Arsenal drew 1-1 with Sheffield United today. It feels like we always draw games…which is because we do. So far, 11 of our 23 Premier League games this season have ended with honours even.
It’s very frustrating, especially as the teams around us seem to be ballsing things up as often as we do.
Despite this being our worst season in ages, we’re still only 10 points off fourth place in the table. If only we could string a run of results together…
Shkodran Mustafi, who played the full 90 minutes today, believes the Gunners are improving but that we still struggle to manage the tempo of games.
“We dealt well with most of the things that were going on, on the pitch,” he told Arsenal.com.
“We had opportunities and this was not the game we wanted, we didn’t want a game that was open like this, going from one end to another.
“We wanted to have more control which is not always easy, we had to deal with a lot of long balls and to win the second ones, and, they’re a team that does that well.
“We dealt well with that, but I think when we had the opportunities to break, we had a lot of space to attack them.
“That’s where we could have done the second goal and the game would maybe have been a little easier. We have to continue, and go again and learn from every match we play.”
He added: “We have to learn a lot, but since Arteta came in we play better football.
“We feel more comfortable when we’re on the pitch because we know what we’re doing and we know what he wants us to do, and now it’s all about putting it on the pitch for 90 minutes and not only in parts.
That’s where we lack the most at the moment, We always have parts where we play very well and what we planned before the game and sadly you lose a little bit of control and then it becomes a completely different game.
“We just need to learn how to control the matches better and to play our game for 90 minutes.”
While the result wasn’t to the players’ satisfaction, Mustafi at least acknowledged that the crowd, for the most part, recognised the efforts of the players.
“I feel that we are united,” he said. “I think we stay together and the dressing room has always been top during good and bad periods.
“That’s the only way to get out of it and I think if we want to be successful, we need to stick together, players, staff and everyone at the club. Obviously all the people that comes to the games [too].
“We want them to be happy but it’s always good when a game like this finishes and you go round and applaud and they are [applauding] too, it shows that we are united.”
Well… Yeah
I know. The blinding pearls of wisdom from His Excellency, The Great Football Prophet Mustafi. Mind blowing. Herbert Chapman, Bill Shankly, Brian Clough – eat your hearts out, fellas.
Martinelli is making his case stronger to retain that left attacking spot even when Auba returns. If Laca doesn’t find form in the next couple of games, it might well be him, who is benched.
Also, Saka seems competent in covering the LB position.
Despite the improved performance I hope Arsenal are looking out for solid players for CB and MF positions, if not this window, certainly in the summer.
We don’t need to sign that dodgy psg left back. Instead we need to sell beckenbauer to whoever the fck will buy him then get a decent cb in for once.
Mintiest – Totally agree mate. That signing has got ‘WENGER DEFENDER’ stamped all over it. Those days are hopefully done and dusted – and fucking good riddance to them.
*Mintoes
I was also impressed with Saka. He’ll have ups and downs but for a third choice left back he has done very well and I don’t think we need to sign Kurzawa; save the cash and effort for other positions.
Lacazette does a lot of thankless work. It was Lacazette who picked out Saka, and left a gap for Martinelli to run into. It was Lacazette who sent Pepe through a couple of times. It’s always Lacazette who sets the tempo by pressing from the front, he’s relentless. It was Lacazette last week who stepped out, and created a space for Auba to step into. I don’t think you can just measure Lacazette’s contribution by his goals, it looks like he’s being asked to drop deeper, and then have the wide players attack the space behind him. The problem we’ve… Read more »
Being False 9 by instruction does not mean that he has to be absolutely unavailable for the ball. And hard work for 50 million? I swear the Twerkazette fanboys are as bad as Ozil fanboys
Why don’t you make a derogatory word for arsenal fan boys as well as you aren’t one clearly.
