This is the simplest by the numbers ever.
I don’t need to tell you how Arsenal dominated possession, controlling over 60% of the ball for most of the match. Or how the Gunners made 122/163 passes in the Monaco final third but for the last 15 minutes (after Rosicky was introduced) of the game could only manage 12/17.
I don’t need to tell you how Monaco took a rather poor 10 shots or how they got 7 of them on target and scored three goals. While Arsenal took 14 shots but didn’t manage to get a shot on target until the 55th minute.
I don’t need to tell you that Monaco attempted 53 tackles, made just 25, and only attempted 5 tackles even remotely in the Arsenal half, and they only won 1 of those tackles in the Arsenal half because they didn’t even care about pressing Arsenal and instead sat in their shell for 90 minutes.
I don’t need to tell you that conversely (dribbles and tackles are linked) Arsenal attempted 40 dribbles and won 28 of them and that all but 4 dribbles were in the Monaco half.
I don’t have to tell you that Cazorla kept his streak of great form alive, leading all players with 72/77 passes, completing 23/27 passes in the final third, creating 1 shot for a teammate, making 6/6 dribbles, 3/3 tackles, and drawing 2 fouls. He also almost never turned the ball over, just 1 time, and was only dispossessed twice. Contrast that to Sanchez who was dispossessed 5 times and Giroud who had 4 unforced turnovers. Or that I got a little bit maybe an expletive niggle when Wenger took him off and put on Rosicky in the 81st minute. Not that I didn’t want to see Rosicky on the pitch but rather that Özil was clearly the player who needed to be removed, an argument which was borne out by the fact that in those last 15 minutes Özil only completed 1 entry pass into the opposition final third.
I only have to tell you that Arsenal had 9 shots off target and 1 shot blocked. All of those shots off target were inside the 18 yard box and I would say 8 of them were in the area where I would normally expect to see Arsenal score 2-3 goals off that number of shots. Most of those shots fell to Giroud who laid a six pack of eggs going 0/6.
I will also tell you that according to the Opta definition Giroud missed 4 “big chances” and given that all four of those were within 8 yards of the goal it’s hard to argue that they weren’t big chances. All totaled, Arsenal created 6 big chances and missed all of them. The other two big chances went to Walcott (saved) and the rebound off that Walcott shot taken by Welbeck (blocked by Walcott).
Conversely, Monaco created 1 big chance and scored it (Berbatov). Their opening goal was a deflection and their third was a well taken goal but not considered a big chance.
Please try not to kill each other in the comments. It was a hard game to take. Arsenal were unlucky but also suicidal. They were unluckicidal.
And yes, I am aware of the other “stats” like this being the fifth year in a row that Arsenal get murdered at home in the first leg of the group of 16. I’m going to bed.
@7amkickoff
The players and manager need to take responsibility, sit down and think about their performance last night, hopefully this won’t damage us in regards to the league and FA cup
But sad times overall
The stats would suggest the performance (passing, possession, creating chances) was good. We just missed big chances, copped a deflected goal, then got caught on the break twice getting more desperate to score. If we had scored any of those big chances it would have been a very different game. We would have settled, and been less likely to concede those 2 goals.
The trouble is.. This sort of game pattern has been seen before – think back to United at home. Dominating then sucker punch. Balls deep to claw back the deficit, sucker punch. Have to say the Emirates crowd are poisonous at times. The audible groaning doesn’t encourage the players it just makes them nervous Easy to say given I’m sat on the other side of the world at no expense to watch my team (and would gladly be there if I had the means) but I cant help but feel you lucky guys at the ground can do more to… Read more »
I agree: Arsenal fans are very quick to criticise the so called lack of commitment of their players, but they are unable to cheer for them when needed… Good weather fans…
I agree with you. I go to every home game (unless an emergency comes up) and the crowd are usually good on European nights (compared to when we get a mid/lower team in the prem) but its still not acceptable. I mean your paying the highest prices in the country to watch the best (or should I say worst until we beat Everton) team in the country , you might as well cheer them right? Yes I get the crowd is nervous at times and you don’t want to cheer. But I would say about 3/4 of the match all… Read more »
Although i remember at one point at 2 nil down a huge chorus of “Come on Arsenal”.
For all his experience, Arsene is still Naive – First rule of European knock out – do not concede at home. second rule don’t chase goals at home and risk conceding a second or third.
I agree! Why didn’t we sit back and play for the 0-0 game or simply try to hit them on the break the way they did to us? 0-0 with the next game away means you need 1 away goal to probably go through.
That third goal….that one was really the killer because I still think we were capable of going there and winning by a couple.
Yup, sounds like my take on it. Problem is it’s the desperate, and nerves, and unsettled parts that have continually seemed to be the problem.
In the Pollyanna view we can now go play the second leg with absolute reckless abandon. it doesn’t matter if we concede two goals – we need to score a minimum of three – but four is more likely required.
