First, just to let you know we’ve been working this summer on a new and improved player ratings system. Second, it’s not quite ready, so this post will just be text ratings and you’ll have to give your own ratings in the comments.
When the new system is live, changes include:
- Great new player avatars by Poorly Drawn Arsenal
- For the first hour Arseblog ratings/comments will not display until you cast your own ratings – after which they’ll be visible to everyone.
- The long-awaited removal of Park Chu Young
- A back-end more powerful than a top of the range Tesla/Elon Musk’s ego
- Some other things I can’t remember
We should have all this up and running before the Chelsea game and you can experience the joy and wonder of it then. For now though, regular old ratings.
Arsenal 0-2 Man City – Player Ratings
GK Petr Cech, 6 – He made some very important saves, although he did look a bit unsure with the ball at his feet and only Guendouzi made more touches. However, he seemed to enjoy that part of it.
RB Hector Bellerin, 5.5 – Had our best chance of the first half, and the system Emery used left both full backs exposed quite often.
CB Shkodran Mustafi, 5.5 – Turned easily by Sterling early on, but didn’t dive in too much which is a good sign.
CB Sokratis, 5 – Being an aggressive central defender doesn’t mean you clobber the opposition, it’s how you try and close down the ball, and for both goals today he wasn’t as aggressive as he could have been in that regard.
LB Ainsley Maitland-Niles, 5 – Absolutely roasted down the left in the opening periods, after which it settled down a bit, but he’s a young guy playing out of position and he should have been given more protection and better guidance from the experienced defenders around him.
MF Matteo Guendouzi, 6.5 – There was a lot to like about his performance, particularly after he was poor for the goal and struggled in the opening 20-25 minutes. He worked hard, never hid, and those are positives, but there were times when his inexperience at this level was evident and he was lucky one bad mistake wasn’t punished with a City goal. Hopefully he’ll be a quick learner.
MF Granit Xhaka, 4.5 – Late back from the World Cup and hasn’t had as much pre-season preparation as some of the others, but he was still poor and rightly taken off.
MF Aaron Ramsey, 5 – We can only assume he was playing that far forward because he was instructed to, and he did produce some good moments in the first half, but he was hooked early in the second half to make way for Lacazette.
MF Mesut Ozil, 5 – Had some chances late in the second half which a player of his quality really should have done better with.
MF Henrikh Mkhitaryan, 4 – Invisible and lightweight.
FW Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 5 – We never got him into the game at all.
SUBS
DF Stephan Lichtsteiner, 6 – Made us more solid defensively, his experience was useful down the left hand side
FW Alexandre Lacazette, 6 – He was positive, clattered a few City players and we looked better from an attacking point of view once he was on, but missed one glorious chance to score.
MF Lucas Torreira, 6 – You can see he reads the game well, made some interesting covering runs and interceptions.
Can we rate the manager, please?
It would be a 5 from me, but we knew when the fixtures were handed out that it was going to be a struggle.
No. It’s ‘Player Ratings’, but your opinion of the manager’s decisions etc is what the comment section is for
What Emery out already?
Good grief. 😀
I know we’re all liking this torreira dude but a 6 is generous even for him he didn’t make that much of an impact like lacazette and lichtsteiner did I think he should be a 5. Sokratis should be a 5.5 and mustafi a 4 mustafi Was all over the place I don’t know how he’s still at the club and we didn’t buy a proper cb to replace him. Guendouzi was our best player and even he had an average by his pre season standards and that says a lot about our team performance today. Ozil Ramsey Mhiki Xhaka… Read more »
I have no words…. (shakes head)
Too many 4s and 5s, sums up our performance.
We don’t get to vote anymore? Seems like a very Arsenal thing to do.
Did you not read the article?
Clearly you’ve read the massive opening paragraph in which blogs explains what’s going on.
Probably not the best time for that joke.
This week it isn’t about the popular vote. It’s about the college vote. MAGA ….Make Arsenal Great Again.
Lol.
Life’s a biatch, innit?
Blogger spent time writing the prologue at the top of this and you couldn’t even be arsed reading it?
