Sunday, October 13, 2024

Report: Arsenal 0 – 3 Man City (inc. goals)

Result: Arsenal 0 – 3 Manchester City
Competition: Premier League
Date: 16 Dec 2019
Venue: The Emirates Stadium

Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Chambers, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Torreira, Guendouzi, Ozil, Martinelli, Pepe, Aubameyang

Subs: Martinez, Luiz, Willock, Nelson, Smith Rowe, Saka, Lacazette


Arsenal were taken to school by Manchester City as they went down 0-3 at home to the Premier League champions. City blitzed Arsenal with 3 goals in the first half as the Gunners struggled to impose themselves in the game.

This result makes it 1 win in 12 games for Arsenal who have a series of tough matches, including Chelsea and Manchester United, on the horizon.

First Half

After rotating heavily for a midweek Europa League game, it was no surprise that Freddie Ljungberg reverted to the team selection that made an impact against West Ham.

It was a very offensive line up with Maitland-Niles and Kolasinac taking up the full back positions and Ozil being trusted to keep the game ticking in midfield while dropping back to make the numbers when defending against City’s metronomic passers.

The only chance for Arsenal to get something from this game was to attack and Martinelli led the way with a powerful run within the first minute. He took on 2 players and Ederson had to step out to push the ball out for a corner.

However, it only took Man City 30 seconds to hit back and score with their first chance on goal. Jesus received the ball in the channel and beat Chambers to square the ball across the box. The Arsenal players were all sucked into the box but were not aware of their surroundings as De Bruyne received the ball unmarked to lash in a scorcher on target. 0-1 to Man City.

Arsenal continued to look for an equalizer though City seemed to be able to keep them at an arm’s length while operating at second gear. City were patient and they picked off Arsenal’s defence on the counter on the 15th minute mark as De Bruyne replicated the same move that got them the first goal. He took on Chambers and squared the ball for an unmarked Sterling to ghost in from the right and finish from close range. 0-2 Man City.

The Gunners were tidy in possession as they sought to regain some confidence after conceding two goals. The midfield trio of Ozil, Torreira and Guendouzi kept the ball moving but they could not break down the City defence. In his desperation, Guendouzi even resorted to a silly looking dive to win a penalty – the Frenchman was lucky to not have been given a yellow for that embarassing attempt.

Arsenal’s evening looked to go from back to worse as Kolasinac, our only fit left back, went off injured as he rolled his ankle after being tackled by Rodrigo. Bukayo Saka was on course to replace him at left back but with the youngster waiting on the sidelines to come on, Man City punished Arsenal again to make it 0-3. De Bruyne rolled passed Guendouzi and hit a spectacular shot with his left foot from outside the box to have the ball curl into the bottom corner.

The Belgian’s incredible prowess with his long shots was on show just a minute later as he wrapped his foot around the ball to take it towards the top corner at pace. Arsenal had Leno to thank for as he got his finger tips to the ball to deflect its path towards the post.

The Emirates was silent as injury time approached. City have been lethal in attack thanks to a Kevin De Bruyne midfield masterclass. While Arsenal had some tidy moments in possession, they did not play at a fast enough pace to trouble City. Defensively Arsenal looked confused as they were neither doing a high press nor engaging in a deep block.

Ljungberg had his work cut out for him during the half time team talk.

Second Half

Arsenal came out of the tunnel eager to raise the tempo of their game. The forward line was more aggressive with their press and the defence took a risk in pushing higher. It was this approach that got Arsenal their first decent chance of the game when Aubameyang got his head to a cross from deep only for it to go wide.

In what seemed like a surprising move by Ljungberg, he called off Ozil on the 57th minute in place of Emile Smith-Rowe. The German playmaker showed his frustration by kicking his gloves in the air – definitely not the best way to react to a substitution (or to dispose of your gloves).

City continued keeping Arsenal at an arm’s length by keeping possession and applied a bit of gamesmanship with some tactical fouling to halt the home team’s momentum.

The last ten minutes of the game was a non-event as Manchester City kept the ball expertly in a glorified game of rondo – completing the humiliation for the Gunners.

This was not a game where fans expected Arsenal to win but the lack of drive and application should be a cause for concern, not just for interim coach Ljungberg, but for the Arsenal hierachy and any prospective managers considering the role of head coach.

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Don Cazorleone

Let the scapegoating begin..