Well, I’ve been supporting Arsenal since 1971. A time when, I’m willing to bet, you were just an itch in your Dad’s pants. I’ve seen some crap players in my time – Geoff Blockley, Ritchie Powling, Brian Sparrow, George Wood, Chris Whyte, John Hawley, Lee Chapman, Gus Caesar Martin Hayes – none of these names will mean anything to you of course – and more recently the likes of Eboue, Squillaci, Senderos, Sanogo, Denilson and the rest of Wenger’s over priced panic buys. And Mustafi is one of the worst. It makes my teeth itch thinking about what we paid… Read more »
I think everyone recognises Mustafi isn’t up to it, and his confidence is on the floor. I just don’t see the point in kicking him. Numerically we’re over stacked at centre half. Mustafi, Sokratis, Luiz, Holding, Chambers, Mavropanos, Saliba. If we sign another, without letting one or two go permanently? It’ll leave us in a terrible negotiating position, other clubs can count, and they’ll either low ball us, or wait for a loan, knowing we only have 25 squad places, and we’ll need to clear the wage bill. Until someone offers to take Mustafi off the books, we’re probably stuck… Read more »
Rich – The reason that people like myself have had enough of him is simple – the brain farts, as you call them, will never ever cease. They are the reason why no self respecting club has come in for him and why we’re stuck with him. This is hardly a case of fans getting on a players back without good reason – we have not qualified for the Champions League ever since he joined. What on earth possesses people to believe that he’s now a born again Beckenbauer, that he won’t at some point between now and May, screw… Read more »
Well said! There is no point kicking one of our own when his confidence is already on the floor!
It’s Jeff Blockley. Powling was decent but injuries curtailed his career. Chris Whyte was on the verge of going to the world cup with England and was a very good player. Sparrow was only ever a squad player. Apart from that…………
Whyte was crap. It was his miss-kick that allowed Walsall their winner at Highbury in the League Cup, one of the worst results in Arsenal’s history. ‘On the verge’ doesn’t quite equate to actually ‘going’ to the World Cup, does it? Powling was awful as well. Sparrow may only have made a few appearances, but they were memorable for being laughably bad. As for misspelling Blockley’s Christian name, I’ll give you that – like I say it was nearly 50 years ago. What sticks clearly in the memory, however, is how useless he was.
You’ve clearly had a sour view of a lot of Arsenal players over your many years of supporting the Gunners. I’d like to hear your views on the muddy League Cup Final loss to Swindon. Which absolutely useless loser was to blame for that one?
That side was one of the greatest in Arsenal’s history. Men who actually worked and played for each other as a team – non stop – as that cup final in disgraceful conditions will testify. On a half decent pitch, Swindon wouldn’t have had a sniff. As it was, they got lucky. Bob Wilson said many years after that the spirit of the first Arsenal Double side was born that afternoon. He wasn’t wrong.
I’ve been supporting Arsenal, like you, since 1971 and believe you me, no one was worse than Igors Stephanovs!
Stephanovs. Another Wenger joke. Mustafi is giving him a run for his money though.
I’d throw in Pat Howard and Igor Stepanovs to the mix and I’d still rather have either at CB than Mustafi.
Heh? Ozil is static? He’s one ot the smarter off the ball mover constantly running and creating space for everyone be it on the flanks or in the box. Apart from that I more or less agree with you.
Özil is not static. He’s always on the move. But I agree with you about LT and GX not providing any threat from the midfield. I’d love to see a midfield pairing of Torreira and Ceballos. While Torreira would stay back and do the dirty stuff, Dani would be instrumental in moving the ball to the final third, in addition to complimenting Özil and presenting himself further up the field to add to the goal threat.
Willock has also shown some potential to get beyond and into striking positions?
Ozil’s static with the ball* He rarely runs with it, he virtually never drives forward, rarely busts a gut to get into the box, never looks to get beyond Lacazette or Aubameyang, hardly ever shoots, or gets into shooting positions, rarely scores, rarely assists. Ozil is smart on the ball, finds little pockets of space, rarely gives the ball away, links play, keeps the ball in tight spaces, but usually far too far away from the goal, and everything’s in front of him. He’s not good enough, he doesn’t give us anywhere near enough cut and thrust, everything is just… Read more »
That’s Rich.
