Result: Arsenal 1 – 0 Huddersfield
Competition: Premier League
Date: 8th December 2018
Venue: Emirates Stadium
Arsenal: Leno, Bellerin, Lichtsteiner, Mustafi, Sokratis, Kolasinac, Guendouzi, Xhaka, Torreira, Aubameyang, Lacazette
Subs: Cech, Koscielny, Monreal, Elneny, Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Nketiah
Arsenal kept their unbeaten run going to 21 games in a row with a 1-0 win over Huddersfield and a first clean sheet in the league since the game against Watford in September.
The game was marred by poor refereeing decisions, rotational fouls by the visitors and suspensions for an already bare Arsenal back line. However, Arsenal found a way through late on through Torreira in the 83rd minute to show some mettle in what is surely one of the Gunner’s most frustrating matches this season.
First Half
Unai Emery continued to surprise with his tactics as he attempted a 3-5-2 formation against Huddersfield. Not one to be dissuaded by the injuries sustained against United, Emery risked both his fit first team strikers and his match fit centre backs while cramming Lichtsteiner into the back line.
There was also a sliver of good news on the injury front as captain Laurent Koscielny made the bench with the reliable Nacho Monreal.
Huddersfield didn’t make it easy for Arsenal to start the game as they sought to press the Gunners high up the pitch to deny them to build up play. Passes from Arsenal either went astray or were forced back due to pressure from the visitors.
The best chance of the first 15 minutes was a counter attack by Arsenal as Hector Bellerin was put through by Lacazette as he cut through the middle of defence. Bellerin’s cutback for Aubameyang was blocked off by a Huddersfield defender.
Quite unfairly, Xhaka was booked on the 24th minute for what we can assume was simulation – this despite looking like he got clipped by Mooy while dribbling the ball. A ridiculous decision considering that Huddersfield were consistently making rotational fouls on the Arsenal players up to this point. That’s 9 fouls against Arsenal’s 1.
The first big chance of the game came not long after when Xhaka curled a low pass into the box with his weaker right foot into the path of Aubameyang whose first time shot goes just wide of the far post. Another big chance went begging for Lacazette a minute later who lost his footing when striking the ball after controlling it well from a deft pass from Guendouzi.
Arsenal’s frustrations increased as Lacazette’s goal was wrongly chalked off for offside. He was in an offside position when the pass towards him was made but it was Jorgensen who intercepted and gained control of the ball. The Huddersfield defender then made a horrible error to underhit a pass back to his goalkeeper that was pounced on by Lacazette who slotted in comfortably before the referee called for offside.
The pace of the game improved right at the end with Pritchard shooting just over and Torreira’s top corner strike was palmed away by Lossl.
The half ended sourly with 4 yellow cards for the Gunners and 3 for Huddersfield due to inconsistent decisions by the referee. Sokratis and Mustafi’s yellows also meant that both defenders will be ruled out of the next game against Southampton having collected 5 yellow cards each in the league this season.
Second Half
Emery switched tactics in the second half with substitutions – Mkhitaryan and Iwobi coming on for Lacazette and Lichtsteiner. Arsenal reverted to a 4-3-3 formation to attack the wide areas and Mkhitaryan was quickly involved from the start, cutting in from the right and striking just wide.
However, the game was marred by more underhanded play by Huddersfield – adding time wasting to their fouling.
On the 62nd minute, Aubameyang had the chance to turn the tide but missed when he nodded wide from an in-swinging Xhaka corner.
The Arsenal defence was left with another blow as Mustafi pulled his right hamstring, leaving Emery to make his last substitution and bring on Monreal to take on the left sided centre back berth on the 66th minute.
The final ball continued to elude the Arsenal team as the players lacked the sharpness to make that decisive attempt on goal.
Arsenal’s third yellow card for simulation was handed to Guendouzi who was clipped inside the box – a poor day out for the referee.
