keep the final ball all the time?
“We need to share the ball better at times in front of the goal” – even Per’s having a pop at Ramsey!
Doh you beat me to it Boss!
I have been getting to things first for the past couple of days.
We won this match because of Cech. I didn’t like him at first given his history at Chelsea, but it’s impossible not to warm to him. I’m also grateful it didn’t take him three seasons to show his worth like a certain someone.
Are you really having a go at Ozil ?
For fuck sake.
People need to stop having a go at Ramsey. 99.9 % of all footballers would have shot there having done all that work to fashion the chance. Ozil just happens to be in that 0.1%
Nobody is having a go at Ramsey. People are just prioritizing Arsenal’s interest over Ramsey’s.
There’s plenty having a go. Not necessarily on here
I don’t think we should be criticizing Ox, Theo or Aaron but it is fair to say none of them are at the top of their game at the moment.
Encouragement and patience is the way forward imo…
and John Terry is a cunt!
COYG!
I do have a problem with Ramsey’s all round game though. He seems to have forgotten how he became good, discipline first, glory later. We saw the same with Song, I can’t understand how Wenger is letting them get away with it.
Loved seeing those rough – bur fair – duels between Kos and Mitrovic. Really showed how tough Kos has become since joining. A real macho.
Agree … Real strength is letting the cunts show the world what cunts they are and not reacting. Kos, Costa and Gab situation where Kos was willing to just stand and stare at Costa, for example. In one situation, Mitrovic shoved Kos into the Ad barrier and his response was, ‘Really mate, was that necessary?’. Thus showing everyone that Mitrovic has attended the same school as Terry. Cunt school somewhere in Cuntville.
I wish you would all get off ramseys case. Any excuse to have a pop at the British lads. Have you seen his stats for the game? He missed. We won. We’re top so move on and get behind your team.
Are you saying people should Zippit? Couldn’t resist sorry…;-)
Button it.
Nice. Just gets a bit tedious. I mean there were boos at half time yesterday, and we’re top of the league. What’s that all about?
At half time we hadn’t registered a shot on target against the 3rd worst team in the league at home… I don’t approve of boos but we’ve been booed for less.
You think everyone from Mertesacker to commenters is criticising Ramsey because he is British?… Look, he is one of the biggest talents ever discovered by Wenger, but he still needs to learn, and saying that IS getting behind the team. Arsenal need to score more, both to improve the position on the PL table and to be able to compete with the likes of Barcelona. If people beat it into Ramsey to not waste chances for personal glory after a match that was won anyway, rather than wait for one in which such a bad choice results in disaster, the… Read more »
I couldn’t give a toss what commentators say and it’s impossible to say that mert was speaking directly about Ramsey. It’s the groans at the emirates when a pass goes astray and the endless hyperbollocks about how shit Ramsey, Ox, Walcott etc have played. They all put a shift in, while absolutely knackered, in shite conditions and we pulled off a win against dogged opposition in the sort of game we are used to throwing away. Why the need to bash our players?
Well said mate wish I could thumb this up more times. Some of these fans are too fickle. Get behind the players in bad form instead of trash talking to them at every opportunity
“British lads” ?? Wow. I almost thought Arsenal has an international appeal. You almost sounded like those Chelsea fans on the train from Paris. Still a Gunner here, if you don’t mind.
You’re comparing me to a bunch of racist thugs for pointing out that our British players seem to get it in the neck the most?
Elneny reports are made on skysports. And basel have also announced the signing of a swedish midfielder. Welcome Elneny.
Sky are rehashing the old story saying he is having a medical and needs international clearance from what I can see…
They dont report any transfer news that is not near completion. The BBC and SKY are the most reliable when it comes to transfers.
Arsenal are close to completing the signing of
Mohamed Elneny from Basel, according to Sky
sources. says on their site. They are not refering to another source, just theirs. So it is as good as done believe me.
Yeah but we all know it’s close…
Kim Kalstrom?
NO need to criticise Ramsey. He put in a massive shift against Bournemouth that largely went unmentioned. He had to make a lot of ground to cover young Chambers. Ramsey needs to be aware of the balance between going forward and helping defensively because that’s his role as a link player true. BUT we should not inhibit a player’s instinct either. Alexis loses the ball plenty attempting dribbles. He recovers some of them back which is a good thing but he has an alarming turnover rate. Yet you would not want to stop him from taking on a player because… Read more »
Usually, if the main papers and media outlets (Sky or BBC) are making a lot of noise, there will be some truth to it. Not always though, they have been wrong too. Mixed feelings about Elneny. Have to trust the gaffer on this one. Would have preferred a more established name from a bigger club say young Rabiot but price could be a factor. At 5m (As quoted) perhaps Elneny is a smaller risk should he not perform. If he does, he may add cover at DM but more critically also maybe something going forward for us should Ramsey suffer… Read more »
Also I think the critical issue with midfield reinforcement is timing. Wenger could well wait to end of window to sweat out prices on some players but Elneny is available right now and we are at a critical point going into 3 very tough fixtures with realistically only two central mids in Rammini. Nominally we started the season with 6 options in central midfield – Santi Coquelin Ramsey Flamini Arteta and Rosicky. But the two senior men are still mending (I was surprise slightly Wenger opted to keep them one more season on, though he should have sold on at… Read more »
…and hence no Wanyama who has in any case been poor for Soton all season. Ask their fans.
There are 2 possible ways in which Ramsey can be looked at. 1. Either the lad is built to be a little selfish in an otherwise selfless arsenal team for the benefit of the team or 2. He needs to share the ball more and become what cazorla had become when he moved in central midfield. I think he is the type 1 player and a different breed in the sense that he works hard for the team and is a bit of a dark horse for this Arsenal team. I think with experience Ramsey will become unstoppable. He is… Read more »
Better play crap and win the game with 3 points than play well and draw the game like Spurs today.
Points is what we need and we need to start banking them.
What on earth do modern Arsenal fans want? We are top of the league -N.B. the Invincibles were 2nd at this time of the year in 2004 & our double winners in 1998 were 12 points behind the leaders.
Please get behind the team, support the manager and all the players and keep your poisonous self-defeating, ill informed observations to the confines of your pessimistic pub chat.
I don’t see how price could ever be a factor for Arsenal. Players around the world love the club and Arsenal are not paupers. They can afford anybody. Wenger says it is not about making up numbers but about adding quality to the team. Yet Elneny (who could very well be quite good) is who he chooses to buy, and could also very well be the only signing we make. The fact is that it is a gamble, at a stage of the season where gambles are the last thing we need. We’re at the stage where if we win… Read more »
Don’t understand why there’s a fuss about Ramsey missing a chance, it happens. We should be more concerned with his tendency to roam forward at any given moment.
Although it’s completely understandable that he is knackered at the moment, this should also mean he’s happier to sit deep but instead he still gallops forward leaving him no energy to get back quickly enough.
Mixed season so far for him, but I really hope he steps it up a notch after some much needed rest.
“We never lost our lost our focus or our passion”
Deep
Did anyone actually watch Ramsay in the whole of the Newcastle game – or are we really only going to focus on a missed opportunity he created himself and had every right to try to finish? IMO he was excellent in so much of what he did during the game, and has been in every game since coming back into central midfield – his passing, both long and in tight areas is hugely improved, his work rate both in defense (which mystifyingly is too often over-looked) and going forward is incredible… he is a wonderful box to box player and… Read more »
Past seasons have seen us struggle to get back to winning ways after a loss. We’d often draw and stutter before finding form. I think it says a lot that we won ugly after an unexpected 4 nil loss. I don’t care how we did it Im just happy we did!