A 2-1 victory over Newcastle, our third on the trot, really was a game of two halves. We were drab, slow and predictable before the break and didn’t even manage a shot on target.
The introduction of Lucas Torreira changed all that and after Granit Xhaka’s brilliant free-kick we turned the screw, grabbing what was to be the winning goal thanks to Ozil’s cool finish.
It was a shame we couldn’t keep a clean sheet…but it wouldn’t be Arsenal to do things the easy way.
Read the report and watch the goals here.
Note: If you’re having issues with the ratings not displaying properly on mobile, we are aware of it and trying to sort asap, however, if you view the post in landscape mode everything should fit in nicely until we get that fixed.
Here’s how the players rated…
How many times did Ramsey give away the ball today?
I just don’t understand a rating over 4 for him today by Blogs. He was terrible.Gave the ball away needlessly, got ahead of the play far too often, and looked off the pace too. On the back of his last few games I would say any new contract would be overpaying him. Hoping he comes good soon though, as he can be an important player.
He always does.
about as much as often as Mesut.
except, not.
according to whoscored Ramsey had double the misplaced passes as Mesut (8 to 4) and was dispossessed 3 times to Mesut’s 0.
he made more passes and had way more touches than Mesut so it’s normal that he misplaced more passes. If you work with statistics you can’t just pick out the ones that are working for you, mate.
except yes, ozil hardly touches the ball, that’s why other players make more mistakes than him
ozil has more, by a country mile
Still a troll.
200k plus a week should sort that out though
I really think it’s an issue when we’re a side that is looking to keep possesion
Don’t worry bout Ramsey, he’ll be off in January if he doesn’t sign a new contract. See ‘Nelson’ scored in
Germany today, would rather he’d stayed and fought for that wide position. I’m sure he only brought ‘Miki’ on to keep him sweet
I would have rather seen Mkhi come on for Ramsey, honestly. Auba was off today, sure, but he was still threatening their back line and works well with Mkhi.
Ramsey looks a bit off the pace and maybe not as fit as previous seasons. Not that I’m fit to judge, it’s just an observation, and it shows a bit.
ramsey has a bad day and gets criticized, ozil alwas has a bad day and nothing is said
Probably still not as many times as Alexis does week in week out. Seriously though, let’s support the boys, another 3points! COYG
I don’t want to be too critical, but have we abandoned the “high press”???
Sokratis socked it to them. And Xhaka had one of his best matches.
If Torreira starts than he and Xhaka can form a great partnership
By far Sokratis’ best game in an Arsenal. Looked a bit quicker, and stronger.
Mustafi tried his hardest to offset that though. Pity as he had a decent game before the international break too, hopefully Kos comes back soon and we see a Papa – Kos partnership maybe
That charge and scissor slide tackle by Sokratis was nothing short of majestic!
I thought Sokratis actually had a very solid game today, was fairly well positioned, and made at least 3 notably great tackles. His performance was what made up for Mustafi’s shocker time and time again.
Agreed. Mustafi’s reading of crosses is terrible. Mustafi has his positives, but in a league where most teams cross the ball from the wings multiple times, he puts us in a lot of trouble
Props where it is due – Xhaka single-handedly won us that game. Also, what happened to Iwobi? He played so well and then he was dropped the next game (before the international break). Aubameyang has no chemistry with Nacho and he kind of looks lost.
he was sick for that game.
Bellerins’ legs are gone
Is it because he has adopted a vegan diet?
Only got a few minutes but some nice purpose and drive from Welé. Keep going like that and he will have a few goals and help us get matches over the line.
