Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang spoke to Canal Plus following Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with Watford yesterday, and while refusing to point fingers at individuals, bemoaned the mistakes which handed the home side a point.
The Gunners had been 2-0 up at half-time thanks to the striker’s goals, but the second half was an embarrassment and in the end we were lucky to come away with a point.
The 30 year old’s frustration was evident when asked to reflect on the two points dropped and the overall performance.
“Obviously we didn’t expect that,” he said.
“We knew that they were going to try and come back with good intentions, of the kind they demonstrated in the second half. Sadly, we were not able to deal with them well.
“I feel like we are literally giving goals to the opposition, it is up to us to progress in that respect
“I don’t want to accuse anyone, you could say that us the attackers could have killed the game off and score a third goal, so I am not going to say it is someone’s fault.
“It is a shame to concede goals like we did.”
Auba was also asked about the loss of Alexandre Lacazette, who has been ruled out until next month because of an ongoing ankle injury.
“I think it affects us,” he sighed. “We know very well that he brings us so much in these sorts of games.”
For more on Watford 2-2 Arsenal, check out today’s Arseblog
Watford 2-2 Arsenal: Second half capitulation sets alarm bells ringing
If Luiz and Sokratis are not dropped for Chambers and Holding, I will be shocked.
In the PL it will be Sokratis and Luiz. Maybe he will drop one or the other for Chambers in the EL. But Holding will be on the bench.
This is frying pan to fire. You need one ‘front-foot’ CB and one who hangs back a bit. So, one from Sokratis/Luiz and one from Chambers/Holding. Like Mertesacker+Koscielny. Playing Chambers and Holding will, I suspect, result in a Djourou+Senderos kind of defense. On the (not really) positive side, it would atleast be a different kind of mistake – two managers and three suits have failed to spot we need a Mertesacker successor. Doesn’t excuse Emery yesterday. I’ve defended him for a while, but if you want to keep picking Xhaka, and keep insisting on the suicide passes from GK to… Read more »
thw14, this is where I am as well mate. I can be supportive but not when it comes to this daft stuff like passing out from the back.
During the Sp*rs game they wanted to pass it out from goal kicks too. But when Arsenal pushed up and marked all their defenders Hugo Lloris just waved everyone out and kicked it long. Where’s our football intelligence gone?
Yeah, genuinely bizarre.
Bingo.
You bet your ass Watford practiced that press on our goal kick last week. It got them a goal and turned the match.
I will say it: We need Mourinho to fix this team and win something before getting sacked the third year.
I’m for pragmatism, not devil worship.
the Mourinho idea is the equivalent of appointing a 2-legged goat like Boris Johnson as Prime Minister during a period of national crisis
There’s always one numpty bringing politics into football thread.
Congratulations on being that numpty…
One man’s devil is the other man’s god. 🙂
That’s disgusting
What we need is a leader/coach/manager who takes no crap from players and instills a mentality to WIN every game. That’s it. Go out to WIN every game. No more greetings and hugs in the tunnel, they are the ENEMY for 90 mins, greetings and hugs after the game. That is the mentality needed.
Ha. Nice one.
Oh shit, are you serious?
You’ve got to be fucking kidding.
Folks write A LOT of stupid opinion nonsense on this blog. Especially in the last couple years. But this is the dumbest thing I’ve seen in years.
You actually deserve an award for it – its that bad!
Never.
One can never why on earth, Xhaka is made the captain. Emery is not the messiah we need in Arsenal. I can’t understand what the team is all about anymore.
One of my work mates is a massive Juve fan who watches every game without fail, and he absolutely hated Allegri because of his ultra-defensive style of play – I think exchanging Emery for him would be pretty much like for like.
To be fair to Allegri, he was just trying to get the best out of the àsquad he had at his disposal. He was not defensive at all at AC Milan.
Haven’t watched much Milan then, eh?
Is this your opinion or what you think might happen?
going by what I have already seen. It seems as though Emery trusts the Luiz/Sokratis partnership. For now it will be those two with one of Chambers/Holding. It’s what I think might happen, it’s not my opinion that it should, of course.
Prepare to be shocked! We have seen him stick to his guns (especially on certain players) over and over again. I reckon both of ’em will start the Europa league game and then get dropped to the bench again for Saturday. L’pool sacked Brendan Rodgers in October or November and brought in Klopp after some dismal displays. I think it’s time we wish Unai all the best for the future and bring in someone who can bring some stability (especially defensive stability) to this team. I reckon Man U will be sacking Ole soon. If they manage to get it… Read more »
So, which manager might be the candidate?