This is what we did against bayern and ripped them apart.
In the realistic view – screw it – lets Pollyanna the fuck up
Yes, I too feel that the crowd is doing the opposite of what they should do. It’s ridiculous- they think they’re watching the Harlem Globetrotters where the win is scripted and it’s just a matter of time.
It wasn’t just nervousness, it was abuse, impatience and arrogance which we seem to see again and again, reminding me of the eboue substitution but without the booing. IF, instead of screaming abuse at Giroud we had chanted his name, would Arsene so hastily removed him?
The team need support not a bunch of entitled arseholes.
55000 (est) : Number of home fans supposed to get ticket, meals, time, voices refund
Ospina and Per owe us a clean sheet, Ozil owes us 3 assists and Giroud owes us a hattrick in Monaco.
walcott needs to slim down his butt…
And we need to keep our faith…. cmon man, lets do it!
If I may say monaco is nothing special we gifted the game to them missing sitters and going suicidal on second half, we scored 2 at bayern we can do it in monaco because the second leg will be all attack with no handbrake and coinciding one goal will not matter, score in the first 15 minutes double the scoring before half time and game on. We do that at bayern why not at monaco, i have a strange feeling that we will win 0-3 or 1-3 an going to extra time.
In ’03-’04, Inter Milan came to Highbury and scored 3 unreplied goals against the Invincibles. In the return leg, Arsenal paid them back handsomely at the San Siro: 1-5. If these boys don’t go to Monaco and pour their very expensive lives on the pitch, then they are not worth the Red and White on their body. It would be a desecration of the hallowed colours won by men like Thierry, Bergkamp, Vierra, Pires, Bould, Adams, Seaman, name them. I am not saying they must qualify but they must show desire in every ball they kick in Monaco. Show some… Read more »
I’ve seen all those players you have named having games as bad if not worse than tonight.
What’s the purpose of life if you simply give up when faced with adversity?
Prepare to see the equivalent of the Battle of the Somme on 17th March (Tuesday) at the Principality of Monaco. All guns a’ blazing!
I looked forward to this game ever since the draw. I live for Arsenal. My mood and attitude is in accordance with their performance. If they shit the bed, I am miserable. I can’t help it. It’s something I’ve grown to accept. I love the Arsenal. Watching them play against Monaco left me uncomfortable, embarrassed, angry, disappointed, and depressed. I am extremely appreciative for Wenger and will always acknowledge what he has done for the club, but I now believe he is done with this club because of what he’s done to the club. A new blood is needed. One… Read more »
Look forward to game since draw. Live for Arsenal. Mood, attitude in accordance with performance. Shit the bed, I am miserable; can’t help it. Something grown to accept. Love the Arsenal. Play against Monaco uncomfortable. Am appreciative for Wenger. Always acknowledge what he done for club. He done with club because what he done to club. New blood needed. Carry past same bar constantly visit. Sane girls, beer, result. Want new brews, liquors (girls?). Want see new women (aha!). Feels like married woman, not sure. Stuck on same planet – everyone exploring new possibilities. Have not adapted’ consequently experiencing same… Read more »
Its times like this i wish Arsene Wenger quits. Not that he is a bad manager. just that the players are plain shit when something is expected from them. when we dont have the pressure of winning we play well. when we are favourites against a good team we just lose our shit being suicidal. its high time we hire a psychologist or someone to help the players get heads right.
Wenger blames the players. He is lucky. Most managers have been sacked. As for the game,the gunners seemed obsessed with endless passing. It was obvious that Monaco players stuck very close to each gunner .No time and space were given.The gunners were literally suffocated. Sanchez ran himself into a cul de sac. Wenger has often been beaten in the big games which shows he is tactically inferior to other top bosses. It was only when Ox with his direct running fired up the gunners. I am not confident in the 2nd leg,.All Monaco need to do is play anti soccer… Read more »
Time to call an end to this sad day.
Simply put, we couldn’t put away our chances and they could. Of course, we handed them their chances. So poor finishing and poor defending. Not going to win too many games with that combination,
And I can’t fault Ospina on any of the goals, other than the one good save, he didn’t seem to instill confidence.
What really sucks is that I can totally invision a 2-0 win in Monaco and going out on away goals. Is 3-0 to much too ask??
Missed this morning game due to knee surgery ( meniscus ), Australian time. Just watched the tape, yes BFG was as slow as I am on the crutches, but if we can’t depends on Giroud to lead us if we want to challenge for pl n cl, Wenger has to spent big at the end of the season, not only on world class dm but also top notch striker.
As angry as I am, knock ManU out of the FA Cup and all will be forgiven.