Alas, Arsenal made their breakthrough on 83 minutes. Guendouzi pinged a tantalizing ball from deep for Aubameyang who controlled it well in the box. His shot was blocked but he looped the rebound back into the six yard box for Torreira to finish with a spectacular overhead kick. 1-0 to the Arsenal.
7 minutes of extra time made up for the many stoppages in the game as Arsenal saw out a tough game at home.
The game does plunge the backline into crisis as Sokratis (suspended) and Mustafi (injured and suspended) will not be available in the next match. For now, the Gunners live to fight another day as they prepare for a heavy December schedule.
The important thing is we got the win and Lucas Torreira – what a guy!
Running out of superlatives to describe Torreira. He’s so f*cking good !
He comes from Uruguay!
He’s only 5 ft 5!
Torreira man of the decade!
And we’ve been crying out for this type of player for a decade as well.
So true rellends
As already shared on a former post, though I’m french (please, dont…) i do rate this man higher than N’Golo Kante.
So happy he plays for us !!!
I would say they are different players, very similar but a little different.
Kante is slightly better at tackling (cleaner tackles)
But kante has nowhere near torrerias attacking ability.
The sweet smell of a one nil victory against a bunch of cheating cunts punching above their weight. My lungs are filled with lust, pride and jubilation; an Arsenal for all seasons.
Fuck Mourinho!
Laca’s goal being disallowed is the most ridiculous call of the season so far. Talk about a dodgy ref
By the way I love Torreira. Like I actually think I’m in love with him.
that was such bs! I don’t even know why the hell did he disallowed it, Complete bollocks
Laca was offside on the 1st phase, but then the Huddersfield player had the ball and made a bad pass; therefore, no longer offside.
Dreadful call. Refs were very poor all game.
I’m available for CB next game Arsenal! haha. Not sure how we’ll line up, maybe Kos and Monreal as CBs? Add Lich for a back 3?
Yes, that was imo the only blatantly wrong decision, and that was the linesman. The referee had a good game.
So many thoughts and questions about todays game, with so many negatives. BUT what matters most is we got the 3 points, we’re up to third (at least for a while), and the unbeaten run continues to 21! Bring on the next game!
Also, Sven, please find more gems like Lucas Torreira!
Sorry but what are the so many negatives? I think sometimes as Arsenal fans we fail to applaud the opposition. They defended and organised extremely well. We should have scored a couple in the first half if it wasn’t for Laca’s mini studs again, had a legit goal disallowed, and had zero shots received on target. When teams play like Huddersfield play like that it’s hard to create excitement. Good win.
Huddersfield had a game plan for sure, and it nearly worked. Based on that performance I don’t see them going down.
The negatives for me were the bookings for Mustafi and Sokratis (both arguably unnecessary) which means a make shift centre back pairing for Southampton away, which has been a bogey location in the past few years.
Then, Mustafi’s injury. Not his biggest fan, but looks a lot more assured as part of a back 3, so I hope he is not out long
Say whatever you want, I loved the performance. Proud of my team.
Above all, Leno’s first clean sheet in the Premier League.
Ref can do one!
3 yellow cards for diving. Ridiculous. If this guy is trying to make an example of players then other refs must do the same and they don’t. Dele Alli made a blatant dive looking for a penalty at Leicester. Nothing doing. He should’ve been booked. We rarely seem to get good decisions at home
Not to mention the penalty given to Son last weekend. Then it was all, “Well there was contact. He made a meal of it, but contact all the same.” This time it’s,”There was some contact but yep that’s in the box, yellow card.”
Lucas ‘the difference’ Torreira
Vital 3 points. No easy games in this league. Keep plugging away and keep this unbeaten run going!
This was the type of game where I was biting my nails from the 60th minute worrying we might never be lucky enough to score. Over the moon that we managed to get super important 3 points. Now to a well deserved rest!
