A 0-0 draw with Chelsea wasn’t the most exciting game or performance of the season, but after what happened on Sunday it was definitely an improvement.
Was really impressed by Xhaka, Wilshere and the back 3 today. Made me happy once again 🙂
However, it really is time to move Welbeck on. He offers pace, and that’s about it. His passing is lacklustre, and he seems to mistime duels/headers the few times he realises he’s got quite the physique to go to battle.
People on here are always saying we should sell Walcott and I can see their point to an extent, but surely you’d sell Welbz first. While he’s had his fair share of injury problems he’s been here 4 seasons, never been a regular starter and never gone double figures in a season (all comps).
I feel like it’s hard to judge any individual in this team until our glorious leader makes his final bow. They are being hung out to dry by nonsensical tactics and zero game management. I think Welbeck and Iwobi both have important roles to play at this club, but not so long as Wenger remains at the helm. He’s ruining players careers now and I think that’s unforgivable. He needs to go before our next crop: Holding, Chambers, AMN, Nelson… get infected by his ineptitude, drop a division or two and end up with stunted careers that don’t reflect their… Read more »
idk which game u were watchin but impressed by xhaka?! was so astounished by the signing cause we were lacking for the player who grabs it deep and has the vision for the long(song, källström) pass and crack it from second row and ive been watching him in the bundesliga and now….my mates call my xhake because every match im freakin out coz of him and his not filling the fking gap. dispossesed johnny i call him. angry me.
I’m not disagreeing with you entirely but when welbeck joined us, his passing stats in the final third were great and atleast till last season he’s been good with passing. He never turned into a quality finisher and while he could, we shouldnt put our eggs in that basket. I’d loan him to a club that would be open to buying him later with a reasonable agreed fee. If he scores a lot, we’d be unlucky but we’re atleast not giving him the game time at the risk of dropping points.
Thought defenders were all pretty okay today. Xhaka should have been sent off, Maitland-Niles should have had a pen.
The one thing I think is quite funny, which nobody is talking about, is how s**t this Arsenal 11 is vs the strong Chelsea 11 that couldn’t score pass them and didn’t even really outplay them.
Stick by my thoughts at the end of the game, the 11 we ended with is possibly the worst 11 I’ve seen in a while.
Was thinking exactly the same. It was a shit 11 but we put in a decent performance and I do strongly believe that Chelsea are definitely our new bunnies. We have just not been making use of them properly.
I guess it is time to cut the bunnies open at home and make a good meal.
It was naive from AMN, you can bet your house, wife and kids that Hazard leaves his leg in to ‘initiate contact’ with the defender in the that situation. Not endorsing cheating by any means but Moses was late and ridiculously lucky there. Ainsley could get into the uk hurdles team with that audition. All this bad luck we’ve recently had on the penalty front is killing me.
Completely agree on AMN. Don’t get point of having video ref if your not going to be bothered to use it when you need to. The ref clearly called for it but was dismissed with a “nah…no need to look at that again”. Baffling. .
I like the bonus rating, but who really cares. I’m sure we’d all be happy if we won the CL and a bunch of EPLs on the back of Kronke or Usminov’s money.
Much better from Calum. what I like about Calum and Holding is their mental resiliance. They went through the ringer last game against Chelsea and it could have potentially been a hard knock on their confidence but they’ve kept at it and come out on the other side. some small issues like not to head the ball back into the danger area in the middle when your midfield is not dependable in covering sorted. Also kept their head on a swivel better. Mustafi marshalled well mostly and made some important blocks. Hopefully we get one or both of Monreal and… Read more »
ach
6 years ago
If wenger played Theo regularly, he would easily outscore lacazette already. But of course people won’t admit it when their new expensive record signing is actually not really better than the most hated player in the squad. Don’t lie to yourself, you know i’m right.