Rob67

Well one thing is abundantly clear. Anyone who thought Emery’s shortcoming stemmed from an unwillingness to play that waste of space Ozil, needs their brains testing. He’s not our only problem by any means but he was anonymity personified once again, today.

Mootilated

Name one player who was not anonymous today? (besides Martinelli)

Tim

Leno kept it 0-3 to be fair, could have been 5

Rob67

I am just incredulous that Ozil retains the support of even a tiny minority of Arsenal fans. His performance in last seasons EL Final should have been the end. His ‘fan club’ must watch games on a different planet, to the one I’m seeing.

Martinelli's Belly

In fairness ì we had a playmaker who can also press and defend I’d be all for it but we don’t.
Ozil usually keeps the ball and passes better than anyone we have. Maybe ESR can become that but he’s so young and only coming back from injury.

Avo1

I think city slowed it down to be fair

Tim

Yeah I am saying 5 taking that into account. He did save 2 that could have easily went in.

Avo1

I know someone is going to use this to excuse Ozil for being piss poor. It’s high time we accept that Ozil is finished as a top class player

TeeCee

Oh, there’s that bloke… What’s his name… Can’t remember…

loose_cannon

I found it strange that people were calling out for Ozil when we had one of the worst defensive records for some time and one of the most passive midfields in the league. Yes creativity was problem but so was physical intensity off the ball, closing players down and being compact and Ozil doesn’t help there. If anything he’s emblematic of the passive football that has led us to this point. None of that is to say this was his fault today in particular, just that he was never going to be the answer to our problems.

Alex

And then how wonderful we became when he left!

DaDude

Actually we didn’t become wonderful. But it seems we can get an equal performance from someone who costs us about 10 % of Özil – or even less.

Arsenal 12

Fans like you destroy our team, if you open your eyes like others you will see that Ozil doesnt care about Arsenal he walks on the pitch and his behaviour is disgusting! Stop supporting this guy for god sake!! He doesnt care!

nikoniko

Ozil doesn’t play alone. His counterpart Guendozi was always too slow, and not progressive with the ball and always caught out. Emeryball messed the entire psyche of Arsenal football. The slowness in transition is all Emery’s making. The disorganization in defending is Emery’s tactical remnants

loose_cannon

Actually our problems with transition and passivity predate Emery by a while! But he (and the board) squandered the opportunity to fix them. Lessons need to be learned and building a solid spine needs to be our top priority in the couple of windows.

Fred Garvin

Completely agree. The team is trying to get out from under the nightmare that is Emeryball both psychologically and physically.

Cycs

That’s such a lie…as much as I like wenger, our cluelessness started with his final days and the board are totally to blame for it. They lack proper ambition and so cannot push for any form of drive or motivation for their staff. They lack a definite sense of direction Jensen do not have a clear cut plan for their manager to work with or on! They’ve let us all down n are too proud to accept their failure.

Cycs

*sense of direction, hence*

Reality check

Is that Ozil that lets the whole team cut like fresh meat, no one puts the challenge in untill opponents have measured the shot and picked their corner.. is it Ozils fault that our CM and defense can’t string a few passes together to get the ball up to the attackers.. everyone was bad, you just wanna pick on someone..

A P

Haven’t seen youR post for a while now, Rob67. Just waiting for a chance to stick the knife in.

ScotchEggsRule

Is it just a fluke this situation happened?

Mick Malthouse

It’s not that bad! We just lack some ability, desire, heart, a plan, leadership, direction and good players. Everything else looks ok.

Dave M

Mentally tough bunch we got ourselves…really up for it!

truj

Beware of the Chinese troll army mates!

SB Still

I see green shoots – we weren’t scared or passive possession.

I actually hope Freddie stays till the end of the season on the (vague) hope that Arsenal hierarchy have a clear idea of who they want but not available immediately.

They should give Freddie the rest of the season and the coaching staff to stake claim because anyone we bring in has to be the right man for the job.

Anders Limpar

What ever you are on I need it injecting directly into my brain! To see positives in that!!

SB Still

Man, you are in for a long hard season. For your own good get used to the idea that we are going to finish mid-table this season. It’s not the end of the world.

KSE is here to make money, so either they have to fix the slide or sell. I’m sure Arsenal did this bad and worse before the Wenger years, as fan we have to be in the long haul. As owners, they might not be able to.