Far from our best performance, still a shout to Torreira, Bellerin, Xhaka, Sokratis and Kolasinac. Think they played their hearts out!
Also Aubameyang. Didn’t have a great game but that take in the box was a moment of quality.
Three points and a clean sheet. I love it!!
Is that you fatso, with no wind up line?….nah…someone must hacked his profile me thinks
No: I love clean sheets. That’s how you win matches and trophies. No stupid goals conceded today. Good.
Did you love the 5-0 and 1-0 last season against them too?
Yes.
Quick thoughts from the game: – That referee is just awful. Allowed Huddersfield too much leeway to foul in the first half and then overcompensated for his mistakes. 3 yellows for Arsenal players for simulation says it all. – It was too risky to start all the fit CBs (no choice there), forwards and the 3 CMs Emery trusts especially after the injuries in the Utd game. Unfortunately, we’re in crisis mode as Koscielny would be rushed back to start. Is Bould still fit enough to play for us? Asking for a friend. – A playmaker like Ozil would have… Read more »
Oh and Torreira! Player of the season so far.
No: that’s Ozil.
we could have used Ozil today to unlock a pass or two.
Strikers were unlucky not to score in the first half as well.
He’s still got that back spasm – but he’s still gonna get his £350k this week.
Frustrating game not made any easier by the ref. Good opportunity for Mkhi to turn up but another useless cameo
All made irrelevant by Super Torreira!!!
Too much Mkhitaryan scapegoating going on. Mkhitaryan is always a threat on the pitch and he’s one of the most intelligent players we have. Right now our setup is designed to get the best out of Auba and Lacazette and players like Mkhi do their stuff outside the box. Mkhitaryan is often the first player to dribble with pace and initiate our counter-attacks. Also, Mustafi didn’t get the credit he deserved today when he limped off. Shameful from our Home crowd. He score a crucial goal against United and he always gives 120% in NLD. Mustafi and Rob Holding kept… Read more »
Agree in regards to both players. Mustafi especially has defended very well this season but opinions forged from previous campaigns seem to be clouding judgements on his performances, this.
(That and his admittedily irritating dance in training)
Like ramgooner, I think it’s a little too harsh on Mkhi but I agree that his performances this season could be better considering he’s one of our most experienced playmakers.
I don’t think Mustafi was all that bad too today and I shudder to think how we’re going to cope with the loss of central defenders in the upcoming weeks. We have to revert to the back 4 as Koscielny and Sokratis are the only fit CBs.
Hatta, I would urge you to see the first half again. This referee actually tried to stop the kind of negative rotational fouling teams like man u and Tottenham do, and what we hate. Offside on laca was wrong but I think the referee had a good game.
Kafkush, the ref smartened up to the rotational fouling a little too late. By the time he started handing out yellow cards, he had no choice as the tackles came in hard and fast from all sides. The cards should have came in earlier to dissuade anyone to continue fouling.
He also overcompensated by handing out those cards for simulation to the Arsenal players. Xhaka was obviously tripped and the Guendouzi and Mustafi yellows were borderline at best. Most of the time, refs would just signal players to get up in those situations.
I think all 3 were dives. The galling thing is that we see this every game from every team and in far more exaggerated ways and generally getting away with it. In each one of those today there was at least some contact made but in no way enough to even off balance a player. I’d personally like to this kind of action taken by every ref. Diving is just a giant wind up which most supporters go along with nowadays when it’s their. It requires no skill just desperation.
A fantastic wonder goal by our tenacious little terrier!
Torreira is bigger than just being a DM, and he was the biggest man on the pitch today.
Shout-out to Lichsteiner for letting the Huddersfield trolls know that if you kick Torreira, he will personally deliver you a beating. Love that old school Arsenal flavour!
I really like Lich, he brings that bit of bastardeness we’ve been missing for so long
Couldn’t agree more. Chelsea have picked up most of the bastardness in the transfer market in recent years imo
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH
He is five foot five.
