A second successive 3-0 defeat to Man City took place at the Emirates tonight, following from Sunday’s League Cup final defeat.
For the second successive game we can be thankful that City took their foot off the gas, it could have been so much worse.
Here’s how the players rated tonight.
No substitutions with another game only days away? 10/10 thinking.
Yeah, that bench though… Oof.
As if that would have made the difference today, or against Brigton.
No but it does increase the chance of injury on cold nights like this. And we do have a pretty crucial game against Milan coming up.
Just goes to show the options we have now.
Sell Giroud a perfectly good striker and waste of time rejig the attack when what we clearly need is more creative player with pace out wide and not Mhkitaryan
I give Wenger 10/10 for tonight. It’s not his fault the players have stopped playing for him, it’s everyone else’s.
#Perspective
LOL yeah ok mate
I was being a touch sarcastic lol
No subs is what you do as a manager when you’ve a) given up and b) you’re fucking pissed at your players.*
*The players themselves have usually given up already by the time it gets to this.
Will that half empty stadium make stan and ivan rethink about wenger?
No, but an Emirate stadium filled with only the opponent’s fans will.
Nah, they still get season ticket holder and corporate seating money. Empty stadium is just embarrassing and they don’t care about that
Have you forgotten what the weather is like? lol
didnt stop any of the city fans…
This is the best point, all the “oh it was cold” is nonsense.
Having won the cup or come close and still being in the league against the leaders, you think we wouldn’t have gone then? Wake up…
Good point. He clearly thinks the team he had out there couldn’t be improved and there is no other style or tactic we can play. Would have been nice to have Giroud give us another option up top but Wenger wants him to go to the world cup so there’s that.
might as well give some of the youngsters a chance on sunday, only way to inject any positivity into the club right now is if a young player comes in and impresses, and its not like the senior players are playing well enough to keep them out
Mourinho was right in everything he’s ever said about Wenger. It’s going to be a great day to see this underachieving has been finally get the sack .
*was a cunt
Fixed!
Do you (and the majority of fans) not realise he will never be “sacked”, and certainly not during the season. The best we can hope for is a change this summer, as much as I doubt that will even happen, but until then all we can do is ride this out and support the team. As a side note, my next door neighbour passed away between christmas and new year at the age of 87. She was a lifelong Arsenal fan and she always said Wenger was not just the best manager we’ve ever had, but the best thing to… Read more »
Clough was the best thing to ever happen to Nottingham Forest, but they still should have sacked him before he declined so far he got them relegated…
Sheeeeyt! I agree with both – the comment AND the reply! WTF IS WRONG WITH ME??!?!? :O
great shout Nesta .. Ive been saying the same for the last 2 years
Fair point, but we’re not going to get relegated are we.
Are we?
Lads?
Lol @goonerest, you think if we did and our players left, he’d be able to bring us back up? I seriously have my doubts on this.
Never ever ever ever ever ever. Ever ever.
Ever.
Mourinho was right? And that belief has robbed you of the ability of put together a sentence that reads like English. You UTTER muppet
Great name …. Blood Meridian fans unite
This is an all time low for me reading the comments. Disgraceful
It doesn’t hurt no more
Bless you but the pain for the rest who continue to watch in the stadium or on tv will increase significantly.
I recommend a cuntloks policy since 2011 of playing with the kids, with the wife, boyfriend, saving the money and going on a wonderful holiday instead of giving to the club.
your life will be happier and enriched …
U have a wife and boyfriend?
LOL yes doesn’t everyone? oh
Holidays with the wife and boyfriend? You certainly do lead a rich and colourful life, @twistedcuntloks.
I agree with @keneh, the burning anger and frustration are dormant now. It’s over. I’m numb to this bullshit now and just waiting for it to end so I can enjoy the football again. Honestly can’t wait. I will still watch the games like a mug but when we screw up in the same ways again and again it’s not devastating like in the 2008 season, it’s just a numbness like “yep well that’ll happen…”. Surely this and the fact that the players can’t escape their own torpor under Wenger is one of the biggest indictments.
The remainder of this season is going to turn into a PR nightmare if someone senior at the club doesn’t step in and make clear this is Arsène’s last season. He’s clearly incapable of calling time so someone else must for the good of the club. This season is already a lost cause. Let’s celebrate what the man has given Arsenal in the knowledge that we are moving on to a new chapter.