Viva la prof

Was quite interesting to hear Duncan Ferguson speaking after the Everton game, the usual questions from the sky interviewer trying to get him to say he wants the job, but Ferguson was adamant that Everton need to get a top manager in

Comedian

Freddie needs to play the team he wishes. Just like players coming back from injury, this team needs time to snap out of Emery era. I say this because you can clearly see the kids playing better passing and with a tempo than the first team players. Possession doesnt cut it these days its the precise passes and tempo of your game that would make teams like City take a step back. United did exactly that, we need to take the handbrake off and just keep developing the tempo. Don’t worry about results just wish this team finds the Arsenal… Read more »

Deano

Comedian…… you certainly are.

Comedian

Would you be interested in buying tickets for my next show ?

Deano

No worries can’t be worse than watching the Arsenal at the moment.

Snagger

It is obviously City’s fault. They have the audacity to come to London with a better team than us.

Nairo254gunna

Not even worth the effort. For a big club, we are so bad at this football thing.

Fingers crossed we find our rhythm in the Europa League because as far as the PL goes, this season is over.

GunneRon

Not scapegoating here but I believe the main problem has been our midfield since the latter tumultuous days of the Wenger era. Not compact enough to protect our defence or skilled enough to control play through the centre of the pitch and play quick passes forward. Today, Guendouzi and Torreira should have stayed close together and not allow the midfield to be bypassed so easily. Torreira is almost always outstanding when he plays DM for Uruguay. The problem is Guendouzi who, neither has the positional intelligence to sit and protect the defence, nor the box to box ability to make… Read more »

Greg in Seattle

I feel that Guendouzi is squad depth on any other big team, but by comparison seemed fresh last year and that coincided with the lucky (in retrospect) strong of results. Then Emery anointed him. He should be PL depth for us and a starter in the Cups.

Neutral on Ozil but feel he’s our only true creator and is right to be playing. He sure suffers without solidity behind him though.

Exiledgooner

Bugger.

anon456

Ok guys, I was ever so gutted and depressed at halftime and am ever so thankful to city for not putting our youngsters to the sword, but I’m looking at the positives now…. AMN another good job at right back, I’m growing to really like him. Saka not only an outstanding prospect winger wise, but can also do a good utility job at left back if necessary, put in a good performance. Smith Rowe I’m really excited about, he glides and avoids tackles like the elite players do. Leno was a outstanding buy, no1 for years to come. Martinelli has… Read more »

Chipper 49

Love the positivity chap. Hopefully you’ll be proven right before too long. ?

Dave M

Get the youth out there now!!

Spanish Gooner

I have a suspicion one of Lacazette/Auba might go in January, with Eddie coming back to play second striker now we only really can focus on the Europa

Viva la prof

Oh well at least the Chinese didn’t have to see that

Hi-Jay

The chinese would’ve loved to see that, tbh.

Paul Roberts

Their leaders yes, but not the people.

GD10

Fuck the Chinese (government).

Jean Ralphio

Don’t mean to get political here but seriously!?

Anders Limpar

On a serious point where are we going to offload Ozils 350k a week now he has completely poleaxed China as a destination. Turkey (assuming we fund it)? MLS? I don’t see many options other than that. Mayyyybe one of the Arab states at a push.

Spanish Gooner

I think that possibility has been completely ruined by his latest (completely justified) comments. There were links to DC United, but after the NBA was burned commercially in China when one of their managers publicly supported Hong Kong, I can’t see any american team taking a chance on him either now.

Peevish

nadgers to this utter mediocrity

GunneRon

Shit defence !
Shit midfield !
Fuck off Kroenke and Gazidis for turning our once great club into this sad mediocre team today.
I urge fellow Gooners to be strong.
It’s gonna be a long way back to the top.

Peevish

We can get back – we are too big and great a football club to not. But the directionless drift we are in and have been in for a long time now has to be stopped. And I’m not sure we have the people at the top to do it. In fact Im pretty sure we don’t.

Watching the game today – literally the only players I’d be gutted if we lost tomorrow are Leno, Auba and Martinelli. Thats pretty sad.

Olivije Žirod

What you see is Raul’s and Vinai’s legacy in the making. Since Gazidis left we lost sponsors, alinated Koscielny, not renewing Ramsey’s contract, purposely destroying the culture of the club, treating long serving and loyal players as expandable… This is all mainly on Raul. We also got Emery because of him or at least we didn’t get rid of him before. If Gazidis stayed we would be in a much better position.

