After two damaging defeats in a week, Gabriel says the team need to stop and take stock of why they threw away the lead against Everton and Man City.
It’s left the Gunners sitting 9 points behind leaders Chelsea, quite a turnaround when you consider we were top of the table last Saturday night.
The Brazilian says it’s not good enough, and the team have to respectfully demand more from each other.
“I think now is a good time for the team to stop and think about the mistakes we’ve made in these two games to try and improve on that,” he told Arsenal Player.
“I think each of us needs to reflect and try to keep each other in check. We must know how to demand from each other, and how to respect each other.
“We were coming from a good string of games, and met Everton feeling totally confident that we would win the match. We did start out winning, but ended up suffering a comeback – once again.
“We conceded two goals, which is something that just can’t happen to a team as big as ours. And it wasn’t different on Sunday.
“We started out winning and ended up losing on a comeback.”
Arsenal don’t play again until next Monday, facing West Brom at the Emirates where three points is an absolute must.
Not to single out one player but results since Mustafi’s injury and Gabriel as replacement?
Pretty sure that’s the definition of singling out one player.
Well you should not because since Mustafi has been out Bellerin has been in so one can easily say the return of Bellerin can be the cause. Take a look at the goals scored against us and how many can you confidently say was due to Gabriel defending badly. At Everton if Walcott had made it more difficult for Baines to cross the ball or Ozil had challenge for the header instead of shying away. At Man City Gabriel had Sane in an offside position as did Koscielny and the other goal was from Monreal side. Maybe we should be… Read more »
Coquelin made a fantastic 57% pass accuracy yesterday!! Do you still feel for him? I don’t!
Because of Arsenal’s high-pressing game, Coquelin operates high up the field, so when he does win the ball back, his passes will, inevitably, be more risky and prone to being misplaced.
Coq shouldn’t be high up the field making the high risk passes – his job is to break up attacks and protect our defence, give the simple ball and get back. We’re not actually operating the high press – that’s what opponents are doing to us.
I do agree that, in his proper role, he was great against Stoke.
that wasn’t the case on Sunday…Arsenal were penned in their own half for most of the match and Coquelin was turning the ball over a lot, either by trying to dribble or pass out of defence. If anything, it was Citeh’s high press which gave him a hard time, not the fact that he was having to make too many passes higher up the field.
Hmm but what about the tackles and interceptions. where are those stats?
Agree to an extent, but I don’t feel sorry for Coq because his own distribution can be dire at times. He’s got great hustle but he’s far too over-reliant on Ozil and Xhaka to make forward passes, especially in the final third. Caught on the ball far too much by City. Doesn’t reflect well on him, even as a DM
But his defensive contribution is generally high enough to allow the attacking players to perform.
But actually it’s not though, not at the highest level against teams like City. Between him and Xhaka, they have to feed our attacking players too. Look at the best DMs in the world, they’re all better passers than Coqulein. Better at protecting the ball. He has to improve his game or he’ll be found out again like on Sunday. Granted he does better next to someone like Cazorla and Xhaka was also poor, but that’s when Coq needed to step up offensively too
Not sure why you’re being downvoted. There was a period of about 15 minutes in the 2nd half where Coquelin gave the ball away every time he had it and that put significant pressure on the team. When Santi did that job in 2014, he was able to initiate the counter attack as well as break up play effectively
Are you really comparing Coquelin’s passing ability to Cazorla’s?!! Cazorla strength is keeping the ball and his weakness is fitness, pressing and winning the ball back. Which is the opposite of Coquelin’s. Xhaka has that role in the team at the moment. Coquelin is technically decent but obviously not exceptional. He is not meant to be our playmaker although recently he has had to try to be because of a lack of the team’s ability to pass the ball about and keep the ball
It’s funny that we’re in a situation where Coq doesn’t need to protect the ball or pass well but Ozil needs to press and make tackles. Is that what we’re really saying now? Top midfielders can do both. Under pressure Xhaka and Coq can’t cope at the moment, so if they can’t adapt their game technically, we need to adapt our game tactically
Have you heard about balance in midfield? Good luck playing two Cazorla’s as your two centre midfielders. Every player has different strengths and weaknesses. Coquelin is absolutely decent enough technically for the role he has in the team. You just can’t expect him to play killer passes or dribble his way out a tight press.
No one is expecting Ozil to have has many tackles as Coquelin, that’s not his strength or role. Just to have more commitment and effort than he has shown in the last two games.