Modern life of impatience
Cech 5 Made a brilliant save on Agguero but guilty for the first and his distribution is awful Bellerin 5 Not bad Not good. He was very exposed in the first half. He seems complacent. Sokratis 7 He stopped Kun in every 1v1 nice n clean, except from once. Lets see if people will start believe in him a bit. Mustafi 6 No obvious mistakes but he should cover space better from the crosses at his side. Lichtsteiner 7 Solid and angry. Guenduzi 7 Exciting and brave. He intercepts the ball well in the mid and the rapidly free himself… Read more »
Go home Kostas
You need specsavers mate. Ramsey, Xhaka and Mkhitaryan were hopeless ?
the whole team was hopeless, except laca
What game were you watching to dish our 7’s?
The one that last years sixth played against the super champions.
We are not Invisibles anymore in case you haven’t noticed.
I am satisfied with the effort and the potential.
Cow Chin Baz?
Turning invisible on a whim would be a great option on the football field provided your team mates had the power to see you
We were… largely.
Invisible, that is.
Ad Cech:
Cech clearly didnt see the shot until it was too late. The replays shows how nicely timed and hidden Sterling shot was.
His distribution was average, not awful.
Also, you forgot to mention he did f*cking well with that free kick and Aguero solo run. Not talking about that great save in first 10 minutes (Sterling?)
He clearly stopped at least two goals imo.
No no.
What is de riguer these days is to shit all over Arsenal players for no apparent reason by a pack of angry pseudo-supporters because that what the fuckwits on Arsenal fantv do.
Even though you are clearly correct (and may’ve actually player real football in your life, not just video games), you are supposed to bitch and moan.
Let’s have none of these objectively reasonable comments now. Get with the program!
I thought Cech was great as well! It would have been a worse score without him. Lich needs to start, put him at RB, CB, or LB! He’s just an intense beast and we’re missing a presence like that.
Could Guendouzi and Torreria play together or is that too defensive? Might work in some games I reckon.
Ramsey….boy oh boy, that guy frustrates. I think we should be starting Auba and Laca together next games.
I don’t see how Cech can be blamed for Sterling’s goal. There is an argument that Bellerin bears some responsibility–I don’t agree: he passed Sterling off at the right time. I don’t see how anyone but Guendouzi is really at fault.
5 for our best player Cech. He saved us from a rout. I would give him at least 8
kroenke took over ratings for today.
These rankings look spot-on to me. I would have loved for Arsenal to win, so it’s a bummer to lose. That said, there were positives — I thought Guendouzi did alright for his first time playing at this level and I wish Torreira had gotten more time as I thought he looked good when he came on. As has been said on the blog, patience is required!
Come on, you cant put any blame on Sokratis considering the goals. The first was Bellerins and Guendouzis fault while the other was Lichtsteiners fault.
Lichsteiner had Sterling behind him for the second goal. He couldn’t well just follow Bernardo. They were 5 against 4, and one of our midfielders would have had to take out Bernardo.
I think that goal could have been avoided if Xhaka was more alert. We know time and time again he switches off. If you see the replay, the ball is being crossed to Bernardo, he’s running towards the ball and finishes it. What is Xhaka doing at the same time?
He’s casually walking in our penalty box. Maybe Torreira wouldn’t have been taking a walk in the park like Xhaka and we could have kept it at 0-1.
Saw that too. Xhaka is lazy and pathetic . Whoever renewed his contract should have his head re-examined.
He should be sold in January along with that clown Ramsey.
Agree. Torreira to start over Xhaka next week please.
I should have read this before posting just above. Watch again. Bernardo is making a run into the box into an area that Lichsteiner should be marking. Lichsteiner is completely unaware of his presence. Xhaka has nothing to do with it.
Lichsteiner was completely unaware of Bernardo’s presence; he was marking nobody. The only excuse is that he was playing on his unaccustomed left, because of Maitland-Niles’ injury. Think what people would be saying if it was Bellerin, Mustafi, or Xhaka. People like Lichsteiner, as they should, because he is tough and aggressive, and he is an experienced and skillful player. I am glad he is here. But he made an awful mistake.
Spot on, mate! For the second goal, Lichtsteiner was ball watching and SHOULD tracked Silva better.