Red-Sky

LOL. Good joke.

ScotchEggsRule

Yeah Gazidis was great, wasn’t he…?!

Runcorn Gooner

Am I the only one getting fed up with our players falling over to try and get free kicks. Guendouzi and Terreira are the worst offenders but it seems to run through the team at times.

GraeB

Don’t omit Pepe from the list. Standing waving his arms when he’s been touched instead of getting back to tackle.

Ron

A sign of desperation and a lack of ideas what else to try. And a billion miles from being one of the big problems we face.

Adrian

I feel sad for Freddie. Martinelli is gem, hope he doesn’t leave Arsenal. As much I hate City players, KDB is class. He is the kind of player we need. Only positive was Martinelli and Arsenal’s fans singing “We love”

Atom

I love Freddie but it’s becoming obvious he’s not ready for this job on a full time basis. Even against West Ham the performance was so poor for huge periods that a half way decent team would have killed us off. We need to get someone in full time before this gets even worse

bob

Based on what? He has no staff or time to change anything Emery has done. We gave Emery over a year and still people said give him time, well fucking give Freddie time before you write him off. You could see the anguish on his face with some of the plays our players went for. Let him change that.

Comedian

Freddie is US. Put any manager in the world at the moment they will struggle and Freddie doesn’t even have all the resources he should have. But for me the smart thing he can do is play the youth more and work with first team behind the scenes. The first team is clearly feeling the effects of terrible coaching they have been receiving undee Emery. Our finest performances of the season came in early games of Europa league where it was mostly the kids.

Atom

@bob Look at the performance of Everton since Ferguson took over or even Spuds since Maureen – we’ve had no new manager bounce at all under Freddie. Freddie has overseen a very easy run of fixtures other than today with 1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses. Our one win likely would have been a loss against a decent team. There are countless examples of experienced managers taking over and improving under performing squads – Chelsea won the CL with an inexperienced mid season appointment, the Europa league with Benitez and the FA cup with Hiddink. There are countless other… Read more »

bob

@Atom. That’s true we haven’t had much of a new manager bounce. But usually you see that when a new manager comes in with some backing and at the right time. Freddie has come it with no coaches and instead of sacking Emery before the break and giving Freddie that time to do something, they dithered with Emerys sacking and now Freddie is being hung out to dry. I’d say the main thing to judge Freddie on is the youngsters, who he has actually worked with and coached for some time. And frankly, those are the ones coming out of… Read more »

Atom

@ bob We simply can’t afford to spend the season allowing someone to learn on the job unless we are dead certain they are the long term solution. The young players generally emerged with a lot of credit under Emery as well so while it’s good to see that’s not really the basis for giving Freddie the job anymore than it would justify keeping Emery. The manager is responsible for the overall results which really aren’t improving nor are the performances. I would repeat there are countless examples of new managers taking over under performing squads and immediately improving the… Read more »

Des

The difference with us we have a poor team, Chelsea had good players playing for them we don’t. Our squad needs a major overhaul from defense to attack.

Comedian

Just hope we don’t make Martinelli the captain. ?

Oregoon

Freddie was the U23 coach, became Emery’s assistant and now the manager in less than a year’s time? This has been and is a great opportunity for him to show what he can do. Even he has said it is a great opportunity, so I can’t feel sorry for him. This is good experience for him no matter the outcome here at Arsenal. What looks to be sorry is the support the board, or whatever they call themselves, is giving him. I can’t see how any staff can properly analysis another team’s strengths and weaknesses without more resources.

Tim

That second half was an act of kindness by Pep. They could have taken us apart so badly.

GraeB

Probably saying to Arteta “Do you want a job here??”

Dusko

Yep, happened in the previous games when we got demolished on the first half. I think he likes Arsenal, would be good to come and sort mess this out.

Henkamp

Typical Arsenal: Have one of the finest summer spendings ever and be shit all season!

