So we’re 2-0 up, let Andy Carroll score a hat-trick, then get an equaliser to salvage a point, but that was hugely frustrating.
The classic ‘good game for the neutral’, but neutrals can stick it up their hoops.
Here’s how the players rated. Read the match report here.
This is deja vu all over again
Dejavu is when something happens for the second time – not for a zillion times.
No great surprise, West Ham away this year is tough and we are and will always be mentally brittle
Koscielny as captain? Do me a favour, he’s a piss weak pretender just like Walcott and our narcissistic manager
Only Arsenal can make Andy Carroll look like a £35million striker
In fairness to Andy Carroll, that was a cracking second goal.
Some of our players had a poor game especially Gabriel. Before kickoff I had mentioned their aerial threat in absence of per in the team news piece. Disappointing
P.S. I don’t know what frustrated me more letting a 2 goal lead slip or Danny Mills on commentary questioning our status as a top club as according to him 3 pl titles are not enough for us to be classified as one
In fairness, for our size and money we should have more. A lot more
what did I do?
I think it was just a typo lad
the lack of tracing back by alexis directly led to the first goal, others could also have done better on the first goal, second goal was complete cock up too, half the team running out to play offside, the other half just standing about not marking anyone, letting carroll take the ball down on his chest is inexcusable. We have now scored 2 at man utd, 3 at liverpool, 2 at spurs and 3 at west ham and won none of the games, in fact only picking up 3pts, our defenders are not prepared to put their bodies on the… Read more »
Can’t believe how many people on here still think we can win the league?
Delusion, sheer delusion.
Ok deluded ones, allow me to illustrate your delusion:
To finish with more points than Leicester, we need to win all our remaining 6 games (even though we have only won 2 of last 6 PL games) AND if we manage to do that we need Leicester to lose 4 games of their remaining 6 games, even thought they have only lost 3 PL games all season (32 games).
We are all Arsenal supporters but If you want to continue with your deluded views then that’s up to you but you should be aware that you just look silly.
It’s called Hope. You have to hope until it really is impossible, to believe in the dream until it’s proven to be impossible, otherwise you end up negative and miserable like Fatgooner. It may not be sensible, and you may be unhappy with a lot of things and want changes, but you have to hope until the end. Maybe it’s deluded, but while there is a possibility you have to believe.
I hear what you’re saying Vonnie, but at what point does your hope and belief return into unrealistic and deluded. Do you think Aston Villa fans are hoping and believing they stay up? (after all it is still possible).
What I am hoping for is for Leicester City to win the Premier League because the alternative situation is worse than any nightmare I can imagine.
Nothing like starting off your post to fellow Gooners with “Ok deluded ones”.
Highly unnecessary and quite Twattish. One might think you’re looking for conflict with fellow supporters. Thankfully we’re all mature and above that sort of thing around here.
Except we’re not. Happens too much both ways.
I agree that the title is out of reach, but would appreciate if you didn’t call other users of this website deluded because their opinion is different from yours.
Thanks.
Why don’t you do the same appeal when we get insulted and downvoted to oblivion for criticizing Wenger respectfully (no, I’m not talking about the twats that call him senile or whatever).
I do. I can’t read every comment though. And we do have very specific rules: http://news.arseblog.com/comment-policy/
I try and keep things fair for everyone.
Come off it Arseblog, I’m pretty sure one of the top comments after last week’s match report was a guy calling another user a ‘twat’ for daring to suggest that, despite a win over a terrible Watford side, Arsene Wenger should stillgo. I didn’t hear you get on your high horse then. In fact, I think you then had a little pop at the guy yourself.
Rightly so! Anyone who still harbours even 1% hope that we can still win it Is truly deluded! You shouldn’t take offence except you one o them
People too often use words that they don’t mean to use and forget that words have actual meanings and not just general sentiments. Delusional is the wrong word. It’s still possible for Arsenal to win the league, technically. It’s unlikely for that to happen and it’s unreasonable to expect it to happen. It would be delusional to say “based on everything I’ve seen I think Arsenal will win the league”. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with saying Arsenal “can” still win it. It’s still a possibility. But if you ask me that’s not the point. The time to be crying about… Read more »
2/10 for the ref who got almost everything wrong. Thanx for the disallowed but send Caroll of and we dont need the charity.
Love the club. Hate this year’s team. Should be leading the league with a cushion of points instead we continue to drop points from leading positions. Don’t need to change the manager; need the manager to change.
You mean the manager who hasn’t changed for 20 years? Spare me more of your delusion.
Do me a small favor. Go back to my comment and highlight for me where I said I expect it to actually happen.
You said we don’t need to change the manager, we need the manager to change. But if you don’t expect the manager to change, what do you expect to happen? Your argument implies that either you expect the manager to change, or you’re OK with him staying and not changing at all.