I am biased for and you are biased against Sokratis blogs. But none of the goals was his responsibility. Both came from the left side and both were not under his responsibility zone. The second especially should be cover by the mid.
Someone could notice that he stole the ball multiple times from the tricky Kun.
I thought both our CBs looked pretty solid today. The game was lost in the midfield for me, we had no quality at all, and they had bags. But that said Guendouzi was so brave, very impressed with him.
Today was a reminder for me why I always was wary about Ramsey getting a big fat contract. He doesnt get in the City team, for me, and that’s including their bench.
I think Ramsey makes the bench tbf. But the real problem is that no one gets into the City team when you include KdB, Silva, Sane. They’re miles ahead of us atm.
They didn’t have KdB or Sane starting today and their midfielders still looked miles ahead of Xhaka and Ramsey. No competition. That’s what I based my comment on.
I’m not saying Ramsey is useless or anything, not all, I think he’s brilliant – just that I’d only keep him on his current terms or slightly better. He def doesn’t deserved to be in the Auba-Lacazette bracket for me. Pay him what he wants and we have the Theo situation all over again.
I think if you look at his contribution to the team over the last couple of years, he’s done as much as anyone and he should be in the same bracket. Double the number of goals and the same number of assists as Ozil last season even though he played deeper. Pay him what he wants and we get to keep a good player without any more drama. It’s baffling why the club get into these protracted sagas only to pay out in the end. Better to just do it quickly either way and move on.
Pay Ramsey what he wants. I am happy you don’t run our club!
End product is not to be sniffed at, agreed… but in my opinion you can t compare him with ozil. Every time we need something as a team, we give the ball to Mesut and he always does something with it or tries anyway. When we can’t unlock a defence we pass the ball to him and hope he produces some magic. Even today when he had a poor game I can recall three or four occasions when he had the ball in or half and tried to turn his man and set someone free. Ramsey makes great runs and… Read more »
Ozil is a fantastic footballer, one of the best I’ve ever seen in purely technical terms. But as it stands we rely on Ramsey’s directness and workrate just as much as we rely on Ozil’s guile and badly struggle if even one of them is off-song like yesterday. They do different things for the team but they’re both vital.
yes – let’s bring back Song
Ramsey played deeper than Ozil?
LOL
Ramsey was playing further ahead of Aubameyang and vacating his midfielder’s spot, which played a part in why we were overrun in midfield. He’s never in midfield.
He’s always taking/running into the space of our Centre Forward…
You ought to stop confusing live footage with your PlayStation games
Great point. Agree completely.
Ramsey was way off the pace and not with the program at all.
Laca coming in for him totally changed Arsenal’s shape and flow.
Looks to me like he wasn’t fully fit. And was rushed back.
Ramsey won’t start in any team that finished above us last season!
There was an Arseblog tactics column a couple of day ago that predicted that in possession, our centre halfs would play much wider, that Cech (moving forward) or Guendouzi/Torreira (dropping back) would occupy that middle area, and that would be how we played out. And that’s exactly what I saw, numerous times. Any assessment of how Mustafi and Sokratis played ought to be aware of that new role. I thought they did pretty well.
There plenty of positives today. Guenduzi should remain in the team, our best midfielder by miles. Torreira has shown that he’s starter too.
Disagree with the Sokratis rating as I thought he did well overall and committed necessary fouls. He was also good on corners, I thought we defended our cemetery fairly well but we were susceptible out wide.
Center
Cemetery, amusing typo
Yeah, I thought that was intentional! And hilarious!
Cech getting 6 just because of the one blooper? Isn’t that a little harsh? He kept us in the game and made some superb saves. Goalkeepers should be rated based on goalkeeping and not passing. Cech was 8 at least. His passing wasn’t even that bad if you compare to one of the best passers amongst the goalkeepers – Ederson. The Brazilian made more mistakes. Guendouzi was naive for the first goal but Ramsey was the main culprit there or at least a player who should be criticized the most. His positioning was careless. He was just walking around and… Read more »
That’s what Ramsey does.
True dat.
Unnecessarily harsh on Ramsey.
Number 1, he didn’t look fully fit to me and shouldn’t have played.
