Arsenal: Cech, Gabriel, Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Ramsey, Ozil, Alexis, Iwobi, Giroud
Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Bellerin, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Maitland-Niles, Lucas, Walcott
—
Arsenal’s title hopes were dealt an almost fatal blow as a shocking first half performance saw them ship two goals, and ultimately go down 2-1 in the Premier League against Watford this evening.
Arsene Wenger made a series of changes from the team that beat Southampton 5-0, with Petr Cech, Gabriel, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Francis Coquelin, Alexis, Alex Iwobi, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud all coming back into the starting XI, while Danny Welbeck was not in the squad at all.
Arsenal began in sloppy style, giving the ball away too easily, and conceding free kicks trying to make up for the carelessness in possession. Aaron Ramsey had the first attempt on goal in the 7th minute, but couldn’t get over the ball and saw it fly way too high.
The Welshman was then involved in the opening goal but once again it was down to a free kick conceded by Mustafi. Younes Kaboul hit a goal-bound shot which deflected off the midfielder and beyond the despairing dive of Petr Cech. 0-1.
It went from bad to worse just a minute later when the visitors doubled the lead. It came from a poor throw from Gabriel which saw us lose the ball in midfield, Capoue drove on, took a shot, it ran across goal and Deeney was there to put it in from close range. 0-2.
That was followed by yet another injury for Ramsey, lasting just 18 minutes before going off with what looked like a hamstring strain. He was replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, before Gabriel was the first name in the book picking up a 21st minute yellow card.
He was followed into it by Nacho Monreal four minutes later when the Spaniard took a dive in the box looking for a penalty, and he can have no complaints about it.
Cech had to tip a header over the bar as the Hornets looked more likely to extend their lead than Arsenal get themselves back into it, and the Arsenal keeper was forced into action again as he denied Janmaat.
Alexis saw a 40th minute effort blocked with the Gunners still to have a shot on target, and the half ended with a chorus of boos from the stands after what was a dreadful first 45 minutes.
Unusually, Arsene Wenger made a half-time change, bringing on Theo Walcott for Olivier Giroud, and the England was involved quickly with a shot wide of the post – although he might have been better advised squaring it for the waiting Alexis.
Walcott had an even better chance minutes later, with just Gomes to beat after Ozil put him clear, his shot was saved by the feet of the Watford keeper. Iwobi combined with Oxlade-Chamberlain to fire a shot at goal but he too was denied by the Brazilian stopper, who pulled off a brilliant reaction save.
Ozil had a go and again Gomes saved, and there were shouts for a spot-kick when Alexis was brought down in the box but the referee waved play on. Alexis wasn’t sulking though and seconds later picked it up, drove into the box, crossed it to the back post and Iwobi was there to cushion it back across goal and into the far corner of the net. 1-2 on 58 minutes.
Arsenal continued to pressure and in the 67th minute Wenger played his final card, bringing on Lucas Perez for Coquelin, leaving a midfield of Iwobi and Oxlade-Chamberlain as the Spaniard took up his place on the left.
The Ox saw a 73rd minute shot blocked by the head of a defender, but the midfielder seemed to injure himself in the process. Gabriel shot over after being set up by Lucas, and in the 81st minute the Gunners were awarded a free kick just outside the D but the wall denied Alexis.
From the corner Monreal volleyed a shot not far wide from 25 yards, and as hard as Arsenal tried they couldn’t quite find the final ball and the goal that would bring the scores level.
The equaliser almost came via Lucas Perez, who smashed a shot off the bar with Gomes beaten all ends up. There gaps at the back as we pushed everything forward to try and find a way through.
Ozil almost found Monreal at the back post but the full-back was caught on his heels slightly as the game moved into 5 minutes of added time. Lucas saw another shot saved by the keeper, but in the end Arsenal paid the price for a dreadful first 45 minutes, and on that basis got what they deserved from the game.
Which was nothing.
The most pedestrian first half performance from an Arsenal team that I’ve ever seen. Disgraceful.
do you think Wenger will leave if we ask politely?