He’s creating chances for our forwards that’s his job!! Would be interesting to see how many he’s conjured up since arteta has come in.And quite frankly they ain’t finishing them. He created 4 against Sheffield United even though having a slightly quieter game then United and Chelsea where he was instrumental in all our attacks going forward. He makes smart runs of the ball of the time the problem is other players just ain’t spotting. I get the criticism of him and I believe we do need more goal threat from midfield. But ATM I still believe ozil is the… Read more »
What an absolute toolkit. Just GO.
Really unnecessary.
He was our only option today and played mostly well.
Holding could have played…..
OK, he was our only match fit option at CB today. Is that better?
Not really. But what you’ve just said speaks volumes about how desperate we STILL are for decent defensive cover.
Don’t knock the guy when he actually plays well.
Well, he’s helped screw up our Champions League chances for the fourth season running, but yes, he had an ok game. So, well done Mustafi. Congratulations mate. It’s only taken you a mere three and a half seasons to get there.
OK then, a player improves a bit but keep pounding him for past failures. That’s bound to keep him on the path of improvement. Excellent leadership.
Wake up mate, for crying out loud. You’re talking about him as though he’s just come out of the Youth Team. He supposedly a seasoned international. Even yesterday he kept passing the ball to the opposition. The only reason he got a game at all is because we had no one else in that position fit enough to play. Do you honestly believe that if the entire Emirates faithful hero worship him from here now onwards, that he’ll erase his ingrained propensity to produce a never ending stream of almighty fuck-ups that will cost us yet more precious points or… Read more »
I guess it’s lost on you that through injuries he is what we have at the moment and we should be grateful that he’s improved. That’s not your way I assume. He’s shit and that’s the end of it. Lucky for us that’s not how Arteta works. No good manager does.
What, you think Arteta wouldn’t sell him if some club was stupid enough to come in for him? The only reason he’s still here is because no one wants him – and we’ve got to be ‘grateful’…..?! You apologists. All the same.
But while he’s on our books and he’s the only option because of injury, do you prefer he improves or plays like he has has before? Or is that question too complex for you?
I said that he had an ok game. Yes, I would love for him to prove me wrong and start playing like Tony Adams – but, as we all know – we’ll those of us who don’t live in a Mustafi Wonderland – is that it’s not going to happen is it? Or is that too complex for you to understand? Clearly with your continued hero worship for an overpaid has been, it is.
He had an OK game but you’ve spent the entirety of this thread barking about how much you hate his guts. You know it’s possible to consider a player not good enough and still be able to acknowledge when he does well and not suddenly become his biggest fan in the process?
Look, in my opinion he’s not good enough to play for The Arsenal. That’s just my opinion. And, to be fair, I never confuse opinions with facts. So, here’s a fact. Ever since he joined us, we haven’t go on to qualify for the Champions League the following season.
Do you do parties?
That’s a bit rich coming from someone who calls himself Gutbukkit.
He likes parties but it’s rare for the opposite to be true.
And that’s rich coming from a Jock.
He kept passing to the opposition ?…. He looped a cross Field pass to martinelli, a chance created and the fans applauded him.
If we don’t support our players we’re in trouble
Poor Mustafi. Does he think we have to go all out for that second goal because are CB’s aren’t good enough to park the bus, and hold a lead? How many times have we seen the same lead evaporate in the last third of the game as we chase another goal. And Mustafi would be better served being mute on these occasions. Take a look at the goal again. He really has no position. Ball watching and AMN is the only one to react. Fleck makes a shot he probably could do 3 out of 10 times, but he has… Read more »
Oregoon – mate, your wasting your time trying to talk sense to these Mustafi worshipping imbeciles. When he royally fucks up again – and again – and again – as he will, as both you and I and any intelligent Arsenal fans know only too well, these plums will still be backing their hero. He could have us relegated and they’d still sing his praises.