2, the whole team is learning a new system. That to me explains a lot of the poor positioning, errant passes, and Arsenal just playing poorly for long stretches. This cannot be a surprise to anyone.
It does NOT mean that the players are all suddenly shit. Im sorry, but that makes no sense.
Let’s everybody ease off and give the players and manager some time, eh?
Yes Cech made some good stops but he also nearly kicked the ball into his own net and then in the 89th minute he kicked across his area in front of two City players. I get playing out of defense but sometimes a good hoof upfield is called for.
…nearly. Not actually.
Ramsey played in the CAM position. If that was ozil playing there, you’d be saying it’s not his responsibility to be there.
Ramsey CAM???
For most of the game, I thought City was playing with 2 goalkeepers…
I only realised that wasn’t the case, when Lacazette was coming on and Ramsey was called off… he was actually closer to City’s goal, than Edderson.
I’d give him a contract and then sell him.
He’s too much of a “Wenger “ type of player… talented but very unreliable.
Goalkeepers pass the ball about 1000 times per season. Compare edersons 85% completion rate to cechs 50%. That means cech is giving the ball away 350 more times a season. Goalkeepers should be graded on their passing. Guardiola is the best manager ever and he grades his keepers on their passing. Ask Joe hart.
Best manager ever?
I have no idea how you can think Ramsey was responsible. Sterling is carrying the ball from outside, where Bellerin has him in hand and passes him off to Guendouzi who simply does not follow him. Why not just blame Ozil or, for that matter, Walcott?
I don’t understand why Bellerin stopped tracking Sterling. If he was marking him, at high speed, why on earth did he stop when Sterling cut in towards the D of the box? I actually do not think it was Guendouzi’s fault at all because he was wrong footed. Bellerin should have just stayed with Sterling through out.
Because you have to pass off a defensive responsibility or you will be pulled out of position. No modern team man-marks all across the pitch.
I miss Giroud. He’d have got a goal..???
I miss him too. Can’t remember the last time I was this sad about losing a player.
Amen. My wife doesn’t care to watch Arsenal since he left. HFB is missed.
He was ( and still is) just so handsome.
Blue just isn’t his colour though. Sniff.
Let us not jump on the manager yet. My experience with football is limited but I can some down champions into 1. Those who increase the pace & rigor of the game forcing opposition to make mistakes (ex-Arsenal; Mancity, Current Liverpool, old Barca) 2. Those who stifle the opposition out of ideas and their depth (ex-Chelsea, Leicester) 3. Those who use players individual brilliance and play around it (Barcelona, Real, Bayern) Our team doesn’t to have any of these characters. Sadly we are trying for balance but it never works. We have a joke in Strategy – let the risk… Read more »
I tried copy ‘n pasting the above into Google translate but it couldn’t pick up what language it was….
Can we please stop passing back to the keeper? The opposition’s goal is *always* at the other end of the pitch…
Ah but what happens when they swap ends
Ah, don’t be complicating things…;-)
Despite the cliche put out by those who will not hear a bad word against him, Ozil’s workrate is not the reason most people don’t think he is world class. It’s the fact that in big moments in big games he just doesn’t have the mentality the very best players do. If he had those chances in the second half of a game where we were 2-0 or 3-0, I guarantee he would have had at least one goal.
That’s the thing about Ozil, his workrate would be forgiven if he was more clinical but he’s only done double digits for us once. I think that’s why Emery is trying Ramsey at 10 but the price is that Ozil has to play on the wing and he’s half the player there. Possible solution might be to drop both into centre midfield in a 4-3-3, with Torreira holding behind them.
Yes, what to do with all these players? Emery has two new midfielders and nobody have quit. I think this is one of the reasons he has tried 4-4-2 in pre season. Aubameyang and Lacazette as forwards, Ôzil and Ramsey/Miki in a midfield four, together with Guendouzi and Torreira/Xhaka.
Ôzil, in my opinion, is not really a forward. Neither are Ramsey or Mkhitaryan. In 4-3-3, Wenger played Welbeck or Iwobi in the front three. Nketiah or one of the other youngsters could play there too, but all these options look weaker than 4-4-2 or even 4-5-1.