It’s not Wengers fault if you prepare the team well and then at kick off you players are sleeping or making stupid mistakes like a simple throwin. He made the right changes at halftime as it was very obvious giroud was doing nothing in the first half and sanchez was shocking today other than the assist he was awfully slowing play down simple pass and he wasnts dribble then he loses the ball its stupid why does he do it i dont know but again thats not Wengers fault
What?! Of course it´s Wengers fault. His players, his preparations, his tactics.
Did wenger tell Gabriel to throw the ball to Ramsey like he was aiming for a basketball net?? Did Wenger tell Ramsey to take his eye off the ball and not know where he is on the pitch or whos near him? Did Wenger tell Mustafi to not even put in a single effort to stop capoue for the second goal?? Did Wnger tell Ramsey to get injured?? Like wth are you talking about?
@Steve
Spot on. Yeah that Gabriel throwing. Thats the reason we havent won the league since 2004. And poor Wenger if only he had another player to fill in for that basterd. Gabriel is also responsible for my flat tire as well as Wengers zipper and Robbens hair. #gabrielout
Chelsea don’t have a much better team than us. There’s not even an area we can’t match them. Hazard? We’ve got Sanchez thanks. Costa? Giroud is scoring in almost every game he’s allowed to play.
The only difference is that their manager “has it up ’em” so to speak.
With 15 games to go this is not a title challenge. Of course Wenger is responsible.
Wenger buys the players, prepares the players, trains the players and you know what? He is the manager and his job is making sure these things dont happen. But they are happening and they keep happening. Year in tyear out. So whos fault is that?
cry all you want that team was good enough to beat Watford the players let him down simple! there are situation in the past where it’s been solely down to wengers tactics and decisions THAT is not today!! Individual errors cost us today NOT Wenger channel your blame correctly
Of course they are good enough to beat Watford. Theay are good enough to beat Bournemouth too but that’s not the point. They are poorly prepared and this is not the first time and it wont be the last.
if the players are ‘sleeping’ then how has he prepared them well?!
I don’t see Chelsea sleep walking in games. I see them motivated and organised….two things we are not.
Did Wenger tell giroud not to make a single contribution that while first half not to hold on to the ball not even once??? did he tell sanchez to make 200 touches on the ball when an easy pass was available to monreal. And then giving up possession so easily everytime putting the team under pressure??? That team selection was good enough to win the game!!! we didn’t lose the game due to a tactical error. Players individual mistakes cost us. so be objective use your brain and stop blaming wenger for everything!
@STEVE
It’s actually wenger who chose to accommodate Giroud by playing Alexis and Iwobi out of position. It’s Wenger who chose Ramsey who has done nothing this season to warrant a start or infact for a few season now, Alex justified a start by giving a stellar performance over the weekend. It is again wenger who hates Perez for no reason at all.
Clearly Wenger did not prepare hos team correctly!!! The chavs have pretty much the same players as last season when, under Maureen, they couldn’t even get into Europe!!! This season they have a proper manager in Conte and will be winning the league!!! So don’t tell me it has nothing to do with management!!!
Last season Chelsea players did not want to play for Maureen.
YOU FAULT-FINDING INBRED, IT’S NOT ALWAYS WENGER GODDAMIT!!!
Sorry. I don’t even know where to go vent anymore. But stop making this about Wenger. They were freak goals, both, and the conditions were ridiculous, and we were switched off. Ramsey deserved a spanking for being casual on both. So did Coquelin on the second. Oh, whatever. Atleast the other teams struggled too.
You guys are chatting rubbish, before kick off I told my mate we won’t beat Watford with Ramsey and Coq in the middle of the park. Ramsey is hopeless.
If he was not British am not sure he’ll be at Arsenal. Few good games 3 years ago is what people still see in this inept player.
Welcome back Dr Strange (WengerOut spokesperson) and La Defense (Ramsey basher per excellence)! We haven’t missed you at all.
I’ve seen quite a lot of those.
thats very profound
STEVE – Have you stopped digging yet or are you still going? What’s the point having a manager, if nothing is his responsibility?
Let me help you guys out.
Is it the fault of the players? YES
Is it the fault of the manager? YES
How could it not be both?? Of course it’s both.
