Arsenal: Martinez, Jenkinson, Gabriel, Holding, Gibbs, Coquelin, Elneny, Ramsey, The Jeff, Iwobi, Lucas
Subs: Macey, Bola, Bielik, Maitland-Niles, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mavididi
—
Arsenal’s long unbeaten run came to an end this evening as they went down 2-0 to Southampton at the Emirates to crash out of the EFL Cup to the Saints for the second time in three seasons.
As ever there were plenty of changes, Arsene Wenger making 10 from the team that beat Bournemouth last weekend.
The Gunners began confidently with lots of early possession, but the visitors grew into quickly and in the 13th minute took the lead. They worked it down the left, crossed it into the middle and an initial shot was blocked. It fell to Clasie on the edge of the box who blasted it past Martinez. 0-1.
Good work from Iwobi saw him try his luck from just inside the box but his effort was blocked at close range, and Ramsey’s knock down for Lucas was smart but the Spaniard was blocked off before he could shoot.
Arsenal had plenty of possession but lacked any real creativity. Elneny went into the book for a foul on Boufal, followed a few minutes later by Iwobi who the referee judged had impeded the same player but it was a harsh booking for the youngster.
It was the Gunners right that proved a weak link again when the Saints extended their lead in the 38th minute. Jenkinson lost the ball on the right hand side, Southampton worked it down their left again, and Ryan Bertrand’s shot rolled into the bottom corner. 0-2.
That was compounded a few minutes later when Elneny went down with injury and was replaced by Granit Xhaka. There was nothing for Arsenal to claw back before the whistle, and Southampton took their two goal lead into the break.
There were no changes from either manager at half-time, and Arsenal needed something a lot better from the final 45 minutes. There was an early sight of goal when Iwobi and Ramsey crafted a chance for Lucas, but on the turn the Spaniard’s shot was weak.
Nice work moving the ball down the right to Jenkinson gave Ramsey a sight of goal, but as the ball was played just behind him, his shot was easily taken by Forster.
At the other end Long headed over, then tested Martinez with a crack from distance that the Arsenal keeper just about pushed to safety.
Xhaka cracked a 35 yard free kick on target which Forster saved easily enough, before the exciting Boufal almost sealed the deal for the Saints with a shot that deflected just wide.
Coquelin had a left footed shot which didn’t trouble the Southampton keeper, and Arsene Wenger then made his second change of the night, sending on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for The Jeff. That was followed by the introduction of Ainsley Maitland-Niles for Jenkinson.
Holding left Long in a crumpled heap in the 66th minute, which was about the highlight of the night thus far from an Arsenal point of view. Coquelin had another crack, this time pulling his shot not too far wide with his right foot.
Ramsey sliced a shot wide, and saw another one blocked after an Ox cross. Davis almost made it three for the visitors when he lifted a cross over Martinez but also over the bar, and Long was guilty of a horrendous miss when he got behind the Arsenal defence.
Oxlade-Chamberlain should have pulled one back in the 79th minute, but skied his shot over the bar with just the keeper to beat. Arsenal did have . go in the final few minutes, Ramsey and Lucas almost combined to create an opening, and there were a series of corners that were almost dangerous.
Iwobi struck a shot on target but again Forster wasn’t troubled when making the save, and a run from Josh Sims caused all kinds of problems, only a late intervention from Maitland-Niles prevented a third goal.
Four minutes of injury time provided nothing for Arsenal and attention now turns to the far more important matter of Saturday’s Premier League clash against West Ham.
Even with the number of changes we made, we should have done a lot better with the team we put out. Not many positives to take from this evening at all.