Who would you hire? There are no Klopp’s looking for work right now.
Allegri.
+1 to Allegri. But we would have to make a move quickly. If united get rid of ole gunner, then they’ll also be looking at Allegri.
Erik Ten Hag
Man u can have allegri for all i care.. I would prefer Erik Ten Hag
If you Google his name the tag line for Wikipedia actually says “future arsenal manager”
I have my reservations about Allegri.
He is first and foremost a results-based manager, and anyone pining for Wengerball fluidity will be sorely disappointed. His Juve team relied heavily on organisation until they got schooled so hard by Ajax that he had to take the year off. I would rather Ten Haag himself; that is a team with clear identity and far more than the sum of it’s parts.
Anyone who wants Emery replaced by Allegri frankly needs to watch a lot more football.
I agree on Ten Hag though. He doesn’t have Allegri’s record of success but he’s a hell of an attacking coach and our fanbase aren’t glory-hunters anyway. Our priority is positive, stylish football. Allegri will not cut it.
>hurr our fans aren’t glory hunters so we’ll not hire allegri and let’s hire that dude who choked a 3 goal lead away to f**King spurs
Not being a glory hunter doesn’t mean you’re averse to glory.
Terrible mentality lad.
Well, Klopp was a serial loser in major Finals before last season’s CL win. To me a brave mentality is ‘let’s give Ten Hag a better structure and better players to work with at Arsenal and he’ll do even better than he did with last season’s Ajax’.
Let’s not be fooled by Allegri’s trophies, Emery had plenty of those before he came here.
Emery won no league championship. He won Europa League few times which is two games against proper teams each time. He never won it against Chelsea , Man U ect… He won against Liverpool when they were nowhere near where they are now.
Erm he won a league title with psg
Lol, he needed Neymar to win the almighty french league.
Emery has won a league title, but the point is looking at trophies alone is not the best way to choose a manager
That’s actually wrong. Emery won Ligue 1 with PSG 1 of the 2 years he was there.
You think we have a better structure than Ajax?
Remember Barca’s academy was built by Cryuff to copy Ajax.
That’s still how Ajax develop youth to this day, no one does it better, apart from Barca.
On paper Arsenal have better players, but I wouldn’t have bet on Arsenal in a head to head with Ajax last year.
Allegri came 1st in Serie A with… Juventus. Emery came 1st in Ligue 1 with… PSG.
I’d take Max Allegri. I am 100% certain he will coach some defensive know-how into this team.
What I actually meant with my original post is that I don’t want Man U to get him before us. It’d be a disaster.
Because we know everything about world football, who’s up and coming etc. The average fan on this page knows bugger all (including me). I mean people are calling for mourinho, which sums it up if anything does. And who would have called for wenger in 96? I am SURE there’s someone better than emery who is taking us backwards.
Why do not we try Georges Leekens, he had a good, altough short spell with Tractor Sazi . Or Lajos Détári, a former Hungarian footballer who is excellent in spritzers. But my personal favourite is Graham Dougan who is undoubtly can coach the team straight into the top 4 after dinner.
No Klopps but we need a next klopp, next pep… Definitely ten hag fits that mould… Nagelsmann is not available which is a shame, he will work at RB leipzig for some time and then bayern or some top club will take him… My shout is def Arteta or ten hag. We need someone who will bring some totally new ideas, not someone who has been great and is now a bit past his time. Not saying allegri etc are like that, but they might have peaked already. Like when manure took van gaal who was way past his expiry… Read more »
Mourinho maybe? I hate to say that and I know he is very much hated and rightly so but I think he could put a fire in this team. Look at his Chelsea and inter teams, very solid at the back and not to shabby up front either. We have great attackers but a hopeless defense, with him and basically a new defense ie Bellerin, Holding, Saliba, and Tierney I think he could do something really good. He has won the top prizes in every country he has managed in with teams potentially not as good as ours. Seriously I… Read more »
Just listen to what you are saying man!!! If we hire moaninho I will stop watching.
I’d prefer us to hire a manager who isn’t a massive twat, thanks all the same.
He might put a fire into the team in his first season, but he’d set fire to it, lock the exits, and play the bloody fiddle in the second
Arsenalista, how dare you bring up that name?
Wenger In! Haha, someone had to.