Most common passing combinations in the first half were among our defenders. We couldn’t get the ball out from our defensive third. Our double pivot was marked out of the game and quite efficiently. Yet there was no change in formation, no change in tempo, nothing. Poor Monreal had to give everything because we don’t know how to build through the middle. It’s a fundamental problem and one that a good manager should know how to fix. Second half was better but largely due to Watford being rattled a bit. Utter crap.
In fairness, we got what we deserved fot starting Aaron Ramsey amd Olivier Giroud – disjointed, blunt, woeful rubbish. By the tume both went off the team.was already 2 goals down.
Does seem to happen a lot when we play them …
I honestly don’t know what Ramsey was doing today. Loses the ball on the halfway line (albeit from a poor throw) and then waltzes back towards our goal to defend at about the same pace I do when I realise I’ve left my cup of tea in the other room.
The first goal was just lucky.
and he was on the pitch for only 20 minutes…
He is far from the one who can be deservedly pointed out as the main man in this defeat
Not only was he significantly involved in both goals conceded, he also was the cause of us wasting a substitute early in the game.
I am not saying it is his fault that he got injured, he is just bad luck for the team. There are so manny times when he lost the ball we had conceded goals.
Ramsey is not good enough for Arsenal, only was for one season. His attitude seems to sort of stink too. Terrible decision to start him and it actually could not of gone worse
Ramsey has become our bad luck charm.
I would love to see the back of him.
Agree
I’ve been a big fan of Ramsey, but thought he was dire tonight. Going forward, use him as cover for Ozil only. Play Ox, AMN, Iwobi etc. etc. in that middle mid position until Santi, Elneny and Xach come back.
He was on for 20 mins…
Nonsense. We’ve seen this plenty of times before….
I’m not defending Arsene or his team by the way: This isn’t a one off, it’s part of who they are. I.e a good team but not a great one capable of winning the league.
Profound, your comment.
I guess what bothers me is the mass delusion running rampant among the fan base that we’re somehow title contenders. I don’t mind being the fan of a mediocre club as long as someone (the board, Wenger, the players) doesn’t try to convince me that we’re supposedly serious title challengers.
And that’s exactly what Wenger does when he says he’s got the “best attack since the Invincibles” to justify a quiet transfer window. We weren’t expecting him to make signings. But don’t try and fool us either.
Even Alexis was shit. Running aimlessly not giving anyone the ball.
one thing clear from this game , alexis should be our default striker. either him or welbeck. giroud simply is too static. when alexis became striker there was clear shift in our game . we were so good just after first half
Speaking of Welbeck, I know he’s still coming back from a long injury lay off, but we should have at least included him on the bench, like we did against Leicester last season. His pace, power and aerial ability would have given us a real chance of salvaging something towards the end of the match.
Giroud was so poor I cant remember him touching the ball at all. Ramsey poor Mustafi shocking for that goal. Sanchez nothing was working for him. Got tired before the 60min because he was doing too much unecessary running which was of his own making when he loses the ball which was a lot in the first half that by the time it was 2nd half he was knackered. Walcott came on and had a little moment and then he disappeared and towards the end he seemed tired like dude you just came on at half time where is your… Read more »
wheres my cm?
Saying that its time for the manager I love to leave the club is the most difficult thing I have had to swallow over the last two hours. Great great manager, but he is past it and both me and you know it, even though I will dutifully defend Arsene Wenger from trolls who will inevitably fill the comments sections after this result. What burns is not losing to Watford. It is the manner we lost. It is so familiar and sickening to know it will happen again this season and the season after if Wenger remains. Time for change… Read more »
Perhaps it’s time to go support Chelsea !
With who ? .?? Maureen, Pochettinho
? Allardice ? Honest to God !!!
Yeah just give a thumbs down, but no alternative suggestion. Surprise surprise !
