On a disappointing result…
In the context of the game we weren’t good, they were better and if you look at the game as a whole they were the better team and deserved to win.
On struggling to play through United’s high press…
I think it was pretty evident that if you don’t retain the ball and you don’t create situations where you can retain the ball you’re going to be pressed.
We made the distances too short and if you do that you’ll get pressed and United pressed us well today. We couldn’t play our game in the first half and we saw signs of it in the second half but as a whole we were poor. They were better and there’s only so much I can say about it Tim, to be honest.
On United disrupting Arsenal’s game…
We didn’t deal with it, they cut distances short for us they cut off angles and we didn’t deal with it. But if you struggle to pass the ball from A to B you’re going to find it difficult. But congratulations to Manchester United, they were the better team and they’ve invested heavily in world class players and we knew this was going to be a massive test for us.
GOAL!
It's homegrown @ellatoone99 with a lovely finish!
Look at what it means ❤️
Finally @ManUtdWomen make the pressure pay, but can they hold on?
Watch LIVE 📺https://t.co/oRKaD5gwbM#BarclaysFAWSL pic.twitter.com/AhDUA2tiok
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) November 8, 2020
On whether United are title challengers now…
It was always a situation where they were going to be a challenging for the top 3 and tonight was an indication of that so all credit to them.
On the impact of second half substitutes Kim Little and Jill Roord…
It was great to have them back on the pitch we’re a team that is reliant on that sort of player, it’s nice to have one or two options off the bench that can give you what you need, we haven’t had that in the last few weeks. This challenge is gone and forgotten and We are at fault, but we have another challenge next week.
On whether Arsenal paid Manchester United too much respect…
It’s not really about respect, it’s about having the ability to do what is needed in the circumstances and we didn’t, they were better than us. We will analyse and review like we always do but we have to accept that they were the better team on the night. We’ll look at the tactical structure, the organisation and what we didn’t do right but in the end we weren’t able to cope with what Manchester United threw at us.
On bouncing back against Chelsea next week…
Every week in this league is big. I keep saying the Readings, the West Hams, these teams are all tricky. They’re all big games and you need to prepare accordingly, we need to be ready for these challenges and these big occasions and in the end we’ll see whether we are capable in the big moments.
Very disappointing defeat, hopefully the men’s team put it right! #COYG!!!
That didn’t age well
What I don’t understand is how we can be so good against most teams yet so poor against the top 2/3 and why we keep having so many injuries. Can’t see us winning the league this year if we don’t improve drastically when playing direct rivals!
At moment we are getting worse in those games, not better… I understand that we missed about half of the starting lineup, but still. It is not just that we have lost all the big games this season, it is that we have been beaten deservedly and we really haven’t showed up in any of those. And our problems have been same in all games. I don’t understand what our gameplan was supposed to be today… We asked players to do things that they just not are capable, but it is the same story in every big game this season.… Read more »
Yeah consecutive defeats to City, Chelsea, PSG, City, Chelsea and now United. It does seem like we have run out of ideas in how to approach these games and there seems to be a psychological block there too. It’s definitely a worry.
If the performance today is the precursor of next match against Chelsea, the predicted outcome would be in Chelsea’s favour of 2-0 or 3-0……Just wonder why wubben-moy was being played instead of a more experienced Leonie when playing a solid team like ManU?
Joe doesn’t rate Leonie at all… he doesn’t play her in big game if he has the opportunity not to. I don’t think Lotte was the problem also. She had maybe the hardest job of any our defenders, to play against Heath, and she mostly got it done, wasn’t good, but better than many others today and got very little help from beth. She is young and getting better every game. Leonie isn’t much better playing ball out from pressure. It is sh`t that our 2 first choice RB’s are injured, but playing Lotte has at least benefits for the… Read more »
Did Leo play midweek? Like with Kim and Jill he did not want to rush them, in his Defence. But next week there is little excuse for that. Our right flank was burning the whole time. It was not good from Lotte. Not having proper Fullbacks is showing. But the whole performance was very poor.
I assume with bringing back our Injury FC players.
Montemurro never wants to rush back players. We don’t have an enormous number of injuries–but everybody is out for long stretches. It’s become incredibly frustrating.
i think Lotte was chosen with an eye on her experience in the US, and physical aspect too. I dont really fault her. I think it was tactics, mental prep and coaching.
Simple math…..Lotte was not amongst the latest England team call up, whilst Millie turner and Ella toone from ManU were all being called…..
Lotte was not our issue today. For the most part she kept a world class winger fairly quiet and in truth Leonie made no difference when she came on. Virtually every comment on here is suggesting we played badly but the irony is we didn’t really have too many problems until the much hyped USA duo went off. ManU are a good team and you are not going to be dominant anywhere on the pitch and beat them 4-0. What I am beginning to notice, and it is what cost us all 3 points today, is that we do not… Read more »
Leonie I think wasn’t regarded as fit for 90 minutes. Her, Jill and Kim got some minutes v LCL and none of them were considered fit enough to start.
I don’t agree with Joe that every game is difficult. Sure, the gaps are closing but he needs to admit that there is something off with the way they handle the actual big games.
I saw no dedication, no fire to win today. I don’t think the girls underestimated Man U here, but something was up.
