Not really a game to write home about. In fact, I wouldn’t write to somebody else’s home about it as a prank, but we went through 2-0 and into the quarter-finals of the cup.
Here’s how the players rated tonight.
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Monday, December 23, 2024
Not really a game to write home about. In fact, I wouldn’t write to somebody else’s home about it as a prank, but we went through 2-0 and into the quarter-finals of the cup.
Here’s how the players rated tonight.
Professional performance. Showed Sutton respect but was cautious on an unfamiliar surface.
Job done.
Awful game to watch but job done.
That tackle by the fat centre half on Iwobi was disgraceful.Its how Ramsey,
Eduardo and Diaby got horribly injured yet all the pundits virtually laughed it off as Robust.We all know if that had been Xhaka he would have been sent off and slaughtered by the media…double standards.
Look we all know that Sanchez is world class and a great athlete but his attitude stinks in my opinion. Always the first to go down the tunnel and never thanks the fans. I love him but would love him even more if he fixed up a bit. Also congratulations to Theo for a 100 goals and hopefully more to come. Only negative tonight was fans behaviour towards Wenger, disgraceful.
I may have to see it again, but regard to Sanchez tantrum in the 93rd minute.. I don’t think it was that he didn’t get given the ball. It looked to me like he just wanted us to hold the ball and not try to spray it 40 meters for nothing.
I don’t like how he has carried himself recently but these are the 1% moments of stupidity we keep repeating and (if I’m right and that’s what he blew up about) I agree with him on this one.
About 10 minutes after coming on, with the away end singing his name, he waved, pointed across at them all and clapped. This was shortly after winning a corner I think.
I think he was 1st down the tunnel cause 1400 Sutton fans legged it onto the pitch at the whistle.
I saw this too… He clapped the away support so…
Lucas’ determination and commitment tonight was the best I’ve seen in an Arsenal shirt for a long while (obviously Alexis aside)
Should be in starting line up personally!
Mustafi.. So many of his ‘through balls’ were intercepted. I would be interested to see how many he made were intercepted, would be a very very high number. Its not his thing, yet he attempts it again and again. Such a shame cause he can defend and its his transition from defence to offence thats letting him down at moment.
It because he gets impatient to move the ball forward after passing it square for 5 minutes. Xhaka needed to drop off to pick the ball up from him more.
Agree in this circumstance, for this game.
But its been happening regularly last couple of months. Maybe its a confidence thing? Feeling the pressure of the fans and media and results, and he is trying to force things when he needs to be more patient.
He always waves to the fans during games, even yesterday. I think he’s probably frustrated at the moment with the team, with himself (because he does give the ball away ALOT) and with the media. He’s never been fond of the media and he’s seeing them go after him, ozil, xhaka, Wenger… Can’t fill him with joy.
He does it every single game, and it started the first game he played for us. I agree he defends pretty well and is passionate but I can’t help thinking Gabriel or Holding might be a better option as our number one pairing with Kos. For all the stick Gabriel gets, I don’t think he makes too many defensive mistakes and while things went ary when he replaced Kos vs Bayern i think it was Mustafi who screwed up way more. I also like Holdings composure and would like to see him get more first team time. The season is… Read more »
Good observation. I would say most of the time Mustafi bombs forward he promptly loses the ball resulting in a fast break the other way. I think he secretly wants to be a wing back.
Lucas Perez is the new Joel Campbell
Perez is already way more productive than Campbell ever was which makes his recent lack of game time even more bewildering…! Glad we’re through although far from convincing. BBC commentary was doing my head in – how desperate were they for a Sutton goal?
I thought Lucas had a good game, but he does need to work on his right foot. Always cutting inside is getting predictable. Otherwise, surely a starter for me.
It’s worked for Arjen Robben hasn’t it?
Was the pitch more narrow than usual or did we just plain lack any width? A big
F-you to the referee for allowing the tackle against Iwobi go without a booking. Disgraceful.
Think Jeff is great and all, and I hope for a really bright future, but he was poor tonight, really poor. Not to say Sutton weren’t ‘spirited’ and ‘getting it up us’ (thanks Michael Oliver for being a tad generous towards them by the way), but in a way it really does show Ozil’s value. Our play goes through the centre. Jeff couldn’t hold it at all. As such we really couldn’t get any momentum going, and I think that brought a lot of players performances down. Yes there were moment’s where others missed passes, or misplaced a pass, but… Read more »
We’ll get spanked by Chels or Spudz at Wembley….what’s the point? Waiting for Wenger to go…
Someone shank the shonky!