He sets The Emirates alive…..
Teams are starting to fear us, hence the ridiculous foul play that we are starting to see against our team. They realise now that they can’t outplay us, so they are trying to bully us off the pitch instead. It worked in the Wenger era – we were soft. Now we are not, the opposition will soon learn that too.
I still think we are a bit soft. We are starting to stand up for ourselves more, which is good, but we still go to ground/lose the ball too easy sometimes. Matteo went down easily against man united and got bailed out by the ref a few times. Today Xhaka went down a bit too easy. I agree he shouldn’t have been given a yellow for simulation as he was hit, but he probably could have just stayed on his feet.
So proud of the fans….. Booing opposition constantly, far from the library they used to call our ground. Vibe is great, 21 unbeaten run, and gosh, what a goal by Torreira…. To be able to stay composed to try that on the spot is nothing but brilliant. Guendouzi is fucking amazing. Iwobi is trying too hard to regain his lost form me thinks… It’ll come for him I’m sure. Coyg
teams are learning that Iwobi is a dribbling threat and are doubling up on the Sead/Iwobi combination.
we indeed needed Guendouzi to unlock stuff from deep, just didnt realise what a winner Torreira is!
Yeah, noticed Iwobi was dealing with multiple defenders at times
January cant come quick enough, for emery
If he could, He’d make an overhaul no doubt.
I don’t think he’s that happy with the individual quality.
Winning when everyone is playing as the worst versions of themselves. Playing that midfield 3 at home was strange but Emery must be thinking long term. Torreira is already on petit’s heels and is only trailing Gilberto and Vieira as my fave midfield enforcer. Signing of the season. What wa s he even doing that far forward.
How long can Xhaka keep getting away with being such a target table player by the other team. He gave the ball away in dangerous areas in our defensive third more than once. Just lucky those mistakes weren’t punished
Can never understand what goes through his mind sometimes. How can basic football elude him. Always trying a Fabregas or Ozil like pass when a simple pass will do
Great result didn’t like the simulation though.
Not the best football match ever but good result all the same. Congrats to the lads…
I do not know what is going on with Ozil, but with Ramsey injured, we need to get that ‘back’ fixed.
There was a lesser spotted Mesut Ozil wearing a white hoodie on the back row of the bench at around 85 mins.
The referee was poor but he was right to book Guendouzi & Mustafi.
Both were obvious attempts to con the referee into giving a penalty.
Xhaka should not have been booked & goal should have stood.
Poor is an understatement. He deserves an Oscar nomination. Imagine if the Lacazette incident was a European Semi-final or a World Cup. With the amount of money in the Premier League they should treat every match like a World Cup final. IMO these are mind games and we had to con the referee multiple times to understand what was really going on in his head. An inconsistent referee would have given atleast one decision in our favour but this guy went one step above and dished out yellows. They deserved more yellows than us and the stats and replays are… Read more »
Actually Guendouzi did get clipped.
Guendouzi had a fair shout I reckon. It wasn’t ‘simulation’ because he went down after the contact. We’ve had those given against us on several occasions
There was contact because HE made the contact
Mustafi got his right foot kicked mid air. Saw the reply on the match recap with andy gray.
Where the hell was this ref last weekend when Son flopped in our box and was given a penalty? There was more contact on all 3 of our “dives” today than there was on Son’s, yet we get 3 yellows and the Spud gets a penalty. :angry
Damn straight. The lack of consistency amoungst refs is maddening, and piss poor considering the work put into making them professional and we’ll paid. On top of that, you see the inconsistencies shown by the same ref in the same match and you have to think that something is very wrong for the state of refereeing in this so called best league in the world.
Lucas Torreira, you beauty of a man! Not the best game but this team have such a strong spirit and grit, I’m loving it!
