If there’s such a thing as good 0-0 draw, that was it today as we dug in at Stamford Bridge, and showed we’d paid attention to what happened at Anfield a few weeks ago.
Aaron Ramsey was voted Sky’s Man of the Match, so here’s how he the rest of the players rated today.
PLEASE NOTE: We’re having some issues with the player ratings system so it may not count your votes. Feel free to leave your ratings in the comments below.
Fucking dirty chavs . The david luiz ‘bicycle ‘ kick was worth a red card by itself . The cyclical fouling of alexis as he came on too … whew
I think we’d be pretty aggrieved if the shoe was on the other foot and it was given a straight red. Koscielny was immensely brave challenging for that ball
Straight red was harsh I thought, a second yellow for side show bob for certain though.
Watch it again – it was a hideous tackle.
Bill, Luiz is that kind of player. He went looking for it and knew exactly what he was doing turning his studs up into Kolasinac at full leg extension. I’ve no idea what your motive would be to say otherwise.
I would honestly have absolutely no complaints if one of ours got a straight red for that. Cynical and daft. In other words, Luiz.
That whole club rubs me up the wrong way. They’re living proof that spending over a billion quid on players doesn’t buy you an ounce of class.
Lovely to have a team out there that won the physical contest today.
There was nothing wrong with Luiz’s ‘bicycle’ kick. He went for the ball, our man went for the ball and there was a collision. Let’s ban bicycle kicks and while we’re at it, hard shots.
Nothing wrong with bicycle kick in that position?
Oh, sure.
Raising your foot too high will get you a red card if you hit somebody’s faces, yet a bicycle kick to the face when it is crowded and oppositions surely would contest for the ball is okay?
This is exactly the point. Luiz basically threw all his body into a crowd of coverage and swung his high boot right through it. The very definition of dangerous play.
Getting on the bike when you have a clear swing at it is beautiful. Kicking through players’ faces is dangerous play.
If you remember correctly even Koscielny scored with a bicycle kick at the Emirates against Southampton. And we were lauding him for it. There was nothing wrong with Luiz’s bicycle. Football is a contact sport. Don’t let your bias cloud your judgment
He went for the ball.
Makes no difference if it’s reckless and dangerous.
No it wasn’t. Unless someone stuck their head in the way.
So, according to you, Koscielni threw himself on the ground at Luiz’s feet just to be kicked???
We’ve got some weird fans, Arsenal FC. How come you’re so willing to see Luiz’s point of view, but not Koscielni’s?
Not reckless or dangerous. He saw an opening and he went for the shot. If you watch the video again, Koscielny comes in from the side and by that time Luiz is already in motion. He couldn’t stop it.
My question…
Why would Blue Tinted glasses guys don’t get a life or write in Chelskovic websites???
So did Mane.
Well, of course he went for the ball otherwise, if he’d have gone for Koscielni’s head, he’d be banned 9 games…
But doesn’t make it alright just because you go for the ball and you get the ball, to go round and kick people on the head. Luiz is endangering an opponent
Mane went in studs up at head height whilst running at full speed. Totally diff to Luiz. I think a yellow was fair but a red would’ve been harsh.
The one he was off for was a straight red, however.
2 proof points that we are back with a vengeance!
i) Proof point ON the field – We battled and bullied them physically, and put the fear of God in them on the pitch
ii) proof point OFF the field – their classless supporters are getting nervous and are trolling our sites 🙂
COYG!
10/10 – Luiz getting knocked into the advertising boards to end the first half.
missed out on a top 4 place today
He took out the ball boy as well
Lol.
And a photographer
Can someone tell me what’s happening with Chambers?
Given our struggles at CB surely it would be worth giving him a go to battle with Mustafi/Holding
He played for the under 23s onFriday I think, just coming back from injury.
He played for the U23’s this weekend as he is getting back to match fitness. Apparently, his performance was impressive.
I think he’s a good candidate for the centre of a back 3, much like mustafi. We shall see I guess.
I agree he should be at least considered for the Europa and Cups, but both the young CBs aren’t even close to Mustafi, Monreal and Kozzer
Think he is currently injured.
That being said, I’m not sure throwing chambers in against Chelsea is the wisest move.
Good player, sure, will go on to become a great player, but right now, definitely not first choice.