Poch isn’t a bad shout. All the while making Spurs shite again. But unlikely to happen of course. There’s also Simeone (not too much style but what we need first with this team is to defend proper), or even Sampaoli who’s worked wonders with Chile and now at Sevilla. The common denominator with these guys is their team plays with a passion and their players wouldn’t likely get away scot free after a performance like our first half. Spurs drew today but after torturing myself to the highlights I’m very sure their draw was more down to bad luck instead… Read more »
Giroud is a great striker, but it is obvious that the team is too flat with him in the starting lineup. Perez deserves a chance now. I hope Gibbs can stay fit for the rest of the season because monreal simply does not have the athleticism to play in that position for Arsenal. Whether it’s because of age or whatever, it has been a handicap to the team this whole season and it needs to be addressed. Normally I’d be worried, but having seen how entertaining our squad players were against Southampton, I’m open to mixing it up a bit.… Read more »
Thumbs up, but the AMN comparison with Kante is off base, I think.
Absolutely woeful in the first half. Its no conicidence we start games slowly with Giroud and Ramsey in the starting XI. Both good players but neither are suited to a game based on speed and movement. Giroud should return to the role of impact sub. Also Gabriel seems to lack a brain. The second half was so much better but we left ourselves with too much to do. Awful officiating added to the challenge but that any be an excuse. We shot ourselves in the foot. Yet again
Agree. Also How did Ramsey start over the Ox? At fault for both goals. Then goes down injured cos he knows he was a shower of shit. Game was list before but that ref was a complete cunt.
Done not list.
Must agree, Ramseys chucked a fake injury in.No bottle along with ever static Girould
It’s been a pattern too often of late with this slow, lethargic starts to matches. I think Wenger needs to go back to starting Sanchez at striker and bringing Giroud off of the bench. Not to blame Giroud, but we just seem to start with much more intensity and purpose when Sanchez is the striker. Giroud can then go back to his Super Sub role he played so well.
Yes, of course, but this is SO OBVIOUS, the fact that AW cannot see it (or, more likely, has chosen to ignore it) is a damning indictment of his management.
remember when we came out of the gates and smashed 3 goals against Man U in the first half last year? What happened to that team? We were walking out there…
The worst part is the little glimpses of hope
Garbage
Crap
Merde
Horse puckey
The pile of horse poo I saw outside Tesco Express I saw the other day.
I may have said “saw” too many times, sorry but I am not HP.
We were spurs today
Double spurs
A huge steaming pile of spurs
Can’t believe how slow we start these games… lack of concentration
title chase already over !!!
The title chase was realistically over months ago. Short of self-combustion over at Stamford Bridge, noone’s even going to come close to them. It’s just going to be a huge scrap for the Champions League places.
That’s probably true but as ever it’s the hope that kills you. Tell yourself it’s not going to happen but your inner optimistic pipes up only to be beaten down by nights like this.
I guess what’s most painful is knowing you’ve got enough quality in the ranks to go all the way, but still collapsing year in, year out. We just can’t seem to find a good, consistent run of form. That opening game against Liverpool aside, the football we played at the start of the season is the best I’ve seen from us as a team in years but, truth be told, since that cold, wet Tuesday night away at Ludogrets in November we have been far from convincing.
Gary Breen (life long Arsenal fan btw) spoke about the lack of pressure Arsenal players feel. He said it is Wenger’s upmost policy and that he has spoken to players who have seen Arsene berate both Pat Rice and Steve Bould for shouting at his players and pressuring them. His idea is that if they are free to play their football, they will relax and the better team will win. However there is quite clearly a malaise at the club that is very evident on nights like this. I’m not saying we lack fight, look at our record in the… Read more »
Wenger making sure we take it up the arse from every single team before he inevitably retires 🙂
Don’t think I’ve ever heard of anything less inevitable than Wenger retiring
Sorry for the little outburst, guys. I still mean it, though.
Glad to have some Chelsea supporters on board ! We should keep paying and paying to get to the top and eventually take Maureen cos that guarantees
trophys and an exciting brand of football.
Chelsea’s approach with a new manager almost every two seasons couldn’t be more different than ours. But they have won a lot more trophies in the last decade including the CL.
So there are other ways. They are not even in the CL this year but do you think their fans are bothered? I wouldn’t be in their position.
Well, I would. I’m not a Chelsea fan and never will be. I’m better than that ! I’m an Arsenal fan and we are more than that. We stand for an approach to football which isn’t all about not losing.
@Tony, you think you’re better than someone just because they’re a Chelsea fan? Wake up buddy, the real world is waiting.