Also, props to Unai for managing so well this match, did the best thing but asking the players to calm down instead of pressing them more. I’m really liking the Unai era so far. We might not win things in a few (tho I fancy the chances on Europa League this season), but as long as the team keeps this fighting spirit, never surrender attitude, and can play good entertaining football, call me a happy fan
I am not sure that gesture was a calming down one, could have been a mini bowing thing?
Wow so what is our back four gonna look like against Southampton? I guess Bellarin, Kos, Nacho and Kola? Talk about bad timing for the injuries and suspensions!!! I definitely think a January signing is on the cards for defence, surly? Too risky otherwise!!! Happy we beat Huddersfield and the ref today!!!
I do want more punishment for diving, but the inconsistency today was absurd. Certainly two of their penalties that Tierney waved away were as much dives as what he booked for at the other end. Additionally, I don’t understand the hesitation to book for time wasting. One or two cards when it begins shows you mean business and gives you a chance of stopping it. It may occasionally put a ref in a tough spot with a decision to make about a second yellow on a time wasting decision, but it has gotten so out of control that I think… Read more »
I love that their time-wasting came back to haunt them when we scored late. Serves them right.
We stayed calm and the goal came. Very happy with our defence today. They played like men. Loved the tackle from Sokratis before he took his yellow. With guys like Stephan, Sokratis and Kolasinac taking an eye for an eye approach teams will have to think twice before kicking our players. We have a good mix of skill and mentality in this squad. We still need some talented fringe players. There is a world of difference between Joe Willock and Guendouzi for example. If we can get some talented youngsters who are first team ready but can also afford to… Read more »
We have to win ugly sometimes like the rest of the top six, but that ref was so poor I believe his performance should be reviewed. At least three of Arsenal’s yellow cards should be rescinded and he should be relegated to the Ryman league. You can’t blame the filth that is Cruddersfield as they were only doing what they could get away with. If Lacca’s goal stood and Mustafi’s pen given, it would have been three nil. This game may prove to be the undoing of our great start to the season. We have lost two center backs for… Read more »
Massive three points. Love Torreira like everyone else.
The problem is centre backs. Sokratis suspended, mustafi suspended and injured. Holding out. I love Kos, but it’s a lot to ask. Don’t know about Mavropanos. We really need a signing here.
Auba and laca missed sitters. It should not have been this difficult.
We need to improve big time. These games at home should be despatched in the first half itself if not earlier. Auba and laca need to be absolutely ruthless if we are be anywhere close to the top.
I think torreira and guendouzi were top class today. COYG!
What can be earlier than the first half? ?
Maybe he thinks Emery should score a couple in the press conference! ?
Ref was garbage today. Aside from the terrible offside decision, his inconsistency showed when he carded two Arsenal “dives” but did nothing when Huddersfield did the same on the other end…
I’m glad we managed to win despite all that
If anything the players bullied the ref today. Zero authority.
Ref didn’t even have the cojones to go through with the ridiculous 7 minutes added time. He blew the whistle after 6 minutes.
Oh, my god, what a frustrating game. But eat that you time wasting cunts. All the sweeter in the end.
Always funny to see them spend 85 minutes time wasting then fall behind at the death.
It still works to their benefit. They waste time and then seven minutes are added, (even with a player carrier off.) They still have time to work for a tie and losing 2 nil doesn’t really matter with regulation battling teams. Good strategy for a team that believes they are outclassed.
Add Huddersfield and Paul Tierney to the list of clubs and referees I hate
Just throwing out my opinion and thoughts (you can disagree of course), but I thought Aubamyang was off the pace today in terms of finishing and building up play, lacazette is so comfortable with both (even though he missed that sitter) and I feel he should be our front man from now on. So many good things from this team but the problem is that our only plan B is bringing on Iwobi and Mhki, you could feel the frustration of the crowd and in moments where we needed to build up play players were having poor touches and losing… Read more »
Auba may have been off the pace but he still brilliantly assisted the winner.