From the way Emery appears to want to play, I dont think either ozil or ramsey are suited. Personally I think Elneny fits better in midfield with torreira and guen. All energetic and move the ball quick and cover ground quickly. They compliment each other and the desired style of play. Iwobi too. That’s not to suggest these players are more talented.
It’s early days with Guen and Torreira but the glaring issue with the midfield you’ve proposed is a potential lack of goals and creativity from the middle. I think Ramsey fits the bill you’ve described as well, he has one of the best engines in the league and is very positive on the ball. But he has the added bonus of being more creative and potent than the players you’ve mentioned. Ozil would have to adapt more to the rigours of a CM position but I don’t think it’s beyond him, a lot of players have made the move from… Read more »
Ozil has out of body experiences in the big games where he tries to let his perceived brilliance take over imo. Mind work needed?
“Just doesn’t have the mentality.” So, you, sir, have a window into what is going thru Ozil’s mind during a football game? You know his very thoughts, his feelings? Of course you don’t. What you wrote is pathetic – and I say that with all due respect. Ozil has won the CL and the World cup on big teams and played central roles in all those victories. This, alone, proves that your comment is based on nothing more than wishful thinking and ignorance. Its one game. Against a clearly better side. Ozil was running, covering, and creating. It did look… Read more »
‘What you wrote is pathetic – and I say that with all due respect’
Brilliant – gotta love your hypocrisy. Cheers for the laugh!
Your post is so wrong in so many ways. Sadly, you will never understand how your extremism is just as polarizing as the likes of arsenal fantv…but you sit in your ivory tower & keep dividing the fans. It’s hugely helpful.
I thought the subs made a big difference. Lichsteiner looks like an absolute SOB in all the best ways. The kind of player you hate unless he’s on your team. Lacazette gave us a focal point and target at the top that Aubameyang was struggling with be his own. Could have scored a few. Torreira looks composed and reads the game really well. The play where he stepped off De Bruyne and accepted his was brilliant. Out-thought the best passer in the league. Shout out to Guendouzi, who despite being a bit sloppy in possession a few times made up… Read more »
‘Lichsteiner looks like an absolute SOB in all the best ways. The kind of player you hate unless he’s on your team. ‘
I would thumb this comment up 100 times if I could. ?
Yep. He’s got a very punchable face, if he didn’t have an Arsenal shirt on
Spot on on Guendouzi too imo.
For me, Lichsteiner demonstrated how someone who knows how to play the position properly is far more imporant than playing someone because they have pace. All last season the constant excuse offered to Bellerin is ‘hes exposed’ or’not protected’. AMN was exposed in the first half hour and (without intending to be critical of a young guy out of position) didn’t know how to deal with it. Lichsteiner did because he has been a top quality right back and is still way ahead of Bellerin. He sees the game. Bellerin has hardly any football intelligence. His pace is negated by… Read more »
I like Lichsteiner. I’m glad we got him. He was almost entirely responsible for City’s second goal. Switched off. Unaware. Ball watching. Slow to react (if he reacted at all). We were still in the match until then (of course, they were better–but we came close enough to scoring a couple of times to say we might certainly have gotten a draw).
I had spent sometime responding to this comment regarding why I think Lichsteiner should play ahead of Bellerin and why I don’t think Bellerin is good enough for our starting eleven. In a none abusive way but the comment has been omitted. Really!?
I’ve been looking for a new player to get excited about. I may have found him in Guendouzi. Always love the players who work their tails off. If Elneny ever gets some shooting boots on he’d be a good prospect (although he may not get into the team much after that Guendouzi debut.) Always have appreciated Kos, Rosicky, Santi, Monreal…. and for the commenters here of my generation: Parlour, Ljungberg, Keown. Fingers crossed that we finally may have a new Vieira/Gilberto in Torreira!
I’d go with those ratings – Guendouzi’s errors prevent him going up to 7 and yet he was our best player.
I had written this fixture off anyway. City were always going to be too good for us. Disappointed that Torreira didn’t start though. More interested to see how we perform away from next week. That might be a more accurate yardstick. Regardless, Emery needs 3 transfer windows at least to mould a side.
