The Good
20 – Arsenal created 20 shots against Barcelona and did so despite only having 40% of the possession
15 – The number of Arsenal’s shots that were in the 18 yard box
3 – Arsenal created three shots in Prime
2 – Arsenal created two big chances
166 – Arsenal also made 166 passes in Barcelona’s final third
39 – Arsenal intercepted the ball 39 times, that’s pretty impressive
93 – Elneny led Arsenal with 93% passing, misplacing just three passes, 2 of them were long balls
3 – He also completed all three corners, though to be fair, they were all short!
3 – Elneny was perfect in his dribbles 3/3
2 – Elneny created 2 shots for his teammates
1 – Elneny scored Arsenal’s only goal of the match
12.85 – Elneny also ran further than any other player by a large margin
0 – Elneny had no turnovers and was not dispossessed even once
7 – Gabriel led all players with 7 interceptions, 4 tackles, and 4 clearances
19 – Despite being just 19 years old Iwobi had 2 key passes, 2 shots, and looked pretty impressive against Barcelona
7 – Alexis had 7 dribbles, of 11 attempted. Neymar had 6/11 dribbles on the day
The Bad
3 – Arsenal only got 3 of their 20 shots on target
8 – Arsenal had eight shots blocked, this is a major reason why Arsenal only got three shots on target
2 – Both of Arsenal’s big chances were misses
9 – Arsenal had 9 shots off target, that is not blocked or saved, just plain missed
17 – Arsenal conceded 17 shots to Barcelona
8 – Barcelona got 8 shots on target all were by Messi (3), Neymar (3), and the £40m and 1 pound man (2)
6 – Barcelona created 6 big chances and 3 of them were on target, 2 were goals
6 – Barcelona created 6 shots in prime
5 – Barcelona only missed 5 shots, 2 were from outside the 18, the other 3 were all in prime
4 – Arsenal only blocked 4 of Barcelona’s shots
53 – Since Arsenal only got 3 shots on target, that is 15% of their total shots. At that rate, in order to produce 8 shots on target, like Barcelona did, Arsenal would have to take 53 shots in this game (pointed out by @benvenceremos)
15 – Arsenal had 15 turnovers compared to Barcelona’s 8. These are unforced errors and poor touch and reflect a bit the gulf in class between the two clubs
6 – Alexis had 6 turnovers himself, that’s 2 fewer than Barcelona, who had a total of 882 touches compared to Alexis’ 68. That means about 9% of his touches were turnovers and about 1% of Barcelona’s touches were turnovers. A rough day for Alexis.
2 – Koscielny was “credited” with two errors leading to goals, the first and the third. The third is maybe a little harsh, he does have to try to collect a poor pass back but the first is spot on
23 – Welbeck only got 23 touches, but he had 5 shots, none on target
13 – Walcott had 13 touches, but he had 3 shots, none on target
79 – Coquelin only made 79% of his passes, including missing his first pass, and then missing a pass where he slipped and fell over
2 – In addition to the stray passing, Coquelin was dispossessed twice and had a turnover
@7amkickoff
Sources: whoscored.com and the 442 app
Elneny reminds me of pirlo, not there yet but amazingly clear signs! Intelligent footballer who frees the ball on time without a need to hold on to it just to show spectators he’s the one with the ball! Nice try lads
More like Modric, needs to improve final third passing, but is as tidy passer as Arsenal green pitch.
move away, ramsey!
Iwobi also…Great first touch and passing ability.
Not sure on the Pirlo comparison, but Ramsey could learn a lot from Elneny.
This team is in utter disrepair and shambolic performance.
Comments like this leave me in utter disrepair
We lost 5-1 on aggregate. Admittedly against probably the best team in Europe, but still…
I wouldn’t say we are in ‘disrepair’ but we’re certainly not in good shape.
