Arsenal missed the chance to go top of the Premier League this evening, slumping to a frustrating 2-0 defeat to a well organised West Ham.
The Gunners took 30 shots without finding a way through, a statistic that will lead to discussions about the need for something new in the forward line for the second half of the season.
Here’s how the players rated this evening.
Read the Arsenal 0-2 West Ham match report and see the goals here
Arsenal 0-2 West Ham – Player Ratings
The ratings are hidden by default until you vote, but if you just want to view the ratings and the comments, flick the switch at the top above David Raya. Also, please give the ratings a few seconds to load.
Zero for all
Did you see Ødegaard?
I think Jesus cannot be a number 9, his ball skill and agility is second to none, but when in front of goal he is somewhat below par, probably psychology. So, I’m in favor for a prolific number 9 reinforcement, be that Toney or Oshimen :😉
Watkins ?!
(He’s a Gooner at heart….)
The name is Victor Osimhen!
The solution is Victor Osimhen!
Bring out the minus
Right, we lost. Makes sense people lose their shit and we will not be relegated. Luckily, I am so drunk.. sort of numbs it down this time. Good thing, sometimes. Being a drunk – it is all fucking shit, like you lot. Or, it is all great, like you lot. I have nothing much to add. We played well enough to win, but we did not. As insightful as anything you hear the next 2 days 🙂 Enjoy processing it all. Good thing is you’re not alone. COYG!! Find someone to blame – a player, the manager, you wore the… Read more »
Here’s the brutal reality about ‘playing well’ in the Prem – all the touches, back-heels, nutmegs, etc mean nothing if (a) you then gift your opponents easy goals totally against the run of play; and (b) fail to take even just ONE of the dozen chances you’re creating.
Should’ve worn your socks over your hands…
I blame this on MA. He wants his players to play with control, which means slowing the game down and thus giving time for opposition to set. The players are following instructions and not allowed to have any creativity, is it really a surprise when things don’t work we seem completely stalled and out of ideas? This is a systematic flaw evident with many other performances this season. How could MA see the way we played last year, with so much fluidity and think “right, I want less of that”. It’s baffling.
It’s very hard to disagree with this. ‘More control & harder to beat’ has been a mantra all season….but halfway throught the league season, we have lost more games, won less games, scored fewer goals & conceded more goals, than at this time last season.
We have gone backwards, despite adding Rice who has been a monster for us.
I’d also argue that this year’s competition has been easier than last year. Man U and Chelsea are a mess and Man City seem hungover from the treble.
100%. City are more vulnerable than at any Time in the last few years, but we sadly haven’t taken the chance to ram it home.
For a team reportedly ‘hungover from the treble’ City looked very efficient at Everton for their 3 v 1 win (and that was without Haaland, De Bruyne or Doku)
It’s hard to disagree with you either. But I still think it would be unfair not to mention that… we are still at the leader’s heel. Maybe we haven’t stepped ahead as big as we’d liked to…. (compared to others). But our theam is still very, very strong, which is a good base for the future. I think if we’d be able to get a DM with the level of Partey for the noxt 4-5 years (it can be him – Timber maybe or someone else) Plus a TOP striker and a TOP LB… Our team would be on par… Read more »
Hard to argue with those stats. We do lack cutting edge.
I think part of this is down to the fact that the quality of the passing from deep is not great. It’s something we desperately miss from Partey cause he could do it 9 times out of 10. It’s all too slow passing out, and I think that’s probably affecting Martinelli a little. It gives his brain too much time to think and his first thoughts are usually good and then it all goes awry. We need someone who can play a pass from midfield, look at how Trent does it at Liverpool – reaps major rewards.
Troodat! Zinchenko does not have Partey’s passing range.
Nor does he have Tierney’s ‘dog’ solidity on defence.
So why on earth is he still there???
How many more lost points have to directly fall at his feet before Mik gets the message?
He’s not a good enough in midfield for an actual midfielder (Rice) to take his place in defense when we’re playing out from the back. He’s not solid enough to defend on the wing without help from a forward (Martinelli). Ball playing defenders are good but not in a game when you actually need to defend. He maybe a good option going forward against a team with a lesser attacking threat who have parked the bus. Not this game.
