A late Robert Huth own goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Leicester City at the Emirates tonight.
It wasn’t great, it wasn’t pretty, but it was three points and keeps a bit of momentum going ahead of Sunday’s North London derby.
Here’s how the players rated (and if the formation looks weird graphically, clear your browser cache or do a hard refresh).
Oh man, what a scruffy win, but I’ll take it. Kind of satisfying that we won because of a Robert Huth own goal. Hopefully the bully heads home and sheds a few tears down his barbaric face.
Quality stuff by Alexis in the throw in. Through and through entertainer. Could see the Barca education in him!
Going down seconds later was a bit foolish but the Leicester player should have received a card for malice (if there is such a thing). We needed a direct player who can open up defenses (read Ox). I think that would have been Iwobi. He loves to run at the defence. Or The Jeff, despite his inexperience.
10/10 for Robert Huth’s well positioned right tit for deflecting the ball in and helping us score the winner !
I missed the 5 Alexis goals! and he only gets a 5????
1 star for each goal of course
I don’t know why but everytime i see your name i crack up in laughter.
Disagree with the Coquelin rating. Leicester didn’t spring many counter-attacks because Coquelin was always pressing the Leicester player with the ball. Tremendous defensive instincts. Too bad about some of the passing …
But the “too bad” bit of your remark perfectly encapsulates why he’s not really a long-term solution for this team if we actually want to improve (except when he has the brilliant Santi next to him, but we can’t count on that combination moving forward). He grew into the game with lots of good interceptions in the second half, but his passing is very poor at times, and he offers nothing in the final third, sometimes looking more like he’s getting in the way of the other players when he gets around the penalty box, rather than contributing to the… Read more »
I get all that, but we had a ton of possession because ever time we lost the ball (particularly when Coquelin loss the ball) Coquelin went and got it back. He’s actually not a bad dribbler. He rarely gets dispossessed. It’s just his over-ambitious passing.
Agreed, the judgment is harsh from PFo–that Cech was relatively unbothered, despite the fact that we decided to go for record turnovers in a victory (Clown of the Match: Alexis), is definitely proof of Coquelin’s value. When he came off, we definitely lost some stability in the midfield.
He wasn’t so over-ambitious before. I think the team (Ozil/Sanchez) or the staff is asking him to step up his game. Against Drinkwater and Company you need a scrapper like Coq. Did an okay job if you ask me.
Company? But he didnt play against City!
Jesus. Too much caffeine today?
Coquelin wasn’t a name in the media when he started playing for Arsenal. He will be underestimated all his career.
Coquelin was excellent for me. He intercepted and snuffed out a lot of danger and potential counter-attacks. Some people will choose to ignore all that of course and focus on the fact that he doesn’t have a Santi-like passing range.
It was a 7 or 8 out of 10 performance from Le Coq. One of our better performers last night anyway.
Not only did the players have heavy legs but so did the crowd. It was always going to be tough for us to bounce back after Sunday’s hysteria. We only came to life after the goal, which for whatever reason, they didn’t replay on the big screen.
wow, how did the guy that jumped with both feet on Giroud’s back not get a red? I just think of the nonsense the refs were sending Xhaka off for at the beginning of the season…
Great gritty win, wrong formation for this game, but good that they got to practice it before unleashing it at Sp*ds.
Only one foot though, no?
Yeah, though giving Mike what’s-his-face the benefit of the doubt (which he doesn’t deserve), I don’t think he could see how high the foot was. Otherwise, it was obviously a straight red. He might get a retroactive ban for that.
He climbed on Giroud like a jungle-jim AND stuck a knee in his back. Pretty amazing how idiotic you have to be to do that as a professional footballer. It was definitely a yellow, but perhaps a bit more ‘orange’ than red…
Hello? He hurt his lil lip, poor guy.
That nasty lil Fucher threw the ball at him.
Hope he will be fit for Sp#rs, cause he likes to piss people, like Toteringham.