By the way, the coach mentioned the team was not able to cope with what ManU has done….who was not able to cope and react? Again, the coaching team or the players? Or both? Keep reviewing and analysing, and keep losing difficult games….
Unfortunately, it’s hard to even fairly assess this team’s performance in big matches because Arsenal never have their best 10/11 on the field. We haven’t had even close to a healthy squad in two years. We were missing 5 players today who might have started or come in as a substitutes–many starters today–Evans, Nobbs, Catley, Beattie and Maritz. So the Gunners were depleted both on the field and on the bench. What’s more, while Little and Roord came on at the 60′, they were both playing for the first time in weeks after coming back from injuries. We started two… Read more »
Oh boy, where to start? I want to quote Klopp after Aston Villa: If we learn from our mistakes, then it’s a result. If we don’t from them, then it’s a loss. We have to do it with this. But I think we haven’t done this till now with any loss. Lotte was burned alive and the starting midfield couldn’t keep up. But we were always reacting to United, didn’t have the energy and we were always looking at our feet instead of looking up and making a quick pass. Leah was our best player. Without her, it would have… Read more »
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again Joe needs to be replaced this team is going backward under his leadership.
Nonsense
Tell me the same after we get turned over by Chelsea yet again.
We are not going backwards but everyone else is going forwards. We have improved but so has everyone else. There will be more and more difficult games as all WSL teams adapt and build in the professional era. There is still a large gap top to bottom, although it is closing, but rather than 2 or 3 top teams there are now 5 (ManU and Everton included). It seems that many folk on here expect Arsenal to be beating ALL teams by double figures to nil when it just cannot happen. City and Chelsea have both dropped points, City 7… Read more »
Cast your mind back to the period between Vic Akers and Joe taking over!
You mean the place we could be heading to if we are not carefull !!
The latest comments by Joe on the loss to Man U say it all, throughout the interview all he can do is praise United. Joe says nothing constructive about our girls, take away the phsyco babble of transition , low block etc and Joe appears to have nothing left to offer. IMO we have a great team that are not getting the right management they need to take on the top teams in the WSL.
Same sentiment…instinctively Jill Ellis could be the right one…..
Bugger! We are going to have to beat Chelsea at least once this season now!
Unfortunately, this match is essentially the death knell for this team. When we cant even compete with Utd, it shows how we have really stagnated or even regressed. The same excuses now brought out for a non top3 clash. Our hope is to beat the rest, scrap what results against chelsea and city, and hope they screw up. If we dont do the first, what chance do we have? Frankly there were enough warning signs where the 5 straight wins glossed over the cracks. I am just concerned about how to rebuild this team, especially when we lost all the… Read more »
Yeah I have to say, the previous games might looked convincing, but apart from Reading weren’t convincing in the long stretch. I think agewise we don’t look too bad or too out of position to rebuild. Probably Jen, Viki, Kim and DVD I would consider a bit too old for the long run. Apart from that most of them are like 24-28 which makes something of a rebuild easier and quicker. Were there great defensive talents apart from Lotte and Leah (calling them young talents)? I think with what we got offensively, there is very little room for development. And… Read more »
“When we cant even compete with Utd”
Again nonsense!
Like many on here leaving negative comments you seem to be overlooking the fact that United really are a top team now. I firmly believe they are now more dangerous than City.
Sure the front line had an off day but in the main we contained a very good team at their home limiting them for most of the game to taking shots from distance. One lapse cost us the goal but you are calling for a complete squad revamp and a new manager!
I think fans critisism has some merrits this time and Joe has to think how to get those fans back to his side. Talking doesn’t help. We need results against stronger teams, and this season we haven’t gotten any. ManU is good, but not that good. Their backline and most of midfield is still the same team we dominated last season. Problem is that most of teams have sussed us out, and despite what Joe says we don’t seem to have plan B. Same time the problem is that we are missing 3 of out starting 4 defenders and 2… Read more »
Not sure I see Lotte as a centre back partner for Leah actually. I thought she did well at right back against a decent offence so perhaps she should be sharing those duties with Noelle? It was good to see a bit of physicality from Lotte too which you do not get from Leonie.I like Leonie in a game where you can dominate and she can use her speed and engine to provide wing overlaps but she is simply too lightweight as a WSL full back so like you I believe she may be looking for new employers at the… Read more »
it is a massive rebuilding because we wont keep Viv at this rate. And the question is which other players will have their heads turned if we are not in UWCL. We had that exodus to City back then. Can jolly well happen again. This time to Chelsea, Utd as well in the mix.
I’ve just listened too Emma Hayes talking about managing her team.
Firetruck me life, the difference in mentality is just too big. Combine that with this level of talent and it gives me very little hope of competing. I can just pray for the best going forward.
I am not a great fan of Emma Hayes but I have to admit she knows how to get the best out of her teams. For several seasons they were punching above their weight because of her leadership but unfortunately they now have top quality players too!
Yup, it is the mentality that they have. There is strong competition in that squad, and it is up to the players to deal with it. Joe on the other hand wants a small squad. Which is all good, but when you have all those injuries, then you are screwed.
Think it’s time we agree Joe doesn’t know what to do against the big teams