Exactly the point I’ve been making all season – we have some very good playmaking mids… we do NOT need another one (only just above average, to boot), particularly at the expense of leaving a gaping hole down our left flank!
I cannot fathom that Mikel has not clocked this most basic fact yet.
Arteta was asked about this is a press conference a few weeks ago and he categorically said that it was not the intention to be less fluid or attacking than last year. His explanation was that in the first half of last season, there were lots of games where we scored in the first 15 minutes and it’s easier to be fluid in attack when you go 1 up early in the game. This season we haven’t been taking our chances, especially early on in games.
This season we haven’t been creating early chances though, not missing early chances.
People have been praising Arteta for our new, ‘more controlled’ style this season & slating anyone who didn’t like it….are the same people now going to deny there has been a change at all ??
Did you watch this game? How can you possibly say we have not created early chances?
💯 I remember him saying that at a presser a few weeks back. Now who can we get to put the ball in the onion 1st 15/20 mins? Oh and as I’m here and hope Andrew reads these posts why, when I try to post on the main site, does it keep saying password not recognised.? 7 times so far. Mr M help. Many thanks and a very happy new year to you all
Surely we all see the want/need for more control? City game prime example, under pressure in Anfield prime example. We’ve controlled nearly every game we’ve played this season but wasted so many chances and spells of possession. And were still second, start scoring those chances no stopping us
Some games can’t be controlled though. Liverpool fixtures have seen some wild result, some for us, some against. Not even Man City control games against Liverpool, especially at Anfield. Some games are going to be chaotic and unpredictable and we need players with the capacity to rise to that challenge and come out winners instead of “anti-playing”
i think the point of more control is to reduce variance.
MA feels the team is good enough to beat the other teams by playing the structured, technical football that he wants.
Emotions and “free flowing” introduce randomness to the plan, increasing the variance in outcome.
i think this is also one reason why he prefer Raya to Ramsdale.
You are probably right that that’s his reasoning…but it isn’t working, is it ?
We are second in the EPL, into the next round of CL and it’s still “work in progress” so probably this is not yet the final iteration of the team or how the team will play. only MA knows if it’s working.
what i can say is that MA has got me feeling invested in the team again and for that, he has my gratitude and support
Brilliantly put. I completely agree. One bad game isn’t going to change the love I have for my team.
The squad has time on its side and I would be amazed if we don’t win the Prem within 3 years (assuming we keep adding and keeping our stars)
The league table tells us it isn’t working surely ?
I agree with your subsequent point about Arteta getting us invested in the team again, but he isn’t perfect. I feel this has been a better chance of winning the league than last season was.
We may well go on to win one under Arteta eventually, but such a shame this one feels like it is already gone
It doesn’t remotely feel like this season is already gone to me. If I had to guess, I’d say you’re probably in the extreme minority with that sentiment. Did it feel like the title was already won halfway through last season??
Yes it did frankly because even at 8 points ahead, most of us knew Man City would string together a 15 match unbeaten run with 13 wins. That said, I’m not so sure they can do the same again this season but we look less likely to be champions than at this stage last season
At this stage last season, I thought we would have finished either 1st or 2nd, probably 2nd given City’s ability to string together a huge number of wins in the 2nd half of the season. This season I think we will finish somewhere between 2nd & 4th. 1st ? I just can’t see it at all sadly.
We have gone from one of the best counter attacking teams to one of the worst. Reminds me of later Wenger, all the passing and possession for nothing
The opposition need to attack before you can counter on them.
It’s called game management, i agree with it when were are three up not when were one down.
So horrendously slow!!!!!
After the Aston Villa game the other week, I was reminded of the game away to Aston Villa where Mat Ryan was in goal. We conceded after about 5 minutes and then spent the rest of the game passing the ball really slowly, without ever upping the intensity of our attacking.
Was there really much difference between the two performances?