Lots of people wanted to David C, but you’re the one that had the ball lolololololol
@Jean Listen, the fact that Unai didn’t drop Xhaka after his horror show performance at home to Spurs literally sends the message to the whole squad ‘If you perform poorly in a big game, it doesn’t matter, you’re going to start the next game anyway.’ In fact, he rewarded Xhaka by giving him the armband which is fairly maddening. So I am honestly not surprised people keep making really sloppy mistakes which are costing us goals every weekend. The players have to realise there are direct consequences to performing badly. If you’re perform badly, you get dropped. Emery has to… Read more »
Looks like his gripe with Ozil was personal now. So many players have been so much worse yet aren’t dropped.
Can’t be worse can they?
Recall Mustafi.
I can’t help feeling that the hate for Mustafi may have SLIGHTLY been the fault of Emery. The whole team play like they are unsure how they fit into this glacially slow move out from the back with short passes style. I wonder if Mustafi really knows where Emery wants him to be in any given situation. I wonder that about most of the team. Emery seems unwilling to change the team tactics when we’re in trouble, and perhaps doesn’t understand that at 2-0 up but not being massively dominant we are not actually home and dry yet. You don’t… Read more »
If I saw that bloody long post I don’t think I’d bother to read it.
Well said!
Fucking drop Luiz the clown and play Sokratis and Chambers. Chambers looked so solid and then got dropped.
If he sticks with the Luiz and Sokratis it just can’t be defended.
I don’t think the manager is serious. Arsenal is recent months very boring to watch. I don’t think this manager is capable of doing great things with the team.
Honestly speaking.. Except that our Real Madrid loan try to put in some spark now and then with his stylish play, otherwise our overall style of play recently is not only boring, but also confusing without making much sense.
I personally blame the CM setup more than the defense. Its primary job out of possession is to protect the back four. You could have peak Maldini back there and he would still be getting exposed by our wet paper bag midfield.
I think I will start watching the ladies instead of the men. They know how to defend, they score goals and show hearth.
If arsenal still sticking with Emery and his awful tactics, Auba and Laca will not renew their contracts and they will be gone. #Emeryout #weneedtochange
I agree totally. Emery has to leave, and leave now. We won’t make top 4 with this man.
It is evident he is EL level manager.
Freddy Ljumberg, at least, will give us a recognisable style of play. We can’t do worse under him.
Arsene stayed longer than he should have and we saw how than panned out. We shouldn’t make that same mistake again.
“Freddie Ljungberg will give us a recognisable style of play.”
Didn’t somebody say that about Ole Gunnar Solskjær recently?
Has he really achieved that yet?
No guarantee of success with an ex-player as head coach.
Emery needs to go. Its becoming a norm not to finish in the top four.
The defense and Manager are really killing us
Such a bad eeeebening.
If I was an opposing manager I would look at this Arsenal side and say “come on, they look easy to play against”. How many times did Watford simply by-pass our midfield with ease and had free runs at the defense yesterday? Even our pressing (a supposed strong point of Mr. Unai) is way off and disorganized. There were many times when 5 to six Arsenal players were drawn to the ball in the Watford half in a lopsided press. And each time the Watford defenders played through it, leaving midfielders like Doucoure spraying passes around like prime Xavi. Man,… Read more »
The pressing is half-arsed at best from us, just enough to draw our own players out of position but not enough to actually force mistakes or turnovers from the opposition. Hence they end up with 31 shots. Unai has had over a year now and he still hasn’t managed to coach the team in how to press or sit back, or how to build an attack in any way other than pass it to Kolasinac for the cross.
I wanted to vote you down, but frankly, you’re right. Not really any positives I can think of, that could be attributed to the manager. I’m not done with him, but he needs to design his game plans to the players we actually have. I’m tired of telling my colleagues “just wait till we get our defense sorted”.
We press? I must have missed that part of the game.
We actually pressed. Pressed the self-destruct button
Aye, well said.
spoken like a man down in the dumps…i feel for you auba i really do.
I really feel for Auba. He doesn’t strop like Alexis or Van Persie used to but he must be gutted and disgusted with the sloppiness of some of his team mates. The DNA of this team has not changes in years. Remember that awful 4-4 at Newcastle when we’d been cruising in the first half? We made Pardew look like a world beater. Don’t we all crave a solid defence? Why oh why do they persist in playing out from the back when they are clearly not good enough on the ball to execute it. They know they aren’t. You… Read more »
That 4-4 is totally different than this. If you remember, Diaby got sent off in that game (provoked by the ever lovable Joey Barton). There were 11 Arsenal players yesterday.