Walcott awful workrate again today. Going forward if Arsenal are going to try to work hard and not just rely on outplaying opponents every game he has no future at our club. If he doesn’t want to put a shift in every time he puts an Arsenal shirt on he can leave and be a luxury player at a mid table team.
I don’t know who’d take Walcott now, unless they figured some tough love could induce him to play defense. A few years ago, he looked as though he’d found his finishing touch and would start scoring freely. Today, he seemed a man who doesn’t ever expect to score another goal.
Lay off Walcott guys. We’ve just won 1-0 and the only thing that matters are goals and assists. Compare his to players supposedly better than him – Mane, de Bruyne, Sterling etc.
Work rate or not i still think he should leave. Nowhere near good enough. Can.t pass, dribble, use his left foot, head the ball, inconsistent finishing….And a total f.ing wet blanket to boot
He has a fantastic conversion rate/return. But a very poor work rate. Is he not on double digits in terms of goals?
Harsh. He worked hard but was struggling. Not the game for him when an opponent sits back. Theo is deadly when there is space behind – his record speaks for itself.
Pretty sure the lip cut came from the elbow he got from Huth shortly after.
“except a backheel which went to a Leicester player” Sums up everything frustrating with Ramsey. Fully understand Wenger needing to change as players must be tired, but I still think he got it wrong a bit team selection wise. Playing at home against a Leicester team that were always gonna be on the back foot, with 7 defensive-minded players always meant midfield would be lacking. Some would say 3-4-3 or Sanchez as CF doesn’t work, but it was bound to with a team lacking in such such creativity. If Sanchez was our striker, it means only Ozil really was our… Read more »
Hindsight eh. Easy to sit here after and say “yes, you see!… Giroud should’ve started this game at CF, and Alexis or Webeck in the previous”… unfortunately injury stopped Welbeck from starting and a new formation attracted Wenger to a more cautious link up play CF at Citeh.
Kinda feel bad for Mesut in this formation. Playing on the wing doesn’t really suit him so much since it’s harder for him to see everything in front of him and takes away half of the pitch for him to pass to. That being said, I couldn’t be happier for Xhaka since the opening up of the middle really allows him to show off his passing range and dictate the game.
He doesn’t have to stay as wide in this formation as he does in, e.g., a 4-3-3, since in the 3-4-3 he has a wingback on his outside all the time, plus there’s one less midfielder, so it’s natural that he drop in to find those spaces. I think he was clearly the best of the front three, and our best player in attack after Xhaka (which admittedly isn’t saying much in this game). Had one of his quietly effective games, or at least it would have been effective if his attacking partners weren’t the anonymous and limited Walcott and… Read more »
This and thrice this again! Özil needs the right kind of players around him who can take advantage of the overloads he creates, the combinations, one-twos, through-balls etc. It sounds over the top, but his talents are wasted on the likes of Walcott, Ox, Ramsey (even Sanchez sometimes) etc. I remember several times in the last couple of seasons where he blatantly DIDN’T pass to those guys, because he probably thought “you’re just going to take the ball and run very fast at a couple of defenders – what’s the point?” Weirdly, Giroud is more capable to ‘get’ what Özil… Read more »
Nacho! Give that man 300K a week!
Back to his best form lately. I love me some nacho!
Any correlation between these links with Kolasinac and Nacho’s recent form you reckon? Or just a case of adding two and two and coming up with five lol
Nacho’s been our most consistent performer. Not our best, but definitely very reliable. He’s like the most perfect junk food–not fancy but damn good stuff!
Usually I would say yes but he has been terrible at times this season. He is another beneficiary of the change in system. But his latest passionate avatar is a sight for sore eyes.
Then let’s have some more rumours please.
Tbh we forgot how bad the left side of defence was before we got him. We used to concede most of the goals through left wing. We had the likes of Clichy and Santos before him.