I expect next season to be just like this season (more or less_
The fact that I think Arsene needs to stop making the same mistake every year (post-Invincibles) year after year doesn’t imply I expect him to. You might infer that, but I can’t help what you’re thinking.
He’s too old and stubborn to change at this stage. At one nil I could sense the complacency setting in. Fair enough we went on to score another goal but the capitulation followed soon after.
Am I allowed to criticise Wenger now that we lost or will I get thumbs downed to hell again?
Feels so much like a loss I genuinely made that slip!
Same old, one of the worst team defence in the league. When will Wenger and Bould do something about this? This brought back painful memory of opposing players left knowingly unmarked and quietly received the ball and scored. Today was about brainless defence. Only Arsenal would make Caroll look like Suarez.
Finishing second would be a miracle. Still have a resurgent City to play away.
For the sake of change, I would like to see change at the helm at the end of the season.
We deserve that!
Not for success, but for change. This has got stale. Taking the lead, unable to hang on when it matters, getting bullied by big target men, lack of discipline…All this can’t be a coincidence for it to happen perennially!
PS : This isn’t a Wenger out, but a calm old-fashioned request for a change.
Didn’t Wenger know the Liverpool reject is a physical and aerial threat ? Those who said he had become tactically inert may have a point.
Caroll hadn’t started for the past 6 games. They normally start Enner Valencia.
Don’t blame everything on Wenger. The players on the pitch also contribute a little bit to the game.
Correct he hasn’t been a starter but Bilic the other manager made a tactical change obviously seeing a weakness in our defence. Full backs not closing down crosses wingers not coming back to help out and a lack of physicality in central defence. Guess he made the right call.
How come Wenger did not expect Carroll to start!
It’s fairly obvious that forwards like Drogba, Lukaku, Carroll the big physical and aerially strong always hurt us…in the post Invincible era!
A good manager prepares for different situations. Pep or Mourinho prepare for every game by analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition and adjust accordingly. Hence they are the most successful managers of the modern era.
The problem is not about getting outdone tactically in this one match. It is the admittance by this manager that he has known for the entire season that we are weak aerially and he has clearly not addressed that weakness. Any other man in any other job would be sacked for such an admittance of negligence.
The sight of Spanish international Monreal being skinned alive by ex-Tooting &Mitcham’s Michael Antonio for their third goal sums up our defending today.
Gabriel is a disaster. Weak where he needs to be strong and reckless when he needs to be calm. If we have given up on Per then how lowly does Wenger rate Chambers to be behind the Brazillian headless chicken?
Why so annoyed today, blogs?
Not saying you shouldn’t be, but it’s unlike you to get this annoyed. Normally you’re calm in the face of a lot of us doing our nut.
I’m only human!
great game for the neutral eye but for us gooners it’s a pity we play like this. It’s like if the players expect özil and sanhez to carry everything. Once they are in form the whole team is in form, when they dip the whole team dip. We can point fingers at Wenger but the whole staff needs a good look at. If Leicester can play the way they play so can we. We scream for quality players but we won’t talk about belief of confidence, which is what we truly lack…
I dont remember a successful pass from welbeck within the first 40 minutes, yet he gets a rating higher than alexis?
Yeah, I thought he was dreadful today. Sanchez and Ozil weren’t great either. To be honest, I thought Coquelin and Elneny were let down by the wide players and CBs from a defensive perspective. I had no problem with them being substituted though – at that point it needed to be done.
Iwobi was good though, I can’t include him in my criticism.
Another ‘Arsenal turns a wooden plank into a football superstar’ match.
Not bringing Theo on until late in the game really shows Arsene’s confidence in his ability.
Love Özil, but why is he so weak? Wenger is no lot the right man (anymore) to slap some mental toughness into this team.
Why do we need to chase for third goal when 2 goals up? Why not see off the remainder of the last 5 minutes defending our lead. No leadership and no composure. We need an Arteta like replacement in the summer as well as a quality centre back I would like Stones and a quality striker. We have missed Poldolski’s presence from the bench this season and not replaced him.
Another week and we managed to make another bang average player look world class.
I was so pissed off with the quality of refereeing in our games over the last two months (almost to the point where I entertained the thought of considering it as a conspiracy to let Leicester win the league), but we couldn’t take advantage even when they helped us (somewhat) today.
For a player who mouthed off to the press about our side not having ”hunger” and then to leave Cresswell repeatedly like that is beyond ridiculous. Also, when he tried to cut back on his right when he was in on goal summed his season up, almost comical if it didn’t make me wail in pain/anger like a dying seal.
Need someone to kick the asses of these players and get them to fight for the team and earn their salaries.
