Poor Danny – Arsenal player ratings versus unSporting Lisbon

November 9, 2018

Arsenal supporters turning up for Thursday night Europa League football were hoping for some excitement to warm them up and also for outright group victory with a win and three points. Things didn’t really turn out like that.

First Half

The best chance I can remember was when Douzi played a sweet one-two down the right and Welbz just failed to make decent contact at the near post with the Frenchman’s fizzing cross.

After half an hour Danny seemed to catch his foot in the turf trying to make good contact with a header. You could tell he was hurt by his reaction and by the reaction of those around him. So sad. He was having a fine season getting both game time and goals. Get well soon, Danny.

Second Half

The Arsenal players were obviously deeply affected by their very popular and likeable teammate having such bad luck. Auba had a few chances he might have gobbled up on a different day. Micki got into a great position and then couldn’t quite divert Wobbly’s driven cross beyond the Sporting keeper.

Lichtsteiner pinged a hammy by the look of it so efforts to preserve the fitness of the Wardrobe had to be foregone after the hour mark, but he seemed to come through unscathed. Hopefully Nacho will be match fit soon as well.

We had 14 efforts on goal, 5 on target, Sporting had five shots, none on target. A point was good enough for them and that’s what they came for.

This clip sums up Arsenal’s night in front of goal…….

Summary

The game was overshadowed by Danny’s injury.

The foul count was Arsenal 7 Sporting 13.  Lisbon’s 13 should have been a whole lot more. Acuna, playing on the left with no neck and the gait of a simian should have been sent of several times before Mathieu’s professional foul finally saw one of them leave the pitch. Unfortunately it came too late to have any effect on the result.

I realise that the ‘Sporting’ in the Portuguese club’s name doesn’t mean the same as it did for the Sporting Corinthians but they employed every destructive and negative ploy they could to disrupt the football match, including studs down the back of calf muscles, a wide variety of trips and the use of an arm. Nani should be sent off every time he steps on to the pitch just for his loathsome ‘5 year old having a tantrum’ face.

Our unbeaten run extends to 15 games, so let’s make it 16 by beating Wolves on Sunday for Dat Guy.

Ratings

Cech – nothing to do…6

Lichtsteiner – Booked fairly early after some Nani play-acting, then succumbed to his ageing muscalature in the second half…6

Big Sok – Looked very solid and he is…7

Holding – Growing in confidence in his own abilities with each game…7

Jenks – Did ok down the left without too much to trouble him…6

Guendouzi – what a great player he is at 19 years old. Just imagine what he could be like in his prime…7

Ramsey – Rambo couldn’t quite lift the game as you’d hope a player of his class might…6

Mkhitaryan – Likewise for Micki…6

Smith Rowe – Plenty of decent touches all over the pitch apart from in the final third where he sometimes lacks composure, which is only to be expected…6

Wobbly – got into some great positions but couldn’t quite seal his good work with an assist…6

Welbeck – Let’s pray his injury isn’t as bad as is feared. I was sure he was going to score last night…7

Subs

Auba – not his usual clinical self…6

Wardrobe – As with the rest of the team, he couldn’t find that killer cross after getting into some great positions…6

Maitland-Niles – looks fine as a back-up right back which may come in useful…6

chas

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Posted by Bongo

Sporting Lisbon Preview.

November 8, 2018

Win tonight. Top the group with two easier games to go. Job done.

Perhaps the post should stop here!

Man Utd and Spurs completely undeserved victory will hopefully keep them out of the Europa. There seems to be heightened expectations that we will win this tournament but, like the Carabao, it is relatively easy until the final rounds.

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Sporting Lisbon have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 30 European games, I expect that run to continue. Having said that, we have not kept a clean sheet in our last 5 European games!

We have discussed Sporting in the first leg and we have little to add. They are a decent team, strong defensively, hard working … the usual. We should beat them in a home tie.

We have injuries and players returning to the squad, they should remain out of the team. A mixture of youth and experience is what is required.

My Team:

Helmet

Licht    Mustafi     Holding    Wardrobe

Ramsey   Curly    Smith Rowe (Lab)     AMN (Cons)

Mhiki       Welbz

A strong attacking bench will allow Mr Emery to play a very inexperienced and young midfield. I very much doubt he will play this team but it would be fun. Xhaka needs a rest, and I would keep Iwobi for Wolves at the weekend, same with Laca, Hector, Terrier and PEA.

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Tonight’s 6 officials (referee, linesman, behind the goal-line linesmen and 4th official) are from Lithuania, could this be a first?

Not as easy a fixture as many are assuming, this will not be a walkover.

Enjoy the game

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Was Leno at Fault for Liverpool’s Goal?

November 7, 2018

Following on from a thread about  whether Leno was at fault for the Liverpool goal, this is taken from a comment by our resident Keeper, GIE:

Now on to the goal plus Leno’s general command of the box and I am not so impressed. That said, I think Cech is also not the greatest in this area and we have seen examples on several occasions (one being his debut). Always thought at Chelsea he was well protected by Terry and co in front of him and could stay on his goal line. So yes, Leno is currently our no 1 but I do think he needs to improve that area of his game and he can, given time.