Frustrating night. Not much point talking about team changes because hindsight is 20-20 but I want to talk about the selection of certain players specifically. Not so much the reason we lost but why we weren’t likely to win. We know that Southhampton are a bastard of a team to break down. They mark well and work hard. So.. Those times where were inbetween their lines is when you step on their throat but too many of Gibbs, jenkinson, Coquelin, Elneny focus on the safe ball. It gives them time to set their lines again and the momentum is dead.… Read more »
Lucas is not cut out for arsenal he lacks intensity and ramsey is just pooooor and jenskinson also is pooor. Ramsey crying to the manager he wants to play in the middle is an average player and there a way more better players who are more creative than ramsey like Iwobi who was excellent even with all the limitations shead of him he was running the game too bad lucas doesnt run behind and ramsey cant string a pass or two or shoot on target to save his life ramsey is a sqaud player at best and lucas when giroud… Read more »
Lucas back from injury. Prior to his injury I thought he was improving every game. I wont write him off just yet.
We do not have enough the fabled squad depth
When a defensive midfielder and left back knock you out, you know it’s a bad day.
I said it before… The unbeaten run was hiding too many of our deficiencies… I hope wenger see thats xhaka provides us an smooth transition from defence to attack..we are been creating many chances with xhaka in team. Also we need to find a solution for the rb problem.. Maybe gabriel over jenko… Poor ramsey’s gona be so bashed up for few days but he was shambolic all around..
A January with two fewer games is a bit of a silver lining.
Martinez
Jenkinson Holding Gabriel Gibbs
Xhaka Ramsey
Ox Iwobi Jeff
Perez
Would have been my team.
I don’t care what the stats say I hope that puts to bed the myth Ramsey can play the number 10. He was absolutely awful.
Agreed, he was totally useless, wonder what the excuses will be this time…………
If Theo Walcott was given a chance to prove himself despite hiding for many seasons, I believe Ramsey should be given more chances at 10. As always our fabled team of arseblog.com ‘reader-scouts’ have passed judgment after one game at No. 10 with a lot of players getting well needed minutes. There wasn’t much cohesion, and rightly so. I certainly didn’t expect these players to be on the same wavelength. If Ozil needs to be rested/rotated or if he’s injured, Ramsey is our strongest option.
I’m getting sick of this. There is always some excuse for Ramsey not playing well. Should play here, should play there, wrong partner, not enough chances, not fit yet, hasn’t played enough games. What evidence has he given in the last couple of seasons to suggest he is the second best option at no. 10??
He’s recently returned from an injury, but let’s only reserve that line of reasoning for Lucas. He’s never had a run of games this season, but let’s reserve that for El Neny. His Euro showing at No. 10 is the best anyone in our squad has had bar ozil. Name your alternative option for the no. 10 role.
He returned from injury more than a month ago!! What are you comparing it to Lucas who was playing his first game and got no service. Since he has been back he has been involved in all 7 games including 4 starts. Is that not a sufficient run of games for you? And who complained that El Neny has not been good because he didn’t have a run of games. I think the few games he has played he has played well. I’m not overly bothered with what he did for Wales. Different team, different system, different style of play,… Read more »
Where has he been played since he’s been back? This a downright joke. Push the guy around everywhere(left wing ffs) and criticize him for his defensive contribution on the wing, for not staying back in deep midfield. Finally, give him one freaking game at no. 10 and think it’s enough to judge him. Also, by your theory of him playing well with ‘mid-table’ quality Wales teammates, he should’ve done the same yesterday right? He will need time to click with teammates. Our style of play will work for him once he gets games at 10. He has a better pass… Read more »
The least he could do when given a chance at no 10 is show effort and commitment. He looked disinterested for most of the game, he had no hunger to prove a point. I am glad you can at least admit he dwells on the ball, is this a quality you want in your number 10. How can you possibly say he is a better passer than Iwobi? Iwobi is great as passing between the lines, again a quality a number 10 at Arsenal should have. Ramsey is not good at that. Santi used to be great at creating space… Read more »
Aaron Ramsey is not an awful player. He’s not a good player either. He’s mediocre – has been and always will be. He’d do a great for a mid-table team. He is not top-four quality. The deluded will continue to romanticize one good half-season from three years ago.
that’s a perfect way to get you thumbed down by both black and white sides of this argument. So let me help you out.
It was the first game he played the ’10’ role since Wales/Euro in June–and with a bunch of non-regular starters. I’d say the whole team was a sad, listless affair, that looked a lot like 2011. Metronomic, by the book, failed to have any vision.