He’s not good enough.He looked good for borough last year because they had ten men behind the ball.so he didn’t have many one on ones.hes to slow and not tall enough.we should of sold him.
He kept Holding out of the England U21s and was best defender
his performance against montero still gives me nightmares.
Are you going to condemn him for one poor match. He has made rapid improvement since then.
I think the key is he’s not a fullback.
he is at mcdonalds
Be sure to ask him he wants fries with that then.
Hard to say Arsenal is struggling at CB after keeping a clean sheet at Stamford Bridge.
This is how to play an away match against a tough opponent. Hope this performance is not one off.
it is a two off
Several actually
This is what Wenger does. He gets whipped, plays it safe to get a result for a match or 2, then goes back to Wenger ball once people get off his back.
Someone elxplain our style of play? I mean seriously what are our tactics because I cant see any.
Obviously didn’t watch the match today
Honestly what are you and the five others that upvoted you doing on this site?
Both formation and squad were not safety first, and tactics were such that we held Chelsea at bay whilst having a fair few opportunities to win the game.
begging the question of what tactics it is that you wanted to see?
A draw is the minimum expectation is it not? Or have we suddenly become Watford and not Arsenal?
Also Im referring to Arsenal’s overall tactical philosophy in general, that you can consistently see in every match.
Is it set peieces? No. Is it counter attack? No. Is it 70% possession? No. Is it get wide and cross? No.
If we don’t win away at Chelsea we’re suddenly Watford? That’s a daft leap.
LOL.
Watford? Where have you been for the last 13 years? Watching rugby?
We’re not a Pulis side, those are not mutually exclusive options
I hope your wrong but I thought Wenger got his tactics, team and subs spot on today
And that’s not very often we say that about Wenger
Mourninho would always get praised for away draws, Wenger got the tactics and lineup spot on today and deserves some plaudits.
There was a time when this was what we expected to see in a game like this, not the other thing we usually get (whatever that is supposed to be).
That was what Thierry seemed to be saying after the game. I think he is right.
Given our recent / past struggles you have to give the players and the manager a lot of credit though.
We actually played like a top team should, in other words …
We were the better side tbh. Chelsea were toothless. I enjoyed how Morata dived every moments and won nothing. I enjoyed the first half when we didn’t give too much room for Chelsea, and our attacking on the right hand side through Iwobi and Bellerin. The second half, Conte clearly used pressing tactic which has destroyed us on too many occasions, yet our players didn’t play close to each other like in first half, thus it was easier to get out of their pressure. Those are things that I noticed from the game. Clearly I don’t know much about tactics… Read more »
It was a one off for Chelsea. *giggles* This was a wonderful match to watch. Everyone worked hard, and I’m delighted with one point. I’d have loved to have won, but .. it’s Chelsea away. I’m not going to complain after that performance. I was in a pub with 80% blue shirts, and I was dreading the game. Seeing them moan and complain and call their team shit again and again put things into perspective. It was nice to be reminded that the other top teams have just the same frustrations as we do a lot of the time. This… Read more »
Also dropping Ozil + Sanchez to the bench for big away games so that we can be more compact and defensively minded might be the way forward.
Ozil is injured and not dropped.
Might be “injured”. Hard to tell.
Not that hard to tell
True, but I’m not sure we could have executed that gameplan with him in the side. Away from home when we don’t see as much of the ball it’s hard to deny we sacrifice something with him.
Nonsense. He’s our most creative player and we probably would have won if he had played today
Iwobi and welbeck defended from the front and were physically strong. I don’t think Ozil is as bad defensively as people like to say but we couldn’t have defended from the front like those two did today with Ozil in one of their spots.
I rate Özil highly, but you’re spot on.
We were more than capable of creating chances, and Iwobi looked calm and made some good runs – I like him because he picks a challenge and doesn’t just *always* try to pass the ball across the line.
Pretty certain if Ozil had played this game, Arsenal would have lost.
Pertain certain if Ozil played this game, Arsenal would have won
SMH WTF
Why did we win the cup Final? I remember Ozil starting.
We need to drop Welbeck for Sanchez. Welbeck just runs around, we need more from our attacking players. He’s about as clinical as a chainsaw in an operating room. He should have hit the header with his shoulder, better chance of going in.