Someone commented that we have lacked cutting edge in 3 out of 4 of Arteta’s seasons as a manager. I’m starting to think last season was an anomaly, rather than it being about some change in tactics this season.
Awful match, it happens though.
Thank you. Simple as that. Now let’s move on.
Well that’s it then.
obviously nothing to do with tactics or a failure to create or convert chances then..
Yes, change nothing and feign surprise when it happens again…
Except that we cannot move on – not whilst persisting with the hapless Zinchenko at left-back, gifting counter-attack goals to opponents whom we are completing dominating.
And not with a toothless attack where the headless chicken that is Eddie is the only late-game option to try to rescue points after Zinch has gifted goals to said opponents!
It’s been repeated a few times, once wh scored we never stood a chance
We are 8th for points from losing positions having been behind at least 3 fewer times than 6 of those above us. You people are hysterical. It was a bad match and we’re two points off top at halfway. Grow up.
Yes, it’s happened a lot this season.
No
Hot take: fuck everything!
Front 3 are a real issue. They couldn’t finish their dinner at the moment.
Attacking reinforcements needed but doubtful they’ll arrive, sigh.
They all look very tired. Need a week off.
Should have a bit more rotation then.
Exactly – whats the point in having a squad if you dont ever rotate.
They just had 5 days and should be more than capable of putting in a performance against that West Ham side.
Totally agree with this.
We had time to recover.
Trossard must have taken 50 corners this season and cleared the first man on zero occasions. What is that about?
Odegaard had a really good game. Let down by the rest of the team tonight.
Arteta, please please please don’t let Trossard take any more corners until he’s proved he can do it in training. PS have you noticed that Zinny gives the ball away all the time? Everybody else is very bored with that boss, are you?
Not only gives it away… gets repeatedly skinned by any pacey wide player down our left. Kudus left him for dead on at least 3 occasions, one of which (tellingly!) was the only reason WH got into our box for that corner.
And watch the replay of the corner – Zinch is all over Mavro in the lead-up but then completely loses him just as Bowen strikes the ball… pathetic!
I have to say during the game I felt we didn’t create much but amazon just showed a montage of chances and shots we had and we could easily have won this game tonight. Having said that, not enough players were at it tonight, martinelli and zinchenko particularly poor amd amazed that Trossard played 90 mins but then again the subs we have available are and have never been good enough.
Trossard came off for nelson
Sorry, smith rowe
Fair enough. But you get my point, Trossard should have been off long before that
Yeah i do and i agree with you. It just showed to me that we need a proper striker. We could put jesus out wide
Gabriel Jesus is a sublimely talented footballer but was never, is not and never will be a centre forward, so why do we discuss him failing to play like one?
Partey sorely missed.
Totally agree with this. We just (including last year) don’t lose games when
he’s in midfield. Declan and Partey at full force will be super interesting.
Partey played 40 games last season and Arsenal lost only 6 where he played in midfield.
One might say Kai Havertz was truly missed as well. Or some direct tactics
Havertz, Xhaka (as he ended), Aaron Ramsey. Not Trossard’s game at all.
Credit to West Ham I guess, their game plan worked perfectly and we couldn’t do shit about it. Getting scored on twice from out-of-bounds balls feels like a kick in the nuts though, and I feel like Saka should’ve had that penalty. Anyway, time to pretend this game never happened
You are right. Their plan worked perfectly. Game could have been very different as well. If Oliver judges the ball to be out, VAR can’t prove it’s in so decision stands. Just as it stood now because Oliver judged it to be in and VAR couldn’t prove it was out. If Saka then scores instead of hitting the post (or the ball bounces onto the keeper’s back or pinballs in from our rather surprised player) then we win, because West Ham wouldn’t have scored any goal from build up play today. Saka penalty was probably not enough. Again I plead… Read more »
Saka one was not a pen. Would’ve been extremely soft.
Not on Saka, agreed – but check the rugby tackle on Jesus as he lays that ball off to Saka… that should have been penalised – clear foul.
If anything, Saka kicked his leg into the defender’s
Saka’s ‘trip’ was 50/50 but the rugby tackle on Jesus just before he lays it off to Saka was utterly blatant! How does VAR not give that as the penalty foul?