Aren’t these the kind of performances that drove our best players away? , seems like our defence always finds a way to cancel out the work of our forwards….
He’s right on both counts. Giving up too many and not scoring enough. 8 scored in 5 games? Not close to good enough.
2 against Watford should have been enough though!?
Ab and lacca will leave us, who can blame them – they should be playing champions league at this stage in their careers?
Well they’ll only have a year left on their respective contracts come next summer, so we’ll get below their market values if they do go then. What happened to Raul’s “we’ll sell if a player won’t extend before they have 2 years left on their contract”? I know none of us want them to leave, but it’s playing with fire, yet again.
It absolutely should have been enough, but our attack isn’t exactly firing either.
I’d cut our losses and bring in Massimiliano Allegri now. He’s the best manager available right now and would 100% sort out our abysmal defence.
Good call. Neither here nor there really, but can Allegri speak English?
No idea…but if he gets us playing proper football that wouldn’t matter!
The point Richie is making is…If Allegri can’t speak English, something most of the squad speaks in unison then how can he get us playing proper football and fix our defence.
Can Unai?
Great call! We need to move quickly now. Emery is a busted flush and must go before he can do any more damage. If we delay any more then any chance of a top-four finish will be lost. Let’s send the Spaniard on gardening leave and bring in Massimiliano Allegri this week. We need a manager who can sort out a defence and who can make the most of our midfield and forwards. Emery is the wrong man.
Fatgooner called Emery a bust ages ago and his comments would constantly get down voted and derided! How times have changed.
How does it feel to be right again Fats?
The good thing about having Unai as our manager is we dont have any real affinity to him and our judgement isn’t clouded by nostalgia, the fact that majority are calling for the his head after a draw says everything you need to know about how we all feel about Unai! He’s simply not good enough
Thanks
We get rid of Emery. Our theoretically best two full backs come in. We improve in defence without any other changes. We can never get rid of Allegri until he dies of old age.
Sounds like a criticism of the manager. As did Xhaka’s comments in the post-match interview. Sign that the team are turning on him?
Hopefully. What other manager would continue to play Xhaka in the first 11?
I thought Xhaka was actually ok yesterday, but he is infuriating limited physically. Watching him jog along towards his own goal when Watford were on a break and that moment he miscontrolled the ball and couldn’t get to it before it went out of play made me want to punch my screen. It’s not his fault he has so little athleticism, but it doesn’t make it any easier to watch.
Reminds me toward the end of Wenger’s last year. They seem either confused on what to do, or just have given up on some of the tactics. No plan B evident either. One could have just replayed the 5 minutes after they scored their first goal to the end of the game. Emery needs to make changes fast as that was a lost team out there. My faith in him to make those changes both tactically and with the team’s mentality seems limited at this point. Stepping up would be the simplest explanation, but we are all “scared”, so questions… Read more »
The manager needs to be sacked, not seeing any improvement where needed. Can’t defend or manage the games, poor substitutions at the wrong times. Should have let him go in the summer after failing to qualify for CL. We need a GG style manager who will drill the defence properly, conceding 90+ shot in 5 games is a joke. Granit is a joke, needs to be dropped alone with Side show Bob.
No, we need a manager who will make the most from our attack. You don’t drill the defence but you buy it. Basically, these days is all about reading the game and intercepting the ball. Neither Liverpool nor City have any defensive organization. They just play on the individual quality of their defenders.
What a load of crap.
Aubameyang is saying this but it could just as easily have been Sanchez’s words in the past, or even RVP’s. Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past and leave our best players with their noses out of joint. Top quality CB and DM in January please!
Centre backs and defensive midfielders can only be truly top quality when the team is organised at least to a decent standard. I honestly think you could chuck VVD and Kante into this team and things wouldn’t improve drastically. We’d be better, sure, but there’s clearly an issue with tactics and the way we’re set up. Worrying.
While I agree with that to an extent, it’s not as if Liverpool or Chelsea are lining up to swap them for Mustafi or Xhaka. Yes there’s a deep and serious tactical deficit, but the gulf in quality is real as well.
You’re dreaming. We have no money now. However, we have good players but a crap coach.
The above post was kindly lent to the Arses from 5 years ago. “Top quality DM and CB needed”.