It seems that the team wasn’t too interested in defending today. It is easy to be critical after the game but if you have one game where you could actually use Mertesacker it would be this, against Carroll, especially if you start a short keeper. Also should have brought in Gibbs as Monreal had trouble dealing with their pace. Why Walcott was subbed in I can’t really understand, the substitution killed the momentum they had as Welbeck should be able to run 90 minutes with his stamina. Well, similar mistakes as usual. Though a point isn’t a really bad result… Read more »
Welbeck wasn’t up to much at all in this game. He was rightly subbed off.
The team scored 3 so you can’t really criticise Welbeck. If you score 3 times you should win the match. It’s the defensive effort that lacked
Generous to Iwobi? He had two assists and was excellent overall (as he has been in recent weeks), but the first two WHU goals came from him giving it away in midfield.
Can’t help but think Gabriel is making the same mistakes. The difference between making a good/bad split second decision is not as much reaction as it is positioning. And we’ve seen a couple weeks now, his positioning isn’t the greatest.
Again a great match by Iwobi but even he seem tired by the 60th or so minute.
I like Alex I, but he was at fault for both those first half goals. Gave the ball away way to easily, he had a total of 4 assist today by my count. Not to sure why he got a 7?
Question. Is Gabriel worse than cygan and if so how long before wenger buys another soft center back.
Can’t we just clone kos!
This is Wenger all over.
With west ham airialthreat cheq and per were a must.
Tatically inept .
Agree but it is easy to say after the game. Not changing a winning team would most managers agree to too. Mostly down to bad marking by the players and offensive players not helping the defence
‘Not changing a winning team would most managers agree to too’, made me giggle like a baboon playing with its banana.
Are you yoda in disguise?
(Not trying to take the piss! I agree with your point)
Disgraceful result after going 2 up same old Arsenal they should of been made do laps of the pitch afterwards bunch of wasters including the manager and it will be the same crap next season until the dictator is removed
We are so laughably predictable over the last TEN years, when they whipped it in just before the second goal I said to my mate “Man wouldn’t it be bad if they scored now” knowingly because I actually thought that, this being Arsenal, there was a VERY high possibility of that happening.
Only Arsenal could make a 2-0 lead in the first half away into a 3-2 reversal in this league. That kind of stuff is reserved for utter shite teams. Absolutely inexcusable and pathetic, it points to a sickening malaise within this squad.
The easy conclusion to make is that this was Arsenal’s season – nay Arsenal’s last TEN seasons – in 90-minute microcosm. Moments of astonishing attacking play, passages of excellent, incisive possession, an absolute clusterf*** in defence. There was even a mini-collapse and a display of mental strength tossed in for good measure. Bravo. It’s almost like performance art.- Football 365
The goals we concede are criminal. Like actual criminal acts of defending that should be punished by more than goals…They were all awful but Gabriel should be sentenced to 3 days in jail.
Im sorry but watching Gabriel trip Carroll around the 70th minute – he can’t play anymore. That was just way too reckless/stupid/unnecessary and could have cost us the game. You just cant do that without consequences
Any sign of a mental strength/ spirit comment from AW after? Same old same old. This time next year we’ll be contesting fourth place
Yes, he said it.
From BBC website:
‘We’ve shown resilience and spirit to come back to 3-3.’
He should have a separate line on the pools for these buzzwords. What an absolute joke
I thought we played well until about 40 minutes, and recently we seem to switch off around that time, you could see it happening. Why was Wenger not on the touchline screaming at everyone to focus? and after that goal before the second one went in? And is there a rule at Arsenal that says substitutions can only be made after 60 minutes? It was obvious when Carroll started that we needed height, Arsene may not have anticipated him starting, but he should have done something about it before the 68th minute when he brought on Giroud. When big decisions… Read more »
Can’t comment on the report page. So I’ll have my rant on here.
Andy Carroll physical and good in the air but not very quick. We had to play Mertersacker in this one. We then proceeded to allow them to put crosses in unchallenged all game. Talk about shooting ourselves in the foot.
How on earth does Walcott get infront of Campbell I really don’t see it. The boss just seems to have an issue with him. Works harder has a defence splitting pass and scores goals too. Bewildering!
Bright spot Alex Iwobi. Wow just wow. What an immense talent.
Is it time for alexis to have a seat?
The defending was horribly bad. West Ham put the ball into our net 5 times, with 2 ruled out that would not always be ruled out by other officials on other days. (The offside call was clearly missed, and we were lucky, it was a goal by them. The Payet goal would have been allowed by a lot of officials, even though it was definitely a foul on Carroll.) Gabriel is tyhe next in the line of terrible central defenders after Sylvester and Squillacci. If you see the replay of their third goal, you can see that Carroll didn’t head… Read more »
I don’t think Arsenal played that horribly today. We have very long good stretches of play and should have converted many more of our chances. The weakness was defensively and not preparing well for what we knew was coming with Carroll as an aerial threat.
