Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles ,Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Torreira, Ramsey, Iwobi, Aubameyang
Subs: Cech, Koscielny, Elneny, Guendouzi, Willock, Saka, Lacazette
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Arsenal took the lead at Anfield, but the hapless idiots we call defenders ensured that it was but a fleeting moment of happiness before we went down 5-1 to a rampant Liverpool at Anfield this evening.
Unai Emery “welcomed” back Shkodran Mustafi from injury, and handed Aaron Ramsey a rare start with Alexandre Lacazette dropping down to the bench.
The home side began brightly with Robertson whipping in a wicked cross, and Arsenal’s nerves weren’t helped when Leno almost conceded a needless corner in the opening minutes.
Firmino hit a shot into the side netting, and it was a mistake from Fabinho which helped fashion a chance for Alex Iwobi but Alisson was equal to the shot which was on target. However, the Nigerian turned provider as the Gunners took the lead in the 12th minute. Liverpool lost possession, Iwobi played a one-two, curled a lovely cross to the far post and there was the midfielder to tap in at the back post. 0-1.
Sadly, the lead lasted only 2 minutes. Liverpool worked the ball into our box with Salah, Xhaka made a tackle, Lichtsteiner tried to clear but it deflected off Mustafi and into the path of Firmino who tapped home from close range. 1-1.
Then, the Brazilian put the home side in front 60 seconds later. Torreira got caught on the ball, Firmino waltzed through the Arsenal defence leaving Mustafi and Sokratis on the ground, and slotted home. Defensively dreadful from Arsenal. 2-1.
Leno had to come out quickly to intercept a through ball that again exposed the Arsenal backline, and after Arsenal had cleared a corner we should never have conceded because of a terrible back pass from Kolasinac Liverpool scored again. A long ball over the top from Robertson found Salah, he touched it across goal and Mane was there unmarked to score. 3-1.
Xhaka got booked for a foul and was lucky to escape a second yellow for immediately kicking the ball away, and Klopp’s team were well and truly on top of a shell-shocked Arsenal side. Maitland-Niles shot over, as did Ramsey as we tried to get back into it, but it got worse before the break.
After Liverpool once again cut through us too easily, Sokratis gave Salah every chance to go down in the box, nibbling at his ankles from behind, and the Egyptian didn’t need a second invitation. Michael Oliver pointed to the spot, and Salah slammed home the spot kick to make it 4-1.
Emery made a half-time change, bringing off Mustafi for Koscielny, but it didn’t stop Mane working his way through on goal early in the second period. Again Sokratis went sliding in from behind, but this time wasn’t penalised, and seconds later a poor touch from Salah allowed Leno to take the ball when the striker was clean through and looking certain to score again.
At the other end Ramsey broke through, took a left footed shot which deflected to Auba at the back post but he put it over from a yard out. However, the offside flag spared his blushes. Some last ditch defending prevented another chance for the home side who looked like they could open us up every time they came forward.
Salah set up Fabinho for a shot from 12 yards which Leno got down well to save, and from the resulting corner Kolasinac was adjudged to have fouled Lovren and once again the referee pointed to the spot. Firmino stepped up and completed his hat-trick to make it 5-1.
Shaqiri shot from distance but Leno was equal to it, Alexandre Lacazette was sent on for Aubameyang, Guendouzi came on for Kolasinac, and there was nothing much to enjoy from an Arsenal point of view. It was the football equivalent of having a root canal and a rectal probe at the same time while being made to listen to Phil Collins, who was also the dentist the bum doctor.
Lacazette should have had a penalty for all the difference it would have made, but Oliver played on. Henderson shot just wide as the game headed towards the final couple of minutes, Leno saved from Salah at his near post,
All in all a dismal, sobering day for Arsenal and Unai Emery who needs the club’s backing in the January transfer window.
I know there’s been other injuries but I think the biggest miss has been Bellerin. He’s a big, big part of our attack as well as defence.
Our bad form started when Holding got injured. We really need to strengthen at CB.
Sokratis – just coming back from injury
Koscielny – just coming back from injury
Mustafi – just coming back from injury (and inconsistent)
Holding – injured
Chambers – on loan
Mavropanos – injured
We really have awful luck when it comes to injuries.
I’m sorry but it’s no excuse. That’s why we have a squad.
The team as a whole regardless of personnel should be drilled better to deal with simple diagonal balls amongst other things.
Ludicrous comment. That’s all six of our centre backs! How many more do you think we need? Should we just not have any midfielders or forwards and carry 22 centre backs? You can’t budget for five or six injuries in the same position, it’s not possible.
Injuries were never acceptable explanations for a poor run during Wenger, why is it acceptable now?