We’re all going to die eventually. What’s the point of life?
It felt unconvincing in terms of performance (even when the score was comfortable). It was Sutton, and we did not dominate them. There was a gap in class, there should have been a gulf.
That was actually their second goalkeeper!!!
Yawn…highlights of the day was the Sutton manager munching a pie
Actually it was the reserve goalkeeper. He did it once all three of Sutton’s substitutes had been used.
Keeper not manager
That back the backup keeper eating the pie…he was also at the bar at half time.
A little respect. That was the Sutton Glutton.
I mean we couldn’t even beat our on fans convincingly in an FA cup match. More than half of the entire team are Arsenal fans.
Something has to be done!
Own*
“Something has to be done!”
Eat more pies!
At least we did not show mental fragility and succumb to having to replay Huddersfield like City and the genius Guardiola.
Sure we got massacred by Bayern but they weren’t Ghent.;)
Something has to be done.
Ospina – Again we heard some foolish voices bemoaning Wenger for not starting Ospina in the league. As mentioned before the gaffer more than knows he has two capable keepers but each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Ospina is an excellent reaction stopper, but he is suspect commanding the box. Cech is good in the box but not as good with his reactions. Terrible pass by Ospina which if it were better opponents, they may have taken better advantage of. Monreal – Got an assist. Decent covering but at times exposed (By Gomis). But Gibbs (who is quicker) was… Read more »
@Santori
Far be it from me to start a fire..
And I acknowledge your right to write/comment whatever you want (this is a comments section after all)…
but why don’t you start your own blog rather than piggybacking on the success and readership of Arseblog with these far-too-long and self-indulgent “sub blogs” that you post week in, week out?
Or just for Blogs for a regular column ; )
I think Iwobi was better today than what people give him credit for. There seems to be a subtle determination by some fans to prove that he’s low in confidence or should be starting less.
Most games where he’s been singled out, the whole team tend to have struggled as well but cos he’s young people say lack of experience n all that.
I love the guy man and I understand that he shouldn’t start EVERY game but he should definitely start more games than not.
Shout to Craig Eastmond and Rorie Deacon.
Eastmond once an Arsenal potential now plying his trade non league examplifies how close the gap in quality is these days.
Deacon with that powerful shot which rattled the goal.
We’re off to Lincoln next and a good shot at yet another FA cup final. Not the biggest prize but surely nothing to sniff at either.
The positive is we won!!! Regardless of the opposition, a win was expected and a win was achieved. Thats gotta be something worth celebrating right?
Let’s take what we can get. Beggars can’t be choosers and all that. A wins a win at the end of the night. Well done arsenal.
Blogs Sanchez didn’t go crazy at Holding not giving him the ball.
He went crazy because he lofted it upfield and Sanchez wanted him to hold it.
He gestured and yelled easy easy.
P.s: Sanchez did acknowledge the fans today.
I think the worst thing about this match that you can’t fairly judge players because that type of pitch.
In my country – Lithuania, my national team plays on artificial pitch and saw from few feets distance Chamberlain scored a goal and yesterday had a cracking game too bit it’s clear that pitch affected with passing etc.
Don’t think we can blame it on the pitch, in my opinion it’s a better pitch than some of the muddy ones PL teams have to play on in the FA Cup to lower tier sides this time of year. It’s been some time since we’ve had a convincing performance, not sure what the issue is, but whether it’s a top team or a team we should walk over we just have not come out with much fire for as many games as I can remember. Nobody really stood out tonight other than Lucas, nobody was horrible, but just kind… Read more »
Also what does Lucas have to do to be played centrally. He’s always out wide…I’d like to see him played as central striker
Ospina was really, really horrible.
http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/paul-doswell-reveals-arsenal-will-donate-50000-to-help-sutton-build-classrooms-a3471771.html
Class.
Its gestures like this that makes arsenal special and such a class act and why we gooners are so so proud of the club. Well done Arsenal!
Not a very inspired performance …we should be killing a non league side but as it was they had some chances to make it interesting. When will.we stop.giving it away in our half? I like Holding more each time I see him apart from one lapse in concentration he looked very composed. Ox had everything but the final ball…I love his runs….nobody else on the side can do that…he also need to stop.giving away cheaply in our half. Apart from that Perez looked good and that’s about it the Jeff didn’t impose himself as he did last time and Iwobe… Read more »
If it were to come out Ospina actually had a servers visual impairment and makes saves based mostly on scent and intuition, would anyone be surprised? I think this would explain a lot.