You don’t seem to realise he was playing in a poor Wales team playing against poor Russia and Slovakia teams.
Let me help YOU out. Scroll down and read my comment just below: Ramsey doesn’t possess the skill set (impeccable close control, playing on the half-turn, burst of acceleration, intuitive understanding of how to find spaces between the lines) to play as a number 10 in a team like Arsenal. Wales is different because they sit deep and counterattack, thus providing him with much more space when he attacks.
talk about his performance tonight and not about the player he is. People who talk shit about Ramsey when he is playing badly are the first ones who lick his ass when he is on fire. He is a good player not playing to his usual high standard
I think we all like Rambo, and much like players in the past we want to see them push on and realise their potential. But unfortunately, that’s not happening. He is just not good enough for this Arsenal team sadly.
Who out of our fit players will play instead of him for the rest of the season if Wenger drops him?
Thoughts?
…He’s a very average player playing to his very average ability.
“When he’s on fire”??! When was that, on ur playstation probably lol!
I won’t go as far as La Defense, but I will say that for Ramsey to have any chance of being a consistently good player, he and Wenger need to work out how to get the most out of his very limited skill set (just like Walcott), or else he should be on the bench for an extended period of time. He is obviously not a number 10, at least not for a team that has a lot of the ball and has to break down packed defenses. He only excels when he’s given lots of space, which is why… Read more »
There’s something called “playing on the half-turn.” It’s absolutely crucial for a top class attacking midfielder, but Ramsey almost never does it, while Iwobi almost always does.
Tbh Ramsey is a good player but maybe not a player which suits Arsenal. He could’ve been a great box to box midfielder but he never focused on the defensive side of his game and distribution etc to excel in that role. He might do well in a 4-3-3, but it’s one thing changing your system and formation to suit someone like an ozil or Sanchez but totally different to change it for Ramsey.
Absolutely…Even worse was when we was the counter Ramsey and the ball n his right foot with Jeff in space out wide…He chose to turn in on himself and play the ball wide for Iwobi on the otherside.
I hate to single out players but Ramsey was awful today. Taking shots from everywhere, taking those 2-3 extra touches, breaking up the pace on the few occasions we managed to get a counter attack going. Overall our midfield looked dysfunctional yet again especially in the first half, with the defense having to pass 20 times amongst themselves before getting the ball into the opposition half. Things got better with xhaka coming on, his ability to pass between the lines is extremely valuable in Santi’s absence as none of our other midfielders seem to possess that. Hopefully we’ll put this… Read more »
@stringer bell. Totally agree. He did great for Wales at the Euros, fine. But he’s not a No 10!! His first instinct is to pass the ball balcwards when receiving it. He doesn’t have the guile or playmaking mentality for a 10. He’s a box to box. And he’s fucking woeful right now with a big ego making it worse
Abysmal performance tonight- Iwobi was the only one who came to play.
I feel like we’ve seen the end of Jenkinson’s Arsenal career…
But first goal, horrid defending. Second goal, foul in the build up, and nothing doing ref.
Is it me, or are Southampton the time-wasting-est team in PL history? How a substitution takes 6 minutes and they’re allowed to get away with it is beyond me.
Yes about Jenkinson. The first goal was the combined fault of him and the Jeff (who still looks WAY too raw to break into the first team), while the second was all him (with an assist from Ramsey).
Rhetoric question. Were we really that bad?
meh.
That was bad but I couldn’t really give a shit to be honest
We should have done better at home with that team
We could keep playing until next week and we would still not have scored. Lacking real firepower as always.
‘It looks like Arsenal could be playing all night and still not get a goal.’ – Commentator at around the 88th minute. Sums it up.
There were no discernible positives about this game tonight. In particular, the first half performance was insipid, with the players showing little effort and Southampton counter attacking easily to score twice. The second half performance was only slightly improved due to Southampton sitting off and allowing Arsenal to take the initiative, and in doing so could’ve and should’ve easily scored another two at the very least. To those suggesting it is only the EFL cup, it is still an Arsenal team playing against another Premier League team who also made a litany of changes and who very comfortably won this… Read more »
One positive: Iwobi looked back on form. The boy is pure quality.