Yeah… someone said so on the telly. Funny that.
It’s a long season. 🙂
I was there in the clock end today and what I saw which was interesting in licensteiner as left back more like a winger and bellerin hardly passing the halfway line. In 1st half city targeted maitland but when he came off for licensteiner they then targeted bellerin. What I don’t get is how a guy who is 34 can bomb up and down but the quickest player in the team is scared to go forward. Sokratis was solid and did OK. Guendonzi was the best player and the go to guy that everyone passed the ball to. Aubameyang was… Read more »
That’s because Licensteiner crunched Mahrez within minutes of coming on.
Mahrez was tormenting AMN. That ended when the Lich came on.
“What I don’t get is how a guy who is 34 can bomb up and down but the quickest player in the team is scared to go forward. ”
They might be under orders not both to attack at the same time. But I agree that Lichsteiner looked very good.
“What I don’t get is how a guy who is 34 can bomb up and down but the quickest player in the team is scared to go forward.”
Because one of them is a vastly experienced full back while the other is a very raw midfielder being played out of position. Don’t underestimate how hard it is to look natural in a role that isn’t your own.
I think the intent was Bellerin not getting forward, but he was pinned back by Sterling and City focusing their attacking down the left. That and I recall from an interview recently one of the players talking about how when one side goes forward the other drops back in rather than both fullbacks bombing forward leaving the CB’s with their shorts down.
I thought he was talking about Bellerin
But he was talking about Bellerin, Blogs.
Sorry, my mistake!
Gush of cold water on Arse expectations. Man City, frankly, were in a different class. 2-0 could have been five but for Cech.
Bizarre policy of playing dangerously out of defence. Nostalgic about the old days when goalie hoofed it safely over the halfway line.
Cech 7
Bellerin 5.5
Mustafi 6
Sokratis 6.5
Maitland-Niles 5
Guendouzi 6.5
Xhaka 4
Ramsey 5.5
Ozil 5
Miktaryan 4.5
Aubameyang 5.5
Lichsteiner 6.5
Lacazette 6.5
Torreira n/a
Lichsteiner in his first game was an 8 for me and Guendouzi also.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and take some heat… I just haven’t seen the same potential in AMN that Blogs and many others see. I think the “oh, but he’s not being used in the proper position” to be a bit of a weak excuse. If you want to be a player at the top level, you use the hand you’re dealt and step up. Mahrez smoked the kid. Period. I’m not sure how AMN gets into midfield, frankly. Iwobi and now Guendouzi are probably ahead of him in the pecking order.
I thought the subs did well today, improved the positions they replaced. I’m hoping this is something el boss uses in future team selections rather than sticking with a rigid 11. As an aside, I’m really hoping we give a ‘diamond’ 4-4-2 a go at some point this season, I think our squad is well suited to it. Looking forward to Chelsea, should be a more evenly matched tie
I would’ve liked the starting team to have had guendouzi just in front of the back line as that’s the way things have gone pre season and would’ve had a couple of other changes. Regardless of the starting team that’s picked I really appreciated the fact that the 2 players who (for me) were least effective and stopped us playing, were taken off rather than the easy choice which has happened for years.
Only Arsenal sees the quality in Ozil. The Germans a singing good riddance. May he stay at Arsenal and they never win again. In Wenger we trust.
For the most part the new guys were our best players which says a lot about the state of the squad Wenger left behind. I was a little baffled by the wild optimism over Xhaka throughout the summer from people on here and this game showed why, he’s not in the first 11 for me and certainly not as a holding player. Mkhitaryan continues to be one of the most enigmatic footballers in the country, one minute he’s excellent and the next *poof* he’s gone! A Schrodinger’s footballer if you will. And actually I don’t think Ozil has had one… Read more »
Why Schrodinger’s footballer? Schrodinger’s cat is a famous thought experiment about quantum states. It doesn’t have anything to do with inconsistency. It would be more relevant if Mhkitaryan was both good and bad at the same time.
I think he wanted to refer to “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” 🙂
We lost our previous two games against City 0-3. On paper, 0-2 is a 33% improvement and conceding one goal less per match should in itself give us many extra points:)
Özil was invisible in the first half, but played very well in the second. Mkhitaryan was ok. They will both be better when the team settles and they get clearer roles.