10 years ago even, and yet nothing has changed!
Mate we could have VVD at centre back and Fernandinho at DM and still be shit with Emery as Manager. I know as fans we always get excited by new players but our biggest problem is Emery. We actually have a decent squad! Emery is just clueless. I reckon he could have this Man city squad and not even finish in the top 4.
We have conceded 96 shots in 5 games, more than any other team in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Surely these players cannot be that bad.
I get why the focus is on the defence. The number of individual errors is absurd. However, yesterday they had absolutely zero protection in front of them. Constantly exposed. For instance, Maitland-Niles was left one on one with Delofeu so many times. He’s an inexperienced defender who hasn’t even grown up playing there. Give him some support! Granit Xhaka also shielded the defence like a sieve. There is a lot wrong with our defence but the buck doesn’t stop there
No he wasn’t, both Douzi and Torreira played almost as right back, AMN is dreadful and should be dropped as a matter of urgency. Constantly out of position, giving the ball away and dribbled past, at this point I’d play Mustafi there instead.
If AMN was constantly out of position, what would you say about Ozil’s bodyguard on the left
Not much better, which is why we have to hope Tierney is the real deal
Not a bad point about Mustafi, I suspect he’ll play there on Thursday. I feel sorry for Maitland-Niles though – he is not and never has been a full-back – you can see it in his body shape when he’s defending. Deulofeu, a fairly mid-range top flight winger made him look silly and he’ll know that as much as anyone. He’s played on both flanks to help the team with Bellerin and others absent, has never complained about it and all the while players like Willock have been overtaking him in his preferred central role.
I’m not sure I feel sorry for him, he’s a professional football player playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
My guess is that he’s becoming a jack of all trades player because he has fundamental weaknesses in his game, for instance his passing can be shocking and his concentration levels are non existent. Apart from being quick I’m not sure what else he brings to the team.
I hope I’m wrong but if we’re to compete for champions league qualification let alone the title he’ll either need to improve or be improved upon.
Sure, i’m not saying i’m convinced by him at all. But he’s not a defender, he’s never said he’s a defender and he’s been asked to do a job as a defender for over a year. He’s become a jack of all trades because he isn’t allowed to be a master of his preferred position (whether he’d be up to playing in that position is another matter). I don’t think the issue is with him when he’s looking and playing uncomfortably, the issue is with the manager and the club for going into the season without a genuine right-back as… Read more »
Aubameyang please move to a better club and win a major trophy our club isn’t ready to compete or progress…you deserve better…and when you go please take laca with you and save yourselves from this shame..don’t worry it won’t be long before Pepe will follow the same route
And you can just take a running jump. Or go support the scum.
Not sure what formation is played by Emery, cause I always feel Arsenal are a man light in attack, midfield and defence
Time for the old 5-5-4 formation then? ;o)
Watching Xhaka,sokratis,kolasinac and David Luis and Emery gives me alot of pain
The expression on Auba’s face says it all. I fear that unless the club act decisively, making some big changes and soon, we could lose both him and Laca next summer.
No wonder that he is disappointed after the hard work he puts in to score brilliant goals only for our defending to throw it all away.
Gotta feel for the poor sod, all his hard work being undone time & time again, by dumb & dumber… won’t be long & he’ll want out…..
It’s silly to insist on playing out short in build up at the back with “scared” and clumsy defenders.Auba was to sign a new incentive based contract on his taking of Arsenal back to champions league. I understand his frustration. Yes we got the money from Iwobi en balanced our books on mikki but on the field they gave us depth.
Lmao at people who kept moaning Wenger plays his favourites just to see Unai play Xhaka week in week out
Daniel Farke for manager. He’s done wonders with Norwich. And he does have an identity and is likely to give us the flowing, attacking football we are used to.
Never took to UE from the moment he was appointed. What was more instructive for me was that when Guardiola was asked about him, he was simply politely complimentary. Guardiola is normally effusive about coaches he considers to be really good!
Troy Deeney was right.
I’m coming round to the idea that we need a Simeone-type manager to just sort out this defence and midfield, our attacking players have the individual quality to score from nothing.
I liking papa error to that of otamedi against Norwich you cant keep playing with fire and expecting it not to burn you. The manager who insist on us playing like this shouls be fired. Emery out. Daniel Farke in pls!!