Only you know.
When will fans accept reality, this is no longer a league where 4 teams dominate. EPL is perhaps the most competitive in the world and that means more draws and losses for top teams.
You mean unpredictable due to referee inconsistencies?
He’s right about the quality of the PL now, but you are also right about the quality of the refereeing, even with their miracle cure-all VAR.
I thought I heard boos at the final whistle but if Mustafi says he heard applause then I won’t argue.
He’ll be running for Federal President soon. I say run, but he’s too slow to catch it and he’ll probably end up on his arse and blaming AMN.
Yes, there were a lot of us who applauded the players off the pitch. They deserved more and were as disappointed as we were. There were no boos.
Don’t pass to the opposition, that’s one way.
Your sound defensive advice for our bearded Anointed One will, I fear, fall on deaf ears. It’s like asking a fat kid to walk past a fast food chain.
That is a disgraceful thing to say. If it were my blog you’d be gone now.
But it’s not your blog is it? So shut up.
It’s no use trying to reason with some of these “fans” they thrive on being nasty.
Oh dear God in heaven. So, because some of us don’t want Mustafi at the club, we’re not ‘true fans’……? Seriously, have a word with yourself. Grow up.
To me being a fan means being a supporter, and not tearing players apart at every opportunity. People like you, who thrive on being negative and toxic and ripping players to shreds, and admitting that you hate them and they can do no good even when they play well, are the ones who need to have a word with yourselves and a long hard look at your bitter little selves. Seems I’m an Ozil fanboy, snowflake, Twerkazette boy and a multitude of other things that I’ll take as compliments, because I’d rather be those things any day than be like… Read more »
We miss Aaron Ramsey. Yes he was injury prone but never has it been more obvious when we make it such hard work to create chances and take them all over the team if Aura isn’t there to save our bacon.
A… Aura Borealis??! At this time of year??
My phone’s spellcheck is both aggressive and inept.
This is one of the better auto-errors.
I’ve had to have some awkward conversations with my Mother.
Aaron’s injured again apparently.
He’d still have more goals than most even with a stop / start season, but I should have guessed as much!
Ramsey premier league stats, 262 appearances for 40 goals out of 459 shots. That’s an average of one goal every 6.5 games and over 11 shots a game. I don’t understand what we’re supposed to be missing.
Mesut premier league stats, 178 appearances for 32 goals out of 202 shots. That’s an average of one goal every 5.5 games and over six shots a game. But of course he’s rubbish according to a lot of people.
That should be 11 shots a goal and six shots a goal, not game.
We’re missing goals, creativity and drive from midfield. We know Ramsey can provide that even if you’re cherry picking stats and including games when Ramsey was bloody 17 FFS.
I wonder how much better his game would be if he’d stay on his fucking feet – Always with the ‘going to ground’ this one
If he just packed his bags and left, I guarantee his performances for Arsenal would improve 100%.
Let’s not forget 2-3 times Mustafi literally passed the ball to the opposition not too far from the box which in turn put pressure on us immediately. I don’t care if he had a so-called good game, his mistakes are a reminder that even if he has a relatively alright game he is still Mustafi. Sod the PR nonsense Arsenal pulled with him earlier in the week. We need better players in this squad if we want to progress and his pending exodus has prolonged long enough.
It’s only prolonged because no one will touch the useless fkr at his current wage level. So he pulls an Ozil and stays put content to remain a bit part squad player until his contract is up and he ends up back in an euro journeyman role never to be heard of again.
I can’t believe how many Mustafi teenyboppers we have on here. 1Direction fans have got nothing on this lot.
He’s right. I did not think Mustafi or the defense did anything particularly wrong. There were a couple of (as always) questionable moments but you get that even with Holding and Sokratis. On the whole we conceded again like he said bc we did not manage the game well enough. It wasn’t as much of a usual second half capitulation but the game was too open with long balls like he said and we did not control going forward, looked tentative. many times there was space for Torreira, Saka and AMN to run into but we tended towards the safe… Read more »
What a relief that you or any of your type is not coaching Arsenal.