ach- I don’t agree as think AL is a more complete player but you make an interesting point….there’s a worryingly shared ‘flattering to deceive’. Worrying
Both Lacazette and Walcott suffer because the team rarely pick up on their forward runs and pass through to them, seemingly too busy making little passes across in front of the defence. Walcott in particular is often offside because the pass comes just too late. At their best, they’re both well capable of scoring, and both appear to be suffering from a bit of lack of confidence in front of goal at the moment. Also, Walcott can be one of our best at making crosses — for a while over the previous 2 or 3 seasons, his developing relationship with… Read more »
I agree on the crosses. There was a time when he was assisting nearly half of RVPs goals. There was also a time when he would beat his man. Occasionally he looks to have good ball control, but it happens far to infrequently. I think there is a right side voodoo going on, because Bellerin also seems incapable of doing anything but passing back, try to beat your man, for f*cks sake! One of our problems is that Alexis (and to a lesser extent Wilshere) are the only players willing to take someone on, even if Alexis is giving it… Read more »
I’ve said this before, but if Laca were given the late game minutes- the last 20 minutes of a match – on a regular basis he would have a notably higher tally. We score a lot of late goals, and put on a lot of late pressure in almost every match. He’s got the finishing touch, but he’s never on when we need it most or could get the most value out of it.
Or perhaps we should come out with a bit of that urgency earlier. Just a thought.
yes. and in addition, all those substitutions have clearly taken a toll on his confidence, which was great at the beginning of the season, but now it’s clear he’s snatching at chances and overthinking them. Wenger needs to show faith in him by keeping him on for the full 90, then that calmness in front of goal will return eventually.
It is possible but doubt it as having Theo on the pitch would make us a defensive liability and we would be under even more pressure and thus less service for him. Giroud on the other hand would have definitely even with the poor service he receives.
This is such an idiotic comment on so many levels. An entire thesis can be written explaining all the ways in which Lacazette is a better player and better for the team than Walcott. And I am not even a Lacazette fan. Instead of doing that I’ll simply state that last year, Walcott scored 10 goals in the league in total over the entire season. This was considered as one of his best seasons ever in terms of goals. Lacazette is already at 8 at the half way point of his very first season in the league and one in… Read more »
That’s a false thesis. Lacazette was bought as a striker: it’s his job, above all, to score goals. Not his only one, admittedly, but that’s why he’s an Arsenal player. Walcott was bought as a winger; he can play as a striker, but I think we’re all agreed that’s not his forte. The fact that he can be (and often is) a very effective goalscorer is, to my mind, a bonus. And even if you do try to judge them just on their effectiveness as goalscorers last season vs this, Walcott’s 10 league goals last season came at the rate… Read more »
Walcott was but as a strker that Wenger wanted to train on the wing just like what he did with RVP and even Henry as he was the one who started using Henry as a winger at Monaco.
Its not a false thesis because its a reply not an original argument. In case you missed the original comment this is what it said: “If wenger played Theo regularly, he would easily outscore lacazette already.” When the original argument is that Walcott would outscore Lacazette then what else do you expect the reply to be about? Secondly, Walcott actually scores less as a striker than as a winger. You can check his numbers. This is why I mentioned that last season was, either as striker or winger, as good as Walcott gets. And he still wasn’t a better goal… Read more »
I didn’t read all of what you wrote. I agree with both in terms that not counting wages that AL is good with some faults and TW is solid player more faults. Only thing I want to say is that last season goal tally is correct but its not like TW played much in the second half of the season. Most of his goals came during the first half when he was in good form. He really can’t play the 343 formation and why he wasn’t transferred out knowing that was going to be our formation for 80% of the… Read more »
Thank you for your observance. While I agree that Lacazette is more of a complete player and a real poacher, the excuse that fans make out for Lacazette is that we are not playing to his strength (which I agree), but failed to make that same excuse for Walcott who can even do the off-the-ball-run and positioning better . Fabregas easily locate Walcott for those box 18 runs and Cazorla before injury.
If Wenger actually let Lacazette play 90 minutes his goal stats may well look better. Constantly subbing him as defences get tired doesn’t do him any favours really.
Bprez
6 years ago
Looks like I’m in the minority, but I thought Iwobi had a good game today, dropped into midfield to help kick start attacks well, it’s a shame his decision making is still hit and miss.
Welbeck on the other hand was poor, particularly in his hold up play, and couldn’t even seem to win aerial duels against azpilicueta.
Normally I think lacazette suffers from lack of service but today the problems were mostly of his own making. Didn’t look sharp at all, which is unsurprising given his illness
Agree with all your points. Iwobi had a much better impact on the game than Welbeck and Lacazette (who was clearly under the weather). I think people are rating Iwobi with the recent media headlines and popular opinion in mind. He had a good game. Most our attacks were instigated by his and Wilshere’s ability and quick feet to get out of midfield. For me, Iwobi’s talent is worth the persistence. He just needs to work on his stamina, and develop a cutting edge in the final 3rd, which will soon come. Lets get behind the lad.