Not so good first half but a much better second one. Maybe it is not a coincidence that we are always worse in the first half since the start of the season. Maybe we are trying to play more at the back to make them press more and tire them out. We are certainly not so fluid going forward. I must say that Sokratis suprised me in the first few games and today it was his best game. In my opinion he was our best player. Xhaka, Ozil and Cech were also very good. I don’t think Torreira put an… Read more »
Hector had a good game but it is inexcusable to be 2-0 up and be so much out of position on the 90th minute and concede a goal. Sone things are hardwired in some
of our players and may need some time to fix them…
Agreed. He was chasing back to the box when the ball was crossing the line. Priority #1 is to protect the flank. Priority #2 is to take advantage of possession and move forward. It’s like he’s got it backwards.
Many managers today simply don’t agree that “protecting the flank” is a fullback’s first priority. If it were, Trippier and Benjamin Mendy would never get a start–let alone Marcello and Dani Alves.
Totally agree, 2-0 up as a full back on the opposite side to the cross he has to be covering his center half. Dreadful defending.
Loving the new rating system interface. No more fat finger mistakes… Lol.
Excellent win today. Pity we didn’t get the clean sheet.
Haha spudlings! Back to back losses either side of the interlul for the “title contenders” ?
Make that 3 – Spudz lost to Spain at Wembley too! (Although could have been saved by Welbz if ref hadn’t taken pity on Manure keeper. I’m finding it hard to support my country when it’s half full of Spudz).
Be nice to get back ahead of them and mock disappearance of “Mind the Gap” tee shirts in my pub (although my own Mind the Watford Gap comments went down well last week!). The return of St Totteringham’s Day plus a bit of Cup silverware would amount to a great season.
Ok, I’m not really a huge fan of his, but I think the rating for Mustafi is harsh. Yes, he made a high profile error in the first half (the “slip” that went unpunished), and was beaten for the header at the end of the game (though for my money Hector is more to blame there, as the CB’s were outnumbered), but otherwise thought he was pretty commanding, winning a lot on the ground and especially the air. Unlikely to ever become truly top class, but recently he’s done more good than bad, and he’s not getting credit for his… Read more »
Yes, for sure
But that sleep though, it’s hard to be confident about him
Disagree. May have been outnumbered, but not by Clark. Bellerin’s responsibility there is whichever Newcastle player was running to back post behind Clark (who, as you rightly point out, was running free). Mustafi drifted back to no man’s land between two attackers – Clark and whoever Sokratis was tracking – effectively defending neither. His lack of positional awareness and inability to track a run effectively was exposed for the 1000th time. Had the ball gone past Clark and been finished by the late runner, it’s on Bellerin. This one was on Mustafi.
Sure, he could have just stuck to one attacker and let the other guy go completely free, but it’s understandable getting thrown off when you’re forced into having to worry about multiple runners into the box at the same time, all by yourself; if Bellerin’s in position, then Mustafi just sticks to one guy and isn’t in no man’s land. Not saying he’s blameless; saying the origin of the breakdown is with Hector.
I’d agree with you if he had been between Bellerin’s man and Clark, but he wasn’t. He was between Clark and whoever it was that Sokratis was marking. If you have two runners, you pick whoever is the most immediate goal threat – in this case, Clark. In any case, to be fair, failure to track runners is a problem throughout the team. Here’s hoping the famous Emery video sessions will fix it.
yeah, fair enough.
When crosses are whipped in your box, you go after the ball to clear it and not defend spaces or closely mark opponents.. your argument might be fair but not the reasoning.. i think Mustafi misjudged the cross just as he misjudged that high ball in the first half.
.
My exact sentiments. Mustafi has become a battering ram. if you didn’t watch the match and scroll through twitter, you’d believe he had a 1/10 game. we really need to back our players. he was far from dreadful. he had a solid 6/10 match
Not sure why mki was brought on today- elnenys hustle might have helped tighten up the midfield
Because Auba was having a stinker
I didn’t say he should have stayed on. I said he was replaced by the wrong player
What’s everyone’s thoughts on Torreira still not getting a start?
He’s clearly the midfielder we need. Love Guendouzi and can see why Emery wants to get the best out of Xhaka but surely the choice has to be between them 2?