Welbeck is undroppable atm. He does so much work of the ball. Sanchez has done nothing this season to deserve to be in first eleven. When he came on he again lost possession in dangerous areas. He is bigger liabillty than Ozil.
Ozil a liability ? Most idiotic comment of the day.
Sorry for missunderstanding. Ozil is not a liabilty but if I have to choose who is bigger Sanchez or Ozil then I would pick Alexis any day.
Really fingers crossed his groin is ok
Dropping Ozil was the difference?
Let me posit a new theory: Aaron Ramsey played a more disciplined box-to-box midfield role today and didn’t just bomb forward from the kickoff and abandon his defensive duties. That, Bellerin finding his form, and Iwobi being played in a proper position are what made the difference in looking like a proper team. The rest have been doing their bit.
Although I would’ve gladly taken a point if you asked me before the game, after the match it seems like 2 points lost. Regardless a positive performance and onwards and upwards. COYG!
Your watching a different game.
Mustafi had Morata in his pocket.
He also made a game leading 8 clearances and was unfortunate to be offside for the goal.
MOTM or Ramsey.who was also excellent throughout today.
Phil McNulty who is one of our worst critics had him as MOTM too.
Tinted glasses. Koscielny was at fault for not tracking Pedro but gets a whopping 2 extra points over Mustafi?
Some people are coloured by their own prejudice.
Agree 100%
Credit when it’s due.
Actually, the issue with Pedro’s chance was that Mustafi was like 10 yards behind the other defenders and covered the offside.
No are you blind Kos was out of postion.. pedro was behind him
http://arsenalist.com/f/2017-18/chelsea-vs-arsenal/huge-save-by-cech-on-pedro.html
If you look at the beginning, you will easily see the difference between Mustafi and the rest. He keeps two players onside.
http://arsenalist.com/f/2017-18/chelsea-vs-arsenal/huge-save-by-cech-on-pedro.html
Look at the beginning of this video and tell me again how I’m blind.
Right you are, Captain. Mustafi was not in line with his two other CBs, then compounded his error by running up to attempt to sell an offside rather than dropping with Pedro. Mustafi does this a couple times a game, sometimes keeping a player onside and sometimes trying to pinch a ball coming to an opposition forward, either missing it, fouling, or both. He should work on his timing. Very good player, but needs improvement.
I see that play the same way, but thought he had a much more composed game overall aside from that play.
I’d agree Mustafi was good, but he was at fault for Pedro chance as he was leading him onside.
I agree with a lot of this … other than your use of “Your.”
Mustafi acquitted himself well, but not quite MOTM for me. Different story if the goal had been onside of course, but it wasn’t and Mustafi was indeed offside. He was turned quite a few times by Morata, and was just as responsible for the Pedro chance as Koscielny imo, because he decided to step up too late…if you are too late with the offside trap, always best to track the run. On the other hand if Mustafi has pushed up in time and Koscienly had kept Pedro onside, then you can put the blame at Koscielny’s feet. As it is,… Read more »
I was going to say, I can’t be the only person that thought Mustafi was good today…
Bbc made him man of the match
I concur
The chance was absolutely Mustafi’s fault. Moving up as a single line is very important when playing the offside trap. If you’re slow to, you’re messing it up.
As noted below, he then made it much worse by moving up just as the pass was played leaving Pedro in plenty of space behind our defence. Koscielny and Cech both did well to spare his blushes.
wellsaid ,Mustofi was our best defender.i don’t understan why he is rated less than Kos.
I am curious to read some comments from the folks here that criticized Rambo before the game.
cant blame them, me included – after that horror show with xhaka at anfield.
jens must have made them repeat “positional discipline” a thousand times in german at every training since then, and i think it finally worked. COYG
What worries me is that his positional discipline is always tip top for Wales. So for me, the buck stops with the manager re: his performance at Anfield. Looked like he was asked to play a high press along with three forwards and it backfired spectacularly leaving Xhaka with egg on his face. Competely the oposite to today’s system as we didn’t even have a secondary presser behind Laca (who was very conservative in his initial pressing anyway) – this was typified by most of our turnovers coming in centre mid or our own half – a fit Alexis would… Read more »
I haven’t seen Wales that often, but when I have, Ramsey looks even more adventuresome than he does for Arsenal.
Yes, because it’s impossible for a player to be justifiably criticized and then have a good game.