Other than holding none of those cbs are any good. Kos waa, but he’s old and over it. Mustafi and sok are crap when healthy and chambers is mid table player at best
I think Socratis is the only of our centre backs that are good enough. Mustafi is a perpetual ball watcher, Holding is too slow, so is Koscielny. (Yes, their all great guys).
Holding, slow? don’t think this affects how effective he is… btw, it’s “they’re all great guys”
Very good point. Holding is certainly a bigger miss defensively. Attacking wise the difference Bellerin makes in our system is a bit overlooked I think.
Closest thing we have to actual wide player.
Well that was shitty.
We have conceded more than Newcastle. To many mediocre players. Xhaka would not get in any top team. Ramsey is good mid table player. Our defence are championship level.
Agree on many points, but Xhaka and Ramsey are not our problem players.
No it’s Özil.
Yeah. Ozil was crap tnite. All his fault
What is with the ozil obsession, would he have made any difference? I think not as he has consistently gone missing in big games. Tonight was abysmal but a serious wake up call.
Xhaka is an absolute liabiilty. I thought when Wenger left we would get rid of him. Instead we gave him an extended contract. This team is Wenger going forward with no defence.
To be fair to xhaka he’s played a lor if matches without a rest and played out of position. He’s a quality player who needs quality around him.
One of those most definitely is!!!!!!!!
you give them that status. i think Dermot O’leary and Clive Anderson could do better. Just watched them on tv
This is what happens when Aaron Ramsey starts and plays 90 minutes. Absolute rubbish.
Why were a lot of fans angry with Ramsey to begin with? It’s because under Wenger, he went on marauding runs from deep midfield leaving the defense exposed. However, his pressing and harrying is what made van dijk give away the ball for our first goal today. I made a comment recently about ozil’s inability to contribute to the pressure on opposing defences when we don’t have the ball, and this kinda made me think I wasn’t wrong. Is Ramsey as good as ozil when we have the ball? Definitely not in the no. 10 role. When you have opposing… Read more »
Ramsey — here is who is interested in signing him … Bayern, PSG, Inter and Juventus … are we missing something here??
Couldn’t agree more. He was predictably toilet in the number ten role.
Lichtsteiner has Bellerin looking like prime Dani Alves right now
I thought we were going to stop getting spanked by teams and at least keep scores respectable.
Every time I looked it seemed like Leno was spooning a clearance, wasn’t he supposed to be good with his feet
I’d be happy if he never played for us again. Pointless signing.
I wouldnt say pointless.. have perspectives with your emotions people.. i have seen some feistiness in Bellerin and I dont think its a coincidence it has come under Lich as a mentor.. His “bastardness” and toughness have been useful. I agree he has been poor in some games but He wasnt brought in to play this much (and with unconsistent back line formation) so I wouldnt call it pointless..
I agree, as a limited sub he’s fine. Nowhere near good enough to be starting.
The fact that he’s playing so much for us is the surest sign that our defense is a calamity.
I like Leno, but there’s an element of truth behind this comment.
For a team that spent 20 years in the Champions League and extracts the highest Europe-wide matchday revenue from it’s fans, we may have misjudged just how much our competitors were gonna improve this season.
This was in reply to someone talking about Lichtsteiner, unsure why it shows below a Leno comment.
Leno is certainly not in the De Gea, Allison and Ederson bracket, however.
I think we were short of the requisite funds to get any meaningful signing. Maybe a young prospect or two didn’t want to join knowing Bellerin is young and will get a lot of the playing time, leaving us with little choice but to sign an old pro and hope his experience will come good?
I don’t understand why Jenkinson doesn’t play instead of him, he adds nothing.
Jenkinson is also an English international. So he’s good on paperwork too. Makes no sense to bring in a player who has less speed and mobility than Cech to play defense.
Yeah, this should be the match that shows we should reserve Lichsteiner for the Europa league and use Jenkinson until Bellerin is fit and back in the side.
The biggest miss was our back four. Sokratis and Kolasinac has been getting away with a lot of stupid things up until now but sooner or later the refs will catch up. When you have to resort to o lot of dirty tricks it usually means you’r not good enough… I don’t mind us taking a “tactical” free kick but the way they gave away those penalties is beyond stupid. I actually dislike Lichtenstein. He’s no better than Silvestre and I hate that he’s an Arsenal player. He’s only good at acting like a idiot. Mustafi is Mustafi and we… Read more »
I was watching the match and saying he’s the new Squillachi, but I’ll take Silvestre, too.
Emery does not help matters by having his 2nd choice fbs bombing up the pitch when one is slowand pretty shit at this point and the other simply won’t and cant defend.We look like a worse version of liverpool when Klopp first took over.