Wenger should really not be allowed to tarnish his own (wonderful) legacy by his apparent inability to see what’s good for the club now. Someone must take responsibility for making the hard call before the atmosphere becomes even more toxic and he damages the club and his own place in its history.
Not to quibble for no reason, and meaning no offense, but, that’s a terrible idea. Europa football still happening and the 5th place spot for next year up for grabs. Yes, I know, there is an argument that not having that bother might be beneficial (a la’ chels. and Leicester) but still, I want to see Arsenal in European football regardless. And the club announce he’s being fired a year early, with no replacement, what the fuck to you think the players are gonna do? What player would want to join a headless project club? What will people say about… Read more »
But it’s already a completely rudderless ship. The only thing worse than calling time on Wenger now would be to allow him to continue with his talk about how he always fulfills his contracts. Even the possibility of him serving another year as the manager would be incredibly detrimental to the club – let alone the impact it will have on the fanbase (or Wenger’s reputation)
(ps. Not sure how you can conclude I have zero management experience simply because I express an opinion that you don’t agree with!)
Nice sentiment @WellArsed.
Our club is owned by people that do not have its interests at heart. The discussion is on the manager but the price we have to pay in modern football to compete among the richest clubs should bear the brunt of most of our anger and hatred, even if Wenger should leave.
Please just leave Wenger
That summation by James is so haunting, yet it’s true, and it hits home, hard.
We tried today and yet…..
Anyone else notice how bad Ozil’s passing and vision has become since he signed the contract? Did he pull a Theo?
On his day fantastic but to pay him the reported weekly wage sums up where the club are. Seems like no pressure anywhere in the club
Not his fault when he tees up Aubameyang in the Carabao cup final and he doesn’t finish from point blank. You have to take those opportunities when they come. If he scored that, we would’ve been in a different mindset.
Teed up Aubameyang in an offside position when he should have shot himself, also with a weight of ball that allowed Kyle Walker to get back and get a toe in before Aubameyang made contact with the first shot. For me that was Ozils fault
Aubameyang should have judged his run better. The pass was perfect!
At least with Theo he suffered a big ACL injury and took time to recover from that. Ozil on the other hand….
Making a case for Walcott over Ozil? Really? Sorry but that’s just nonsense.
Have another look at what I wrote mate. It’s not a case for Walcott over Ozil, it’s an explanation for Walcott’s post-contract “dip in form”. In fact there was no actual dip, he suffered a major injury in the 2-0 against Spurs where we all agreed he played very well. Compare and contrast with Ozil who’s been inexplicably largely anonymous since signing his deal
Honestly every single arsenal player should be embarrassed. It’s clear Wenger has lost the players. If there is any viable intern alternative the club needs to make the change now. Missing out even on Europa league is a real possibility
I’m not sure I’d hand the team over to an intern, but it’s crazy enough to work.
Man, that was bleak
It gets no easier.
Brighton away. Then Milan away. Lose those two and we won’t be on the canvas, as much as out of the ring altogether.
Naah same shit, nothing will change, we’ve been here countless times in the last couple of years.
Brighton away is a lot easier than man city at home….
I’m pretty sure they will beat us at least 2-0, but on a lighter note I am rubbish at predictions!
If I wasn’t an Arsenal fan I’d love to see Bellerin in this Man City team. Much better performance but we got outclassed. This City team reminds me of the invincibles.
Sané resembles a young Thierry a bit
Honestly, at this point in time, Walker’s miles better. Bellerin was partially at fault for that second goal tonight (look how he ball watches, moving towards the ball rather than noticing Silva’s run until it’s too late). His defending is consistently mediocre. Huge talent, currently stagnating big time.
Possibly because the manager puts zero focus and importance in defending. I’ve said before but in this current incarnation, Wenger could have Bobby Moore and Baresi in the back four and we’d still leak goals. It’s not the players. It’s the absence of defensive coaching and focus.