Ramsey was shit Lucas sucks comes to the ball does not run behind at allllllll..Jenkinson is not a long term cover for Bellerin We were much better when Maitland came on he overlaps Jenkinson just satys back and is not technically good enough to play at Arsenal unfortunately. Rob holding is outstanding But the main culprits for this loss starts with RAMSEY LUCAS AND JENKINSON and we could have had something from the game if LUCAS wouls just run behind defenders and cause problems he was tooooooo static just static and ramsey was totally shit!!!! anyway good for southampton took… Read more »
Its pretty unfair to slate Lucas Perez this harshly considering a couple of things: he had shit for service tonight, and he is just coming back off an injury.
I’ll agree that Jenkinson was poor tonight. Ramsey was selfish, and should have shot/dribbled less and passed to open teammates more.
He didn’t help himself by being too static and droping too deep into midfield coming to the ball and not running behind. He was content with standing around when you have a midfield with xhaka and elneny in it you need to make runs to open up play and stretch defenders re watch the game im not being harsh him i swear to you re watch the game and watch lucas he was ppor just poor no excuses and so was ramsey who was even worse than lucas
Do you know anything about punctuation marks?
Apparently not. As well as not noticing Elneny being replaced by xhaka…
I can understand playing an open game from the off in a league game where the onus is on us to go and win the game, but for a cup tie? I mean why invite them to play their counter attacking game from the off??
Ramsey consistently terrible
Shit that was bad. No real cohesion, couldn’t find the final ball to hurt them. I missed the first goal but the second was Jenkinson’s fault for giving the ball away. Would have liked a bit more experience on the bench, but can’t complain, Southampton were the better team!
summary of Arsenal
defensive 3rd ..,. ooo what the fuck are we doin
ooo .. fuck ! that was close !!
middle 3rd .. fuckin brilliant ball .. great pass .. what vision ..
top 3rd .. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz .. o hes tried a 1 2 .. didnt work ! .. o hes had shot .. in row z .. o hes fell over
Ramsey was a disaster today. His chance to shine in his favourite position and all he did was playing as a handbrake to all our play…Useless narcist
jenkinson was very poor. both goals were started from him.. but have to kudos to saints producing an overall solid performance which has deterred arsenal’s offensive play(like totally?). saints packed their midfield and especially pressured our weak right flank. their game worked out and therefore the goals. Lucas looked unfit to me.. touches are poor in general and he is missing movement. he is too static given the packed midfield. i feel that ramsey should continue to be benched from now on.. he playing like a p*55y in no 10.. dont rmb him making any forward pass.. i think xhaka… Read more »
Great shots from Ramsey tonight. Wisely chosen.
Some points… 1) I don’t care if this is the EFL. I still want to win and momentum is everything. Tonight was a little too predictable. 2) Elneny does my head in with his sideways passes. I know why he is there, but honestly there were so many opportunities for him to play the forward ball tonight, and his natural impulse it to go backwards or sideways. 3) Ramsey, nice kid, decent player a few years ago…but if the rumours about Barcelona offering 50 million were true I wish we had snapped their arm off. Not good enough to dictate… Read more »
the midfield was only making sideways passes because everyone in front like lucas were just static and standing waiting for the ball when they should be running behind so when yheres no option in front of you to pass to well what do you do lol????? you pass to yoour nearest teammate next to you and unfrotunately thats what coquelin and elneny did mostly, Jenkinson didnt provide width lucas didnt make runs and ramsey can close control or play in a no 10 role IWOBI sholuldve played there but thats what you get with shit ramsey
Truth!!
I agree Elneny is too conservative – he should’ve started Xhaka – and Jenkinson is quite wank. But give the Jeff some time, he’s still a teen.
You say momentum is everything… I agree with the exception that momentum applies moreso to the main team… if Arsene had played 9 regular 1st teamers this would be a disaster. As it was a team primarily of fringe guys I dont think the momentum thing is a factor in this case.