Sorry about the autocorrect… I do like Lichtenstein…
Disagree. Emery is poor at selecting players
Two of the starting back 5 were brought in this summer surely with imput from emery
Get Wenger back.
Look there is no beating about the bush here, no excuses. There are good players and there are not good players and Arsenal is full of not good players. Barring P-E A and Lacazette and Monreal I would strongly suggest getting rid of every player Wenger bought. Iwobi and Bellerin are technically youth products so they are not buys. Wenger however filled the squad with mediocre players not good enough for this level and they need to go. I know people will go oh enough with Wenger its not his fault. I know this result is not his fault and… Read more »
You are Absolutely bang on..our squad is mid table at best barring auba and laca…needs a complete turnover
you’re wrong about the players.
The defence that just keeps on giving.
Emery out. Emery out. Emery out. Emery out. Emery out. Emery out.
I’m as unhappy as anyone with the result but stop that shit for fuck’s sake.
I thought he was joking
.
It is called Santa Claus defence, buddy.
What’s worse is that they keep arguing with each other. Stop yelling about whose fault it is and get organised – noone seems to be on the same wavelength.
Couldn’t agree more. It’s more important to apportion blame as opposed to working as a team and sorting it out. A good coach would get this taken care of but it just lingers and lingers. It’s the same on offense though. Lacazette decides he wants to shoot and it doesn’t matter that someone is in a better position he is going to get his shot. Liverpool has Mane, Salah and Firmino and they play as a unit and work together so they call score.
If you watch liverpool highlights, you’ll notice that Firminho is the only unselfish player for the most part. Mane and Salah(specially the former) have both taken the shot quite a few times that I’ve noticed, when another forward was better positioned to score.
That is the major problem at the moment, need a leader at the back.
Need a direction for a leader to lead them towards first, right?
That’s what happens when players don’t know what the team is supposed to be doing defensively. Players argue because they don’t have a basis to judge their actions. Instead of pointing out shortcomings based on the tatical plan, everyone is basing their actions on what they think is right, to them.
And that comes from utterly useless Steve Bould. What is the man doing with defenders in training? Having a chat about politics and Brexit???
Well that was so fucking depressing. It feels like we’ve been here before. With injuries and form hitting rock bottom, we need urgent reinforcements in January. I know we shouldn’t pin our hopes on new signings, but I really do hope Diamond Sven can help us address our defensive shortcomings and salvage something from what is increasingly becoming an underwhelming season.
“We’ve got our Arsenal back”
This reminds me of the time I got really drunk and pooped in my bed.
I thought we were past these kinds of embarrassing scorelines, but apparently not. When was the last time any other top 6 team lost by a margin of 4 goals? Even the relegation candidates don’t get spanked this hard.
except the other 5-1s that already happened this season?
And when was the last time we pasted a good side.
Arsenal 4 Spuds 2
Last time we won by a margin of 3 goals or more against a top 6 side is a 3-0 win against Chelsea in September 2016. It’s been a while.
Liverpool lost 5-0 to City last year.
With 10 men for about an hour, maybe.
Arguably we had about 9 from the start
We were “full strength”?!
Oh my.
Did they start with 10?
I think a 2nd place team turning a 1-0 lead at home into a 1-3 loss to a team like wolves is just as bad really.
Dear Emery…welcome to Arsenal
Big thumbs up for last line re transfer window.
I think Emery’s shown he can extract a lot from a sub-par squad. Let’s see how much Raul and Sven can extract from a sub-par owner.
He isn’t extracting anything , we haven’t played good in any of our matches this season , and it is not a sub par squad.
We need a new manager and some defender.
Everyone looks at the results instead of watching how we’ve been playing. We haven’t changed, except for playing from the back. All I hear is that Emry needs his type of players, that he needs to figure out his best team. If he hasn’t figured out our best team by now he won’t. If things haven’t changed already under him then they won’t. If by getting his type of players you mean Ever Banega and being the new Sevilla then just wait.
These kind of comments are so fickle and impatient. Klopp finished 8th his first year and you think ‘if things haven’t changed by now they won’t’?
Klopp joined Liverpool mid-season when they were around 7th or 8th. Can’t compare that to a manager than had a complete preseason, signed 5 players of his own and started at 0 point as everyone else.
That’s just a false statement looking to rile people up. Of course we’ve had good performances this season, are you kidding me? Get a grip.
The issue that still remains that our defense is a mess, when that was the one area Emery himself highlighted as needing improvement. I’m still willing to give him more time.