If you re-watch the penalty we gave away yesterday, Xhaka is notable by his absence from the picture. David Luiz’s wasn’t the wisest attempt at a tackle, but I have some sympathy at the complete lack of protection that our defence got. Only at Arsenal will you find the solitary defensive midfielder caught up the other end of the pitch when we’re 2-1 up. What was Xhaka’s priority here, finding a third goal or protecting his team from a counter-attack? It’s easy for Xhaka to blame things on the ineffable psychology of the players (i.e. they were scared), but a… Read more »
For once Neymar and Ben Afar were right about this clown-coach. #cluelessEmery
Make him captain and we should be done with it. At least if we’re going to hapless in defence we can as well boost our attack in the hope we would offset the fuckery behind.
Make Auba captain? You would wish the Arsenal captain’s curse on one our best players?
Over the course of 38 games, I expect we’ll compete for a top4 position. I expect to see some shocking performances, we’ll concede a lot of goals, we’ll score a few, and young players will cost us points. Emery might lose his job, we’d then get a new manager kick, the new manager will be labelled the messiah, but ultimately the giant flaws within our squad will rise to the surface yet again., and the new manager will eventually be hounded out just like the previous two. Then around and around and around we’ll go……. There’s been a lot of… Read more »
He was taken on for two years. He was taken on to turn us around in two years. He is turning us around. We’re facing backwards instead of forwards. Literally so when you look at where 8 or 9 of our team are whenever we allow a goal from open play.
Fucking hell can’t we’re even making Auba sad, the happiest guy on earth.
Why can’t Emery just stick with a formation and the same players for at least the home games?
Coz he’s a shit coach and doesn’t know what he’s doing.
I get why Emery wants to play from the back, but why no variation. If teams know it can only go short, pressing is an easy decision and we’ll get regularly turned over with older players not accustomed to this style.
Also, why is Luiz not using his ball playing skills and just playing short. We have plenty of pace and I thought Luis would negate the need for Zhaka and let us have three mobile midfielders.
Luiz should not be playing. You thought wrong. May as well play Mustafi. Granit came up with two critical tackles yesterday to save us (one against the player let in by Guendouzi) who was bearing down on goal. Yet he attracts accusations when he was not the one conceding 2 penalties in 3 matches or the one misplacing passes in dangerous positions near our goal mouth. Why we do not go long is Auba is poor receiving aerial balls and frankly weak protecting the ball (as oppose to Laca) There is reason to vary our approach from the back, we… Read more »
It’s all about who he has around him. Torreira next to him and he plays better. Midfield should also include Willock and Ceballos. Keep those 4 together we would see massive improvement.
As much as many are calling for Chambers and Holding to take over on defense there is no way Emery will go with two such young players together in the middle in league games. I could see him bringing Holding in at some point, but he’s got to get some EL matches under his belt first I would think for Emery to have confidence playing him in a league game. I would pair him (when he is ready) with Sokratis as Sokratis generally has been solid and is one player that we could call a leader on the field. For… Read more »
Its not practical. We should not be so facile as to make stupid knee jerk reactions like that. Luiz is a concern for me (has been). NOT any better than Mustafi (if not worse). But Sokratis is OK. He has had issues with groping players in the box unnecessarily to risk of penalties but this is one instance of a poor pass. I would think the sensible (and less panicky) thing to do is keep Sokratis but pair him with Holding for now. Save Luiz for small cups and europa. I’m not sure why Chambers does not get the nod.… Read more »
I reckon he will leave at the end of the season if we dont get in the champions league. I dont blame him to be honest. What i dont get though is why we cant buy any good defenders? Literally what is the reason for it? Seems crazy how long this has been happening at the back and nothing is being done about it.
Allegri out. See if Ten Hag will come and Keown in as a coach for the defense
Won’t make much difference.
It will be rebuild all over again and more time out of CL
Our buying practise has not been spot on.
If we were really ambitious, we should have brought in at all cost Luis Campos from LOSC.
I know we needed a new attacker this summer, I’m not saying I wasn’t thrilled by the Pepe signing but honestly : this is a classic pattern for Arsenal. We saw it with Van Persie and Fabregas’s generation. We bolster the attack over two years with players like Lacazette and Aubameyang. We neglect the defence, and despite having the resources to improve it. The star players get bored of drawing and losing because the doltards at the back can’t defend. The star players leave to go to the star clubs (it pains me to say it). We have to rebuild… Read more »
Saliba is unproven and will saddle us with restrictions going in for another Cback. As is, we did not push fully to get a proper solution in summer bc we committed to him too early and for way too much. BUT defense starts from the top. Not enough effort by Pepe for a 72m signing yesterday when you consider the output of Deulofeo. We could have got similar output for less from Ziyech or Fekir. Also Ozil, Auba as good as they are going forward have to put way more effort defending. We were to loose and open yesterday without… Read more »
If Emery doesn’t drop Luiz and Sokratis, it will be his downfall at this club. Guaranty it.