But I do agree though in that I want the team to win EVERY game they play.
Iwobi deserves to start this weekend
Well we learnt some things,
Maitland Niles might be better than Jenkinson who was dire
Elneny/Coq pivot is pointless and team much more dynamic with Xhaka
Obviously missed attacking threat. Perez rusty as can be expected. Still waiting on him.
Why is Coquelin shooting? Why is Ramsey shooting?
Holding got better.
Overall the first half was one of the worst games I’ve watched for a while
Don’t forget Elneny Coquelin worked earlier in the year when we went like 10 games unbeaten and Elneney ewas the first player on the teams sheet elneny is a very very good player the problemy wasn’t elneny/coque it was what was infront of them RAMSEY AND LUCAS they offereed no real option to get the ball to them so the had to play it safe LUCAS didnt move he was static and Ramsey wasted every possession he was given so they played it sideways its infrotunate butr that weasnt coq/elneny’s fault
Steve, defend players all you want but please don’t just make stuff up. Elneny has started 8 games this season (3 in league cup) so your 10 games unbeaten/first name on the team sheet comments are clearly total rubbish.
He’s right actually (Steve) between Jan. And the end of the season Elneny was outstanding nd very consistent
“earlier in the year when we went like 10 games unbeaten ”
You clearly missed that part
Cant really expect much else. That team line up was truely woeful.
What on earth was the ox doing on the bench? The 5 sitting behind perez have a total of zero goals all season between them. And wenger looked pissed off at half time? Not sure what else you can expect today.
Ox played on the weekend and will probably start next match, that’s why he didn’t start this match.
Chamakh! The only thing that’s made me laugh tonight was seeing “Chamakh”. Classic.
Now that Theo got his form back, Ramsey became fans victim.
Excuse me! We are having a pop at Jenks too!
No.
Ramsey is playing badly and people are criticising him for it. That’s it.
Ramsey is too slow of mind and foot to anchor midfield. He’s a bench player and not a starter for me.
It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone regarding Jenkinson. He’s a liability and has been for years. Send him back to West Ham. With bells on.
Not a good game to judge Ramsey’s no. 10 credentials.
Just look at the players around him.
I’ll save you the suspense: he’s not good enough to play as a number 10.
Cant really agree with that as we still had several experienced players out there.
Anyway, i can’t say i’m too bothered. On to West Ham, let’s hope Jenks is up for doing the hammers as we’ve not many options at RB just now
Gabriel was great at left back (after a shaky start) against Bournemouth imho.
Incredible. Never Ramsey’s fault, is it? Even when playing in his “best” position…unbelieavable…
Yes.
Look at Iwobi, always on the move, trying to create space.
Ramsey can’t create for a team of Arsenal’s stature, maybe a mid-table team.
As a B2B, jury’s still out.
1. Jenkinson is clearly not a good enough player. There are lots here who will defend him but in my opinion he hasn’t been good enough in previous seasons and certainly not at the present moment. Too limited for the type of expansive football that we play. The difference between Bellerin and him is day and night. Who knows he might turn out well in the future but i won’t be expecting too much. 2. Ramsey finally got his chance to play as a central attacking midfielder today and he botched it. 3. Do our players actually have shooting practice?… Read more »
Xhaka was probably rested for next match.
Actually Xhaka made a handful of terrible passes either behind players or to nobody. But in saying that, he also made a heck of a lot of quality passes too.
Looking at the team tonight, we had no proven goal scorers on. Lots of decent squad players, no game winners.
We are a bit short on proven goal scorers in general!
Well that was a fantastically shit performance lads !
Disappears back into his bottle of Jura …
Most worried about the fact that Maitland-Niles looked so much better than Jenkinson. Probably one of the worst RB performances I have seen from an arsenal player and I like Jenko.
Why we started Coq-Elneny at home in a match that doesn’t really matter to us at home is beyond my understanding. They haven’t had a single good game together thsi season. Would rather have seen Ramsey or Maitland-Niles (or even Zelalem) pair one of them. Couldn’t have been worse.