Loving the fact Xhaka’s one of the first names on the team sheet now. Gonna be such a massive player for us the next few years.
Totally agree. I could never understand the flak he took from the press and some supporters. I really believe he is a future captain in waiting.
Fuck it i’m going to be the one that gets the hate then i suppose. I couldn’t disagree more with you about Xhaka, he’s far too slow and cumbersome to be the man who transitions between defense and attack in that midfield pairing. He can pick out a long pass if he’s given time and space but he wont get much of that in big games. I can appreciate the physicality of the lad but i expect more from that converted role at Arsenal – i despise saying this but Dembélé from those cunts down the road is the type… Read more »
He’s an excellent footballer.
“too slow and cumbersome” you say?… for me he provided presence, stability, orchestrated the play, was a threat with his long rangers, cynical and brutal. Don’t see what more you can ask for!
The talksport commentary had two assholes continuously snipe away at Granit every time he touched the ball.
“Does that look like 36 mil to you?”
Fuck them bozos. How much did Pogba cost, you Jose-loving bitches? Will praise a mule like Drinkwater to the skies, but Granit is a Johnny Foreigner with a ‘reputation’ innit!
Time wasting Alexis style. Fucking hilariously effective ????
Happy to see Wenger having the versatility now tonow be able to switch between 3-4-3 to 4-2-3-1 and indeed 4-3-3. Cech made an excellent save to deny Mahrez. That twit Tony Gale spouts utter shite. They keep citing Granit’s record on red cards. Patrick Viera had plenty of them. Granit was excellent today moving the ball around and getting “stuck in”. They don’t like that Leicester when we get into their faces. Point in case Giroud. The foxes tried to bully him with a BLATANT kick into his back which in all honesty should have been a red. Huth tried… Read more »
Anything else?
Agreed with second to last paragraph. Forget this win, move onto Spuds. We’ll get smashed if we play like that. 5-10.
Totally agree Freddo, the opponent did not score, nor were there many legitimate chances to do so. What Arsenal lack offensively with Coquelin playing, they conversely gain in terms of not being as vulnerable to counter attacks. Le Coq has quickly become a whipping boy of some folks here which is over the top and unfair in my opinion, but be that as it may. On the a positive note, Vardy was invisible today and that is a tribute to the Gunner’s defense. Depending on the opponent, Wenger can rotate Ramsey, Elneny or Coquelin, alongside Xhaka. Rather than raising what… Read more »
Alexis was poor tonight and while there’s no reason for him not to challenge the opponent in that throw in, the face clutching thing pisses me off. Totally unnecessary.
That he learned from Barca
Agreed that starting Walcott, and keeping him on for so long when it was clear our attack was struggling without a presence in the box, was the worse decision by AW. But that doesn’t change the fact that Coquelin is also really limited (good at what he does, but limited), which affects the team’s attacking fluidity as well. In a game where the onus was always going to be on us to break them down, I’m surprised both le Coq and Theo weren’t substituted sooner. In the end, we got really lucky with the goal.
‘Theo’retically Walcott has pace to hit the slowpokes in their defence. And Coq shields us from their blistering counters. Neither a tired Ramsey nor Elneny would have done better than Coq….
That sums up coq perfectly. Ok at breaking play up but gives very little going forward. He completely gets overrun when playing against better teams. Not the same player without santi. I don’t think I would play him against spuds. His matchup against deir and dembele isn’t very promising.
COYG!!! What a sweet victory!
Weird game that didn’t seem to be a home one.
Weird because Koscielny should have scored probably twice.
And weird because though entertaining, that lost Alexis A LOT of integrity. Is that the new Arsenal? Surely hope not!!
I thought that throw-in ricocheted off his shoulder onto the side of his face, but yeah, the delayed exaggerated reaction was a bit much. It could have cost us, too, due to the free kick he gave up. He may be a trifle worn out. Let’s hope the extra day’s rest (surely training will be light) has him closer to peak performance.