Why can’t people just enjoy a result and enjoy a performance for what it is. Ramsey has between average and very poor for a while but had a fantastic game today. I support Arsenal, like you do, and hope he can kick on from today instead of being keen to be proven right about my opinion of him.
I think Ramsey’s always been a bit harshly rated. For me he’s a really key player for us – high work rate, ability to drive forward like Jack can, able to dribble, hold people off, hit the target ..he’s a great all rounder. All players come in and out of form and I hope AR is now on the upward form trajectory given his great performance today
I.m hoping Ramsey can stay injury free and build on his recent form also. He produced some lovely skill against Bournemouth when he combined with Kola down the left flank for Welbz 1st goal. Today he was fantastic. Hoping for much more of this from Aaron
Completely agree! The problem is the the critics on Ramsey are most of the times personal – like “he is incapable of playing with tactics discipline” rather than “he had a bad game”
Ramsey was excellent today. The midfield was disciplined. They didn’t rush ahead for useless pressure when the ball was given away.
I have been slating Ramsey mercilessly for a number of matches – because he seems to play for personal glory rather than the team’s aims. I’m happy to say he rectified this yesterday and, in my opinion, was man-of-the-match. What I need from him now is this level of effort and team ethic in EVERY match.
What thrilled me most was the fact that we played 70 minutes without 2 players that are not likely to be here next season. A classic proof that no player is bigger than the club.
We can now prepare for life without them in the January window.
The future is brighter than some haters will make you believe.
In summary, that was not the performance of a team on the brink of a crisis; rather, it’s that of one with a point to proof. Long may it continue.
Football is a team sport Manny thats why…Spurs are considered a better team than us by the pundits..but I am absolutely convinced our players individually are better..
They play better together as a team than us..is is a team sport..if Alexis and Ozil don’t commit fully to the team we won’t win anything even if we offer them 500kpw
Exactly! Oh how I wish for Wilshere to prove it to haters and Iwobi to make the step up, because we really do have two gems of a player…
Iwobi linked up with midfield really well. Really helped them out in ways that Ozil doesn’t in these games too
Ah, Özil. Even when his team wins, he is the big loser.
I totally love Mesut but with Welbz & Iwobi as the wide players in the front three, we did look far more solid today. Pleased for Iwobi who has been struggling a bit. Be honest, were you upset when you knew Ozil wasn’t playing today?
The problem is 3-4-3 is not structured for a player like Ozil. It requires two full CM’s playing positionally disciplined roles. 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1, or 3-5-2 is where he can drop into his most effective #10 role.
If we could get Xhaka and Ramsey to be the more disciplined CM deep 2 his value would show better. But if Ramsey is always pushing into his space or leaving the defense exposed (whether by assignment or by choice) Ozil will be blamed apparently.
Maybe I watched a different game but Iwobi doesn’t tackle, doesn’t hold balls and doesn’t pass. He is just a young version of Walcott. Lucky Bellerin was up for the game today and Chelsea without Costa is completely average.
Thought Mustafi did ok.
Gave away one silly free kick, but got close to Morata and did a decent job.
Morata is a right handful and I thought we handled him relatively well.
I think the reason people feel like Mustafi’s performance wasn’t immaculate is rare lapse in concentration in situations like this : http://arsenalist.com/f/2017-18/chelsea-vs-arsenal/huge-save-by-cech-on-pedro.html Admittedly the whole back three was suspect on that occasion but Mustafi had a couple of those later as well. If he had gotten on the score sheet everyone would be kissing his ass now. Fine margins.
blogs did you watch some bad game mustafi played last season ?
Mustafi was a beast today he won every duel in the air and on the floor and he didn’t let morata to have a sniff at goal.
Easily up there with motom ramsey
Honestly I thought Mustafi was very good, once he got to grips with the threat Morata posed he nullified him effectively and wasn’t as wasteful in possession as he sometimes can be.
10/10 for Cech’s chest-down, control and pass when Monreal whizzed an airball at him
That was Monreal? For a moment I thought it was Ospina 🙂
No, seriously, that was a wonderful bit of cool head from our Cech.
after today’s game, I can safely say we don’t have a bad squad
Didn’t miss Ozil or Sanchez really. Will never know what impact they could’ve had so might as well faze them out of the starting line up. They’re not signing on. Would rather see Nelson anyway
We definitely missed Ozil. Kante must have breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the teamsheet. I love Iwobi, but I’m sure we would have won the game if Ozil was playing.