Not too worried about the result as it might be good to our already congested fixture list.
Disappointing performance. The team we put out today should’ve won this game. For all our nice touches, we lacked the final ball required to unlock their defence. Ramsey was abysmal as a number 10. Very disappointed in him. Xhaka should’ve started instead of Elneny. Perez lacks sharpness. Credit to Southampton..they outplayed us at times. Giroud might have been useful today. We put in some good crosses. AMN was very impressive…need to see more of him. Iwobi was sharp as well. Good to see him back. Disappointing again…Puel seems to have Wenger’s number. Doubt we’ll beat Southampton when next we meet… Read more »
Firstly Southampton played well. Arsenal looked like a bunch of individuals for the most part. Sorry to say but Jenkinson was terrible. Like he does not know he can pass the ball with his left foot in order to protect the ball with his body. Rest of the defense was good. I feel bad for Lucas Perez in that everytime he makes a little space for himself in the box Ramsey would just shoot. No interchange of passes when Jeff gets the ball. Ramsey was trying to many fancy plays/passes when a simple pass would have been more effective. Holding… Read more »
Ramsey sure is trigger happy and considering how often he wastes them it’s frustrating. If he put them away more often no one would mind but he doesn’t and he still continues to hoof them into oblivion instead of passing his better placed team mates.
Playing The Jeff on the right was a disastrous decision in my opinion… He was lost completely, plus he was unable to help out the “out of form” Jenko… (and his pace is defenitely not among his strenghts)
Besides, I think Ramsey should have played next to Coquelin (which is his no.1 CM position) with The Ox on the right wing…
Wenger 3/10 today
max…
What did he do to merit the 3? Getting the players on the pitch was about it.
🙂
He rested Alexis!
I woulda given him a 10 for that 🙂 Imagine the comments from Sanchez when the boss tells him he wont be playing, not even making the bench. I bet he tries the puppy dog eyes and all, but would be a real prick when AW still says No.
Rotating is a very difficult managerial skill but doing it well is essential to success in the modern game. Arsene Wenger does not do it well.
Well, it’s November still, right? Also, Ramsey, senior first squad player who should have been a presence on the pitch and was anything but that…. That is why I thing he’s not a good first team player and certainly not a leader. Others, well, at times like headless chickens… November, be gone!
Arsenal have been too easily nullified in the past couple of seasons at home. Home games where we have scored only one goal or none at all with few shots on target have been common. It doesn’t matter what team we put out, the way we play tactically is the same, and opposition managers know that. Well organised banks of four, with a pressing game always gives us problems. We don’t have the movement and speed of passing to unlock defences that both Chelsea and Liverpool are currently showing.
Blimey that’s not me ^ (far too eloquent)
Below is
Hello new Paul
Not criticising Ramsey but I actually I bloody am!…there was a point when he should have passed to put Perez in but instead chose to shoot “Hollywood Roy of the Rovers style” again. 🙁
Ramsey was poor tonight. Was hoping for him to show what he could do as a no.10 but ultimately disappointed. Looked unfit, very off the pace the whole game. The game comes onto a snails pace when the ball is with him.lacked any creativity at all, selfishly choosing to shoot when he should be looking for perez. Provided minimal support for the cm pairing, even ozil a lousy tackler provides better. And the most disappointing was he was strolling around the pitch in the 1st half. Really a fan of him but really I have to call it as I… Read more »
Not only tonight, Ramsey has always been poor.
you know, when I saw the lineup I knew it wouldn’t go well.
El Neny is solid but not creative so for me he’s a player you bring on to shore things up. Ramsey and Jenks out of sorts.
Oh well, not really that bothered as long as we bounce back for Saturday
Elneny is a classy player lol he is creative and very mobile he just plays very deep and today the forward lines were just poor so it didnt give the holding midfield options at all elneny coq had no options ahead of them thats not their fault. I blame RAMSEY AND LUCAS
I feel sorry for the younger players not getting another EFL fixture this season but that’s about it. However, I really hope we crush Southampton when we travel to St. Mary’s this season. I’m tired of being on the receiving end of their best league result.