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What would I liked to have seen different on their goal?  Well you only have to watch their keeper in a similar situation in the first half. A similar cross, a similar dive except he fisted it away therefore adding power and it came at Mikhi really quickly, meaning he needed to kill it dead, which he didn’t, and the chance was gone. Compare that to the nicely settled ball Milner had to strike.

This was because Leno tried to catch it, which was not necessarily the worse decision if it had stuck, but I would rather see him either adjust his hands and flick the ball up over onrushing defenders and attackers without deviating the ball’s path or use two strong fists to punch away at speed. What happened was probably a result of indecision; all keeping errors in cross situations are nearly always a result of that. So he needs to work on decision making and he will be fine.

And decisions need to be made later even when the ball is in flight. Now I know I didn’t play at this level but whatever level you play at, you should have the necessary skill/mental capacity to achieve the same result against players of equivalent standard. (One team I used to play against (Haringey Boro) are in the first round of FA Cup this week, they’ve gone up a couple of leagues since I played them).

Take a free kick situation (like the one that led to Van Ducks header) and a high line (I was fond of that too as it gave me the 18 yard box unimpeded). If they put the ball between penalty spot and goal line and in centre of goal, I was coming for it, anywhere else it was the defenders’ and attackers’. Not many players were going to beat me with a header from further out. The only time I’d have to worry about bodies around me is if they floated it up high but even then I’ve got height advantage with arms so as long as I watched the flight and attacked at the highest point it was never going to be an issue.

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Corners are trickier balls that can be whipped in flatter and therefore take height advantage out of the equation. That said, I think as a team we need to change it slightly: if they put a man on the keeper you have to leave him on his own – we tend to put a second man in there, so not only is Leno blocked by one attacker he is also impeded by a defender too. If the opposition, as Watford do, put a second player on the keeper and the defence does likewise,  the GK now has two attackers and two defenders to navigate around.

My view was if they put a man on me, tell the defender to F off and make sure one of the men on the posts pick him up in second phase (if necessary) then I could ignore him, play my normal game. If he blocked my run to the ball, it was easy for officials to see the foul. Also if I ignored him, he wasn’t in my mind when I went to attack ball

written by Gooner In Exile

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Posted by Erik the Red

Pleased with a point from Saturday? Really?

November 6, 2018

So the dust is starting to settle after the Liverpool game and minds are starting to turn to future fixtures which is understandable, but the thing is, I find myself troubled and not quite ready to move on just yet. Apparently, if I believe what I read, we passed a stern test and for that we should all be grateful. Or that seems to be the thrust of the view pushed upon us throughout the “non partisan” media and even more by many of the faithful in Arsenal Blog World.

Well you know what, I don’t feel grateful, I don’t think we passed a “stern test” and I was not happy that we drew. We could have won, we should have won and here is the bit that all the media have been afraid to say and that is – We were the better team.

Klopp mockingly said after the game that Arsenal sent on so many attackers that he was half expecting Bergkamp and Van Persie to make an appearance. The thing is again that we had the option to do that; Emery was able to send on Welbeck and Iwobi and even Ramsey is one of the most attacking midfielders in the league. But what has Klopp got? … ok, it can be argued that Shakiri is on a par with Ramsey but then what? They have no more strikers.

If you go through the teams, player for player, I think that you take far more Arsenal players than Liverpool.

Keepers: I am quite happy with Leno; there certainly was not a huge difference between them. The back line, bear in mind when you think about this, Liverpool had no injuries and were able to field their best 11. I wouldn’t swap our wing backs: Bellerin and Monreal for theirs, would you? I don’t think that Gomez is better than Koscielny and when the media take Van Dyke’s appendage out of their mouths they might see that Holding was every bit as good as the Dutchman on the day.

I don’t believe that anyone would swap any part of our midfield, (Torreira and Xhaka) for theirs, so that is over quickly and then we get to the attack. Mane for Ozil, err no, as good as Mane is, that is not a good swap. Firmino for Lacazette? No. And so we get to what is the one change anyone would make: Salah for Mkhitaryan. So that is just one change and we should remember that one blow to Salah at the wrong time and they could find themselves losing a very important game, oh wait, that already happened last season, shame.

So where did this idea come from that we were the underdogs at the start of that game and we should be grateful for our draw? I suppose fools like Merson fuelled this idea by predicting that Arsenal could get whooped 3-0 if Liverpool were on their game. The thing is, Paul, some of us had been watching Arsenal’s recent games and had seen with our own eyes how we have steadily improved and just how far we have risen since our unlucky loss against Chelsea.

Liverpool have been lauded by so many as the only true rivals to Man City and by that count above they only have one better player than we do and it is that fact which finds me taking issue with the idea that we should be both grateful for and content with the draw. Well, I am not grateful and I am not content, I am damn right furious that we, The Arsenal, the better team, did not win.