Well Bellerin is pretty shit going forward as well, it no coincidence most of our attacks go down the left side
Went to the game and actually ended up having quite a fun night. Shows the level of expectation, I suppose…
And thanks very much for the unhysterical player ratings Blogs – it was hard to pin down a specific player having an absolute shocker, we were just bad, and they just good. Or very, very, very good might be closer to the truth.
Change of manager and a bit of a squad overhaul and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. This feels like the end and that’s making me hopeful again.
Mustafi shouldn’t have started after Sunday and was abject so pretty much had a shocker.
Yeah, but I do think he’s becoming a bit of a scapegoat. As bad as he was, Kola (watch him be slow to track back for that third goal, not for the first time) and Bellerin were not much better.
Any defender will look bad against the City attackers, the way they play at the moment.
Yeah how many times does he pass back to keeper?
I was there too. Half empty stadium, minus two, gale, snow. Really unusual. Arsenal wasn’t totally hopeless. Several great chances, I think they fought hard. Some (Mustafi, Kola, Daniel) clearly out of form. But booing the team off the field at the end of the match was totally inappropriate.
Something really happened to Daniel Mensah after that last injury, didn’t it? He was really coming into form and he was even becoming an option at no 9 for us. He looks totally bereft now.
For the sake of Wenger’s sanity and ours, I truly wish the club will put an end to this decline. It’s the only consistency we have been able to maintain and it’s now spiraling out of control.
No subs, no invention, no organization, no leadership, no shape, nothing at all. I feel sorry for the players even if some warrant a walk down the exit.
Something’s going on that we’re not privy to. The players just look like Chelsea did when they wanted Maureen to go. Familiar feel to it, though I’ve never seen it with Arsenal so maybe it’s been harder to identify.
63m and he takes the worst penalty ever. As soon as the ref pointed to the spot everyone knew he would miss it.
Really? I’ve seen some woeful penalties in my time. That was just a poor penalty.
One word: Zaza
Yeah a couple of Ozil.s spring to mind
I knew and I called it and I also knew he would take the penalty.
At least he had the balls to take it…I can’t imagine anyone else in the team doing it…
Well someone HAD to take it. What we gonna do…say ref it.s ok, we don.t want a pen??
So we cant score penalties or save penalties absolute joke.
Funnily, I had the same feeling. I think Auba tried to outtrick their goalkeeper, instead himself being manipulated to put it to the right, in keeper height.
Just fucking start fouling smartly!!! Don’t let someone drift by you to advanced areas, tap their fucking ankles. Arrrgghhhhh.
They have to get close enough first…
Penalties, we can’t save them or score them.
Giroud would have scored for sure.
Wenger will prepare for the next game until told otherwise.
He won’t be walking away and made that pretty clear.
It’s telling of how fond I am of Arsene that more than anything I feel sad for him rather than angry or even disappointed. We need a change at this point, and he needs to accept that. I hope he doesn’t drag this out longer than this season, and I hope it doesn’t get too ugly. Also that bonus rating is fucking brutal, but accurate.
I know what you mean, although he’s making it very difficult to not be angry/disappointed. The shit about “turning down the entire world” to stay at Arsenal shows he really does believe his own hype even now. His last 10 years at Arsenal wouldn’t have seen him last half a season at Madrid/United/Barce/Chelsea or any other European elite club.
Don’t get me wrong, just because I’m primarily sad doesn’t mean I’m not angry or disappointed, I am definitely both of those things. And while I agree with you to an extent ( I’m not sure it’s fair to compare us to those clubs, they have a considerably higher budget and even if we could spend more, I doubt it’s down to Wenger as much as the twats in charge, Wenger doesn’t get anything from Arsenal having more money in the bank ), as much as being criticized is part of the job, I don’t feel any of us would… Read more »
His current record wouldn’t be tolerated at West Ham, Everton or Stoke!
We need new manager, fresh blood and we need natural wingers on both sides stop with this shit playing miki on right and iwobi nither are wingers, city and pool games is based on top class wing play ther are streching and destroying teams with winger play, that is why firmino look clas that is why aubamyang scored 31 goals with dembele in the team look at salah and sane look at mane and sterling the to best attacking teams in the country have the top class wingers what did pep done when he come to city he knew kevin… Read more »
I’m sad and angry. I’m sad for Arsene because he clearly is terrified of leaving Arsenal and even the fact that he is destroying his legacy doesn’t seem to phase him. I’m angry with the board, but essentially Stan who is happy to allow this awful state of affairs to continue, and it’s the worst kind of disloyalty being shown to a man who has been overly loyal to the club.