Maniac
6 years ago
We’re now past the half way point of the season and Lacazette is still getting no service. Yes, he spurned the one chance he got, but apart from that he was completely isolated up top. I really don’t understand the team structure – everyone seems completely reluctant to pass to him.
I’d normally be on Laca’s side but today he didn’t have the movement to warrant service. The change when Sanchez came on was palpable. as blogs said, he was ill so not his normal self.
Well you can’t really expect Welbeck or Iwobi to be creating for him. They are not creating for anyone. Sanchez is mostly playing his own game. He either doesn’t trust anyone else on the pitch or just doesn’t care. It would have been better to play Wilshere in the Iwobi role and to start with Elneny. At least we would have had one playmaker close to our striker.
He’s being surrounded with 3 defenders most of the time. But last night I saw many times ball was chipped over the defenders towards Lacazette. Keep doing it and the goals will come..
I would also push someone to the ground if he keeps climbing on me while I am trying to take a nap. I mean look at Chambers eyes, he is sleepy. Don’t blame him.
Michael Bolton Wanderers
6 years ago
Bonus rating to VAR. Must have calmed the ref to let him know he didn’t miss any major incident. And can’t say it ruined or was hurtful for the flow of the game or anything.
Obviously VAR can only be an advantage if you’re arsenal
A decent defensive performance, especially after that weekend debacle. Shame about Wilshere, probably our best player till the knock, hopefully nothing too serious though. Was especially impressed with Chambers, Holding, Iwobi and AMN.
Bertieme
6 years ago
Fascinating, if boring game. Didn’t know Laca was sick. Game reminded me of a few years ago when after a run of poor defending we became solid but at the expense of doing much in the attacking third. The former however is welcome especially with the number of issues and shows we can defend as a unit. Perhaps Alexis not starting helped that. Iwobi was poor but then grew into the game. I thought he was more involved then Welbeck. Elneny was decent when he came on. Indeed everyone was decent which is a plus for many of them. I… Read more »
Santori
6 years ago
1) Ospina – Decent shot stopper. His issue is commanding the box. 2) Bellerin – Decent defending today but we are so reliant on him going forward to balance the attack. When he is unable to, we are blunt from the right. A Mahrez will really add balance from our right both technically and creatively but it will also help Bellerin (walcott is not the answer) 3) Holding/Chambers – BOTH much better tonight. Obviously they are learning. The issue has always been its been at our expense but clearly they have decent qualities to develop. Defense issue is more than… Read more »
Alex
6 years ago
Sitting in the Chelsea end tonight (arsenal fan). Never seen a chant annoy the home end more than “you bought it all”. Great noise from the travelling fans
Spanish Gooner
6 years ago
Looking forward to Elneny getting a run of games to end some of the ridiculous criticism of him after the Coq sale. He’s a superb athlete with a good long shot and tidy passing, and as a box to box midfielder I think he could be fantastic for us – a more disciplined and conservative Ramsey (who I am a massive fan of) that could provide the base for the forwards the have more freedom
Yes, to all that, except this: his tackling is consistently lightweight, and he doesn’t really have the skill to contribute much in the final third. So he stitches the play together really well and covers a ton of ground (both things I like a lot), but not much else. He certainly can’t be a stand-alone DM, so you’ve always got to play someone else who will mostly stay deep, e.g. Xhaka, alongside him. Can we really afford a starting birth to someone like that? I think if the rest of the team is settle and well balanced (dribblers, long-range passers,… Read more »
Agreed. Both Elneny and Xhaka do not know how to tackle – in fact, I’d go so far as to say that Xhaka may be the worst tackler I have ever seen in the Arsenal midfield.
I guess thats the same way I feel about Iwobi but at least Elneny like you said works hard. I would rather have him in our X1 playing DM then Iwobi playing one for the forward positions.