Interesting to see Guendouzi given the highest rating after Blogs said he was out of his depth and felt sorry for him on Twitter. If so, what does that say about the rest of the side? I was very impressed with his overall performance, all things considered.
I think with the injuries to the left backs we should have gone with a 343 and included Laca and Lucas T from the start!!!
Cech – 6.75 – He’s not a sweeper-keeper and I am always uneasy when he plays the ballwith his feet. Still, at least 4 important saves which kept the score respectable. Bellerin – 6 – Nice shot early on and did his best with no cover. Sokratis/Mustafi – 5.5 – still getting used to each other as a partnership, I am quietly confident and Mustafi looks like he might be a different proposition this season. A couple of decent tackles and clearing headers. I notice that Walker kept his distance after prodding the hornests nest that is Lichtsteiner – 6.5… Read more »
Definitely a tough team to start the season against with a new manager and a number coming back late from WC Duty. You can see why City are the prohibitive favorites to win the title again (though Liverpool will certainly give them a run). We certainly had some bright moments with some good, quick attacking play, but for me played back to Cech way too often with no options to go forward. Playing the ball to our center backs wide in the corner from the keeper inviting high pressure over and over again is not going to be very successful… Read more »
We looked a lot better once Lacazette came on, if only as it meant we had a bit of pace out wide with Aubameyang. I don’t like picking out individual bad performances, but for an experienced player who’s had a full, injury free, pre-season I thought Mkhitaryan was poor. As good as City are, their defence isn’t the strongest and I expect more from my main attacking players.
I don’t think today was a disaster… We were always going to be up against it and there were positives. I did think we did well at winning the ball back high up at times, and despite the iffy moments Goendouzi impressed me with his knack of nipping in and winning the ball – scrappy but effective. I do think today highlighted the importance of bringing Lacazette and Toreira into the team. Having both Auba and Laca will mean when we do win the ball back high we will carry more scoring threat and Laca knits the rest of the… Read more »
Sorry Blogs but the bias for bellerin is getting bit too obvious (and tyring) now. Last season it was Wenger’s style of play that left him with no support and this season AGAIN it is Emery’s tactics that left him exposed. Sorry but Bellerin was constantly shit throughout the last season and this game as well. Just have a look on how Lichtsteiner played (out of his natural position) compared to Bellerin. He could indeed benefit from Lichtsteiner’s presence if he is forced to watch him from the bench. IMHO he became to soon regular starter after just one good… Read more »
Bellerin is a winger being played out of position. He is bad at defending
Well he must be a fuckin dreadful winger. Can.t shoot or cross
Well, he is also bad in take ons, crossing or shooting which makes him kind of stylish k
Ramsey appeared to be at the 10 solely to lead the high press. He did little otherwise and to unlock the defense or set up the attack. Say what you want about Ozil, but he will put it on a platter for the attackers and he is badly diminished on the wing. Play Ozil in front of Torreira and Guendouzi and see what he can do setting up Laca, Auba, and one of Ramsey/Iwobi/Nelson. Even Welbeck. Mkhitaryan…let him rotate at the 10. Can Ramsey be a wide, high engine attacking threat ala Salah? I see no other place for him… Read more »
Thought Mustafi and Sokratis were better than what most people are saying.. Both won a lot of headers and for the most part looked solid.
Where’s the bonus rating?!
I forgot it
I liked Lichtsteiner–he looked permanently pissed-off and we need that kind of attitude. I would give him a 7. As far as Ozil goes, 5 was too generous. His errant passing should earn him a spot on the bench next week, and then maybe he’ll get his head out of his ass.
Did you see the crap runs he teammates were making? It wasn’t Ozil’s best game but damn, it takes two to tango and there was little chemistry today.