Think Lacazette is too high within a seven and mustafi too low with a 6. Morata is a tricky customer and mustafi made a few mistakes but when you’re marking as tight as he was it happens. With Lacazette you can clearly tell that he doesn’t have the extra dimension of pace required to open the game against opposition like Chelsea. He’s impressed with his link up play generally and he will get better as time goes on.
Agree. Lacazette doesn’t seem to be quite up to the level of the Premier League yet, but he will improve. Mustafi can be so frustrating when he goes on his wanderings upfield. But today he was disciplined. Morata was very quiet indeed.
Your hate for Mustafi is real
I don’t hate Mustafi at all. I just found him worrying today. Many other people didn’t share those worries, but life goes on!
i share the worries…i like Mustafi and i think he battled hard and gave his all like he always do but i believe he has yet to display the composure and reading of the game which one would expect from someone playing in the middle of a back 3…i suppose the sentiment here would be much different had any of the 2 “turns” made by Morata on him resulted in a goal against us
on another note what does Monreal need to do to get a motm?
Re. Monreal: Most people don’t know too much about fullback play and will roll out the usual “oh, he was his usual 7/10” – even if he’s doing superbly in the middle of defence these days. Maybe because he doesn’t attract too much attention (doesn’t fly into challenges or pick fights and so on) ? His numbers yesterday were as good as if not better than Koscielny’s and I genuinely believe he’s the main reason Kolasinac has hit the ground running, as he (Nacho) is constantly instructing him on what to do – just as he did with Xhaka and… Read more »
Monreal doesn’t need an MOTM. He’ll just quietly go about his business, not attracting attention from the media or the press, and continuing to dominate any opponent put in front of him. Long may this continue. Team first – individual plaudits next. Nacho embodies this stance.
Worth reminding people that ratings are subjective. You can disagree, of course, but it doesn’t make you any more right or wrong than the person you’re disagreeing with.
Also, they are just made up numbers for entertainment purposes.
no, they are not just made up numbers for our entertainment, they’re a reflection of how well or how poorly we think each player performed.
a majority of people who watched the game would agree that Mustafi was quite solid and played quite well overall today
that being said, thank you for giving us this platform to have discussions and speak our minds.
You’re welcome 😉
Mustafi was good. Dunno bout the whole “majority of people” bit though. Sounds like you done a YouGov poll or something.
Maybe the fact that he’s a 35million pound defender who doesn’t always look it counts against him? Overall it’s great that switching him with Koscielny worked, and when he gets his passing going again he’ll be even more effective in the centre.
Confirmation bias 🙂
I hope ozil gets a minor thigh strain that needs a 24hr rest when ever we have a big away game..
unfortunately Wenger does not get it that football is not about skill alone if it was we would have won the EPL at least 6times in the last 13yrs!..
We would have won the game if Ozil played today 🙂
I disagree about Ozil, but that is not the reason for the down vote. It’s the idea that you understand football better than Wenger. You can disagree with his selections, with his tactics, but anyone who spends his life doing nothing but football–whether it’s Wenger or Tony Pulis or David Moyes–“understands” the game and does not need your lectures.
Mustafi MOTM.
6/10 itd a joke.
Hope dat guy Welbz is ok
The boys played like a team today. They showed metal, at each third. I think Alexis should’ve have come on sooner, but I can’t fault this difficult draw.
Thought the lads showed mettle. It was Sideshow Bob who showed metal on two occasions, and will have three matches off to show for it.
How the hell you’ve got 5 down votes for this is beyond my comprehension! By the way, they showed ‘mettle’ rather than ‘metal’.
Thierry Henry – 0
Asked prior to the game to give some positives to Arsenal, he said “the game hasn’t started”. No mention of the fact that Arsenal had won both their prior competitive games. Great player, bad pundit.
Seems like he’s speaking from the heart rather then giving a profesional answer. He, like most of us, must of had the Anfield game in mind rather then the recent change of attitude against two struggling sides.