If you actually think that this not a sub par squad, then I’m afraid you know nothing about football
You know nothing about football , Mustafi , Kolasinac and Xhaka have been really good in their previous clubs , Leno , sokratis and litch are new signings , everyone is praising Torreira , Auba and Laca are world class , Maitland niles got man of the match against Man u last season , many big clubs want Ramsey , if you think such a team is not good enough to win against Brighton and Southampton then you know nothing about Football.
By our own standards alone, this is the definition of a sub-par squad.
We have played well, hence our position. The squad is actually pretty shit.
It’s quickly turning into Wenger in (he built a good squad and Emery is fucking it up and/or alienating Ozil) versus Wenger out (what can Emery do with such a shit bunch of players) again.
The narrative of a “subpar squad” and “mess left by Wenger” is the greatest fraud in football today.
If that’s a lot, I dread seeing what its like when he fails to get something from a side that just missed out on top 4 last season.
What exactly has he “extracted”? It’s maybe a sub-par squad, but more than adequate for settling in fifth-sixth place under ANY manager that is not a complete fool (yes, I know, there is no shortage of fools out there). So what has he done that is so worth praising? I’m not shouting “emery out” either, mind you, but I struggle to see why he should be applauded.
I fear Emery won’t have the temperament to manage the world class players we would like to see at Arsenal. We won’t crack the top four with a squad full of selfless workers, and the top players (who have egos) won’t take kindly to this mid-table style of man management.
I couldn’t agree with this more.
Oh, we’re not going to see “world class” superstars for a good while. We’re a EL club, we won’t be able to compete for top tier players for a long time.
Absolutely he should get a little time but I don’t think he’s shown that “shown he can extract a lot from a sub-par squad.”
Did you read the last ‘by the numbers’ piece? Under Emery we’ve taken less shots and conceded more than we did with Wenger last year, so one could argue he is getting less from the team than Wenger did. Saving grace has been that Auba and Lacazette have (for the most part) exceptionally clinical.
I repeat/maintain that Emery needs more time but it’s too early to call him any kind of genius.
“Protagonist.”
Embarassing
It was just a matter of time. I loved AMN on the wing though.
Made Robertson look average.
Robertson looked impressive. What were you watching?
Not against Maitland, he constantly got past him.
Robertson gave the ball away repeatedly and was largely at fault for our goal…? Thought he was arguably liverpools worst player on the night, though they spanked us so really its not saying much
Remember at least two misplaced passes we nearly capitalised on, and was dispossessed by AMN 3 times in the first half.
The chasm in class is massive.
Manager has a huge task here.
Liverpool showed how the pressing game should be played. Line of 4 players who pressed with serious intent (rather than just wandering toward) and then with even more venom when it went to the last player out on his own – usually Licht or Kola.
Spaces behind full backs have been with us for years now. Watch Liverpool defenders who actually read the game, get goal side and don’t just panic and dive in, knowing cover will arrive.
Xhaka and Lichtsteiner lose the ball and just stroll back. Iwobi gets back but not in the right position to mark anyone.
Liverpool are top of the table and still fight for every loose ball like tomorrow is the end of the world. No complacency at all. Just speechless after this performance
And they do it against all teams. Not like the shambles we put up against Brighton, passing at around the defence.
I despise Liverpool. Their happiness is pretty damn shit.
Embarrassing. I’m sick of 8-2, 6-0, 5-1, and it’s happening too often for a team like Arsenal.
Totally agree with the sentiment, and obviously feel the shame and pain. But maybe ‘club’ like Arsenal would be more apt. The ‘team’ has probably been getting what it deserves for a few years unfortunately. Hopefully Emery can turn this around over the next two seasons – he will need that long, with investment from the powers that be.
I agree, the ‘club’ is definitely what was on my mind.
After the way Huddersfield, Bournemouth and Cardiff have troubled that defence lately, how were you not expecting a good hiding?
You forgot Burnley and even more telling… Southampton
Unai Emery is an IDIOT. A self-destructive bigot. Even Liverpool placed their best attacking set up. While Lacazette stayed on the bench.
Bigot? Haha.
Whoa, chill man.
Liverpools best attackers all fit the system the manager wants to play, Arsenals do not. Personally i doubt that if jurgen klopp was our manager, he would play with both Lacazette and Aubameyang at the same time.
If Klopp was our manager our players wouldn’t be making the same mistakes over and over again and he would have a clear plan about where the team is going.
Remember this is Klopp’s 3rd full season with Liverpool.. He hasn’t won anything with them. In this time. These changes will take a long time not be cured in 20 games.
This is Klopp’s fourth season at Liverpool and they finished 8th under him in his first season.
Personally, I doubt we would be as clueless,tactically, at this point as we are now. But with players such as those two, I doubt any manager wouldn’t try to find a way to integrate them into his system. He never played 433 at Dortmund and Mainz, now he does.