With that in mind, the boss should have played BFG instead of Gabriel, who really struggled.
And he should have had Campbell to come off the bench instead of Walcott. I’m more convinced than ever that Walcott is mostly pace, but his footballing intelligence is lacking big time.
harsh on Ospina who would have also saved 3rd goal except for Gabriel poor header and all round game..
Ozil says we “mucked” it up ourselves.
Arsenal will not win any more titles under Wenger. Yes, we all know that he is the club blah blah, but change is inevitable.
“Could you describe Arsenal’s season in one word?” No, but I can sum it up in one match. This one.
Not sure what happened to Alex but it looks like he has already packed his bags for the summer transfer. No way near what he is like and doesn’t seem to care anymore.
You can have all the talented players you want, but it doesn’t matter how many Xhaka’s, Lukaku’s, Morata’s or whoever else you have, throwing away a 2-0 lead away to West Ham to the same goal three times seems to me not a problem solved by signings. I’m not saying Cech saves them or Wenger messed up. I’m just saying a more talented squad does not change what happened today. And today is kinda what needs to change.
At 2 – 0 we kept playing the same as at 0 – 0. Naive team defending and poor managing.
Loved Ian Darke’s commentary on the US TV. First 20 minutes or so he kept praising El Neny trying to goad Danny Mills into an argument. Then when Steve Bould was pictured preparing Theo to do whatever he did, Darke went on a long soliloquy about how conceding 3 goals would not have been acceptable under Graham. A not so subtle jab at Wenger.
Conceding three goals after being two up is simply unacceptable.
Considering we lost to West Ham at home, I thought it was a rather good result away from home.
I’ve had enough of Wenger though. He’s ruined many great players, Podolski, Arshavin, Adebayor, etc, etc. Now he’s doing the same to Walcott. No way we would have lost that match if he started. We needed pace and penetration today, and that is exactly what Walcott provides. Wenger is ruining our team. Shameful.
P.S. Ramsey shouldn’t be in a championship team, let alone a premiership one. Utter waste of space and time.
Wenger after the game: “…We had a good game today…” “…We played with a weakness that is redundant in the season…” So: if we draw a game because of problems that are continuously emerging all over the season (and we are unable to fix it) and that game can easily cost us the title after 11 years It still can be called a “good game”??? And I also unable to understand Özil: “…But a point vs. #WHU is better than nothing…” Today? OK – better… but how f*ckin’ much better? Considering the 2-0 lead after 44 minutes? And 11 points… Read more »
Let’s have a look at our central backs:
– Mertesacker: too slow
– Gabriel: shit
– Koscielny: needs a partner, otherwise doesn’t perform, and not among Europe’s best anyway
– Chambers: never plays, can’t judge
For years the press has been saying our defense sucks, yet we always brush it under the carpet by calling it a “narrative”.
Wenger has got to GO, the last straw came weeks ago but this takes the biscuit!!! We should be top of the table by a country mile yet here we are third in the league and 10 points, soon to be 12, behind last seasons relegation fodder!!! Totally infuriating and I give up with Wenger and his ‘mental strength’
We don’t have a single leader in the whole squad. Furthermore, it was obvious that Bilic would start with Carroll, so why why select a team lacking height and strength. We also have a team of coward because when was the last time a defender threw himself in front of the ball to try a block. No, they all stand there like statues. As many others have pointed out today, and most of the season, Wenger is bloody minded, and seems to revel in going against what the media and fans can see is wrong. Sadly, he must make way… Read more »
Why does Alexis have a left foot??
Why blame the gaffer? This is the same team practically as many here were salivating over not two games ago. Something about how solid the Coquelin and Elneny partnership has been. Well we let in another 3 goals. Since Coquelin’s return we have let in 13 goals in 7 appearances. This is not an indictment on Coquelin but just to say Flamini’s worst with Ramsey playingw as the 3 all draw against Liverpool and plenty were moaning about him not giving enough ‘protection’ to he back 4, and that was him playing with Ramsey. Or the fact that Ramini had… Read more »
Keep showing us just how ignorant and a flamini fanboy you are.
Elneny is a better player than flamin…whether you like it or not. Nothing you’re precious flamini would’ve done today.
Then again, this is the same guy who thinks flamini is better than schnederlin and wanyama so I’m not that surprised
I still believe Wenger is the problem with this team. All of his tactical naivete was on display today: Nothing wrong with starting lineup; I would have favored Cech thought but by halftime it was clear that we needed more height in the box and that Welbeck was ineffective; a simple change, Giroud in, Welbeck out. But no Wenger never makes halftime changes. Then we know he plays favorites, so somehow he had to get Ramsey on and he did. What good did that do? Ramsey has been one of the reasons why we will not win the title. And… Read more »