Was actually a very nice game of footy last night.. Can understand why the players weren’t all over them.. Those plastic pitches are very different to grass when wet.. Could see how they struggled to control the ball a bit..
Job done. Let’s build up some confidence again. Please keep Holding in the side for next FA Cup match. And please let Lucas play more than just FA Cup matches
Painful stuff. Horrible looking turf too.
And I’ll never understand why we bring on A. Sanchez in games like this. Ludicrous.
If he comes in, Wenger is risking him needlessly.
If he doesn’t, we’re destroying the romance if the cup.
Honestly, there’s no need to create things to moan about.
“If he doesn’t, we’re destroying the romance if the cup.”
Yeah, when people complain about top sides fielding weakened squads, what they’re saying should happen is star players should come on for the last 15 minutes of already-won games.
Wait, no. That’s not the case at all.
“If he doesn’t, we’re destroying the romance if the cup.”
Christ, I already feel stupider for having read this crap.
If Sanchez, who hasn’t had a proper fucking rest for about 10 years, tore his knee up playing garbage time vs pub players on that sheight of a pitch, then we’d have deserved every inch of it. Wenger panders to him too much.
Our next game is the 4th of March, so he will have plenty of time to rest
Not so much to take from this match besides that Iwobi is totally out of form, Lucas should play , Ox replacing Coq and despite Wellbeck didn’t play he should entre the start line up.
That should give the team pace and strength and a style of play suiting Alexis better.
Looking forward, it’s a team better suited with the high pressure game of Klopp also, but I guess Wenger will fall down on the tested and failing set up yet again.
The negativity around the club is so toxic. It’s just football guys, chill.
We won and people still want to moan. Doesn’t matter what you think about Wenger but as a fan you should be able to enjoy a win right.
That fake headbutt was hilarious, up there with the pie/burger moment
Lucas was so committed and determined last night, best I’ve seen in Arsenal shirt recently (Alexis aside obviously)
Should be starting him each week!
At least we all now know the answer to football’s time honoured riddle : who ate all the pies?
Theo Walcott – 10 years at one of the worlds top football clubs – and he still can’t run with a football without either i) getting it caught up between his legs, or ii) running straight towards the 6’4″ defender standing directly in front of him and falling over. Not even an overweigh non league one.
Walcott 100 goals is fair enough, but really thought he struggled last night (and last few seasons). Consistently gave away possession, lacked any kind of fight, it looked to me as if he met his match with Sutton. What amazes me, is that he keeps getting game time with the likes of Perez and Welbeck proving far more effective when played. I know this sounds negative, but the lad strolled round looking like he was better than the opposition. He epitomises the flat track bully, and is part of the big issue at Arsenal presently. Watching Lucas Moura lately, seems… Read more »
Would like to see a forward 3 of…
Welbeck—-Perez—-Sanchez.
Re: Sanchez shouting at Holding. He has every right to moan, his mentality is what’s needed throughout the squad. If you are annoyed at his “petulance” then you too are the problem with the club at the moment, everyone afraid to upset one another, nothing changes because when people make a mistake everyone goes silent and doesn’t call anyone out. Fair enough Holding is just a young lad, but it shouldn’t matter, pretty sure at Barcelona or any other elite mentality club if you spray an aimless 40 yard pass to someone as shit in the air as a Theo… Read more »
If you believe what you’re saying then Sanchez deserves the most shouting at when he needlessly and consistently gives the ball away trying to dribble through a maze rather than make the easy pass.
Or will you counter that pay then switching back and claiming “he’s trying to do something positive and make something happen, he’s the only one doing it, give him a break” even though that same argument could be used right now for what Holding did.
I agree, he should be shouted at if he does a needless dribble and loses the ball, but all our players are too pussy to do that. There’s a difference between trying a pass or dribble where the odds are hugely beneficial if it comes off to Rob Holding smacking the ball straight to Theo Walcotts head when he’s at the corner of the box. When players try the correct but difficult pass and it doesn’t come off you’ll see Sanchez or Ozil give them a thumbs up, but when it’s plain fucking shit they’ve got every right to say… Read more »
Looking Arsenal team on this kind of pitch(hort and from close view), I’d realise what is missing on it players; No explosion and velocity
Iwobi, Mustafi, Xhaka, Holding, Coquelin, Gabriel, Elneny and Adelaide(of course Giroud, Ozil, etc) are too slow and with no explosion. Thats why when Arsenal recovers the ball the oponents teams are allready with their bus parked
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Iwobi “on the pace”. He should be benched.