Sheffield United and Crystal Palace are above us in the league and both teams have been playing some good football at times, as have we. Without the bias that we obviously have towards our own club, plus our experience of being a Big Four club for many years, we would not be so quick to write off teams like them. They got above us in the league because they have been better than us this season. We really are a midtable team now. We need to admit that to ourselves before we will get any joy out of the majority… Read more »
Exellent goal line clearance by Granit.
Responding well to Arteta. he is playing in the same position so perfectly understandable.
Of course…most fans prefer to stay silent when Mustafi or Granit do well.
It’s not that we’re silent – it’s that we can’t get a word in edge ways with you mediocrity-loving fan boys toasting your idols Xhaka and Mustafi and their joy inspiring 10th placed heroics.
Yeah and u need a one way ticket to a nice warm country where they play football at a much lower standard.
Oh I dunno. He’d fit in great with that lot up the Seven Sisters road. In fact, he’d be perfect for them. You want to see Spurs fail to make the top four? Sell Mustafi to them. Because we’ve never made it into the Champions League while he’s been here.
Another manager, and still, arsenal just can’t find a fuckin win… I fear the Arteta inspired optimism will fade really quick, unless he wins a few now..
Even if you’re Mikel Arteta, you can’t be expected to make Chicken Soup from Chicken Shit, with Mustafi granules. How this German Frank Spencer continues to bask in the online glow of so many mediocrity loving numpties is beyond me. One ok game and suddenly he’s Frank McLintock. He was ok, nothing more. It’s because he’s been so utterly shite, that when he does actually manage an ok game, people are praising him on high. He is still an accident waiting to happen and he always will be.
Oooops we dun it again. We need the 2nd goal!
You need more than that with Mustafi on the pitch.
Musti played well, he was a bit rusty, which is to be expected, and he misplaced a couple of passes, which all players do, but he defended well. If you look past your prejudices he had a good game.
And if you look past your prejudices, you’ll note that in all the time that Mustafi has played for Arsenal, we have finished each league campaign outside of the top four and missed out on Champions League football. Go figure.
If one player was really able to influence the entire team for four years then football is no longer a team game, its a lottery. I’m thinking you are failing to see past Mustafi to notice that half of our squad has been below par for a season and a half now. I’d be willing to guess that Wenger leaving, and our pathetic attempt at replacing him, had more to do with our problems than the presence of Mustafi. Half our squad were here because they wanted to play for Wenger. Take him away, put a shiny reputation but limited… Read more »
Once again, I would refer you to the mistakes Mustafi had made during the past three and a half seasons and the goals we have conceded because of those mistakes and the morale of the team due to the final results of the games where those goals were conceded. A chain is only as strong as it’s weakest link. But, by all means, believe what you want to believe. With the exception of this season, we’ve had our fair share of goals in the past few years from Alexis, Giroud, Laca and Auba. Yet we still didn’t qualify for the… Read more »
Tree at back, involving Holding in stand og Nilsen.
In second half Cebalos instend of Ozil how cant play more than 60 minutes.
In front Martineli in midel, Lacazet second.
Leno, Mustafi, Holding, Pepe, Toreira, Xhaka, Ozil, Sako, Lacazet, Martineli.
Ceballos has to be fit for that plan to work. He would need to prove he’s the player everybody now thinks he is. He wasn’t getting regular games before he joined us. There must be reasons for that.
He’s said this before…
Many times. He’s like a piece of stuck vinyl. At least Wenger’s cliche sound bites were amusing. Having to listen to this patronising dribble from a guy whose defensive ineptitude is one of the major reasons why we haven’t qualified for the Champions League since he arrived in 2016, is beyond nauseating.
I’m surprised he was able to comment without reflexively raising his arm and pleading for offside.
Or falling flat on his arse – whilst two seconds later a ball end up in the back of a net behind him