*Sign… same old Arsenal…
What about the backheel to Martial whose shot Ospina saved?! That was the best chance both teams had. Numbers lie this time. Like, many of the final third passes were Gibbsy and Bellerin (with their teammates) trying to find space out wide (where there wasn’t any) and most of our chances were rushed because they barely left any gaps and closed them down faster than we could get to the ball. We were barely pressured the first 15 minutes and yet nobody could get the ball out of our half with Mertesacker / Koscielny having the most passes! All I… Read more »
One more thing. If these mistakes don’t get Mertesacker dropped, then I don’t know what to say. At least show some consistency there.
Arsenal can’t seem to handle being favourites in a big match.
We are one of the most wasteful sides I have ever watched in my life. So much potential to be great
I watched the game till the end at times I felt like just smashing the TV. I do not believe that we were entirely as bad as people and in particular Neville says. we knew they were defensive we banked and planned on that, what we did not do was plan for their quick transitions. none of their goals to my mind came from brilliant interplay. I still think we will go through. in France they will be, I think inclined to sit deeper than they did. and therein lies our chance. I would prefer Monreal to Gibbs for solidity,… Read more »
I don’t know if it’s a good or a bad thing, but I haven’t lost hope, and I’m afraid I’ll be even more devistated after a 1-0 or 2-0 win in Monaco.
Went to the game and it hurt. The result always influences analysis and the truth is that on another day Giroud could have had 4 and the tie would be put to bed. They did not press us as some have said and conceded possession in order to sit back and soak up our mainly through the middle attacks.Its hard enough for us to hurt teams much poorer defensively than Monaco who do that and so it proved. I felt we needed more drive from midfield so that they did not have the luxury of time to set their defence.Coquelin… Read more »
Does anyone else remeber wenger after a tragic game at home to Swansea, we lost 2-0. Wenger said then “if you can`t win, don`t lose”, I agree With that. Does he? This just happens to often. Cazorla playing deep is never a good idea. The city win seems more and more like a Complete fluke.
It seems like a complete fluke, because it was one. We have not won against a team of note for quite a while now. Maybe BVB, but that’s like 2 games in 30.
What is a turnover?
Bit like a pasty, but with apple inside.
I’ll get my coat…..
It echoes that defeat against Benfica all these moons ago. This team is dreadfully unbalanced. Most team in modern football play with two holding midfielder (Indeed the succes of Southampton and Chelsea is entirely down to that). Yesterday was a typical exemple of a team, one behind-then two, loosing its midfield shape..and leaving a back two massively exposed… The BFG is not a player I dislike, but he’s constantly exposed for pace… due to the enormous amount of space in front of him. I don’t like the word DM but we are lacking a dominant player in the middle (… Read more »
twice this season now that Kondogbia has come to the Emirates and completely bossed the midfield…
Yes wenger has lost his ability to build teams. He puts Cazorla deep in midfield to make Space for Ozil. That just ain`t a good idea. Wenger needs to og back to basic. Vieira and Petit Central and two hard working talented wingers like Ljungberg/parlour/Pires/ etc, glory players like berg and henry up front. BACK TO BASIC!!!
Back to basics is rebuilding the Invincibles?
I’d hate to see your idea of elaborate
Girioud showing his “world class” finiishing yet again!
Giroud is a donky.
You are such a useless, useless fucking goldfish. It’s such an appropriate nickname; just standing with your mouth open waving yur arms, or moving aimlessly from side to side. 42m on a fish.
Best no 10 in the world when fit and in form. Would take him over cesc, silva, eriksen and coutinho anyday of the week.
Still feel he’s yet to truly “explode” though.
In every team sport you need to be defensively organised to be succesful.
Every team should be build from the back.In modern football you have to
respect your opponent, you need to close them down, deny them room
and space. Every goal we conceded was because we gave them too much
space.In their second goal they almost walk the ball into the net, where
was our defence.It is the same thing with their third Mertesacker should be
more tight on the goalscorer.Lastly our performance makes me think we
didn’t even study them before the game.
Arsenal were brutally beaten …… in systematic machine gun bursts. What to do? It’s completely hopeless. I’m sad to be an Arsenal fan right now.
A fine graphical representation of a complete inability to hit a cow’s arse with a banjo there.
The defending was inexcusable, like something out of a video game, not in a knockout tie of a major European competition. I’m still confident that we can create 5 or 6 great chances in the 2nd leg, we just have to convert them. There’s no margin for error now. We can’t afford to waste anything. Giroud was awful but sometimes it happens in football. I would back him to score in France, and I think it’s not impossible to advance. We are better than Monaco. Also, I think it’s time to put Szczesny back in goal.
I think numbers don’t do justice to how up and down our performances have been. We have been here before: “Wow we beat man city” to “fucking lose to Shit Spuds” and repeat this 1000 times over. Enough have been said and dissected over squad composition, defensive setups, mental strength, player selection, injuries etc. And this comment isn’t going to be positive or negative because it simply isn’t possible to be consistently correct about the Arsenal teams after the invincibles…they play world class football capable of beating the best and out of nowhere lose the next playing like frightened rabbits.… Read more »