It was a great performance from the team. Unlucky to not have scored but still a great performance. If I had to rate, it would be the entire team together which I will give an average of 8.5/10. The manager made a questionable substitution in Lacazette. That’s the only thing really. People who are saying why did he start Iwobi over Sanchez? The man is with the players in training everyday he knows what they can do and he knows better about their fitness issues. Chelsea is not an easy team and their game is always very physical. Sanchez is… Read more »
So no one wants to talk about Kolasitank?
Versatile beast. Wenger gets so much grief for his signings (or rather lack thereof). Kolasinac is proving very useful all over the pitch.
Wait… My comment was half-finished. Kolasinac is a great addition to the team!
Great team performance. Impressed with Ramsay display. We could have had them but I’m happy with the point considering I wasn’t that confident pre game. Also very happy ‘Offside’ Walcott didn’t get a look in. Unhappy that Sanchez seemed to celebrate Ramsay hitting the post. What’s the craic with that guy.
A loss today would have been devastating. Wenger would have been raked over the coals for his decision to leave Sanchez on the bench and return to the three at the back. Instead, a draw against the champions at Stamford Bridge is a foundation to build on. They worked well as a team with positional discipline. I really thought Sanchez might come in and drop a nice chip on Giroud’s head for all three points. Oh well. It was a very satisfying point earned.
As if Sanchez is going to help Giroud to score more goals than him!
Ramsey.
Disagree with the Theo comment, but ? agree with the Sanchez one.
Why da hell everybody is so fixed on Alexis’ body language, even when they do not even know at least the very basics….What alexis said was…”conchesuma….” translated into something like “fuccckkkkk” and that is our way, the chilean way to express a “daaaaaaaaaamn, that was close…..almost in!!””. Stop paying attention to such minor things and focus on things like having a good performance and become real title contenders and not top 4 competitors. Many of you complain on the fact that alexis looks so frustrated and is not about money, it’s because every footballer who wants to win things, wishes… Read more »
Whilst not going as far as Santori (“Mustafi had Morata in his pocket”) I thought our slightly smaller German was pretty good today too. Yes, he sometimes got a bit tight to Morata but at least he made sure the Spaniard was fully aware of his presence. Kos good too as was Nacho Man. Rambo much, much better but still inclined to go too far forward, too early. I hate to say it as I love him but the absence of Ozil really helped; Welbz & Iwobi really put in a shift meaning that we were so much more compact.
LOVE the bonus rating. Those kinds of fouls really make a difference in tight games and it’s something we have been lacking for a long time. It’s so nice to see some tactical awareness applied once in a while!
I think a rating of 6 for Mustafi is a bit harsh. He did get rolled too easily a couple of times against Morata but he was there every time he got the ball and kept him at bay to be fair. Very solid from him today and not as rash.
I agree. Mustafi put in a good shift. Sure, he had a blunder, and sure, it could have ended up worse. But if you look at it, it was basically one time where Morata got past him – but change the perspective. A “great new expensive signing” like Morata got shut down for almost the entire game. Sure, we saw the mistake. But I also saw the many times he worked his ass off, and kept the gate shut. Against Chelseas biggest attacking threat.
aaron is good just doing the simple stuff. his high energy and work rate are his strengths. use it, play the short simple passes (forward passes) to the attacking trio or to xhaka, who has a much better pass range, and then sit back and facilitate the movement of the ball and solidifying and closing down oppositions/ helping out full backs.
Strange feeling. Nice to not lose of course but can’t help but feel that we are in a place now where we celebrate a draw against another ‘big team’. After all the years of having no money and all the rest of the excuses, now we should be up there and we still aren’t. Don’t mean to pee on the happy parade but as a general comment it’s sad to see what we are now in this moment. Chelsea would have been happy overall to draw today, their plan to win the league will include drawing against the other big… Read more »
I think Jose wants to draw against big teams, especially away. I think Conte wants to win against them, especially at home. He will view this as two points dropped.
IMustafi was way better than a fucking 6. What game did you watch?
lol
https://twitter.com/MustafiOfficial/statuses/909463274999222274
As someone who enjoys the defensive side of the game, I like watching lacazette press the way he does. Watching giroud slow jog around drives me crazy. Lacazette and alexis pressing together would create real problems for opposing teams. Mustafi had an up and down day, definitely overcommitted a few times. Morata is overrated, he wont have the success he enjoyed in spain and italy, the premier league will expose him. His movement was shit today. Good result for the team, unlucky not to win.