Do you even know what a bigot is?
Do you know what bigot means?
lol holy fuck.
So this is what a work in progress looks like.
Torreira had a mare for their first two goals. Turned too easily for the first and gave the ball away for the second.
He looks knackered, overpowered these last few games. Physicality taking its toll and Emery never rests him.
He’s looked bad since his illness the other day. I don’t know why he was played at all whilst sick.
Please don’t make excuses for Torreira. He didn’t have a good game. He has been of the pace lately. That doesn’t make him crap There is something wrong with blogs, fans, supporteres and pundits alike when they can’t take a balanced view. The negativity after the loss against Soton has been nothing short of embarrasing. Xhaka, Ramsey, AMN, Kolasinac, Mustafi, Iwobi, Holding, Mikhi, Sokrates, Bellerin, Liechtenstein, özil, Auba, Welbeck, Montreal, Jenkinson, Leno and more has been dermed crap or not good enough in the last 12 months. If that is true Emery is walking on Water. I’m a manager of… Read more »
Not sure what you mean since you pretty much agreed with me.
Great post Espen.
Totally agree with negativity surrounding our club.
Barr Wrighty and Keown, the rest of pundits (I’m talking formal Arsenal players) are very negative, let alone newspapers. But as paper/plastic fans, were so overwhelmed with this negativity and start resembling it in our conversation and start losing our own opinion. We forget very easily that Unai has only started and it’s a very long road to rebuild a team to challenge for the title again.
Liverpool physically targeted him. Then Shaqiri floated about in acres of space just Off Torreira but Ramsey refused to drop in and help.
Fuck.
Let’s not overreact here…. It took Klopp 3 SEASONS and A COUPLE OF TRANSFER WINDOWS to create this rampant Liverpool!
Klopp makes Shaqiri look world class and Unai makes Özil look like shit that’s the difference.
I’m nowhere near ready to turn on Emery. But ouch, there’s truth to that.
How did Emery make Ozil look shit? Ozil has been utter shite since he signed the contract – before Emery even arrived.
Ozil has been well below par for a long long time and you know it. Didn’t Petit recently say he has been a “ghost” on the pitch for the past two seasons.
it took Conte 1 season to win the EPL with Chelsea who had finished 10th.
False equivalence: Mourinho 3rd season syndrome, they won the league the year before the 10th finish.
TBH that was Mourinho’s mess. That squad won the title twice in 3 years.
January is a big month for us. It’ll show everyone where the club’s ambitions lies.
N’golo Kanté almost singlehandedly gave Conte that trophy.
3 years is 6 transfer windows. We need time. We just have it cause of UCL absence.
Now we can see, what happens if you play your team to the ground in the Premier League. Was always going to happen and it will just get worse in the next 2-3 months. I know the team is generally not good enough, but he sacrificed them for a good start.
Liverpool didn’t even play Naby Keita, who would be Arsenal’s best player by a distance. Unfortunately, this result is mostly down to the transfers done over the last few windows. I don’t see how it can be rectified either, as we have no incomings (and no assets) and no Champions League money (or lure) for the next 3-4 years. I think we, as Arsenal fans, really need to create a positive atmosphere and hope that with each transfer window, we see little improvements. Not hoping for some miracle.
I think Emery didn’t realize how bad and exhausting EPL holiday time is. Instead of breaks, players play a lot more. I do wander whether putting extra effort for pressing high and extra running gives Arsenal enough advantage. I still think playing from the back is a good tactic. Wenger’s Arsenal were greating counter attacking team except for the last 2-3 years. This year Arsenal couldn’t captialize counter attacking opportunity as they used to. There isn’t enough fluency between Def to Mid to Atk. I do hope Emery finds more cohesion. It will take sometime and definitely couple of transfer… Read more »
Arsenal, Emery and effing Oliver were absolute disgrace today. Arsenal needs to sack Emery now and get proper manager in asap before January tranfer window closes. Cut the loses now, Emery is clueless little man bent to stamp his useless foot and in process ruin everything. #EmeryOut
Hello Mr Troll
yopu really are a twat
Wtf..
…..
….. ….
.
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“but the hapless idiots we call defenders” is a bit harsh??
Work in progress in an injury battlefield, with a new manager is where we are right now.
COYG!
No, it’s not harsh. First goal, Lichtsteiner doesn’t look where he’s kicking the ball and boots it right into Mustafi. Idiot. Second goal, Mustafi and Sokratis both don’t close the distance and waft out a leg at Firmino who waltzes through basically unchallenged. They looked scared of him. Very foolish to not put in a proper challenge. Idiots. Third goal, Mustafi points to Salah, Lichtsteiner looks directly at Salah and continues to ignore him. Idiot. Fourth goal, Sokratis kicks Salah not once, but twice. Idiot. Fifth goal, Kolasinac slightly pushes Lovren who goes down very easily. This was soft but… Read more »
Sell them all then yeah?