Just watching today with that one great burst in the 2nd half getting all the way into the box and then that let down smh
Spanish Gooner
6 years ago
I know Iwobi and Welbeck aren’t in vogue at the minute but I don’t think it’s a surprise we’ve kept a clean sheet at Stamford bridge both times they started. Ferguson, Mourinho and Ancelotti used to win leagues based on the idea of using such players to make sure they didn’t lose to top 4 rivals and I think it’s refreshing to have players of that skillset in our arsenal
Conchetumadre
6 years ago
Bye Alexis. It was entertaining while it lasted.
Good luck and thank you.
Arsene\'s Pinky Finger
6 years ago
AW: “We are frustrated we didn’t score” … ??? Someone please tell the guy the team that played in the blue jerseys was Chelsea. How many decent shots on goal did we have – 1, 2 ? Or did I watch another game?
Huss
6 years ago
It’s either incredibly promising or extremely depressing that AMN has been one of the 3-4 best players in pretty much every match since he’s been starting for the senior team. I’m leaning towards promising. While I don’t like playing him out of position at LWB, it is delightful to watch him recover and erase counter attacks with his speed. There was a play in the second half where Hazard got behind the back 3 straight down the middle and I thought he would bury it, but AMN closed the space immediately. No way a Kolasinac could have done that. Offensively,… Read more »
George
6 years ago
Walcott’s going (hopefully) and I’d like Iwobi and Welbeck to follow him. Neither of them will ever overcome the fact that they can’t play football. Mark my words.
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Was really impressed by Xhaka, Wilshere and the back 3 today. Made me happy once again 🙂
However, it really is time to move Welbeck on. He offers pace, and that’s about it. His passing is lacklustre, and he seems to mistime duels/headers the few times he realises he’s got quite the physique to go to battle.
People on here are always saying we should sell Walcott and I can see their point to an extent, but surely you’d sell Welbz first. While he’s had his fair share of injury problems he’s been here 4 seasons, never been a regular starter and never gone double figures in a season (all comps).
Impressed by Granit? Great set piece deliveries. Could have easily got a second yellow.
granted some decent defensive work but still a bit insipid with his challenges.
Things got much tougher without Jack. Mediocre Elneny did not help Granit but Granit frankly needs to step up now.
I feel like it’s hard to judge any individual in this team until our glorious leader makes his final bow. They are being hung out to dry by nonsensical tactics and zero game management. I think Welbeck and Iwobi both have important roles to play at this club, but not so long as Wenger remains at the helm. He’s ruining players careers now and I think that’s unforgivable. He needs to go before our next crop: Holding, Chambers, AMN, Nelson… get infected by his ineptitude, drop a division or two and end up with stunted careers that don’t reflect their… Read more »
idk which game u were watchin but impressed by xhaka?! was so astounished by the signing cause we were lacking for the player who grabs it deep and has the vision for the long(song, källström) pass and crack it from second row and ive been watching him in the bundesliga and now….my mates call my xhake because every match im freakin out coz of him and his not filling the fking gap. dispossesed johnny i call him. angry me.
…what?
I think he said “Xhaka is not very good in my humble opinion”
Tah..tah..Xhaka..Trr..trr..Xhaka..yada..yada..angry me!
I choose to believe Rambling Pete had a son who is following in the family comment posting business.
It’s touching in its own special way
I’m not disagreeing with you entirely but when welbeck joined us, his passing stats in the final third were great and atleast till last season he’s been good with passing. He never turned into a quality finisher and while he could, we shouldnt put our eggs in that basket. I’d loan him to a club that would be open to buying him later with a reasonable agreed fee. If he scores a lot, we’d be unlucky but we’re atleast not giving him the game time at the risk of dropping points.
I’ll see your Welbeck and raise you an Iwobi.
Thought defenders were all pretty okay today. Xhaka should have been sent off, Maitland-Niles should have had a pen.
The one thing I think is quite funny, which nobody is talking about, is how s**t this Arsenal 11 is vs the strong Chelsea 11 that couldn’t score pass them and didn’t even really outplay them.
Stick by my thoughts at the end of the game, the 11 we ended with is possibly the worst 11 I’ve seen in a while.
Was thinking exactly the same. It was a shit 11 but we put in a decent performance and I do strongly believe that Chelsea are definitely our new bunnies. We have just not been making use of them properly.
I guess it is time to cut the bunnies open at home and make a good meal.
Lesson learnt from Forest.
If they could do it to us, surely there is no excuse.