Are we going to get even one decision in our favour this season???
You mean like the Odegaard hand ball at Anfield that wasn’t given? or the Alejandro Garnacho goal disallowed for offside v Man Utd in the 88th minute?
It was coming… the Gunners somehow can’t score anymore 😢
I feel it’s been coming too.
Did Zinny forget how to defend?
Guy became a liability, teams just figured out how to deal with the ‘inside fullback’ gimmick so the positve impact in the final third does not outweigh the poor defending anymore. AFC needs Tomi back !
Trippier and Terence Trent Arnold are bad at defending too, but make up for it in other ways.
Trippier is not bad at defending – at all. Trent* is also a better defender than Zinchenko. He’s bringing nothing to this team, at the moment, and as the original comment says teams have figured it out.
If you think Alexander-Arnold is a better defender, then you have not watched Liverpool enough. Against us, it was Szoboszlai with help from Konate–not Alexander-Arnold–who defended against Martinelli. Klopp knew that Martinelli would get behind him almost every time.
Liverpool solved their ‘Trent can’t defend one on one’ problem by switching him to midfield. Is Arteta so stubborn that he can’t learn from a more successful and experienced manger than Klopp?
No. He started as the right fullback against us, inverted into the midfield as he always has done. The truth is there are probably only two fullbacks in England who can defend one v one against a quality winger. One is Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who gives you little else. The other is Kyle Walker who–recall–was the most expensive defender in history.
The truth is you’re hyper ventilating. Nathan Patterson, Tyrick Mitchell, Antonee Robinson, Ben Chilwell, Luke Shaw, Andy Robertson, Reece James, Rico Henry, Tomiyasu and Alex Moreno can all defend one on one against a quality winger. Liverpool’s Konate completely nullified Martinelli at Anfield and he’s really a centre back.
Who the hell is Terence Trent Arnold?
Probably one of the best passers and crossers in the Premier League
I think he’s a pop star from the 90s
I think this is such a myth re: Zinny. He has been rubbish defensively ever since we bought him. He has fallen off in an attacking sense, or teams have figured out how to deal with him as you said. Either way, his poor performances defensively are just being noticed more, rather than being a new thing.
He never could – that’s the point I’ve been making since last season.
Man City let both Zinchenko and Jesus go for a reason…
Or Timber, the player who was supposed to be there all along this season. I think because he was lost so early, we forget what we are probably/possibly missing there, based on what little we’ve seen of him.
I actually thought we were brilliant on the whole, aside from a few dodgy Zinchenko moments and a slightly dysfunctional left side, and it’s an absolute miracle that game finished 2-0, given we battered them for the majority of the game.
More of the usual poor finishing, opposition scoring from nothing, and things falling the opposition’s way in my opinion.
Havertz was a huge miss today. I’m gutted, but really think we need to keep the faith and support this team, because they really are fucking great and deserve our support given how far we’ve come.
I thought we were unlucky to lose today. We have to get a striker though. When Jesus can’t save you….you know! Not out day. 🙁
We rely too much on our front three. We need a couple more guys of the same quality and we could rotate, give them a break and keep that sharp edge that was missing tonight.
Wow.
Wow indeed. ‘Brilliant’ is an extraordinary take on that game.
How do you think we battered them if their keeper had only 3 relatively easy saves to make?
Let’s not just make stuff up. He had 8 saves, and at least a couple of them were far from “relatively easy.”
Played like we ate the biggest Christmas dinner 5 minutes before kick off.
I liked Zinchenko when he was an option amongst others, not so much as someone we have to rely on for all situations.
Yep – the words ‘Zinchenko’ and ‘reliable’ don’t really fit in the same sentence, do they?
F**k you XG >2. We need actual goals
And last but not least: FVCK THE VAR.
For a decision in which it wasn’t involved or available?
If i can see objectively from the picture that the ball is out, why cant they?