We played some good football today, and were the dominant side for most periods of the match.
I was surprised at the starting line-up. Even though I like Iwobi, I don’t think he can be the primary playmaker, that’s not his profile, he’s a better playmaking winger. I think he had a tough game today. I would have preferred either M.Elneny starting, and Ramsey playing in Iwobi’s position. If Jack had played a little more till this point, it could have been a perfect opportunity for him, since he can be a primary playmaker.
I see why peaple disagree with Mustafi rating, but my issue is with iwobi & wellbeck. Now I had a dodgy stream at times, but someone please bring me up to speed with what they did to deserve a 7. Laca I can understand that he gets a pass.
Also did AW put Alexis up top at first? What does that suggest, if so.
We played with real commitment today, no tackles shirked.
We were unlucky (hitting the post), but in brutal honesty it could have gone either way.
I thought Ramsey was superb, and Bellerin too.
I really hope we can show this level of display in future away games.
What a petulant cnut Luiz is, and I’m so glad Kolasinac was able to carry on.
There is nothing negative about this result. We clearly had a game plan that wasn’t delusional, for a change. And the lads followed it to a tee. Ramsey was as good as I’ve seen him in years. His assurance on the ball gave us control of the middle of the field. Don’t remember him losing the ball once. Deserved MOTM. Our defense was rarely under stress, and those times we were caught out, good decisions were made. Purposeful, forceful, resolute from our back line. Up front, we did what we’re supposed to do: we pressed the chavs relentlessly. Made it… Read more »
I’m the first one to criticise Ramsey but today he was immense ( apart when he stepped on Xhaka’s toe in the first half). If he can bring back the 2014 season form when he was walking on water I ll be singing his praise!! #welshjesus #finallysometacticalawareness
Ramsey’s best game in an Arsenal shirt?
So has Monreal been our most consistent player the last two years? I can only remember a poor 2 or 3 game spell from him last season other than that he has been exceptional.
Your ratings were spot on, as well as the bonus rating for the cynical (but necessary) yellows near the end. I loved the way both teams took free kicks quickly, wanting to press on for the win. Had Michael Oliver not been so lenient, the game could have been choppier and more men may have been sent off. Shame about Welbz.
Could the players absorb this lesson about being switched on all game? Let’s hope so. I don’t want to see Ospina gift Doncaster an early goal!
Two matches in a row where Bellerin looked like he might be the best right fullback/wingback in Europe (ok, Dani Alves).
I don’t really get that rating for Mustafi. For me he had Morata in check for whole game besides that one moment when he allowed him to turn and run on our goal. For me he was most impressive of our back 3.
Chelsea tried to bully us in the second half with rough physical play and a dirty tackle from Luiz, good to see us stand up to it, rather than crumble.
I will give the ref Oliver credit, overall he did a solid job today, much better than typical for him. Didn’t really rob us of anything, he was correct on the offside goal, and gave the deserved red for Luiz. Much better than we usually get from him, or from most refs at the Bridge.
I’m not one constantly calling for Wenger out but I’ve thought after Liverpool he’s lost the team. I thought his team he put out today was spot on and when Sanchez came on I was praying for him to play no 9. When on the wing he’s freelances way too much and against good quick attacking sides leaves teammates exposed. Everyone oohs and ahhs when he chases in the back waving his arms for the rest of his team to follow? Legitimate chances of pressing to win a ball or ignoring your responsibilities, coaches and teammates? Great individual talent no… Read more »
While watching the first half I was more concerned about how we were playing with basically one Central Midfielder. And in the second half Ramsey was mostly found ahead of Sanchez and Giroud. It was great that Monreal was joining in the CM role whenever possible and Kolasnic cutting in to join. Ramsey was not positionally disciplined as mentioned here. It was more about how the team was able to cover for him. Iwobi played the Ozil game today not much visible but still created most chances for his team and got no assists (what a waste… :p). If the… Read more »
Amazing…two of our players actually made Garth Crook’s team of the week!
Kolasinac and Mutafi.
David Luiz: what a fucktard. Typical classless Chelski player.
Quality, all round. Watched it in a south london pub full of sp**s fans, and they were all shocked we didn’t win. THAT is my Arsenal. Fighting. Digging in. That made me proud!