Facts&BS

Robbing Pete to pay Paul doesn’t qualify as finest summer spending. Raul/Stan played arsenal fans and the fell for it hook nail and sinker….they just moved players around….sold some players and got most senior players off their payroll. They then used the money from that to buy players. The next step was just to sell fans the idea that they got rid senior players in order to promote youth….young players need senior pros to guide them but at arsenal the only senior pros left are the ones the hierarchy couldn’t get rid of. They didnt spend money on the likes… Read more »

Spanish Gooner

This is pure revisionism. I think 90% of fans and commentators agreed that Arsenal left the summer stronger than they entered it, and Martinelli, Pepe and Saliba in particular are hugely exciting signings that will be very important for us in the future. Raul should have pushed the button on Emery sooner, granted, but let’s not try and pretend we weren’t all delighted going into the new season.

Nick

I actually think there’s not that much the new manager could do to improve this squad – I expect a mid-table slog to the end of the season – and so I wouldn’t even bother attempting to arrest our footballing decline by bringing in someone with football experience. I’d just get someone who has the personality to inspire our best players to stay at the end of the season. My shortlist would be:

Captain America
David Attenborough
Asterix
Barack and Michelle Obama (maybe get them on a deal?)
Dwayne Johnson

Rob67

The answer for an inspirational, take no prisoners Manager isn’t any of that lot. It’s Diego Simone. But he won’t be coming. Who does is anyones guess.

GD10

At this point I’d take randy marsh. Give us back our ‘tegrity

Heavy Gunner

You forgot Obelix,Nick!

Serpent

Obelix is suspended indefintely for breaking the rules concerning enhancing substances…

Henkamp

We are officially a shambles – ruined by the idiots running this club. Playing a sluggish game with this manager appointment thing will only further drag us into a deeper mess. We botched it when we had chances to snag Klopp and Guardiola years back, and we are now looking to make the same mistake again. Look at that team, and you will see a team that is NOT being properly coached. Lopsided press, disorganized defensive block etc. I know our defenders are bad, but surely they are better than defenders from the likes of Sheffield who are doing a… Read more »

Tim

I don’t care that Ozil kicked some gloves. Problem is he walked. Guendouzi did it too last time he was subbed. You’d think after the Xhaka incident these guys would take the hint, but no…

Henkamp

Yeah, I am referring to the casual stroll plus glove-kicking moment.

Tim

Yeah, sure. I’m just saying that IF he’d run off, then he can do whatever he wants. I have never cared about players going straight to the tunnel, kick gloves and bottles, etc. Just run off the damn field when your number is up!

Adrian

I will be heavily downvoted but KDB is what we need in mid field and not Ozil for 350k. ESR did more in 30 mins than Ozil in 60. I know Ozil is not the only problem but he symbolizes the problem we have at this club.

Alex

Honestly ESR has brought absolutely nothing! No energy, no pressing, no defensive input… please…

Comedian

ESR will be our KDB I hope.

Vonnie

One day, but not today.

Chibs

Comedian, Has to start next game, even if it’s a team ozil shoul feed on.

Fred Garvin

Sorry, this is just false. ESR changed absolutely nothing about our attack or our defending.

Kelvim

My interest in Arsenal is fast sinking..
.

Nikoniko

Then you ain’t a fan, no less an aficionado! Bounce bro.

Greg in Seattle

If you aren’t from North London you pick your club to support on other aspects. Style, values, legacy, whatever. Those three things are fast draining from this club. When we lose the broad international support and revenues that come with it…I fear the downward spiral.

Dan

Considering Freddie doesn’t have a backroom staff, our midfield isn’t good enough and our defense is non existent I don’t think any of us realistically expected any other result. If any of our senior players want to leave then they can go ahead non of them really deserve to wear the shirt. And the board why the hell are they setting Freddie up to fail?

Henkamp

Leno deserves to wear the shirt and I do feel sorry for him.

truj

And our attack is pantomime

Red-Sky

At least now the narrative of ” we have a talented squad ” will cease.
Easily the worst Arsenal squad in decades. Coupled with managerial crisis and sub-bar recruitment, no wonder where here now.
Ever wonder why we had no ” new manager bounce ” ?
It’s because this is the squads true level.

Karmafrench

Or maybe because our new managers didnt have any time ? And maybe because he don t have à coaching staff to help him change things ? And why those two things ? Because of our clueless board.

Red-Sky

How much coaching does a “talented squad” needs to beat the likes of Brighton at home? And Norwich away?
Who in the world can teach this mediocre bunch how to tackle a moving ball? how to block a shot? when to make a foul ?
oh please.