I suspect the stadium was barely half full tonight. Getting down to the hardcore support. I was there when Jensen scored, the attendance was 18500 so there’s a way to go yet… Tonight the defence was as bad as I can ever recall. Mustafi has to be put out of his misery. His confidence is shot. Players seem to be getting worse by the week. It’s going to be a long and painful end to the season, sad way for Wengers era to end.
Strange how the tv focused on the small crowd but the night before made no mention of there being 24637 at Wembley to watch the media darlings. Oh, I seem to have answered my own question……
This joke isn’t funny anymore.
It never was
Apparently we owe it to Wenger’s dignity to allow ourselves to be humiliated over and over again.
A quote off the Guardian’s Game summary comments section by a poster there using an avatar. Very well said indeed: City are 16 points clear for a reason and that has nowt to do with who’s managing Arsenal. I’m not an Arsenal supporter, but I do admire Wenger for his achievements, what he brought to English football, the style of play his teams popularised here and so forth. I’m not sure who to reserve the most contempt for at the long-term efforts to bully, cajole and generally drum him out of Arsenal – the dilettantish end of their fanbase, who… Read more »
Arsenal are 18 points clear of Swansea for a reason and… Oh. Arsenal are 13 points clear of Bournemouth for a reason and… Oh. Arsenal are 80 points clear of Nottingham Forest for a reason and… Oh. Arsenal are 1500 points clear of Ostersunds for a reason and… Oh. Look, while I’m sure I know why a Spurs supporter would want Wenger to remain in charge, it’s a poorly reasoned comment. Arsenal fans aren’t responding to one game. We’re responding to years of underperforming in the league, a long-established pattern, and one which has reached a low point this season… Read more »
Don’t ever listen to Spurs supporters…I should know because my husband is one. He actually got worried tonight when he thought that Arsene might lose his job…and that tells you everything about those who argue what terrible fans we are for wanting our manager to leave…It’s hypocrisy at best as Spurs have gone through a fair few managers over the years and if Poch or “The Poch” as I like to call him doesn’t win something soon they will be calling for his head…
Oh dear leaf off. Chicken on a basketball. This is for arsenal fans not you. Go and talk in your porch face down with your terry venables down. Flangur fever arrrrghhh
To be fair, and much like in the Iliad and the Odyssey, probably, homer is quoting someone who supports sp*ds, not claiming to support them himself. Death of Hector (Bellerin) and the saga of looking for the team’s home and all.
I actually laughed when I got home from work and saw the score at half time. It was completely involuntary but it made me realise I’m just not surprised anymore and expect us to be shit. Can’t believe we’re even 6th to be honest. Playing like relegation fodder.
I don’t even feel sad anymore, just detached.
Maybe it’s all part of AW’s plan. Once he goes he knows Arsenal will never be any good ever again (his thoughts not mine)…so these past 10 years have all been part of some psychological experiment and we’ll all be numb and accepting of mid-table mediocrity and won’t suffer the trauma that Man U fans did when SAF retired.
Stupid dementors have sucked all the fun out of this club.
What’s french for fuck off Wenger??
2 year contract
Not saying this in any anger or emotional but with cold rationality: whoever decided to buy Kolasinac and Mustafi needs to be sacked. They are both decent players but not at all at the level needed for a team that aspires to be in the top four or maybe even challenge for the title. Sure the system makes them look poorer but they have technical and tactical problems that can’t be solved now. Kolasinac especially has incredibly slow legs, almost the reverse Welbeck whose legs are too fast for his mind.
Both were excellent prior to signing for Arsenal, so I could see why we bought them. They’re well and truly Arsenaled now, though!
They were decent today.
whoever rated Mustafi lower than Koscielny needs to get his head examined.
Koscielny was so poor today. Misplaced passes and easily lost his man for the third goal.
I’m pretty sure that by the start of next season or even maybe by the end of this, the term “Arsenaled” will be officially accepted and appear in the Oxford English Dictionary….and oh my word I just had a flash back to Call My Bluff lol….I wish that was still on.