He’s match fit, hasn’t really put a foot wrong and makes an impact every time he plays. Am i missing something?
(Not hypothetical)
With 100%. Astonished every time I see the lineup without him in it. Seems to get an extra couple minutes each time out. Maybe by Xmas he’ll get a start. Who am I to question Emery, but I don’t get it.
I dunno, maybe we’re just being sensible and not risking giving a full 90 to a player who was subbed off with a tight muscle in his last game.
Also bringing Lucas Torreira on when the other team is slightly more tired is good for him as he would may get that extra split second on the ball which possibly might aid him in adapting from the Italian league to the PL idk but would definitely like to see him start with Xhaka we look at lot more secure
Can we stop starting Guendouzi and continue with Torreira? Please and thank you
The “hard work” Emery talks about seems to pay off. The whole team looked quick and fit, but they are still to sleepish without the ball during the play-out-from-behind phase. If this is to suceed, the player with possesion needs more passing options.
At the 90 th minutes , i was thinking that this was best defensive display by bellerin for god knows how long :D,,, he actually blocked 2 or 3 crosses and defended 2 corners but of course he had to go to sleep for their goal. however, i think xhaka, bellerin and Sokratis were very good today and improved upon the poor performances in the first couple of matches.. not sure what’s ramsey’s role in our team all he seems to do is running and turn over possession
Ramsey’s supposed to be playing as a number 10, but he’s completely unsuited for the role, given that (a) he’s not particularly creative, (b) he’s not very good at playing on the half-turn (this being one of the most underrated skills in the sport: watch Mesut, or even Iwobi, do this, and thereby get our transition game through the middle third going), and (c) he’s not nearly tidy enough in possession. Ramsey’s skill set means he should be a top class (world class may be a stretch) number 8–think a more talented version of the way Milner’s been playing for… Read more »
I think that’s more or less a fair assessment of Ramsey apart from saying he’s not creative; he actually got the same number of assists as Ozil last season in the league and from a deeper position (plus almost double the goals, again important for a 10 and oft overlooked on here). Also think he’d be better at 8 in a midfield 3 but that causes issues for other players. For example, I’m still not convinced by Ozil on the right and not sure how well he’d transition to 8 either. Perhaps a moot point as Emery doesn’t look like… Read more »
Yes, If Emery is going to let Ramsey be a free flow attacker with deep runs, we can’t afford to line him up as an 8. It leaves far too much hole in the midfield. If he’s an 8, which he has had periods of being very good at (the Arteta pairing), those runs have to be limited some and he’s got to focus more on positioning and tackling, and possession passing.
I’m having a hard time seeing his best role in the formation and style Emery is using.
I think we *might* be able to line him up as an 8, if we’re playing with 3 CM’s, but not with just 2. times have changed, even in the last 5 years, and I don’t think you can get away with one Arteta-style player covering all the midfield space by himself any more. Ramsey+Torreira+Xhaka/Guen could work, but Ramsey would have to commit to being far more involved in deeper midfield positions, both in and out of possession.
I agree Ozil doesn’t really work on the right in a 4-2-3-1 (well, at best he just ends up playing at 10), but I think he can play on the right, or the left for that matter, as part of the front 3 in a 4-3-3. have seen him play there quite effectively for Germany many times, and even for us occasionally. it’s not too dissimilar to the way he played in the 3-4-3 we were playing in 2017. As for creativity, I guess I’ll concede for the sake of argument that getting assists speaks in favor of a player’s… Read more »
People bring up Germany a lot when talking about Ozil on the wing but Arsenal are simply not Germany circa 2014, and the premier league today is nothing like the international scene back then. The German side of that era bossed possession against 99% of the teams they came across and generally dominated international football for a moment. He had the freedom to wander from the flank into his preferred central positions without having to worry too much about scoring goals or providing width or what happens if they lost the ball. It’s simply not the same here, the games… Read more »
Might help you to look at bigger picture and not 8 assists over a season as defining creative. He is slow, holds onto ball too long too often, over/under hits passes. To even compare with Ozil is like comparing bendtner with bergkamp
Wait hang on, what’s wrong with looking at last season? Or are we just going to ignore facts that are inconvenient for you? There are things that Ozil does much better than Ramsey but the converse is true too; your Berkgamp/Bendtner comparison is absolute bobbins.