We don’t want hapless idiots in our team do we?
Certainly reinforce in January.
You can’t say you’re happy with our personnel in defence, Paul. Even when all of them are fit.
No I can’t and I didn’t.
And playing Lichtsteiner in the Premier League is a recipe for disaster. As is playing Kolas in a back 4 (although this is enforced by Monreal injury).
We should get rid of Emery as soon as possible , no team has conceded 5 against Liverpool , but we did and that is Emery’s fault. #EmeryOut
4-0 to 5-1 is the same
Ffs
It is time to retire Koslieny, Mustafi and Sokratis…WELL PAST THEIR BEST!
Retire? How old do you think Mustafi is Genius??
He plays like grandpa…
He was bought for his experience and wasn’t expected to have to play much.
Lich I mean…ooops
Koscielny looked ok when he came on. Thought the only one who was really bad in defence was Lichtsteiner. Was to blame for the first 3 goals. The other 2 were pens. Thought generally we haven’t been as bad as the result suggests. The effort was there the whole time. Just were unlucky that we conceded that early with such a shitty goal and that Torreira had his worst game since he arrived. AMN, Iwobi and Ramsey had actually good games. Liverpool is just on fire at he moment and today everything went for them and against us. The fact… Read more »
Has anyone stopped to think what impact an ever running Elneny would have had on this game? Dislike him all you want but you don’t have a squad with a player with such energy against a high tempo team, in a period as this and sit him on the bench. He is fresh, is adept at CB and for all the criticism he receives, he keeps the fucking game ticking. He let’s the creative midfielders get the ball in time – something sorely lacking last game. I know hindsight and all, but I have always thought these were the times… Read more »
Roll on the transfer window, defenders please and preferably one that is a leader…..
Won’t help if the team as a whole exposes them because of a lack of team shape.
Compared to the average value of the top 6 – we stand at 70%
(via Transfermarkt)
Embarrassing
Has there really been any progress since Wenger left?
Scoring more in away games, and that’s about it.
No, and at least Wenger didn’t treat his best players like mugs, which is what Emery seems to be doing with Ozil, Lacazette, and Ramsey.
Great point. Everybody was happy with (and even in favour of) Emery’s management of player as long as our unbeaten run was on. Now however, the real trouble starts. I am really concerned with the situation. Heavy losses such as today’s leave their mark, and if there really IS an Emery-Ozil/Laca problem, oh my… things could go downhill pretty quickly. I sincerely hope we will not see this scenario unfold.
Richie – I am more concerned about this point than today’s game (which, honestly, anyone who has been watching Arsenal could see coming.). We need our best players on board and committed to the cause, and we need them spreading the word to the players we want that there are good things happening here, you want to be a part of it. We need to open the bank for ONE world class CB, one with the attributes to make those around him better. Much better one 100m world class player than two 40-50m types who offer marginal improvement. See the… Read more »
I have wondered for a while now if Emery is whip-smart from PSG and over compensating by needlessly treating the top players in a punitive fashion.
I don’t think he could handle the egos at PSG and they either didn’t buy into his system or got tired of it. He won 7 trophies with PSG and then was off. I think he is a great manager for those mid table and pushing top four teams but big teams need star players and I don’t think he can handle them.
Lacazette will probably start next match over Aubameyang, which is in 3 days.
Sprinting players need recovery periods more than 3 days or they’ll start to break down with muscle injuries.
This isn’t a god damn arcade game.
Worse at everything except running stats. That, we are amazing at now. We really know how to run around. I mean we are number one at running in the league. We are so good at running, we have no place for technical ability if it doesn’t come with lots of running.
We sure know how to run.
Yes and by a large margin
But why? And what margin? Points? Performances? Management of players? The jury is still out on Emery, but as far as improvement goes, let’s be honest here…
We are not paying 350k pw for another player again. Since Jan 2017 it’s 18 milion wasted. It’s bleeding us dry. And we have more point than same time last season.
Not that I can see to be honest. We play out from the back but everything else is the same.
Where’s this supposed high press? Where’s the better organisation?
Absolutely spot on. The only noticeable difference is this playing out from the back nonsense, and we don’t even have players able to do that competently.
Hahahaha so true. Watching today I kept thinking that Liverpool kept playing it from the back to run it in our noses about how to do it properly.
We have to look closely at our players and be sure why the high press doesn’t work. I recall Sanchez going on forward press on several occasions in Wenger’s term, he would urge the other players on. We only pulled the press off as a team on occasion and it seemed to me this was how the manager wanted to play but the players wouldn’t execute it with enough consistency or even desire.