I’m sorry I ate the plums, they were so sweet and tasty
Final nail in the coffin. Sayonara title dreams – (we never really believed in u)
Very disappointing.
First half, who was playing for us again? I don’t recognize anything resembling Arsenal.
What a complete and utter joke! You could just tell we were going to concede those two goals in the build up.
Not a single shot on target in the first half!
I’m so f*cking embarrassed to be an Arsenal supporter right now.
If we start like that against Chelsea we’re well and truly f*cked!
Go & support that lot down the road then.
What a fickle fan base we have. Doubt if any of you were actually at the game tonight….
Perhaps it’s time to go support Chelsea ! Yeah, it’s sickening isn’t it ? Incidentally,
I loved Limpar and it was great to see him in the legends game !
@tonyphelan honestly it makes my blood boil some of the tosh some people write after a game like that. The sense of entitlement that people have is staggering.
Limpar could be a genius on his day. One of my all time faves.
It’s true though isn’t it! If we play with that performance in the first half against Chelsea we are going to lose the game. Season over if it’s not already. 🙁
Another tight game where almost every other attacking player is more involved than ozil. This is not a coincidence.
No coincidence about your usual blast about him either.
Players come and go (and are mostly successful after they go and in Ozils case before they come) and still we are the same old Arsenal. If you fail to recogize the man in fault then keep blaming the classy players who of course will leave this team to get back to their winning ways.
That is such bollocks !! Most players have regretted a decision to leave Arsenal. Of course there are players that it will work for, but that is the same for every team. Look at Ronaldo and Bale. On the contrary they mostly do not do better. Can believe you live in Oz. Your head’s in the clouds.
Name the last high class player who left and achieved less than when he was at Arsenal.
Btw I changed my username when we signed Ozil.
Dunno, Patrick Vieira maybe ? Hleb ? Song ? I really don’t know.
There you go. The most recent example you could find was a Vieira who left “11” years ago.(and Song didnt win a single thing in Arsenal and was probably never a high class player and statically achieved a CL and a la liga, Hleb too. Not even fit examples but still doesnt back your arguement and opposes it) Next time please learn to talk with logic instead of disrespecting other fans. Another fact: Wenger never won a league without Vieira in his squad. Matter of fact he only has won 2 FA cups since Vieira’s 2005 deprature. While Vieira went… Read more »
Viera Hleb song David seaman,Eduardo Vermaelen Arshavin ray parlour, David seaman , Reyes adebayor, gallas, Kolo toure…literally everyone except…nasri, cesc, RVP,Van bronckhorst , clichy,flamini (1st time) ..Henry and Anelka are debatable..I’m sure there a few I missed but..you get the point.
Why play not play the same front three that faced southampton??
Really ?
No, but why not play ONE of that front three, instead of Giroud??????
So again Wenger will talk about starting slow and responding and all the remaining games are like finals now… Thumb me down but you dont see the manager who wins the competition say those words 20 matchs a season. Every season.
“BIG GUNS RETURN” should have been “tiny balls return”
FA Cup best can hope for again this year. Pathetic.
Fuck this shit im going to sleep.
It’s the hope that kills you. Unfortunately this team still has it in them to thrill and excite you, but also to go 3-0 down to Bournemouth. Or do exactly what they did tonight. As much as it hurts to say, that just isn’t what title winning teams do. They might lose a game, but they don’t look so abject in the process.
Dropped 5 points against Bournemouth and fucking Watford.
We dont deserve to win the title. Cunts
Due to my tele here in Denmark I could only watch the game on delay after pool-chels, I was so happy when they drew with visions of us closing the gap. Then I heard the commentator remark that Chelsea would be happy given the other results and the fear crept in. Rather than watch the entire game I fast forwarded to half time, 0-2 down. It the sameness and the the hope, that kills you.
same as it ever was
Surprise, surprise. Average players like Giroud and Ramsey come off and the fluidity in our is back. Pissed off cos I was looking forward to the chelsea game but now doubt we’ve got a chance for the league even if we beat them. Still hope we beat those scums
Just when it looked like we could try to close the gap to the leaders, we slump again.
Have to ask Qs of the mental makeup of the team.
Don’t understand starting Alexis on the left by the manager.
Would this man do the decent thing and leave at the end of the season?????