Having such a shambolic performance of trying to stop myself from laughing so hard after reading your comment right now
Does Welbeck have to shoot straight at Mascherano? or I don’t know could he have allowed Mascherano to slide like a fool then calmly stroke the ball into the right corner? Sigh…margins! On the night I found our footie more beautiful than Barcelona’s. direct is always exciting. The only difference lied upfront where Wenger will convince you Giroud, Walcott and Welbeck are World class. think we saw WC yesterday with the 3 strikes. PLAIN TO SEE BUT NEVER ACTED UPON…?? A proper striker beginning of the season and I shit you not League would be wrapped up and Barcelona left… Read more »
Our Coq is great in many ways, but almost all top teams have better ones. We need improvement in DM position in the summer. Also not forgetting the elephant in the room which the manager completely ignores a bloody goal scorer. With both if this we could compete actually. Hats off to Elneny & Iwobi
What this game proved to me is that, in all sports (football especially) confidence is king. The belief that each Barca player has in their individual ability will always put them at an advantage. They are calmer in possession, more composed in thought, they dont rush or panic. Thats the difference. At Arsenal, only 2 players have that confidence… which is why they are world class. Theres not much difference here. 4 goals from Arsenal errors (Mertesacker for the 1st and 2nd goals), all from panic. If Arsenal address this confidence problem, they will easily be in that echelon.
I think you mean better. The difference between world class and very very good IS composure.
i love how we play badly in small games then step up in big games like this so we can exit with positives or ‘heads held high’ Play every match like this and we’d be going places. Love Iwobi. its like the kid is learning from somewhere else, not some handbrake players. And Elneny..well Ramsey is turning in his grave..or his bed
Looks to me like we are showing signs of improvement, but the pressure is off now so maybe that’s why. I expect better performances in the league which will ultimately be futile since we could not do it when it mattered.
Well if Kroenke said that he wouldn’t have come if had wanted trophies says it all. We have players good enough for 4th place in the PL and that’s it guys.
This plus Wenger way past his best (+10 years with no league). To think that Welbeck or Ox or Walcott are as good as top players like Aubameyang is to really be delusional. We can’t do more than this with these players. We only have three top players in Ozil, Sanchez and Cech, all the rest are ok as subs at best.
I think it’s the tactics that are the main issue, not the players. Or are you saying Leicester have a better squad than us?
Welbeck is decent. He is a good backup striker. The problem is that we don’t have a worldclass striker as first choice. We won’t win the league with Giroud.
And Campbell is treated badly by wenger. He is the best player in almost every matches he play and still overlooked in team selection. I can’t understand Wenger’s decision of playing Walcott over Campbell.
I guess the main reason is because, he given him a long term contract with hefty wages.
Giroud is a good backup striker too, and not so injury prone as Welbeck – which is one of things we blame on Wenger – relying on players that get injured a lot. I like both of them, heck, I like all Arsenal players and remember only their best times. For various reasons there’s chance any player could become ‘top, top quality’ and when he does it after being sold, it’s manager’s fault too of course. Wenger trusts in his players and I don’t see why not, he certainly improved his team compared to season ago, but for some reason… Read more »
True, hopefully he starts at Goodison
I’m done with Walcott, we should sell him.
Me too and I have supported him for 10 years.
Btw I completely agree with you on Kroenke. He showed us clearly that he has no intention to go for trophies and that he is only interested in financial success. Still there is no noticeable protest against him in Emirates.
Why should there be a protest against Kroenke? He knows nothing about football. Therefore he leaves all the footballing decisions to those in the know. Surely, this is not a detrimental thing. He is not emotionally involved. He exists in a kind of bubble away from the day to day running of the club. A very hands off approach. I do not buy the argument there is no money to spend. Arsenal has been built on a self sustaining model which means that if Kroenke leaves, it will not affect Arsenal financially or as a brand in the least bit.… Read more »
You can hardly accuse Sanchez of being a top player these days. He should be ashamed of himself… A senior player talks to the press about a lack of hunger, and plays like rubbish during a crucial phase of the season. If we’d had someone scoring in his place, we’d be right up there in the league. It’s pathetic.
Goat
I felt strangely satisfied after the match. Probably due to my acceptance that we were all but out before this tie. Don’t get me wrong I’m still gutted, but by the result and not by the performance for a change.
Elneny!!!
Still on by the numbers, how old is Eduardo’s son?
Play much better football without Ox, Walcott, Ramsey and Giroud…Iwobi and Elneny have impressed me with their ability and use of the ball. Welbeck while being just as bad as Giroud infront of goal, at least worries defenders constantly..Giroud can only play one way.
Watching that game you think if we play like that vs Everton we will win easily…But do you trust the team to put in that performance again.
I keep wondering why a Manager that believes that the best form of defense is attack will completely ignore the fact that we needed a world class striker, how many chances do you think class players like Ibrahimovic, Lewandowski, Aguero, Augbameyang, Higuain or even Suarez would have converted in that match had we had one of them?