Robert Robinson. Strikes, power cuts, everything being orange and brown. Arsenal being shit. Thems the days
They were and are good players, as the original poster acknowledged, but they are also, objectively, not good enough to be starters at an elite PL club. It’s not Wenger’s fault that they are as average as they are, though it may be his fault for signing them (it’s hard to know, but ultimately the buck stops with him, obviously).
It can both be the case that Wenger is making this team less than the sum of its parts AND the case that some of the parts just aren’t good enough.
Guillaume Balague said on Revista before Mustafi was signed that he was not good enough for Arsenal. On the few occasions i saw him playing for Germany I felt the same. Who the fuck thought it was a good decision to spunk 35M on him????
Same goes for Xhaka.
Lots of money spent on really not very good players. And Ozil doubled his money for putting in half arsed performances.
Any new manger has a massive rebuild on his hands. Who would take any off this dross of our hands?
Yeah – why would anyone sign Kolasinac for a free transfer after coming off a stellar season where he made the Bundesliga team of the year. Insanity. Think you’re missing the point mate.
As I commented elsewhere, I think the team–whether consciously or not–is laying down on Wenger. We saw Chelsea deliberately sabotage Mourinho during his last year there, and it was funny because Mourinho is an asshole. At Arsenal the players are sabotaging Wenger too, but it’s sad to see because Wenger is a decent man who’s overstayed his time at the club.
I don’t know. I doubt they are sabotaging Wenger. They are more classy than that. I think it’s more the other way round.
Wenger talking to Pep before the match.
” Just 3 goals, after that please tell your players to just pass it around. Not too much humiliation please”
You’re not fit to wear the shirt- could be heard around the stadium for a reason.
I think that those of us who watched this match are going to have to go into the Witness Protection Program…dire days yet to come…
Anyone else notice how Ozil hasn’t had a good game since he signed that 350k a week contract? Just sayin…
He was trying. The problem with Ozil is he is a pessimist. His head goes down when things go wrong. Unlike say Alexis, he is not the sort that can produce something from nothing and dig you out of a hole. Nor is Mhkitaryan. In fact Mhkitaryan, Ozil and Ramsey provide similar type service. We simply lack pace out wide without the fullbacks committing forward. And we lack that creative threat that can take on two or three players and re-arrange the opponent’s defensive set like Sane did to us (and what Alexis could) We should have bought Mahrez. but… Read more »
I don’t get how we can make a “pessimist” the second highest paid player in the premier league. He needs to sharpen up, they all do!
Lads, can we stop subjectively looking at Xhaka and start calling it out as we see it. He’s offering us nothing. Passing, scoring, defending, pace….what is it this guy offers. Played almost every game and seems to be the reincarnation of Eddie McGoldrick.
Blogs – why all the 5’s & 6’s? Yes, it was not our worst performance…but exactly how bad do you have to be to get a 1 or 2? Know you’re onboard with the need for AW to go…however feel you would give even him a 5 or maybe at worst a 4 at present. Perhaps I get this ratings thing wrong, but surely a 5 is bang average performance (player was neither good nor bad) 5+ indicates a better than average player performance, & <5 indicates worse. Believe that at least some of the players tried tonight. But they… Read more »
Ratings suck. I don’t think you are watching the match properly. Koscielny was turned for the third goal so easily and he misplaced passes through the game. Mustafi I thought was fairly decent today and he put in a very good ball through to Bellerin at one point which almost ended in something for us. You need to take your blinkers off. Its always the same with some players over amplified in fault. Flamini was one. Look where we are now without Flamini in the midfield. Did Coquelin provide better next to Ramsey? How Aubameyang can score a higher rating… Read more »
Why I don’t rate Mustafi currently:
1. Their 2nd goal
2. The number of times the man who is supposedly a good distributor of the ball did not attempt a forward pass but instead passed back to Czech who then had to lump it forward. I started counting after 20minutes of the 2nd half. 6 times back to Czech, once forward. He has totally lost his confidence and if you can’t see that I’m not sure your seeing the same game as the rest of us.