Enough is enough.
After yet another title ending match, the worst is this feeling you get, where you are like a powerless bystander watching history repeat itself, without any hope for change. It’s not like we have some small problem that can be easily fixed by the next transfer window. There are so many deep issues at this club that I don’t even know where to start.
1) Too much faith in average players on a good run which inevitably comes to an end.
2) Not using the tactics that had us winning games at the beginning of the season so Olivier Giroud could start and maybe perhaps and to his goal tally which mainly consisted of goals scored off the bench.
3) Not fixing things fast enough. (Changes should have been made in the first 20 minutes, not at half time).
4) No on pitch motivation from world class players who demand the best.
Those are some issues that could get you started….
Hahahahahahahahahaha…
We’re shit.
Cunts. Absolute cunts. Let the fight for 4th begin. Can Arsenal not take a throw in properly?
What the fuck. Since Cazorlas been out there’s nobody linking play from the back. Ramsey, what the actual fuck. For shame.
I genuinely think missing out on 4th might be a blessing in disguise. It might just be the kick up the arse we need to rid the team of the malaise you see on nights like this.
In the first half, we had 3 shots…
In the second, we had 17
Santi is a fantastic player but it was nothing to do with him – I think…
My god our throw-ins are diabolical. Nearly every team marks us the same way at throw-ins, and it looks like we give up possession 30-40% of the time. That second goal was criminal.
There is always next year. *chugs whiskey from the bottle.
Here’s to 4th! Cheers! *clangs own whiskey bottle to Jdg’s
IF there will be a next year, now with an speaking orangutan as leader of the free world. *chugs whisky from the second bottle.
All that remains now is ritual loss to Bayern and it’s season over. Thanks arsene you’ve done it again
What an absolute shit-show of a 1st half performance. Is it a coincidence that as soon as Giroud went off we played at a much higher tempo? Having seen Arsenal do exactly the same thing on countless occasions before (shit & slow performance 1st half, start playing at pace in the second) I think that is probably too simplistic a suggestion. I’d still rather see us line up without Giroud to start (and in actual fact, having him on the bench probably would’ve been invaluable near the end – when we’d clearly run out of puff by about 75 minutes… Read more »
3 30AM on a god damn weekday for this. This team will be the death of me all right..
The fact that you, and I, and arseblog, and gunnerblog, and countless other fans on here, can see this point from a mile away (we perform way better when not starting Giroud, not starting him also has added benefit of being able to bring him on late when we’re firing crosses in, etc), and yet Wenger cannot, is the ultimate argument for why AW’s just not good enough at his job any more.
They should be ashamed of themselves a disgrace.
These players need to stop complaining and moaning about the referee and start focusing on playing football instead. It’s pathetic…
Every fucking year. Where are the people who ripped me for saying Wenger out? You can not possibly be behind him now. We have the strongest squad in the league. No more fucking excuses. So tired of it. Get him the fuck out.
Wenger in…
This team isn’t winning the title.
Absolutely gutted. This team simply pisses me off. The kids over the weekend showed most of these overpaid embarrassments how to win. Walcott should have started as well as Perez. We lacked pace on the first half and it cost us dearly. Pathetic from management to team performance.
Sloppy from the players and some dodgy selection from the manager (Gabriel-out of position, while Giroud and Ozil looked off the pace)…title hopes over as Chelsea now have a 10 point lead. FA Cup and decent run in the CL would be nice. Why Wenger hasn’t signed a back up RB in January is quite puzzling as Gabriel clearly struggles off position)
Won’t be too long before DT brings his banner out.
Freshly creased
I’ll gladly give him a hand.
The only thing we can rely on in this ever-changing world is that Arsenal will always find a farcical way to fuck up.
tactics so wrong tonight. it’s been obvious for a while that, despite his goal scoring feats, we play better with giroud out of the side and alexis up front – and that’s what so many of us thought would happen for this game. if we had gone with that this evening, and things had gone wrong, we could have brought giroud on to pump balls up to him, instead of perpetually trying to play quick passes with an slippery ball around the box and no one to aim at inside it. anyhoo, did we really expect anything different? this was… Read more »
As long as Ramsey is starting games, Arsenal are not going to win the league.