It gets worse from here. I don’t think this front 3 works very well. Watch them, if 1 is off it, the other 2 follow suit. They struggle to pass to each other in the final third, even after wave after wave of attacks. Martinelli needs either dropping or try him at centre forward, he is getting predictable out wide. We won’t win anything without a plan B striker, not Eddie, who is just like for like with Jesus, except slightly inferior. That tells you all.
Why are you only looking at individual players and not the tactics they are being asked to play? No one gets in this squad if they don’t do exactly what the coach tells them, and I mean exactly. The players are playing exactly how they are being instructed. The reason we look stale in attack is simply and obviously because the coach wants us to play in a rigid formation to maximize “control”. How often do you see players out wide in great crossing positions, but no one in the box? You think that’s a coincidence? Martinelli, Saka, Ode all… Read more »
I think Arsenal have scored more goals from crosses than any team in the league
Not from crosses but from set pieces.
It’s just a frustrating result in a game we should have won. If we took our chances better I think we’d have won comfortably. We do need some depth though, especially for the striker position. I really want Eddie to do well but when I see him being subbed on I don’t get filled with confidence.
I know ratings are really a serious exercise but surely they should be based on the performance more than the result. Just becomes a way to express how happy or mad we are at a particular player. Also zinchenko wears black boots so I like him no matter what:)
Aren’t really*
As poor a performance as we’ve seen all season, especially from a front 3 that couldn’t hit a barn door tonight. Funny as it sounds given how maligned he is, I think we really missed Havertz today, can’t help but feel that he’d have made much more from the balls into the box.
A few folk got excited last home win with the Brighton result but the fact is we should have scored more goals and a couple of games later it really bites us. We need a regular goal scorer, if possible within the next month.
On another note. I’m finding Me Oliver more detestable every time I see him, he has that look at me Mike Dean about him.
There’s a word there for Oliver that you’re searching for but have yet to find ? A bit like Jesus & the back of the net ?
Another important thing to remember is that a team like Brighton will always try to attack you i.e. we can counter on them. If a team like West Ham just sit in with a low block the whole game we have no space to exploit behind them to run or pass into and on today’s evidence, don’t appear to have the tools to unlock a well organised defence
Zinchenko is quickly becoming at liability at LB
‘becoming’ – I’ve called it since last season! The fella cannot defend – it just took a bit of time for other managers’ to work it out and start exploiting his frailties. Press him when he goes forward and he gives up possession… run at him when he’s back and he’s lost.
There is a feeling that we can’t have help from our bench players and is terrifying.
If Nelson is ineffective because he has not started a game in 3 years that’s on Arteta. His inability to rotate has been a constant and ends up making the team weaker. Maybe Nelson is not good enough, but we’ll never know without a run in the team.
Mikel is rigid in his approach to every aspect of football. He likes things a certain way and that’s the only way. Whether that’s tactics and formation, man management, or squad selection or his emphasis on “control”, it’s the same thing.
Nelson has had loads of chances to stake his place for a run in the team but never taken them to date.
First two subs off: Zinny and Jesus. I’ll bet Pep had a good laugh. Maybe we’ll have a summer where We don’t shop at someone else’s garage sale.
Jesus played the full match, but agree- Pep would have enjoyed this result. Reality is Zinny and Jesus have strengthened our squad and helped us get to our current position. E we need to freshen the squad and evolve with e quality attacking, but don’t throw the baby out with the bath water!
Jesus played the whole match, btw, but I get your point. Those two “garage sale” players helped get us where we are no? We just need to strengthen our attacking options and continue evolving as a team, COYG!
Felt that Havertz was missed big time tonight
You’re having a laugh mate.
I think we were really good: high-press, quick recovery, solid at the back bar one action, good passing and movement, created loads of chances. Except we were poor for the one essential thing in football, putting it in the net.
But if we can find our shooting boots again and keep playing like this, we’ll be fine.
I agree, but we are also too slow. Everybody taking two touches and teammates not making themselves playable, make us easy to defend against.