I don’t think any one is saying that Coq has to transform into a technical magician to fill Cazorla’s boots, but rather improve overall ball retention when being pressed or while playing out of the back. There is a difference between playing passes that create chances or launch a counter (like a Cazorla) and making simpler passes (sometimes under pressure) to prevent turning the ball over in dangerous areas and maintain possession (what Coquelin should be doing). To be fair to Coq he is normally efficient with is his passing, but not so much on Sunday. it also seems like… Read more »
His recent poor passing stats and poor ball retention in the last couple of games he has been trying more of these dribbles, trying more killer passes and taking more risks on the ball. I haven’t seen him lose the ball playing simple passes. This is probably due to the fact that with Xhaka not being able to dictate the play and having Gabriel instead of Mustafi he has had more responsibility on his shoulders. I agree it is an area he could improve on, but you know what you are getting with Coquelin. I just think it’s harsh to… Read more »
Basically, what DB’s first touch said 🙂
lets single out
Mr. Wenger for playing clueless, planless
Here we go again
The truth hurts but it is still Wengers fault how the player’s perform on the pitch. Who tells the player’s to sit back after we go a goal up? +you start a game and go ahead with playong your attacking game, revert to a defensive style whoch your have failed at 90% of the time.What I see are players playing according to Mr Wengers instructions.
Yawn
What about Cazorla? We haven’t been the same team since he got injured! I think Xhaka will need a season under his belt before he’s any where near Cazorla’s quality!
Nobody has Santi’s happy feet though. Nobody at the moment with the dribbling skills to turn safely in a tight spot and move it on.
I actually think he’s better with Elneny, who makes himself available for the ball and has reliable, smart passing.
I would like to single out one player in the 2nd half last Sunday, being a player of his stature Özil again allowed himself to walk around and be frustrated instead of upping his lvl when the team struggles. Yet it is not for Özil to decide upon whether to be subedthrough when droping like this, it is AW. What did wenger do? Manifested that some players are bigger than the team, bigger than the decision making integrity of the manager. Among too managers, I can’t recall anyone else being as key player special treatment oriented as Wenger
we already did a mannequin n now u still wanna stop
cool
it seemed as if a crater or asteroid made a hole at etihad yesterday in the middle of pitch
literally no body there
doesnt annoy if we play hard n loose
but just not putting up a fight ……..urghhhhhhh
feels as if I’m stabbed
Pardon me?
pissed off buddy in short
Oh look, just like clockwork. The players are coming out and saying the things they’ve been saying since the Cretaceous period yet never actually putting their money were their mouth is…
If I was that shit at work, even for one day, I’d be sacked.
No one yesterday was worth more than the minimum wage. That’s £7.20 for one and a half hours, so £10.80 for the match.
Loved that one But bro we’re talking Universe Football where Minimum Wage is the name of the check out boy in Planet Zob’s satellite moon’s 365/1 store, possibly called Lionel… I mean, yes I like the earthly comparison. I’m no stranger to our woes, and just feel that AW should have done the correct thing and left on a high after Cup #2 , and let a new dude have a grapple with it. It will only get worse trust me. Even Koeman taking cheap pot shots at him, ( mind you he always was snide, ask David Platt in… Read more »
shit logic, good maths.
I agree that they weren’t worth paying, unfortunately in a world where resources are limited, the players choose their own contracts and don’t suffer as there is no immediate replacement available in their labour market. I bet the CEO of your firm has bad days, earns more than you but doesn’t get sacked either.
Yeah and when we worry about criticism hurting morale or feelings we should just pause and remember how much these guys are earning…huge money and that should mean they deliver more than 40% of the time
Agree. I would prefer the players would think while they run, instead of having to stop to think. Bloody annoying that must be. Is there a cure?
I think players should keep it shut! (Though I appreciate Gabriel words).
We are back again in scramble for fourth spot (time being).
Xmas is never a happy period in recent years for Arsenal fans. Atleast put up a performance in the last game of 2016 to take some good memories next year.
I would love to see non performers from last 2 games on bench. We may still need them, but atleast it gives a message that no one is invincible. Start Lucas please.
Agree with you, but benching too many players might be dangerous. In reality our back up players just aren’t good enough, and a few injuries to key players (Cazorla and Mustafi) have wrecked the season. We are supposed to be a top club yet Coquelin who is our main midfielder has never been capped for his country. We’ve waited for years for a midfield boss, and Xhaka doesn’t look like £35m worth. Lucas is average at best, 3 tap ins against a poor Basel team doesn’t make him top class. Gabriel is a poor player with a terrible temperament.
Players should get off twitter and start shouting at each other. Back in the day, Tony Adams et al shut the boss out and had a real slanging match that sorted out a previous poor run of results. They then told the boss what was going to happen on the pitch.
Anyone seeing Kos or BFG setting that up?
next game, I think we should trust Holding to partner the Boss Koscielny. He will make mistakes but we will find a reason to excuse him since he is learning. With time he will toughen up like Hector did.
‘Passive lethargy’ was a great quote from blogs. Watching Alexis try to encourage the press only for everyone to be caught in two minds and stick to their spot was a shame. The way spurs dismantled them without the quality of player we have should serve as a blueprint, but the hesitation is horrible viewing. Still, can be rectified.
Didn’t they spend 45 minutes stopping and thinking yesterday whilst Shitty didn’t?