What a shower of shite.
Total apathy from Wenger…a mish mash of a team that didn’t have a clue.
I’m convinced that will be Jenkinsons last ever game for Arsenal.
Ramsey should hang his head in shame at that performance….which just adds to the complete mystery why Wenger plays him so often.
Southampton were so superior.
Weirdly, maybe they actually want to win a trophy and Wenger just uses it to give bang average squad players a run out?!
Who do you play at RB against West Ham? Gabriel? I don’t think Debuchy will be fit.
Gab or Niles.. niles looks talented.. needs games.. could be it
I fear physically AMN could be bullied at RB against a decent (and physical) side like West Ham. Maybe in a few months, but not sure he’s ready yet, especially since he’s only played at RB a few times. Though I admit our options are limited…Coquelin?
I can’t wait for that moment when Ramsey’s form returns, making his critics eat humble pie then disrespecting everyone who ever stood up for him when he was horrible by constantly talking about his step up to a bigger club like Barcelona or Real Madrid.
He plays for himself. I refuse to tolerate his poor perfomances because of this. kudos to those who choose to, but he will be off soon as he rediscovers his form. Bet!
Regardless of the competition, losing at home to Southampton was unacceptable.
Not good enough.
Least important game of the season. If we go through, great. If we don’t, a few players have had a run out. The clue is in the joint facts that these games are not included in the season ticket and if you want to go, it will cost you a tenner. If Harrods food hall hosts an eat all you can for a tenner, do you expect foie gras and smoked salmon? Only if you’re a halfwit. These games are about giving people who can’t get to games on a regular basis a night out and non regular players game… Read more »
You’ve been brainwashed to believe that.
Why can’t Arsenal Football Club with its incredible resources beat Southampton at home who themselves are in European competition ?
I would say though that the fact Southampton are in Europe themselves means they are not minnows and Arsenal shouldnt expect to defeat them everytime they play Southampton. Southampton could just as easily argue they are a decent side and a good chance of a win themselves.
I do however think any competitive game, Arsenal should be looking to win it and against EPL opponents ya cant show up with a half arsed team and expect to waltz through. Even if they show up with a half arsed team too.
What utter bollocks that is.
You are trying to be far too clever for your own good.
At home to Southampton regardless of the competition that performance and result simply isn’t good enough.
Over-intellectualise it all you want but football isn’t that clever.
Arsenal football club should have the resources to beat a much changed Southampton side in the EPL cup at home.
I’m not over intellectualibg. Look at the team put out. The manager prioritises the game as lowly as he can. You prioritise it differently. He matters. You don’t.
I do matter as do the 50 odd thousand fans who paid hard earned money to watch that tonight.
let’s not forget the fact that without fans in stadiums football is nothing.
We would have been drawn against Liverpool had we progressed….academic I know
For me iwobi should play as number 10 under a striker ,in this position he ca improve and be a perfect player
The jeff same story should play as cm or cam
And any match for them on flanks influences their careers
Ox or maitland niles are the best option in this situation in RB
In LB same problem moneral and gibs are bad we should buy a good player in this position like bruno perez or giving opportunity for a youth player like marc bola maybe he can be like bellerin
A lot of what I wanted to say has been said already, but I was just really disappointed with the tempo today. We lacked width and looked too disjointed in midfield. We had too many ball-holders and not enough ball-carriers out there today and it was frustrating to watch. I think the older guys could have helped the younger lads out there a bit more today, but maybe I’m being a little unfair. Sometimes you just want to see a bit more fight reardless of the score. And one thing to point out about Lucas is he’ll need time to… Read more »
Two big plus points from tonight:
1. That was nowhere near our first team playing.
2. Wenger made a substitution after 54 minutes!
🙂
November
Woeful…nothoing to write home about. Only one team came to win the game and they did.
Ramsey man of the match for creating 0 chance and selfishness shot when there are others to passed on.. Shit they say!!