Sanchez was rubbish all day and that crap at the end is just plain embarrassing. I know Wenger loves a 70th min sub but freaking hell, Walcott should have been off at halftime. I thought Hector put in a decent defensive showing, his best for a while and Coq was pretty solid. I loved seeing Xhaka firing those passes around, lovely stuff and Nacho, thank you son, great game! I hope Ox is back in the lineup soon. Overall it was average at best but it was three sweet points and if we play the same against the spuds and… Read more »
Funny how everyone says the world will end if we have to sell Ozil and/or Alexis. But it is not like they have been consistently brilliant is it? Both have gone through awful periods of form and have patches when they appear more of a hindrance/liability than the superstars we get sold they are. Personally could live with either/both being sold if they are replaced with real quality. Walcott shud.ve been ditched years ago. There is an abundance of top quality, attainable young attacking talent in Europe now ( Dolberg, Shick, Mbappe, Dembele to name a couple ) lets raise… Read more »
Agreed. Nothing amusing about Sanchez at the end at all. I’d have been happy to see him sent off after the tangle with Huth, whom I really don’t like and which says it all. He should be embarrassed and made to feel it, not giggled along with. We’re the fucking Arsenal, not a bunch of face-grabbing, stop-and-drop rolling, pansies.
/rant
Xhaka could definitely be some player for us.
This team could definitely benefit with having another goalscorer! Sometimes it just looks like Alexis is the only hope that we have on that front.
Walcott and Giroud both of them can score but definitely not forever reliable. I hope we could get a goal scoring machine atleast this summer.
On the match..Well I would take a win. An own goal or a screamer doesn’t really matter.
Coq played quite well, nice shot on goal needed followup. Ozil rarely looks impressive against packed defense unless his pass comes off or his run scores…neither do any other players like him ( there are not many ) look good in those situations. His attempts have much narrower windows, that is why we bought him. Gabriel last game, Nacho this game with very impressive performances. These guys should both tell their critics to suck it. People who knock them for 1-2 mistakes or if we lose they go from an 8 to 4 or 5 rating…that is just wimpy support.… Read more »
Coquelin is poo.
I really wonder why we didn’t go more 3-5-2 on this one. I know it’s narrower in attack, but with no height in the starters why not just go with Alexis and Walcott up top and Ozil sitting in behind them?
Then at least we’ve got the playmaker nearer both of the strikers rather than having Ozil stranded on one wing (drifting around actually) and Walcott stranded on the other.
I thought we were 3-5-2 with Walcott and Sanchez up front. We’re really 3-4-1-2 though with Ozil floating. He was doing that early in the game but the tiredness he showed at the end of Sunday seemed to return. The problem seemed to me that Sanchez has become used to drifting around and ends up playing balls into the box that he’s supposed to be on the end of. I don’t think Leicester have been given enough credit for a defensive display that offered little space to feed balls through. Having said that, we made it too easy by passing… Read more »
I don’t really know but I guess a team that plays two holding midfielders won’t let Ozil do his thing behind the strikers… Theo looked lost actually. If only we had Perez available.
Some rotation going on here, obviously. Ox was being rested, Giroud and Welbeck too. I wonder if it’ll be RamXhaka at Spuds. I don’t see Coquelin starting. It seems as though Wenger is sticking with the three at the back. Will Holding or Mustafi (if fit) be put in there? (If Kos can’t play, we’re in trouble.) Monreal would then be left wingback, Ox right. No way Walcott is starting. My guess is Alexis-Welbeck-Ozil up front. It should be a wild game; neither team wants one point. Isn’t Harry Kane due for another own-goal off a corner?
I’d really like to see a 3-2-3-2 with Ozil more as CAM and one of the CDM pushed further up to sit closer to the mid 3. We lose a bit of width, but Ozil gets to play in his preferred position and Coq will do what he does best, patrol the mid field and find an easy pass to Xhaka.