What at the minute?? For the last 5 years i.d say
Losing the Ac milan tie will be hes end … dont worry guys lol
On this and prior games evidence, not sure what the options are for a striker against Milan. Welbeck continues to look poor. Lacazette out or just back and rusty. Start Ramsey at striker? At this point I’d say he’s more likely to score than Welbeck. Beyond that, not sure why everyone has been clamoring for a CDM. Both of our senior centerbacks are looking perhaps even worse.
We only have Msilintat to blame. You want Wenger hands off on transfer dealings, so we have this bloke leveraging to his own convenience. Instead what we got is a world class striker (another one) who is cup tied for the europa and who can’t put it away from the spot never mind lack of ‘service’. And we have an aging asset in Mhkitaryan who was forced upon us by United when we obliged them by not working hard enough to make a deal with City for Alexis. When we clearly could do with a Mahrez at minimum out wide.… Read more »
You have to be kidding me.
Mustafi gets a lower rating than Koscielny?
Bias much?
I thought Mustafi played well today, several telling passes (one to Bellerin which led to a great chance) and he was sound defensively.
Koscielny was rolled over too easily (ala Chambers) for the third goal and he way laid at least 4 passes into touch.
Next you’d tell me Granit had a bad game.
10/10 fans who forked out and turned up for Category A game in the snow and were subjected to that nonsense. Not even a thank you or a cuppa from the club…
Seriously? I remember them giving everyone a free hot drink for a game in really cold weather a few years ago (got myself a watery cup of tea). They really couldn’t give a toss any more, could they?
Not that I could see, and I got there relatively early. All I saw were some A4 printouts stuck to walls telling fans to ‘take care when taking your seat’ due to the conditions, and a fan being kick out of the stadium for throwing a snowball…
The Fall of the House of Wenger
The fall of Arsenal.
I can’t see how this does us any good or the branding.
Kroenke and ownership need to think seriously.
They wasted January allowing Mslintat to buy at his convenience rather than to seriously reinforce this team in the right areas to suit a manager who prefers hands off tactics.
It won’t get better (maybe worse) if we pick a manager they can control.
Easy to just blame Wenger but as in life, the fault lies in many factors.
Confidence is sapped. Worrying for europa.
more worrisome…we are relying on Welbeck.
Ospina, Holding, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Iwobi, Nketiah. This was our bench. Tells you how crap we are.
Mustafi, Xhaka, Welbeck and Kolasinac shouldn’t even be in the Arsenal squad, let alone starting against the best team in the league…
Finally, this site judged Ozil fairly. A useless overpaid imp.
Arseblog is almost rating ozil as he should be rated as almost useless
So many cunts on this site now days.
The same thing always happens so why bother watching?
I think my summation of how sad today was that after 3-0, they panned over a few times to Pep and even he looked sad at what he was seeing. Sad not that he probably confirmed Wenger’s retirement but humiliated him into it.
Next time we’ll win a game…wenger will say the team show great character…mentally strong…..it makes me sick to hear same crap
As an American “Gooner” who lived on the border of Muswell Hill & Highgate during the early 2000s, I have nice memories of learning about Arsenal and becoming a fan. I hope my little recollection here can bring you back in time a bit to Arsene’s and the club’s glory years, and consider that the Arsene we have now is just not the same. I lived on a street exactly equidistant between White Hart Lane and Highbury, but spent all my time going down to LSE where I was studying. I identified more with the urban boroughs than Haringey, to… Read more »
I just bought my very first motorcycle and will get to ride it this May.
Oh, yeah, sorry. Just trying to look at the positives. Sadly there aren’t any, related to our club. So I keep my thoughts to other matters. Way I see it, Kroenke owes me a Kawasaki.
5 defeats out of 6 now, at any other so called top 6 club, the manager would be under severe pressure to turn it around, if not sacked already. Wenger has nobody to warn him of the consequences, therefore he has no fear factor to do his job like the other bosses do, if Pep lost the lead he has now to Man Utd or Liverpool, do you think he would be at Citeh next season? Highly unlikely! But Wenger can watch us fall farther from Grace, and come up will philosophy bullshit to wriggle his way out of it… Read more »
Ozil 5 are you kidding. He has his £350k a week contract he doesnt give a flying fuck.Disappeared again v a top 5 team
Welbeck can run! You can still make it to the Olympics! Just tell Wenger that u are quitting football for good!