It’s unfathomable that 2 experienced CD, who have played at all levels of football, are making these stupid mistakes. I’d rather Chambers and Holding develop than watch these insulting performances week in week out
As much as I agree I think the fact we allowed so many shots against us indicates a more fundamental problem with this team than individual errors. We are getting worse as a defensive unit game by game and the “coach” is clueless as to how to rectify. Things need to change sharpish otherwise he should be shown the door.
How are you going to drop BOTH of them? We don’t have better options. This is mostly due to how we prosecuted the summer. We tried to keep an over the hill work horse in Koscielny (who did us a favour) but then we decided we won’t do the right thing bc we jumped the gun commiting to Saliba already (who is existential in availability) and so we ended up with what in any other team (except in the deluded minds of certain Arsenal fans who want to see what they want to) a BAND AID panic buy in Luiz.… Read more »
Practical much?
Shit better change come January, namely a CB incoming.
We got Pepe because of the need for a winger. When Bellerin and Tierney add to the offence Pepe will get more comfortable and produce.
In the meantime, our CBs are doing poorly and we need new blood. Get Chambers in there. Overhyped a little but doing well and deserves a first team chance vs Villa on the weekend.
We won’t be buying a Cback. Our friend Sanlehi bought Pepe for 72m ticket price to wow the fans rather than for any sense of economic efficiency. That is going to weigh on us and our future spend. Ditto Saliba. which is why it was such a poor choice. That is 27m committed as well on a player who is as yet played only 19 senior matches. That’s not IMO the best way to spend the money. Granted they are paid in stages over time but its going to have bearing on our spend down the line (particularly if we… Read more »
Nobody can do anything with the tactics Emery deployed yesterday. They were the same as we used against Liverpool…They don’t work, and 5 mins into the game i knew it…but because we have AUB, a complete viper up front we were ”ok” because Watford are awful! Niles was very poor but on a hot day seeing both teams suffer the quality was deteriorating and with Pepe not helping at all (I’m sure under Emery’s instruction like against Liverpool) Niles was almost dead on his feet playing against two players every attack. Seems it falls to Guendouzi or Ceballos to get… Read more »
Why is Granit costing us? Did he give a way the penalty. Did he give away 2 penalties in last 3 matches? Did he make a stupid pass 8 yards out near his goal to Deulofeo? Did he make 3 or 4 errant passes or was fleeced around our box as Guendouzi did? Who was the one who stop the player bearing in on goal following Guendouzi’s poor pass infield? Who made that last ditch tackle which if it was Torreira you would be wanking over? Stupid thinking. All due respects. BUT more reflective of the idiocy in the people… Read more »
Xhaka generally plays the ball too slowly and in this game he wandered too far upfield too often to be of much use in stemming the flow of traffic against us. You leap to his defence saying that he didn’t make the mistakes in this game, which made a nice change, but he also didn’t spend enough effort getting back to shield the defence (Not that he is alone in that, we certainly don’t move like an organised team). The thing is you point out “that” last ditch tackle. You are correct. He only did it once. He is not… Read more »
Feel sorry for Auba. He and Lacazette have almost singlehandedly carried the team under Unai Emery. Swap both of them with Giroud and Chamakh and Emery would have without any doubt got us relegated.
Emery’s decision to play the kids Nelson and willock was pathetic
They were bullied and with the ball no proper end product
And those gaping holes in the center…god Watford had acres of space in the middle
Unbelievable tactics
Plug the holes and never play xhaka again
This is the sort of stupid comment that needs addressing. What exactly did Xhaka do wrong? was he the worse player yesterday? Did he give away a penalty. In fact has he given away 2 penalties in 3 matches? Did he play a stupid ball short to deulofeo? Did he misplace as many passes as Guendouzi? Who was the one who put in the last ditch tackle to stop the player bearing in on goal following GUendouzi’s stupid pass? I bet you won’t think it was Granit but he was a Swiss. Why don’t you do yourself a favour and… Read more »
Okay Xhaka fan…chill
While you vehemently argue he didn’t do wrong,I’m asking you
What is it that he actually does for the team
So angry to see us dropping points like this again. If we don’t make top four, we will lose Auba for sure. I really hope we will get better. Waiting for Hector and Rob to return and David Luiz should fight for his place.