I hope Wenger can see this now that he has a better tactical view from the stand.
Out Ramsey
Not that Ramsey is the only one to blame for the loss. He just does not work for us.
He could have a good career somewhere else, but is not going to happen at Arsenal.
Thing is we were rubbish for the whole first half and Coquelin was terrible; but in addition who stood out? it seemed that they didn’t like the rain.
Very average player who was never as good as some deluded folk thought and equally not as bad as some thought. Just a rank average player.
What of the manager that keeps picking Ramsey?
I guess… we started with the handbrake on.
Seriously though, after so much talk of attacking quality we were destined to have such a first half.
Alexis kept finishing the first half moves by giving the ball away.
Gabriel had a mare.
We were better after Ox came on, I thought he was excellent in that position once again.
We started slowly again!!!
What a load of bollocks!
Alexis is a brilliant footballer, but I do not think he is as good as he thinks.
He cannot grab a game by the neck and turn it around like Henry used to.
Remember the westham game?
It would be insulting to the fans if Wenger was given another contract, the club is crying out for new ideas.
This game was a repeat of the gutless 2-1 loss to Swansea at home last year.
Anyone who still thinks he should be in charge is mental, living in denial and still thinks it’s 2004.
Football has moved on…Arsene needs to.
Honest question though: who can we bring in as manager now who’s going to make us any better?
All the best options have either already moved or wouldn’t move to us. Allegri maybe? I don’t even know if he’s any good.
We can’t bring in someone just for the sake of it, but at the same time, the more we stand still, the more we go backwards in the long-term.
Allegri
Simeone
Tuchel
Low
Anyone
I’m sick of losing 8-2, 6-3, 6-0, drawing 4-4 while four up. I’m sick of pathetic gutless capitulations to Swansea and Watford.
I’m sick of us being so easy to play against. Press high and Arsenal will make mistakes, we know what teams will do and still we don’t adapt our tactics.
I’m sick of Arsene Wenger and his pathetic excuses.
Of those suggestions: 1. Allegri – this one seems the most realistic/most sense, but who knows if he’s actually that great. Did he do much at Milan? He’s won Serie A with a squad far superior to anyone else’s who had already got into the winning habit under Conte. 2. Simeone – I don’t see why he would come to Arsenal, especially with his connections to Inter and them now having shit-loads of Chinese money to throw at a squad. 3. Tuchel – possibly, but is he that great? Dortmund aren’t doing that amazingly. 4. Low – he has not… Read more »
This argument is one I cant take any more. There are so many good managers out there. Conte was not upto Arsenal standard according to some and look at what he has done to Chelsea. Time for change is here. Accept and move on..
It wasn’t an argument. I need some hope – the thought of the options being Eddie Howe (or similar) or more Arsene makes me want to cry.
I don’t know who’s decision this was but for a fair few minutes before he scored Iwobi was causing all sorts of problems down the left, then he scored, then he got moved into the middle!? And we no longer carried a threat down the left :: Also a pathetic 1st half performance not for the 1st time .. This selection of first team players come into these games against “inferior” opposition seeming to think all they have to do is play to win, it happens too many times for it to be a reasonable excuse it’s abject and a… Read more »
Wenger needs to retire come the end of the season, we lost this league title chase at the start of the season when we still hadn’t sorted the team!! The amount of times Arsenal could have won the title is a joke: 2003, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016 and now this!!!
I’d hardly pin this result on Giroud, but what I will say is I’ve been absolutely pulling my hair out with Wenger’s attitude towards him the past few weeks. Tim Stillman actually brought this up on the Arsenalvision podcast. It’s clear we aren’t as good a side with Giroud up front as we were with Alexis (and Wenger probably knew this), but because Arsene couldn’t handle the confrontation of dropping someone in decent form, then his plan was to just keep on playing him until he went off the boil; regardless of how it was impacting the team. Only now… Read more »
This may seem harsh but Alexis up front is better as he has fewer opportunities to hit a bad pass after jigging around. So I agree with you.
Every word absolutely SPOT ON.
Just wait for the ratings. Blogs will somehow justify Ramsey’s performance.
I love wenger, but cant see merit in his team selection.