We have a squad full of young, tricky, athletic, technically gifted players, perfectly suited to play a fluid, direct style of attacking football and yet our manager seems to believe that the only way for us to win is to be as structurally rigid as possible, all in the name of “control”. What gets me is a large part of our fanbase and sports media seem to agree with this idea. Somehow this narrative that Arsenal’s failure to win post-invincibles was because we were somehow too slick, not rigid, and didn’t emulate Stoke City enough has taken hold. The fact… Read more »
I agree Wenger gets nowhere near the credit he deserves for those latter years working with ‘less than zero’ resources.
The league has moved on with every manager obsessed with a high press, quick ‘transitions’ to create ‘overloads’ and insane fitness levels. I think this has taken the individual identity away from clubs and coaching styles. The only innovation left is on training ground activities and ways of strengthening the positive team mentality, and Arteta seems very good at both of those.
The last sentence.. No, I think we’d rather have rigidity than a Sunderlamd fate.
I’m not sure which latter Wenger years matches you were watching but there weren’t many “fun, exciting, forward” matches among them. More like the horseshoe of doom. Time to take off the rose tinted glasses and ditch the mythical latter years Wenger. This football is the best that Arsenal have played for years, and it shows how good it’s been when we can get so upset by this defeat. I was really frustrated by this result, but that doesn’t mean the overall direction is excellent. I absolutely love most of these players and I’m disappointed for them as much as… Read more »
Man City 23/24 champions.
Arteta will spend spend spend but we will still have Jesus up front blowing goal scoring chances like there is no tomorrow.
Honestly, what does Jesus bring to Arsenal considering he is a forward who can’t fucking score goals. Francis Jeffers was more effective…
I get your frustration. Jesus needs to be in a team where the wide forwards are banging in the goals and that isn’t happening this year.
We really missed Havertz in midfield.
Yes, Kai’s unselfish running would have helped us while parked deep inside West Ham’s penalty box
Jesus and Zinchenko were let go by City for a reason….
“[…] one of the subs hasn’t started a Premier League game in over three years, something’s not quite right with your squad” – IMO Mikel’s poor squad management. Really his biggest weakness and something he hasn’t improved upon yet as a young manager.
We’re his on-the-job training We have to put up with his mistakes and wait for him to learn.
The front 3 are off the boil and on days like this it shows we are a little short of the killer instinct needed for a title win.
I agree generally with the rating except I would deduct a point from each one for losing a game at home and failing to score. Oh yes and the obvious, for crying out loud get a striker in who can actually hit the back of the net.
We were on 50 points halfway through the season last season. Think on that Mikel and change something
The result sucks and there were issues with the attacking performance, but a lot of this was outrageously bad luck. Two fluke goals (one of which probably shouldn’t have stood) plus a fluke penalty for them, and a ton of near misses for us. Flush it and move on. Also I haven’t warmed to Raya yet but the guy saved a penalty and didn’t do anything else wrong, he deserves more than a 6.5.
What was fluky about their stonewall pen exactly?
You’re right that it was obviously a pen, I meant that it happened off a fluky passage of play, not because WHU generated a great chance or we got broken down or anything. My point was that we outplayed them comprehensively and the goals + pen were random events that didn’t happen because of any flaw in our overall performance, so there’s no point in overanalyzing what went wrong.
Really need to get a quality finisher up top
Zinchenko has been liable for our last 3 goals. Beaten by an exquisite ball from Trent to Salah and flimsy defensive challenge when Salah simply pushed it to his favored foot. Today he got in the way of Gabriel’s clearance that was then saved at the end line for the goal. He also lost Mavrapanos for the second goal. Significant defensive liability for one of the best defenses in the league.
And whatever happens to Kiwior?
And the only reason they even had the corner where he lost Dinos was because Kudus for the THIRD time!) just ghosted past him on the halfway like he wasn’t even there… completely against the run of play and directly the result of Zinch once again getting utterly skinned by a pacey wide player.
We read this book before and we’ll be reading it again this season unless Mik finally wises up to the fact that Zinch is NOT a left back!!