Gabriel taking over Djourou duty?
The answer is to attack a shit defence.
Agree We chuffin bottled it. Aw can’t do Mourinho style containment play, but I could see exactly what he was after. It looked good when we were winning. To beat MC 1-0 at theirs is certainly achievable , but it’s a very fine balance between attack and and not stringing too high a line at same time. Get the high line right when they have the ball a bit, we can burst on counter, they panic, if truth be told we ought to have buried them 2-0 in first half, I just think we were given a very Arsenal performance… Read more »
The Arsenal players who “played” yesterday should be too ashamed to go public on where they went wrong. They lack passion and bottle for the big occasions. Let’s face it Man City were missing some of their biggest names and just like Man Utd a few weeks ago were there for the taking. This group haven’t got it and until Wenger goes and a new team is built, Arsenal won’t win the Premiership or the Champions League.
‘It’s a doozy’.
Boring
Yes, and also, isn’t it usually Walcott who comes out with this painful inanity after a poor performance?
I would like to see holding more than gabriel. No hatred but since last season i have always noticed he cant quite head the ball to clear , his execution of heading the ball out of defence looks very weak though when he is on the other side of the box he does attack it well to result in a goal. All were shit last night bar alexis even koscielny had an horrendous game but there is something with gabriel that doesnt fill me up with confidence. Not the fault of the player entirely but also the coach should look… Read more »
It feels like in the last 2 matches that the players have been stopping and thinking. It just happens to be during the match and clearly not about football
Think Gabriel himself looks pretty solid this season. The problem might be that Koscielny usually becomes championship level when he is paired with Gabriel, they don’t seem to have any kind of chemistry.
Shame we couldnt stop and think after Everton
FUCKING XMAS MELTDOWN … bring on 2017
The problem isn’t Gabriel. He played decent . The problem was midfield. Gabriel and KOscielny would not be panicking had we not kept being subjected to constant pressure. The players ahead of defense YES COQUELIN included, did not offer sufficient protection. More importantly, they did not provide for a viable and composed outlet when the ball was cleared or played out to them. They lost the ball too cheaply or played lazy passes. Thought Coquelin dropped significantly following his knock. Another that was abject was Ozil . As I mentioned before he tends to play well when the team is… Read more »
Just seen Liverpool work their socks off and bag 3 points against Everton. A team inferior to ours in player quality, but a team and a manager passionate for winning. Stop thinking Gabriel, look and learn instead.
exactly. Hunger, hard work and passion goes a long way…
I’d say it doesn’t just go a long way, it’s bloody essential. The one thing missing from the Arsenal for so many years now
Gabriel panics when he has the ball under pressure and that spreads thru the team, so we end up turning over possession again and again and let’s consider in the last 4 games that czech has decided kicking it long every time from goal kicks and back passes is a good idea when we have Sanchez up from wtf. That don’t make no sense.. He ain’t no target man. That only works if we can win the second ball… At the moment we can’t
Koeman bleating on about the ref this evening. How strange.
Hah I saw that as well. He’s a prick
Just watching a doco on David Seaman. Man I miss those legends, guys who had some commitment and fire in the belly, along with no small amount of ability.
It’s wenger and his eagerness to be labeled a genius by doing the complete opposite of what makes sense when it comes to transfers. Mourinho won the league in 14/15 by signing costa and fabregas whom he rejected and those two were key in chelsea’s title winning side. This season instead of going for kante he chooses xhaka who he can’t trust to play and when does play him, he looks slow and reckless.
Belly-fire. We need some. Of all the so-called “amazing managers” that have come into the premier league, only Klopp feels like he could inspire that fire. Kinda wish he’d come our way
Like the belly fire that saw them lose at Bournemouth from two goal leads twice?
I still support the Arsenal!! COYG.
For me it was like Arsenal players didn’t know who to mark and where to press, and how to go foward, and that was a manager fail. He didn’t prepare the team for this oponent. They just practice tiki taka games during the week. Thats why the ball run fluidly for Man City. They was prepared.
I think we have been good this season. We just need to adapt our system against stronger teams, for example play 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield and get the balance right with defence and attack. In previous years we were too offensive against big teams, now we are too careful.
Sanches wants to defend high up on the other team’s half, which the Chilean national team has had great success with. He points and gesticulates to his team mates to help him, and they partly did the first 20-30 minutes of the match, then fell back. High pressure might or might not be a good idea, but Wenger lays the game plan. Does Sanches have his own, or is it the other attackers (Iwobi, Walcott) that do not follow the agreed upon tactics? Defensively, there also seem to be planning gaps. If two defenders are available, one should go for… Read more »
Without Carzola, our mildfield maestro,we have still been able to win matches. Take Hazard away from that Chelsea team and lets see how they retain the no 1 spot… Arsenal will get it right, bounce back and still win that trophy come the end of the season. COYG!!!