Lets be honest. Ozil is not a right winger. He cannot play that position. If he is going to play it has to be centrally behind the striker (s)
I think there were a lot of postives to take from a game we couldn’t really expect to get much out of considering emery has only had a few weeks to work with the squad. We didn’t really give them many big chances. The two goals were soft and avoidable and apart from that they didn’t create a huge amount. Guendouzi was hugely impressive for me. Yes he made a few mistakes but he never let his head drop and kept demanding the ball and trying things as well as bossing other much experienced players around. Lichsteiner should start. I… Read more »
This. Exactly
Ozil was pants, I’ve not seen him as bad, and that’s going some. He was in one of those mindset where he could have played all night and still not scored or created anything meaningful. Like you see hard to see what system he will fit into or how we could possibly offload him.
We cant shift him. Just to much wages. Ozil really turned us over on that contract.
I know a lot of you here are in awe of Ozil, and I too love him, but could you tell me one positive thing that he brought to the party today?
i thought his hair was nice. he spent enough time fiddling with it…
Encouraging. Some positives. Better sustained pressure higher up. We didn’t exactly get taken apart by pace (apart from the GUendouzi error) but still susceptable to neglecting coverage right in front of the box. 1) Cech – Like I mentioned, I think its on the onus of Leno to displace him not the other way around. Very good stop to prevent Aguero and also the Mahrez pile driver free kick. Heart in mouth moment with that chocolate foot pass to almost in the net. Risky business playing out from the back. 2) AMN – I didn’t see the first 10 mins… Read more »
I think most of these folks are mesmerized by Guendouzi’s mane.
He was active and fun to watch. His youth and lack of tactical awareness cost us goals today. And probably more if we weren’t lucky.
I hope the kid comes good, but there’s no way he should’ve been starting ahead of Lucas or Mo in league matches.
That Aguero moment can be explained away as a lack of experience/awareness. I won’t be surprised if Barca come calling in a few years with one of their ridiculous 150+ m bids.
I doubt Emery will be given 22 years let alone 3 years to make Arsenal challengers again.This is only the 1st game and we will have to wait and see. The defence as usual allowed Sterling free reign to run in the box.You don’t see that happening in the MC defence. The moment the gunners threatened danger little space was given and the strikers had no time be left alone with room to shoot. I believe things can improve. The next game against the blues will show us. I want the gunner attackers to run at defenders and shoot in… Read more »
I said things would not change at Arsenal if we play ‘names’ and we did just that except for Guendouzi who was Arsenal man of the match. I said playing high-pressing makes Ozil irrelevant. Micki was no where near my starting11. Nketia and Smith as inexperience as you think they may be would have put in a better shift than Ozil and Micki. We played 9 against 11.Can people just tell me the essence of touting ‘experience’ if its not translatable on the pitch. This blind idolatry of Ozil by the fans and loyalty from coaches is nothing but reckless.… Read more »
If this was Wenger wed be absolutely roasting him for.making all of the same old mistakes.
Bad team selection
Lack of spending
Poor defense
Dont uderstand plaging the french kid over Torrea.
Playing Ozil and mikitarian together is a mistake.
We have no width.
We try to play the ball from tye back but cant
No discernable style..we try to press but dont do it effectively.
We never looked threatening.
Call me debbie downer but i dont see too much to be optimistic about.
I know it winds people up but I really struggle to deal with Ozil in games like this. There was a moment when he made a bad pass that was retrieve but recycled to the left hand side. We somehow managed to get out of it and gave it back to Ozil who jogged to the left, brought three defenders with it and made a 5 yard pass and trapped Ramsey who put it out for a throw. The thing is, Ozil’s stats will look fine here but he put everyone in a difficult position. Another time he put in… Read more »
As far as I saw, Õzil had not one, but two balls in the net, disallowed for offside. He very nearly became the hero of the night, ran smartly and served his teammates, as he usually does.
That said, he could take a paycut now that the Turkish lira is down and it has become so much cheaper to visit his pal Erdogan.
The first part of what you say is perceptive. The second part is both moronic and offensive.
Ozil should be sold
Ozil should be sold.
I think he’s totally lost his mojo
Today confirmed my suspicion that we are unlikely to get top 4 and that this season will be a transition.
Are they angry on Arsenal Fan TV?
When lichtensteiner at the age og 34, walkes in and is our best player. Then you have a problem. There Are stil so much Wenger to be undone. And with our budget it Will take years. I feel sorry for Emery. At least he looks like he cares what happens in a game….