Chelsea aren’t that great.
Is “cut the bunnies open” a common phrase now? Am I that out of touch?
No, its the children who are wrong.
Shit 11 = 0-0
Best 11= ?
It was naive from AMN, you can bet your house, wife and kids that Hazard leaves his leg in to ‘initiate contact’ with the defender in the that situation. Not endorsing cheating by any means but Moses was late and ridiculously lucky there. Ainsley could get into the uk hurdles team with that audition. All this bad luck we’ve recently had on the penalty front is killing me.
Completely agree on AMN. Don’t get point of having video ref if your not going to be bothered to use it when you need to. The ref clearly called for it but was dismissed with a “nah…no need to look at that again”. Baffling. .
Hazard is cheating diving scum
I like the bonus rating, but who really cares. I’m sure we’d all be happy if we won the CL and a bunch of EPLs on the back of Kronke or Usminov’s money.
Imagine if they replied ‘your tickets cost enough’
Cal me old fashioned, but I care.
Christ, I mean look at Man City. I would struggle to stomach their owners, ill be honest. It’s bad enough the stadium is sponsored by Emirates.
For me, chambers was man of the match
Much better from Calum. what I like about Calum and Holding is their mental resiliance. They went through the ringer last game against Chelsea and it could have potentially been a hard knock on their confidence but they’ve kept at it and come out on the other side. some small issues like not to head the ball back into the danger area in the middle when your midfield is not dependable in covering sorted. Also kept their head on a swivel better. Mustafi marshalled well mostly and made some important blocks. Hopefully we get one or both of Monreal and… Read more »
If wenger played Theo regularly, he would easily outscore lacazette already. But of course people won’t admit it when their new expensive record signing is actually not really better than the most hated player in the squad. Don’t lie to yourself, you know i’m right.
ach- I don’t agree as think AL is a more complete player but you make an interesting point….there’s a worryingly shared ‘flattering to deceive’. Worrying
Sorry blogs but
lol
ACH stands for automated clearing house…that means you should grab your coat now
Both Lacazette and Walcott suffer because the team rarely pick up on their forward runs and pass through to them, seemingly too busy making little passes across in front of the defence. Walcott in particular is often offside because the pass comes just too late. At their best, they’re both well capable of scoring, and both appear to be suffering from a bit of lack of confidence in front of goal at the moment. Also, Walcott can be one of our best at making crosses — for a while over the previous 2 or 3 seasons, his developing relationship with… Read more »
What? Jack gave Lacazette the perfect ball for that run and he fluffed it.
Missing something? world class?
I am with you defending Walcott but not on crosses.
I agree on the crosses. There was a time when he was assisting nearly half of RVPs goals. There was also a time when he would beat his man. Occasionally he looks to have good ball control, but it happens far to infrequently. I think there is a right side voodoo going on, because Bellerin also seems incapable of doing anything but passing back, try to beat your man, for f*cks sake! One of our problems is that Alexis (and to a lesser extent Wilshere) are the only players willing to take someone on, even if Alexis is giving it… Read more »
I’ve said this before, but if Laca were given the late game minutes- the last 20 minutes of a match – on a regular basis he would have a notably higher tally. We score a lot of late goals, and put on a lot of late pressure in almost every match. He’s got the finishing touch, but he’s never on when we need it most or could get the most value out of it.
Or perhaps we should come out with a bit of that urgency earlier. Just a thought.
yes. and in addition, all those substitutions have clearly taken a toll on his confidence, which was great at the beginning of the season, but now it’s clear he’s snatching at chances and overthinking them. Wenger needs to show faith in him by keeping him on for the full 90, then that calmness in front of goal will return eventually.
He might also have been on the treatment table. This is his first season in EPL with so many schedule between December and January.
It is possible but doubt it as having Theo on the pitch would make us a defensive liability and we would be under even more pressure and thus less service for him. Giroud on the other hand would have definitely even with the poor service he receives.