I missed last match, could anyone help find the hilarious Alexis moment, please?
On a slight side note to our teams performance, given how they performed tonight, and how they have been this season I get the feeling Vardy and Mahrez would have been bench warmers for us this season had they joined last summer. Mahrez in particular looks like a one season wonder. While all fans, including myself, would love to be the manager, or think we could do better with the transfer policy, I do not envy AW or the scouting staffs job as it is so difficult to find consistent talent. By Vardy staying at Leicester we may have potentially… Read more »
The Boss said the same in as many words about Vardy. I’d prefer a fit Perez any day.
I’m worried about Bellerin’s delivery. The pace, I understand, but Bellerin’s delivery into the box is bang average, and has been so always. He used to make up for it by outrunning people into finding time to put in decent crosses. Not anymore. He doesn’t look up, and his balls don’t curve in accurately at all. Remember Sagna? He didn’t have quick feet, or innovation, but he could defend with a back four, and he would put some delicious passes in for the striker. Compare Bellerin to a Willian or a Valencia. Wingers with threatening accuracy. Is he equally or… Read more »
Hector is having a bad season no doubt but he is young and has time on his side.
If there was a consistent, never ending criticism of Sagna it was over his delivery into the box. I don’t think it was as bad as some and I loved Sagna, but let’s not put the rose tinted glasses on so easily. Bellerin has actually played numerous peaches into the box. It’s up to him to put it altogether. I think he will.
He didn’t have much space on the wing to put in any decent crosses, he didn’t even had much space to run into if he beat his man because there were usually 2 men he had to beat – due to the intensely defensive setup of Leicester.
I agree..this seems to be true of all our right backs. Also why does he seem so reluctant to run to the byline? He always prefers to cut back inside.
In this match Alexis was poor…Theo Poor…Gibbs invisible.
If we shot the ball more we may actually score.more
..I gotta.think players are instructed.to only shoot I you have a completely open goal and no defenders in sight
Özil didn’t find space? 4 created chances, 86% pass accuracy, 100% take ons, most passes after Xhaka, 6 ball recoveries… as always very harsh on Mesut here.
Don’t be blinded by the stats, we had very few clear chances due to their packed box. Ozil did as much as he could to find space but there really wasn’t much space to be found…
Our poor offensive showing is worrying. I mean it feels like we don’t know how to score sometimes against teams who sit back. Really need to dip into the transfer market.
Ozil deserves at least a 7.5, Coquelin at least a 7. Thought Coq was immense Defensively, countless interceptions, tackles, harrying the opposition, despite his size jumping in bravely for headers, he’s definitely given AW something to think about against Spu*s. Granted, he tried too hard to spray diagonal passes that didn’t quite come off last night, I’m guessing because he wants to shake off the title that he’s limited offensively. But he did his primary job almost to perfection and we need to give him credit when its due. We need to talk about Sanchez!! He was just as bad,… Read more »
Coq feels like he constantly has to prove himself, but that’s making him a worse player. He needs to make Makele and Kante his role model – be in the right positions, win the ball back quickly and cleanly (which means less lunging / sliding), and make simple passes to the attacking players.
If he can simplify his game, he’ll be a much more useful player.
I was at the game for once (I usually can’t get tickets), and what struck me is the complete lack of anybody getting the players fired up. The manager doesn’t get the players fired up. The fans barely get the players fired up. The players don’t get each other fired up. The players need more people to shout and them and get them going – It’s pretty hard to give your all when nobody is doing that. This isn’t meant as an insult in any way, I just think it’s the lackluster attitude and atmosphere which runs its way through… Read more »
Alexis’ antics were embarrassing, not hilarious. Let’s be consistent here and call it as it is. You should never complain about the opposition play acting if you think it’s funny when we do it. A tad hypocritical.
Is it mad i celebrated the win by showing both middle fingers at the screen whenever it was showing that disgusting thug Huth?