5 defenders & 3 defensive midfielders – how was the ball ever likely to get to the two forwards? At least half time brought some attacking midfield, albeit Iwobi did not have a good day.
This was George Graham team selection saved by the best player on the pitch in Torreira. Crab football gave us the worst game of the season for those in the stadium but at least the support was vocally there.
The problem was not team selection but the lack of width which is the structural squad imbalance Emery has inherited. The two wing backs plus 3 midfielders could and did all in turns go forward to link up with the strikers. Maybe it was a mistake to start both of them, not to start 8 ‘defensive minded’ players.
If we beat Southampton, Burnley and Brighton, Liverpool loses at home to Man United and City only gets 3 points out of their away games at Chelsea, Everton and Leicester the table after 19 games would see Liverpool on top with 48, City 2nd with 46 and us 3rd with 43. And on matchday 20 we play Liverpool. Beat them and I think sky’s the limit my friends. This team has a certain mentality about them. We don’t even play spectacular but we always seem to have a plan and that plan almost always seem to work at least to… Read more »
You should lower your expectations – finishing top 4 is an achievement with this squad. I get what you’re saying that we are basically good enough to be better than man u, spurs and chelsea but even that’s a stretch.
City lost today. 6 Points difference. You should raise your expectations mate. That doesn’t mean that everything is shit if we don’t make it. But to have the hope that it could be possible is what we’re here for, isn’t it? We’re 21 games unbeaten and 7 points behind Pool which we are playing in a few weeks. You can hope for top 4, i hope for more.
Torreira was fantastic, but for me Guendouzi was MoM. How did we unearth two such absolute gems in a single season!!
Barring the dive.. I hated that. However, overall, the refereeing was not consistent.
Guendouzi did dive at the end and was rightly booked. a hugely satisfying 3 points keeps the pressure on spurs, Chelsea and ManU. another tough game awaits with SOU and our decimated back line, get through that and we hit the holiday period on a real high.
He did get caught by the defender. The defender wasnt exactly shouting at Guendouzi for simulating like you would expect. Watch the replay.
he kicked his right leg unaturally outwards to ensure contact. watch the replay.
it’s cheating and being vocal about it when it’s your own player is the only way to eventually stop other teams players cheating against you.
I am on the record early in the game on liveblog that Torreira would score today. What a beauty!
One Nil To The Arsenal!
I hope you come on here and tell us every time you’re wrong as well ;p
Just when you think you’ve seen the worst officiating performance of the season…
The first half thing is a real worry now. Needs sorting out. That’s a championship side who we should be hammering. Their forward is honestly the worst I’ve ever seen in the league, even that prick Grant Holt was better. Important to get the W but the two subs at half time isn’t a good sign. Come back Mesut
Chelsea lost to another “championship side” mate.
It’s the EPL, you either turn up or go home empty. No team will ever roll over to get fucked. They smell blood, they go for the kill.
Dang. Can we emergency recall Chambers? Otherwise, hope Mavro is due back soon. We are terribly thin at the back.
My crikey… I love Torreira!
Emery is what a manager of the year looks like. Goodness he is doing an amazing job.
I think the referee was the first one I saw trying to stop rotational fouling. Just before Xhaka yellow, he clearly spoke to their captain and gestured about rotational fouling. Too bad Xhaka kind of dived to draw a foul right after. See the game again and you might notice the ref again pointed this out and I think most of his decisions were correct. Guendoozi also threw himself down in the box and was carded.
I’m just glad we won
inc.goal* blogs
Torreira looks extraterrestrial
Arsenal’s psychological landscape has been turned on its head under Emery. No longer is there the inevitability that we concede late goals. No longer are we left to rue missed opportunities or the whims of stupid officials. No longer does a poor performance end in misery and regret. These days we find a way. These days we never get bullied. (That meme is dead.) These days we’re at the right end of the table with every reason to be optimistic. The only shame is that we no longer get to play Stoke away on a rainy, cold night in December… Read more »