The main difference I saw yesterday was one team playing with confidence and calmness in the final third while the other was erratic and rushed in the final third.
MSN are a class above the rest but we had enough chances to hurt Barcelona real bad.
I think the major thing that needs to change for Arsenal is the belief. The mental aspect of the team in big matches is not right.
I absolutely agree. There were no bad players on the Arsenal team at the Camp Nou, but there were a lot of players who were, if not playing badly, certainly not playing as we know they can. Passing hurriedly, passing carelesly, not finding space, and too often like headless chickens when confronted with a goal-scoring opportunity. Maybe not exactly lack of belief, but lack of the calm assurance that I have associated with Arsenal for a long time now. Almost as if they panic when presented with an opportunity to score, or make a telling pass or tackle. I don’t… Read more »
Agreed, I watched a video titled “Henry explains Pep Guardiola’s coaching” on YouTube the other day (makes for great viewing). Henry recalls Pep saying “my job is get the ball to the final third (strategizing build up play). You have to go finish it”. This rings true. You can’t coach an eye for goal. You can coach movements, when to run etc but the player has to be good enough to do them at the right time and sense opportunities. Welbeck is the only forward we have that has a shot at becoming world class. His finishing needs improvement and… Read more »
It’s obvious we need a finisher and if we don’t correct this in the summer it will be the same again next year.all our attackers are good players in there own right but we need someone clinical in front of goal we waste so many chances its a joke and some of these players when they miss just smile and laugh about it does my head
8 shots missed by welbeck and Walcott! That’s not champions league quality. Walcott and Giroud need to go. As long as we have average strikers playin for us, the belief will always, obviously, be low against big teams
welbeck can be that world class striker we keep crowing about. he has technique, speed, stamina, the works. if he can stick that ball into the net, regularly anyway, then he can stand toe to toe with the other so-called world class forwards.
Hardly. Welbeck is 25 years old, has never scored 10 goals in an EPL season, averages about 0.25 goals/game. He can’t “stick that ball into the net, regularly.”
He does make a solid back-up striker. I think he’d make an incredible central defender, but that will never happen.
wouldn’t you want a solid back up striker to score more?
Both of you need to realize that he’s not played as a striker for united much, and when he did his goals/games ratio is much better, good enough to be a backup striker and more.
It would be nice one day for our squad to be able to make something out of nothing, one day soon hopefully.
Welbeck up top seems to work a bit better. His pace and directness scares defenders, we played him up there against Sp*rs and we looked dangerous, same tonight. He should get the nod at Everton. He won’t though. Not too sure on the Campbell issue, part of me thought Wenger was resting him for Saturday, but I don’t think he values him so highly that he is the only first team attacker that got a complete rest. Again, comes down to the favourites thing, Walcott honestly baffles me as a footballer and in no way is he technically sound enough… Read more »
Story of the season – chances created but missed. World Class striker has been mentioned here about a thousand times and rightfully so. On the other hand it looks like we found a decent CM in Elneny. If only Arsene would have had the guts to offer Liverpool what they wanted for the most effective biting footballer…
Let me spell this out to you, so it’s clear…
WE BID THE RELEASE CLAUSE FOR SUAREZ.
Liverpool broke contract law by not releasing him – Suarez could’ve chosen to pursue legal action but did not. He claims that Gerrard spoke to him and told him to stay for another year. Looks like he made the right choice as well – much better off there than with us, the perennial nearly men.
(‘there’ being Barca, not Liverlol, obviously)
Blogs said it was noticeable that Özil just walked straight down the tunnel after the game while other players were applauding the away support. Speculating about stuff like body language or walking off the pitch like Özil may be pointless but say we don’t win the league this year, should we be worried that he might leave this summer? For large parts of this season he has carried us, but you could make the same argument that Arsenal “carried” him through his relatively poor start (particularly in comparison to how he has been playing now), injuries and lack of form.… Read more »
of all of them..Iwobi and Elneny were the calmest. Good job Ooooooooospinaaaaaa, wasn’t your fault
Kroenke owns several American teams, and there’s nothing positive to take from that. He bought the best team in hockey in 2000, and they’ve been much worse ever since. He bought a decent NBA team, lucked into a generational talent drafting Carmelo Anthony but never built a strong team around him and never won anything. He bought a bad NFL team, has kept them as one of the most futile teams in the league but has made a fortune first moving them from LA to St Louis and now reversing that move. He married one of the richest women in… Read more »