Karmafrench

A lot when the prévious coach made them play like a bottom league team. More when you need to regain automatism and your confidence is gone.

Here in France the magnificient Pires was the co comentator. And he said this team was full of talent. Do you think you know better than him ?

Red-Sky

Yes I think he can be wrong. Even the best in the game can have misjudgments, so it’s pointless seeking someone else’s opinion for validation.

Gooner from India

Not sure whether I should feel sad to see Arsenal lose or be happy that it was only 3-0

Nognir

Schoolboy defending costing us again. For the first Chambers does not put it out when he had the chance. For the second, Kola does not bother to toe poke the ball while it reaches Sterling.
Players need to be drilled to block tge ball in the box as if there life depended on it.

Nognir

I think Saka played a much better defender when he came on. He even toe poked a ball away which if Kola had been on pitch would have been left alone for Foden to bear down on goal and score 4th. Clutching at straws and all that.

Tim

Yes but the schoolboy “midfielding” was even worse

GraeB

Guen just ball watching and chasing shadows instead of tracking. Socrates the same. AMN the same.

Nobody can even threaten a tackle let alone make one. Citeh showed the benefit of a tactical foul in midfield.

Vonnie

I thought AMN was OK, he never stopped, and was brave. Guendouzi was really poor, he was just running around doing nothing again.

Karmafrench

Players at fault of course. And more for the bunch of dumbass who run our club. But, maybe i m the only one but i blame the fan too. Stadium not full. No noise. Leaving before the half time. Leaving before the 80th minute. Booing. That was that hard to cheer after the first goal ? We know our players are low in confidence. Our coach asked them to show love and they did the opposite. Its cool that some of the fan did it at the end but that was way to late.  For the impact of confidence just… Read more »

Henry II

I was at the game and the fans were singing and cheering for Arsenal even after the second, initially frustrated yes due to the schoolboy defending, but was still behind the team. The 3rd killed us but even at the start of the second the vocal fans were still behind them. It’s this poor recycled narrative that we are awful fans that don’t help. It’s simple, fans will cheer and get behind any team/ player that shows commitment and effort. You don’t need to be world class to run and tackle.

Ron

Yes. We lost three nil because of fans going home when the score was three nil. The club is run by visionary geniuses, and we have nothing but world class players dying for the badge every game. But we’re shit because of the fans. OK.

Deano

Absolute embarrassment, even they felt sorry for us and took the gas off. We cannot defend, hold the ball or midfield and we are redundant up front. Geez West Ham must be dreadful. An enormous job for whoever takes the reins of this bunch.

Mikey

Painfully outplayed. Can’t see us finishing in top 6 this season. The schedule is very hectic, not enough training sessions to do some proper work, from basic stuff to start. Bringing now the new manager may only work if the team steps up and starts playing bravier. But is he gonna do some magic? Not really.
We’ve never been so disorganised, for 20 years watching.

ScotchEggsRule

Top 6? We’ll be lucky to stay midtable…

Viva la prof

I think a scotch egg might cheer me up

GraeB

We didn’t even beat any of the bottom 3 teams; this is a relegation team if we continue like this.

Fatgooner

Men versus boys. City could have scored 6 if they wanted.

We are a million miles from anything capable of winning major trophies.

New owner please.

goonero

I genuinely wondered if that wasn’t a bit of Arteta asking Pep to spare the blushes of his future charges.

They probably just want to preserve energy for their actual contests that Leicester and Wolves will give them.

Oregoon

Josh got his vote in.

Amusa

We need to force Kronke out. Or become irrelevant like Pool did for 10 years.

Alex

WHAT.A.DIFFERENCE it was once Özil was no more on the pitch! Amazing! More of this, please Freddie! And Saka instead of Kola and Luiz on the bench. Laca not used. Genius tactics!

Adrian

@Alex, Serious question, are you Arsenal fan or Ozil fan?

ScotchEggsRule

That was as one sided a game as I’ve seen us involved in. Good job city we’re playing at half throttle.

GraeB

Remember when we did this to teams? The 5 we once scored at Citeh?

Of the memories!

Rocastle7

I was at that game at Maine Road. We played them off the park and City fans waited outside to give us ovation. We were taking the piss out of Giggs missing open goal in cup, a few weeks before. The Citeh fans loved us for it.