It’s non existent. As a previous comment stated, we are really awesome at running. Oh, and passing from the back. I haven’t been convinced since Emry started and I am less convinced now. Not at the Emry out stage but he hasn’t done anything except provide a new face on the same foundations and same style play we had under Wenger.
Kinda makes me feel bad for arsene wenger..
Ah sure don’t worry about it. Least you got your Arsenal back eh.
He wasn’t pushing the club to make the changes it needs. Now the club’s ambitions will be laid bare. That could be sexy, or we might want to look away.
Done with Arsenal for now, just can’t stand the rage I get from watching year after year. Hope to see you again next season. Hope we have a proper defense by then
Completely agreed man , our board is really clueless and we are repeating the same mistakes we have always made , i think i’m done watching the team now too.
We gifted them 3-4 goals ….what the hell is litchsteiner contributing..nothing in defence and nothing in attack…just complaining to ref is all what he does
We should get rid of the entire backline-mustafi, litchsteiner,kolasinac.and buy some 22 year olds from some low lying team…they may try better
We were initially excited by his shithousing, but now it looks like compensation for falling off a cliff, in terms of his ability to play at this level.
We are following the Gordon Bombay style of playing. “Take the fall, act hurt, get indignant”. Or he has Mustafitis.
We are a bad team at the moment. Why is Laca on the bench,? He fights, creates and scores. There is something I can’t figure cause Wenger was doing same. I saw Klopp agitating at 5-1 when his players did not do the right thing. Not comparing to our coach at all. Just pointing the wining mentality.
Buy. A CB. Arsenal. But this game will not define our season. Two soft penalty ( two salah dives in two games ) against ( if the role reversed lo ran would have argued all day with the ref.) We didn’t get a certain penalty because Alex tried to keep on his feet , no justice, bring in v.a.r. —-when even ex Liverpool player Jim Berlin said was a penalty in commentary. How Fabinho five or Dix fouls breaking up our attacking break got no yellow card, shows Liverpool have the luck and refs onside. They are the better league… Read more »
We’re miles behind Spurs, it’s irrelevant that they also lost today.
Not if you’re an Arsenal fan. It’s always good to see the spuds lose.
It’s never irrelevant that lose, though I take your overall point.
*that Spurs lose
At times this season Spurs have looked as patchy as we have, and they’ve been lucky to nick a few results. Piling on Arsenal – and I admit it, we were shocking today – ignores the reality of a lot of clubs’ form.
And yeah, it’s always good when Spurs lose.
Very poor performance. Emery pretty clueless. Must shoulder blame.
We are done for if the owner and management don’t wake up after this run of piss poor results.
LOL cant help but just laugh really, We gave them everything and they took it! There are some real half assed players in this team with egos and then there are some weak athletic players who are behind and will always be behind the modern game. You see laca showing feet with the clear intention of playing the ball wide so we are in and we just look at him like he’s not on? Laca knows he’s got a player on his back he’s not looking to come on the half turn he’s not even presenting himself on the half… Read more »
When Iwobi and Niles are your best performers on the day there is a serious fucking problem.Mustafi and Lichtsteiner causin Mayhem at the sight of the ball. Sokratis lost without holding and Kolasinac refusing to do his job no1 which is to stay in fucking shape and defend. Our so called ‘men’ failed on evey level. Reality is we have far too many players who would be finished at other clubs and here they are indulged.
In some other teams he’d be out now. Falling out with our best player, very few good performances against rubbish.
Yeah, maybe if he was an established manager. Klopp finished 8th with Liverpool in his first season, and Pochettino 6th with Sp*rs in his first. It’s going to take time to unwind the club’s culture of acceptance of mediocrity and stagnation. Sure a different manager might have achieved a less disappointing result today, but a different manager would most definitely not turned things around by now. It takes time to work towards grand visions and and the failure which is inevitable on the road to that grand vision.
Yeah, but isn’t that what everyone is complaining about in the modern state of football? That managers just get the boot at the first sign of trouble? There’s not a chance that bringing in a new manager at this point would improve our team without changing the players we’ve got.
Give Emery a break. If this becomes a trend even after a few more transfer windows, I’ll be happy to join the Emery Out train. Until then, we need to be patient, even though it may hurt like hell in the meantime.
Well,It’s Emery’s first season.Even bottom half is acceptable tbh,Wenger left us in such a peril financially after all.I mean we at least scored at anfield this season,Didn’t do that last year! Onwards and upwards! #COYG
*P.s. Fuming aye,Emery needs time-sure.but we are the Arsenal.If we expect everyone else to believe that,should act like that as well.if we keep having the same results come May drastic actions might just be necessary.No one said emery MUST be the one to bring us back to the top.