Nice analysis. Ozil is a subtle floater, kind of like Aubamayeng but with the instinct to pass rather than shoot. Ozil doesn’t have the dribbling and leadership/planning skills of Modric (Torreira does, though!), he is the guy who stealthily connects the attack and creates something out of nothing. He’s not really a false 9 but he does fly under the radar like one. Completely agree with: “Starting Micki or Iwobi for one of the finishers, along with Torreira coming in in midfield, will improve the team’s balance.” Both Mkhi and Iwobi can handle the ball fairly well, but they could… Read more »
The race is on for top 4
Woeful.first half
Have a feeling that Ramsey knows he’s off in January. He hasn’t looked his normal self. I ignore his detractors, as (even Phil bloooody Thompson said on SS) he is a priceless goal scoring midfielder. He isn’t putting 100% in, but he obvs has love for the club, and us fans… As we for him; but, he’s head isn’t there. It will be sad, but i cant see him staying. Torreira and Xhaka must start. Granits best 45 for a long time, when Lucas came on. I’d love to see Mavro with Sokratis (who, i must admit, is getting better… Read more »
Just for factual clarity. Ramsey (goal scoring midfielder) has scored 19 goals in 107 games over last four seasons. Who’s good at maths, averaging 4 goals a season. Some goal scoring midfielder that.
Mustafi is a real worry. So too Cech’s passing – at least give him more licence to mix it up with long kicks. Poor guy. As an aside, fuck Bein sports. I’ll do everything humanly possibly to avoid their shower-of-shit coverage from now on even though they are part of my cable subscription. Those in-game goal breaks are fecking awful and have no place in a free-flowing game like football. And whoever thought of (and signed off on) the floating DVD-logo should be taken out to the woods and shot or publicly ridiculed. And then shot. I’ve never seen a… Read more »
Hector needs to get back on the meat… Bit of natural iron/protein etc will get his legs back
lol. Because I’m sure he’s eating artificial iron/protein.
those pics are just LOL
My thought, Mik should start for Ramsey and the coach would have solved our fluidity, especially in creating chances. I don’t care who he brings in to partner with whoever among xhaka, guandozi and Torreira. Otherwise we are a better team than we were last season.
what is it with our defence, why do they keep playing it back to cech in difficult positions, instead of just booting it up field
Thought Mustafi was AGAIN better than rated. Several decisive clearances and he stepped up to intercept a couple of balls too. Just not as spectacular as Sokratis. One slip Which happens…but apart from that pretty much the same level in performance as Sokratis. Sokratis made a hash of a clearance into the middle which fortunately amounted to nothing for the bar codes. Granit was very good. He put in a critical tackle early on in first half when one of their players was in on goal. Superb goal. Lacazette also worked hard and had some great moments but no goal… Read more »
I try to read your posts; I often agree with some of your points (certainly Mustafi and Xhaka are both much better than credited by fans; when Monreal (who I like a lot) makes the same mistakes, everyone ignores them). These points, I think, are based on watching the game, instead of deciding ahead of time what you will see. But then you do the same thing to fit players into some analytic theory: no, Ramsey and Ozil are not “very similar players” even if (as you think) both “have to pass and play to get through on goal.” No… Read more »
Is it just me or is there anyone else who was pissed off with what Shearer said about us on MOTD. How he’s more upset by Newcastle losing to us than with other teams, because we are not a very good side. The senile cuntbag SMH