Sadly as the iron lady once said “Mik is not for turning” he’ll stick with the same team, same formation, in the hope it’ll all come right. What’s that saying about insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. Still I must be insane bcos I love this team, and we’ll get there in the end ( sorry, just gotta take my meds and put my straight jacket on..NURSE!! I’m here)
Have to agree Martinelli’s form is becoming more worrying by the week. However, it’s also very annoying watching Zinchenko and Trossard repeatedly pass backwards rather than give Martinelli the ball, think he’s getting really poor service at the minute. Sick to death of Zinchenko and walking with the ball and doing nothing with it.
We will never win anything with Zinchenko
MRtinelli is off form. Should be replaced. Gj9 cant acore sufficiently. Maybe eddie should start instead. CF in jan is the prioriry
Eddie’s a step down in class so he’s not the answer. We need to open the purse strings on say Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney, Jarrod Bowen, Dominic Solanke, or young guys flying below the radar of the top teams e.g. Jonathan David (Lille) Gift Orban (Gent)
The issue is not about step down in class as it is about efficiency. Say what you like about Nketia, but if you have him in some of the situations Jesus had we may have goals. Statistically He is the best finisher at the club at the minute. But what I would love to see in the next game is Jesus out on the left, Nketia in the middle and Saka on the right to start our next game.
I thought West Ham deserved it. Little time wasting and simulation too. Credit to them. Not their fans though.
Yep, as Arteta admitted it: they were better in both boxes than us
If I had a nickel for every goal the opposition has scored after the ball has gone out of play, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’d weird that it’s happened twice.
Are you a theoretical physicist who has irrefutable evidence the balls in question were both ‘out of play?’
May be in the minority here but I felt Ben White’s performance was quite woeful too. Don’t think he defended the move leading up to the first goal particularly well (wasn’t helped by Saka not tracking the runner) and in a game which needed us to show urgency, was frustratingly not in position to receive passes.
Martinelli had one of those games where nothing you do comes off and should have been subbed much earlier. Don’t think Mike’s assessment of the game was accurate – we didn’t do enough to win the match.
I thought Ben White was fine
‘fine’ doesn’t win you the EPL title, mate!
When the opponent is defending that deeply, you just have to shoot from outside the box and hope for deflection opportunities. Trying to dribble all the way in is frustrating to watch. Even in the dying minutes, Odegaard is still trying to wriggle his way in to no results.
Why isn’t Martinelli taking corners instead of Trossard, who can’t seem to clear the front defender? Martinelli used to take them, so why not now? And for all of Odegaard’s hard work, he needs to spend less time dancing on the ball around the box and looking to do the quick one- twos that release others and himself for threatening shots.
Can we now – finally – agree that Zinchenko is a liability at left-back? I take no joy in continually pointing out that this square peg in his round hole WILL cost us the title… I called it just last week and it didn’t take long for the pigeons to fly home! His botched clearance for their first… after getting utterly skinned by Kudus ( one of 3 times it happened!) for their against-the-run-of-play attack that resulted in that corner… And, worst of all, he then ‘claims’ Dinos in the box, grabbing him and making a big show of shadowing… Read more »
Gabriel is big and good in the air, but no match with a standing jump against a big guy coming in on the run at pace from behind him. Poor from zinchenko to allow that. Sure he can’t stop him, but at least slow him down.
That was the day. No title again this year. Book it.
Hey Blogs. Please consider adding a rating for the manager as well. He’s a crucial part of the team’s success and failure. Starting line up, gameplay, strategy, subs, impact at half time etc. It would be interesting to see the end of season averages for the manager.
We looked extremely weak down that left side again, Martinelli seemed afraid to take on the full back, Trossard wasteful and Zinchenko is massively struggling to do anything attacking / controlling in the middle to make up for his defensive struggles. Also, I said last time and will say again.. Trossard near post corners need to be banned.
Raya gets 6.5 after a faultless display and saves a penalty? Did he have to score for us to get an 8?
Seeing as how the results had gone elsewhere, this was a great chance to consolidate our position thrown away. We were poor; over-complicating things, lacking penetration, conceding possession too often and uncharacteristically disorganised at the back. Martinelli and Trossard were especially bad, but no one came out of this looking at all well.