Bottom half, really? We are not that bad. We have 2 really good strikers and one very creative player. We are not a bottom half team. If that happens, it is absolutely bad management. Are you that desperate to keep Emery that you will take anything.
Sarcasm is a hard thing to grasp apparently.
Lol- yes it is especially on the internet… and I don’t believe you. You were apparently caught in an irrational argument.
Tbh, the tone of the PS makes the main comment seem like a farce. It just reads as sincere because so many people have been writing posts that overlook the fact that no measurable progress has been made catching up to our peers.
We need to spend at least 200 million on that defence otherwise forget it.
Emery needs the club’s backing to keep his position!
Expected to lose, but not in this old fashioned style. It’s not only the quality of our defenders, but the way we play defence enforce their weaknesses instead of hiding them. I think Emery must do two things, establish this match as ground zero and seriously begin to work defensive principles in training and secondly ask for huge transfers already in january. For my own part I never want to see Slowsteiner playing in a PL game for us again
In addition, I think we need our defense coach – Steve Boulds to leave and be replaced. This performance has been recurring for a while in the team – even since wenger time. And if you check, Bould’s been the common denominator
Steve Bould never has been, is not, and never will be defensive coach. He’s just an assistant Coach who used to be defender. Wenger has clarified that countless times.
Emery is fighting a losing battle, if the answer to our problems in January is Gary Cahill? Then you’d have to seriously question the clubs resolve.
This result isn’t surprising, I was expecting us to finish 6th, a good run of results got me dreaming of top4, but a few injuries and a loss of momentum has brought me crashing back to reality, I really hope our fan base don’t turn on Emery, it’s a big job and he needs time.
Thought Iwobi was excellent today
What a release
The deepest darkest chambers of hell are exclusively reserved for the suits who ‘run’ this football club.
Kroenke needs to take up flying helicopters in the grand canyon.
We should be starting with Laca. Auba alone can’t get anything done. This clearly wouldn’t have changed the result as this defence is what it is, but there will have been more goals in it for us. Ramsey should be gone. Xhaka is too slow. Toreira had a bad day Maitland was okay Litchiener is a negative. Anything that passes through him goes to shit Mustafi saw an opportunity to foul today and decided not to. I’m sure if Firminho were to be in the box he would have tripped him. Psycho. Sokratis is a Wenger player Auba is a… Read more »
The only (or main) thing Auba needs to be working to be effective is the ball coming into the box. That’s surely not too much to ask is it.
The most depressing thing is that before our 1-1 draw against Liverpool wee looked like a team that could face the Mugsmashers without fear. Today was a different story… we’ve all been having a bad feeling, and it materialised in a humiliating defeat that feels all too familiar. Even as a fervent Wenger admirer, I have always thought that there is no excuse for losing a PL game with a gap bigger than three goals. And I really hope that the blame isn’t placed on Arsene for this loss, too. It’s not early days anymore. This one is on Emery.… Read more »
The defence is a shambles, it has been for years and its the thing which is going to stop us improving. Unless Emery is given backing to sign world class centre halves we’re going to decline. Our better players are all ageing so Emery’s job is going to be too difficult I fear. In 3 seasons, Auba will be 32, Mhki will be 33, Lacazette will be 30, Ozil 33, Ramsey, Monreal, Cech, Shitesteiner and Welbeck obviously wont be here. No Koscienly, Sokratis will be 33. That’s 10 players without any recouping any money and with an owner that hasn’t… Read more »
So true
the worst thing is that my in-laws are liverpool fans… theyre going to go unbeaten and win the league… I have no reply… This season hurts so much…
That’s one more reason to dislike your in-laws
We were due a very humiliating defeat. No single Arsenal fan can beat their chest and mention three games they have thoroughly enjoyed this season. Yeah, we are rebuilding, but that’s infuriating. Even more so when you realised some very strange decisions cost us those games. At one point halftime substitutions every game stops feeling like a genius stroke and you start coming across as clueless. Freezing out the fastest player to reach fifty assists in the league while creating way less chances than a Mourinho team (yes, Man Utd has created more chances than Arsenal in the league), struggling… Read more »
Grateful it was only 5.
Plus ca change.
Honeymoon period over. Time to sort out this team Emery starting with Ramsey and Ozil out in January, defensive signings and a creative midfielder. Big up Iwobi and Maitland-Niles tonight; played well, unlike the rest! Liverpool are a good side, well drilled and maturing under Klopp. We can only hope that Emery can emulate their development. It will take time so we all need to be patient. No panic but questions are there to be answered. Top four? Not sure now.