This is such an idiotic comment on so many levels. An entire thesis can be written explaining all the ways in which Lacazette is a better player and better for the team than Walcott. And I am not even a Lacazette fan. Instead of doing that I’ll simply state that last year, Walcott scored 10 goals in the league in total over the entire season. This was considered as one of his best seasons ever in terms of goals. Lacazette is already at 8 at the half way point of his very first season in the league and one in… Read more »
That’s a false thesis. Lacazette was bought as a striker: it’s his job, above all, to score goals. Not his only one, admittedly, but that’s why he’s an Arsenal player. Walcott was bought as a winger; he can play as a striker, but I think we’re all agreed that’s not his forte. The fact that he can be (and often is) a very effective goalscorer is, to my mind, a bonus. And even if you do try to judge them just on their effectiveness as goalscorers last season vs this, Walcott’s 10 league goals last season came at the rate… Read more »
Walcott was but as a strker that Wenger wanted to train on the wing just like what he did with RVP and even Henry as he was the one who started using Henry as a winger at Monaco.
Its not a false thesis because its a reply not an original argument. In case you missed the original comment this is what it said: “If wenger played Theo regularly, he would easily outscore lacazette already.” When the original argument is that Walcott would outscore Lacazette then what else do you expect the reply to be about? Secondly, Walcott actually scores less as a striker than as a winger. You can check his numbers. This is why I mentioned that last season was, either as striker or winger, as good as Walcott gets. And he still wasn’t a better goal… Read more »
I didn’t read all of what you wrote. I agree with both in terms that not counting wages that AL is good with some faults and TW is solid player more faults. Only thing I want to say is that last season goal tally is correct but its not like TW played much in the second half of the season. Most of his goals came during the first half when he was in good form. He really can’t play the 343 formation and why he wasn’t transferred out knowing that was going to be our formation for 80% of the… Read more »
I must say, although he has some good attributes, I am not convinced on Lacazette as a Premier League striker
So u would give Walcott 10 seasons & only half a season for Lacazatte for judgement?
Thank you for your observance. While I agree that Lacazette is more of a complete player and a real poacher, the excuse that fans make out for Lacazette is that we are not playing to his strength (which I agree), but failed to make that same excuse for Walcott who can even do the off-the-ball-run and positioning better . Fabregas easily locate Walcott for those box 18 runs and Cazorla before injury.
If Wenger actually let Lacazette play 90 minutes his goal stats may well look better. Constantly subbing him as defences get tired doesn’t do him any favours really.
Looks like I’m in the minority, but I thought Iwobi had a good game today, dropped into midfield to help kick start attacks well, it’s a shame his decision making is still hit and miss.
Welbeck on the other hand was poor, particularly in his hold up play, and couldn’t even seem to win aerial duels against azpilicueta.
Normally I think lacazette suffers from lack of service but today the problems were mostly of his own making. Didn’t look sharp at all, which is unsurprising given his illness
Agree with all your points. Iwobi had a much better impact on the game than Welbeck and Lacazette (who was clearly under the weather). I think people are rating Iwobi with the recent media headlines and popular opinion in mind. He had a good game. Most our attacks were instigated by his and Wilshere’s ability and quick feet to get out of midfield. For me, Iwobi’s talent is worth the persistence. He just needs to work on his stamina, and develop a cutting edge in the final 3rd, which will soon come. Lets get behind the lad.
We’re now past the half way point of the season and Lacazette is still getting no service. Yes, he spurned the one chance he got, but apart from that he was completely isolated up top. I really don’t understand the team structure – everyone seems completely reluctant to pass to him.
Agreed, I see the quality he has but just needs a little more to start having an impact
May as well say Giroud is getting no service or Welbeck. Nonsense argument.
Jack supplied him the perfect ball and he sent it into the rafters.
I’d normally be on Laca’s side but today he didn’t have the movement to warrant service. The change when Sanchez came on was palpable. as blogs said, he was ill so not his normal self.
There is no structure. We’re a shambles
Giroud must be saying the same thing.
Well you can’t really expect Welbeck or Iwobi to be creating for him. They are not creating for anyone. Sanchez is mostly playing his own game. He either doesn’t trust anyone else on the pitch or just doesn’t care. It would have been better to play Wilshere in the Iwobi role and to start with Elneny. At least we would have had one playmaker close to our striker.
He’s being surrounded with 3 defenders most of the time. But last night I saw many times ball was chipped over the defenders towards Lacazette. Keep doing it and the goals will come..
The Arsenal fans chanting “V-A-R” when Maitland-Niles went down under Moses’ tackle in the box was by far the highlight of the night for me
You must have missed Chambers pushing Azpilicueta to the ground after he kept climbing all over him. A classic “back up” moment.