Man I miss those days. Knew it wouldn’t last for ever, but never thought it was going to get this bad!,,,

Pakgooner

MK Dons or Colchester would’ve given us a tough time today. City went easy on us
We are beyond shite

Ozilian

This is beyond managerial issues…
At the beginning of the game.. Even after their first goal…we were the one playing..they were just resting..nd once they got the ball…our midfield is as open as curtoise two legs..
No drive no aggression..no fight no passion..
We have a better squad than United at the moment..but look at them.. even when they draw..they show some fight….
Maybe another manager can impact that into the players.. I don’t know..
nd can someone explain why lacazzete didn’t play??
That was classless… Thanks for

bob

The “fans” who booed at half time are twats. The proper supporters who were cheering the team at the end are the real MVPs tonight. If we are going to improve we need that. We aren’t going to improve in two weeks with Freddie not given any coaches or time to work with the squad. We are just continuing to pay now for months of poor management. But we can improve, and losing to the Champions today isn’t an indictment of our ability to get better. Either the board neer to get their fingers out and appoint a new manager.… Read more »

roastimbou27

I’m sorry but this is totally wrong. The tickets are the most expensive in Europe. Fans are entitled to express their frustration at the utte shit that arsenal have served up AGAIN. The passivity of the team is pathetic.

Yes I feel for Freddy, and those players aren’t his, but it’s still absolute shit. Martinelli and Leno are the only two who can come off that pitch with any credit today.

bob

I get that argument, we buy tickets so we have the right to voice what we like. I also know its an emotional thing, letting out frustration. But logically, moaning at half time doesn’t help. Maybe that’s the positive/non-realist side of me talking but I always think that if a team knocks 3 past you at the half, then you better be fired up to do the same to them the second half, and booing doesn’t help that. Honestly though, I’d boo the fuck out of the owners and board. They deserve it. Freddie’s post match interview basically echoes this.… Read more »

GraeB

If Freddie could just show us that, whatever training time he has, can be used on sorting simple defensive duties out, we may feel happier. What was his role under Emery? The same problems existed then.

GD10

2 hours there, queue up for 20 mins for searches, go 1 down before getting in. Play like shit for remainder of game, 2 hours home.
I didn’t boo myself, but I’m not going to criticise those that do. At least they are there.

GraeB

Oh for a short journey like that each time!

ScotchEggsRule

Twats in your opinion…but twats actually at the game. Where you there?

John C

Compare and contrast Ozil with de Bruyne?

Alex

Do the same with the entire team…

John C

But let’s start at Ozil

De Bruyne £280k a week
Ozil gets paid £350k a week

De Bruyne scores goals and has numerous assists
Ozil plays like a weak little bitch

Who would you rather have in your team?

Karmafrench

One is playing with à proper midfield and defence. The other in a team where the opponent can go from defence to attack in two pass.
And don t tell me its because ozil doesnt défend. I didnt see de bruyne doing it either.

John C

Really, Fernandinho and Ottamendi a proper defence?

ScotchEggsRule

Both multiple trophy winning players at City…your point?

Mootilated

What is it that Guendouzi does exactly? We have no midfield and no defence.

HamiltonGunner

He runs. Then he dives. Then he runs some more. He is all over the place and leaves us so exposed because he has zero positional sense and ball chases all over the park. Combined with the fact that his decision making is glacial and we essentially have zero counter attack when he plays he is a disaster waiting to happen every game he starts. Look at the second and third goal. He tries to “defend” and gets walked by like he isn’t even there. I am not defending Ozil but he gets roasted for his “lackadaisical press”. Guendouzi does… Read more »

Mootilated

I never liked him tbh. He played really well once against Spurs and that’s about it

roastimbou27

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Guendouzi is kack.

HamiltonGunner

100% agree. He doesn’t offer our team anything. There is no end product.

truj

Is he the new Mustafi/Xhaka/Özil/Louis/Papa?

GD10

Hes a youngster and shouldn’t be playing as much as he does.at his age.
Behave.

HamiltonGunner

He definitely shouldn’t be playing as much. Someone earlier said he should be squad depth and I agree. He should be playing cups, lower tier Europa League opposition and lower table teams to provide cover when we need him.

Making him an automatic starter was one of the worst decisions Emery made.

GraeB

He has potential but needs direction and coaching.