Hopefully he learns.
Who gives a shit whether Blogs rates Ramsey or not? Why does it matter so much?
And I for one can’t see Blogs giving him a decent mark. Usually if we lose the players all get low marks and vice-versa.
Personally I wanted Bellerin to start and my confirmation bias made me see Gabriel have a shit game (not sure if that’s true). Ramsey was also hopeless and (I’m sure most people will disagree with this) I thought Mustafi was awful in the first half (what the fuck was he doing for their second goal?).
Surprised I’ve got this many comments in before someone mentioned Mustafi….he just let whats-his-name stroll right past him!
I give a shit. Why do players get rated if no one gave a shit?
It irritates that a player gets measured to a different yardstick to everyone else. When a player keeps playing poorly and his performance is always justified by “he played badly because he was playing in this position” or “he played badly because its only his fourth game back from injury” or “he played badly because his midfield partner was this guy” .
The player ratings are just a means to stimulate a conversation about who played well and not. You get the chance to vote, so if there’s a huge disparity it should be shown in the difference in scores.
It’s not a performance appraisal! Him having a certain opinion doesn’t stop [insert name here] from playing or make Arsene see him any differently.
He also doesn’t seem to see any wrong with Alexis (who was utter shite tonight btw) because he “runs araand a bit” and think Walcott is shit regardless. The same also applies to them.
Spot on for me mate!
Well done lads, fantastic performance
Now give your wages back and pay for everyone’s ticket who came to watch that shitfest of a first 45 minutes
never mind there is always next season when we have a good chance of winning the ….. oh wait
I’ll take the liberty of making a knee jerk response: * Ramsey should be move on.Post injury, he’s had half a season where he was one of the best midfielders in the world, the other five and a half years he’s been mediocre and/or injured. * We still have too many games where our midfield is simply bypassed. This seems to be a structural issue rather than one of personnel * Sanchez and Ozil should be sold *if* they don’t want to stay. Both capable of outstanding things and delightful to watch at times, but carrying their own glaring weaknesses… Read more »
Well said. I think the balance in midfield is wrong as well. We don’t have a world class ball winner that dominates the centre. But as you say, the structure is wrong too. Makelele would have struggled if Chelsea had left him as isolated as we leave the Coq at times.
I think the players think they are better than they actually are and I have come to the conclusion that Arsene isn’t the man to let them know that as it’s not his “thing”. Wow I said it! 🙁
I agree regarding Sanchezand Ozil, but I wonder if a stronger manager could get more out of them, talent wise they are the best players at arsenal. Why did it take 9 years to sort out Walcott?
I don’t think Wenger deserves abuse, but he should go, should have gone long ago.
It is always funny when the Wenger supporters start bashing the people who want Wenger out during the good times, when we win games. What is wrong with their memory, it’s always the same.
See what I mean about being cautiously optimistic? We’ve seen these things too many times for me to put faith in good runs. It’s laughable. Also, the only sliver of hope we had against Chelsea on Saturday is now gone because we have NO midfield. Literally.
Ox and Maitland-Niles will do me!
Really sloppy from Gabriel. We really miss a natural right back when Bellerin doesn’t play. You got the feeling Giroud was the wrong player to start in the first 10 minutes of the game (though he did block a Watford goal bound effort). What about our midfield! Everyone’s injured! It’s simple, win the rest of our games and I think we will win the title. We just can’t afford to drop anymore points.
Why is anyone suprised? Now watch us loose on Saturday, fucking cunts
Apart from we will probably win…you know that! Annoying Arsenal. 🙂
Title is gone. Wenger must go. It´s all his doing and he´s been bigging up the team every chance he gets and they fall short. As always. We have played like crap for most of the season and the defending is absolute garbage. Disorganized, lost and no cohesion at all. And this should be a team that knows everything about each other. Most of them have played together for years and Wenger still can´t get it to work. Wenger is our biggest weakness. Ramsey must never play for us again. Been defending him for some time but now i´m done… Read more »
Best strike force since sliced bread.Comparing it with the invincibles. What a joke .you win an FA cup against 2nd string s*ton and you are better than Barca.Get a grip.Kindly try harder to score against Watford.Thanks.