Fluff podcast today Inconvenient truth – NOTHING HAS CHANGED at the back 1) Yes tactically the gaffer has it wrong. Play out from the back without nuance or interpretation is suicidal. Fair and obvious point. 2) we did not do the business properly in the summer. Too many fans were having a wank bc we spent money.BUT : a) Pepe – OK still early days but I did not see effort from him yesterday. In fact if anything our play suffered bc BOTH fullbacks were overwhelmed. Partly this was due to the diamond but also effort from the front wide… Read more »
Record length well played mate! FS
I rarely agree with Santori.
For what of this comment I can understand (interpret) I have to say:
Well said.
(With all those words, top effort!)
Simplistic knee jerk comments. 1)Replace gaffer. You want another 2 or 3 seasons rebuild and out of CL? 2)Buy Cback. we committed to saliba (expensively). we have 6 Cbacks. mot going to happen. 3)replace Granit – Why? He was not the one giving away balls in critical area (see guendouzi or Sokratis) or the one conceding 2 penalties in 3 matches. Things need to be worked out by Unai. he’s got the tactics wrong at Liverpool and now Watford which is a worrying trend. He use to be quick and decisive making the right changes last season but he seems… Read more »
And as mentioned, its all fine to say we should vary our out ball from the back but we need to work on a solution. Auba is poor competing for the ball. I feel Pepe (right) and Kolasinac (left prob our best option to have someone close to midway line receive and retain the ball with physical strength and a bit of quick feet. BUT Sokratis or Granit should be given responsibility to make decision in the moment how to play out be it short or long and direct if opportunity presents or to midway line. We are very handicapped… Read more »
Santori, do you actually expect people to read all you say? It is too much pal!
“Copy and Paste” seems likely.
I came into work this morning and my boss who is a Spud on steroids and HATES Arsenal had the following to say: “Gooners, what happened there, eh?”.
He’s right. What the fuck happened?
Last season Mustafi was the scapegoat, now he’s in the freezer and we’re playing our worst defence ever. I’ve coached in youth/ lower league and know a bit of defensive tactics. What Arsenal is doing is basically violating all defensive principles known to mankind. Although I’m as pissed by stupid errors as anyone, I’m even more frustrated of the mistakes done all over the pitch. It’s like a horror show for 90 minutes and I can’t believe that a team in PL can play like that. If Emery and his staff cant fix OT , he’s not the right man… Read more »
Will there not be any on the whistle videos this season?
I’m not saying we shouldn’t drop Luiz or Papa but our issues go way beyond them. This looks like a side that could have Van Dyk and Ima Greatdefender playing centre half and we would concede a bucket load. Our squad actually has a lot of quality, what ever we want to say about individuals the squad should be beating bottom of the table Watford eaisly. We look badly coached. No plan. No obvious tactics. No shape. I still don’t understand our midfield. I think we now have the players quality wise but they have no idea what they are… Read more »
Nothings changed since Wenger left.
Emery has had time and lots of money and yet the same mistakes are still being made.
Be honest, would you be gutted to see Emery go? I wouldn’t…
Rubbish. With Wenger we had a shape that the players understood. They may not have pulled it off as often as we wanted but they at least failed in a formation they understood. If Wenger had a fault then it was that he was too easy-going with the players and didn’t seem to like dropping them after poor performances, so you have to wonder what their incentive was to work harder. That flaw is certainly part of Emery’s makeup too. Has Emery ever taken on a team that was underperforming before? I’m sure he was hired because of his EL… Read more »
A lot has changed……we are entertained far less often.
This is officially the most lame-brained, witless comment section I’ve ever seen. Literally. It’s a handful of games into the new season, and all these plastic fans are screaming for a new manager. Has everyone forgotten that Emery’s had just a bit over a year at the club. All you geniuses (Ten Had, Allegri, Arteta …WTF?), recall that Liverpool when klopp first showed up … they were awful for a full season and change. Same with Man city when Pep The Magnificent (douchebag) showed up. Neither team won anything for a couple seasons and – and this is a big… Read more »
#EmeryOut
Give me back my arsenal