Olivije Žirod

I really don’t see what is that potential in him. What is he good at it? Potential wise Willock, ESR and even Burton are all ahead of him.

HamiltonGunner

He had potential.

As a long distance jogger.

Jean Ralphio

We need to manage our expectations. I don’t know what to make of that performance. Again passing was slow. Maybe Freddie should start starting our youngsters. Do we not have a DM in the academy?

Goonerink

We had one of the top dm prospects in Europe. Emery didn’t want him.

Vonnie

Bielik is a 6’2″ hugely talented Polish international DM who was played by the academy (pre Freddie) as a centre back and was offloaded by Emery without even a chance. He would have been ideal for us.

goonero

Big rebuild ahead, I’ll give project youth 2.0 my full backing. Arteta came in as a player to restore some semblance of order to the Arsenal, can he do it again as the boss?

Avo1

I love Freddie but not playing Laca is a stackable offence

Henry II

Can someone smarter than I please tell me why our defenders refuse to tackle players outside of our area, but instead just jockey them into our penalty box. I would honestly like an answer as I have noticed this year on year and I don’t understand why you wouldn’t try to tackle, press or close down?! But hey I’m not a coach so there must be an explanation…

Oregoon

That is exactly what Manc did to us. Notice that by about 65 minutes both Rodrigo and Gundogan had yellow cards from stopping our transition. We needed to do more of that, and obviously, should have kicked DeBruyne into next week.

Arsenalista

Get pochettino or simeone, we are hopeless. We have to do something

GunnerJ

Rumours say we are looking for a manager with Arsenal DNA yet we’ve let Wilshere, Ramsey and Iwobi all leave… Upper management quickly getting rid of any Arsenal DNA at this club, the team is becoming unrecognizable as to what we are anymore.

Tim

I get where you’re coming from, but how many games have Wilshere played since he left? What about Ramsey? Iwobi was sold for a hefty sum.

Olivije Žirod

It is not about how much they play but just their presence is massive to have at the club. We have rid Gibbs, Walcott, Giroud, Koscielny, Cazorla, Wilshere, Iwobi, Ramsey and at last Monreal in the space of 2 years. Every one of them played a great part in the dressing room. We got rid too many of them too quickly.

GunnerJ

Fair enough, I just believe that the role they played in the dressing room was important and we are lacking that. The armband is being passed around player to player when we need someone to be a real leader that cares for the club and isn’t looking to jump ship when things go bad. Wilshere and Ramsey have their injury issues (Wilshere especially) but they fought for the club

Zadok

Although this catastrophe lying at the managerial core, some players simply forget the kudos of playing for Arsenal. IT’S NOT BANAL TO BE A GUNNER!

Skip To My Lou

Your life is so miserable. You actually had time to piece together a match report.

Benriz

Even United are better than us again now. When will it stop? New owners? How? How do we get KSE out? Serious question, because I have no idea!

UpNorth

As a non UK citizen I visit Emirates at last once a year and must either buy «packages» with criminal overprized hotel stays or buy tickets through unoffical channels with prices a druglord would be proud of. Not any more. Next time I’ll just walk to the stadium ticket office and get prime seats for a reasonable price. The downside is of course the risk of getting pissed on by the opposition , regardless who.

Dylan Amey

Basically, what we learnt today was that, the love child of George Grahame and William Wallace couldn’t fix this defense. It’s quite remarkable really…And it’s becoming positively laughable watching people drop there formations and line-ups that they think might solve it… Holding-Luiz, chambers-sokratis, Luiz-Holding-Chambers…

Paul Roberts

We did nearly ok against he best. I thought Pepe was a lot better than he has been, and I think Martinelli will be the next Ronaldo! But that’s just me with my sunny side disposition. 🙂

Sagalout

Just what was Chambers doing for the first goal!!!!!! He’s in front needs only to kick to touch, but steps inside lets the city player past & cross, I mean that’s basic defending

Ace Boogie

Chop it up. Play the majority of that team that ended the game. Esr martinelli Willock guen torreira saka and co should all be playing. EL makes things interesting/difficult but you could play the “experienced” players in that comp and see if we can sneak into CL but we are not that club anymore at the moment. We need to be real with ourselves a massive rebuild needs to happen. Blood the young ones for the next 5 months for them to be ready next season, at this point they should get a game against every team. Our defense isn’t… Read more »

tanned arse