I would also push someone to the ground if he keeps climbing on me while I am trying to take a nap. I mean look at Chambers eyes, he is sleepy. Don’t blame him.
Bonus rating to VAR. Must have calmed the ref to let him know he didn’t miss any major incident. And can’t say it ruined or was hurtful for the flow of the game or anything.
Obviously VAR can only be an advantage if you’re arsenal
You mean if you’re not cheating diving scum!
A decent defensive performance, especially after that weekend debacle. Shame about Wilshere, probably our best player till the knock, hopefully nothing too serious though. Was especially impressed with Chambers, Holding, Iwobi and AMN.
Fascinating, if boring game. Didn’t know Laca was sick. Game reminded me of a few years ago when after a run of poor defending we became solid but at the expense of doing much in the attacking third. The former however is welcome especially with the number of issues and shows we can defend as a unit. Perhaps Alexis not starting helped that. Iwobi was poor but then grew into the game. I thought he was more involved then Welbeck. Elneny was decent when he came on. Indeed everyone was decent which is a plus for many of them. I… Read more »
1) Ospina – Decent shot stopper. His issue is commanding the box. 2) Bellerin – Decent defending today but we are so reliant on him going forward to balance the attack. When he is unable to, we are blunt from the right. A Mahrez will really add balance from our right both technically and creatively but it will also help Bellerin (walcott is not the answer) 3) Holding/Chambers – BOTH much better tonight. Obviously they are learning. The issue has always been its been at our expense but clearly they have decent qualities to develop. Defense issue is more than… Read more »
Sitting in the Chelsea end tonight (arsenal fan). Never seen a chant annoy the home end more than “you bought it all”. Great noise from the travelling fans
Looking forward to Elneny getting a run of games to end some of the ridiculous criticism of him after the Coq sale. He’s a superb athlete with a good long shot and tidy passing, and as a box to box midfielder I think he could be fantastic for us – a more disciplined and conservative Ramsey (who I am a massive fan of) that could provide the base for the forwards the have more freedom
Yes, to all that, except this: his tackling is consistently lightweight, and he doesn’t really have the skill to contribute much in the final third. So he stitches the play together really well and covers a ton of ground (both things I like a lot), but not much else. He certainly can’t be a stand-alone DM, so you’ve always got to play someone else who will mostly stay deep, e.g. Xhaka, alongside him. Can we really afford a starting birth to someone like that? I think if the rest of the team is settle and well balanced (dribblers, long-range passers,… Read more »
Agreed. Both Elneny and Xhaka do not know how to tackle – in fact, I’d go so far as to say that Xhaka may be the worst tackler I have ever seen in the Arsenal midfield.
I guess thats the same way I feel about Iwobi but at least Elneny like you said works hard. I would rather have him in our X1 playing DM then Iwobi playing one for the forward positions.
Just watching today with that one great burst in the 2nd half getting all the way into the box and then that let down smh
I know Iwobi and Welbeck aren’t in vogue at the minute but I don’t think it’s a surprise we’ve kept a clean sheet at Stamford bridge both times they started. Ferguson, Mourinho and Ancelotti used to win leagues based on the idea of using such players to make sure they didn’t lose to top 4 rivals and I think it’s refreshing to have players of that skillset in our arsenal
Bye Alexis. It was entertaining while it lasted.
Good luck and thank you.
AW: “We are frustrated we didn’t score” … ??? Someone please tell the guy the team that played in the blue jerseys was Chelsea. How many decent shots on goal did we have – 1, 2 ? Or did I watch another game?
It’s either incredibly promising or extremely depressing that AMN has been one of the 3-4 best players in pretty much every match since he’s been starting for the senior team. I’m leaning towards promising. While I don’t like playing him out of position at LWB, it is delightful to watch him recover and erase counter attacks with his speed. There was a play in the second half where Hazard got behind the back 3 straight down the middle and I thought he would bury it, but AMN closed the space immediately. No way a Kolasinac could have done that. Offensively,… Read more »
Walcott’s going (hopefully) and I’d like Iwobi and Welbeck to follow him. Neither of them will ever overcome the fact that they can’t play football. Mark my words.
Morata HAHAHAHAHA, Morata HAHAHHAHA 😀