COYRRG

LB

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Posted by LB

What does November hold in store for Emery’s Arsenal?

November 5, 2018

So, after October ended in subdued fashion with a ‘bridge too far’ performance away at Selhurst and a workman-like win at home to Blackpool, November began with a bang with a really decent fireworks display against Klippety Klopp’s team. How good was it to see the new Arsenal stand toe-to-toe with one of the bookies’ Prem title favourites and not look outclassed?

Some ‘pundits’ were made to look exactly what they actually are – utter clowns.

What does the rest of November have in store for us – let’s take a look?

Next up it’s the return fixture with Sporting Lisbon, this time at The Home Of Football. (I’ve never quite understood why you always play one team twice in a row in the middle of group game fixtures – oh well). Danny’s well-taken strike in the Portuguese capital has put us completely in control of our own destiny in Group E. Another decent squad performance on 8th November and the last two fixtures could be used to give pitch time for more of the youngsters.

The Europa means back to Sunday fixtures and we entertain Wolves on 11th November at the curious kick off time of 4.30pm. The game isn’t being televised and only seems to be at 4.30pm so as not to clash with the manc derby which also kicks off then. There’s no thought for travelling supporters yet again – what a surprise!

Let’s hope for a good performance against the Wanderers as it needs to carry us through yet another Dennis-forsaken interlull which begins immediately after.

Real life begins again on Sunday 25th November at 1.30pm with a televised game away at high flying Bournemouth. They will be licking their wounds and coming out fighting after being unluckily beaten at home by Mourinho’s mob this weekend. This will be another great test of Unai’s red and white machine. Anything like the performance at Palace and we could be punished.

The final game for the month is another away fixture in the Europa. FC Vorskla and a long  trip to the Ukraine. Hopefully we’ll have the group wrapped up by then and be able to rest some of the first Xl because December begins in rather tasty fashion – more of that at a later date.

To summarise, 3 home games in a week at the start of the month and 2 away games near to its end, separated by some tedious, pocket-lining fixtures for the game’s international governing bodies. (England are at home to the USA in a friendly and Croatia in the Uefa Nations League, if you’re even vaguely interested)

chas

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Posted by Bongo

Arsenal Player Ratings

November 4, 2018

Terrific game played by two teams with managers committed to entertainment. Those lucky enough to attend created a fine atmosphere which enhanced the fun.

Player Ratings are from a dodgy stream and if you disagree, please tell us why.

Leno. We knew when he was bought that there were questions about his ability with crosses and so it is proving. May have been unlucky for the goal insomuch as the ball deflected off Holding into Milner’s path.       6

Bellerin.  Hector has rediscovered his Mojo. Against a very good attack he found time to get forward and be available as an outlet on the right.   8

Mustafi. His best game for some time but the fact that Van Dijk won so many headers is worrying. Made some important interceptions and tackles    7

Holding.  Hard to believe he is so young and inexperienced. A commanding performance and evidence he will be an Arsenal stalwart for years to come.   8

Kolasinac. The first 15 minutes was a worry as L’pool found space behind the Wardrobe as he attacked but I guess Mr Emery told him to be more disciplined and he was.    7

Terrier.  We were outnumbered in midfield and yet thanks to his energy and skill we dominated. Let us not forget that Fabinho cost more than double! Arsenal have found a Player.   131

Xhaka.  Discipline is not a word I associate with Granit yet he was a rock in the middle.  Passing very good, tackling precise and was usually where he needed to be. And didn’t pick up a card!    8

Mhiki.  Non stop energy. Could and should have scored at least one. Faded as the game went on but is developing a fine partnership with Hector    7

Ozil.  The Conductor. Some of his passing was sublime and he worked non-stop to find space.    8

PEA.  Almost scored within 30 seconds of the whistle. Worked hard against the best CB pairing in the PL since Kolo and Sol. Rightly subbed (making fools of Fred and BR 😀  ).  Unnecessarily caught offside a few times.   7

Lacazette. The goal was everything, comparisons with God 8 may be deserved. Worked hard without much effect until that point.   7

Subs:

Iwobi.  Super-sub. Good on the ball, dangerous on the wings and solid at LB     7

Ramsey.  Did his job but made little impact.     6

Welbeck. I love his enthusiasm but had only 10 mins    6

written by BR

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Posted by Erik the Red

Liverpool. A stern test.

November 3, 2018

Stevie Me, Small Head Carragher, Thicko Rush, Dirty Souness, Thunderbird Hansen, Biter Suarez, Steve One Minute, Fatboy Molby, Idiot Lawrenson, Big Nose Thompson, Steve Boring Macnanaman. What unites them? Yes, they are all Liverpool greats but they are also media darlings and Complete Lemons to a man.

Since the 80’s  Liverpool F.C’s is a history littered with broken dreams allied to the occasional banana skin, and the odd phenomenally lucky Cup victory. However, prior to “The Fall”, the Dippers were the best there was and I think we can date their demise back to May 26 1989.

No-one expected us to win that day and no pundits expect us to win this evening. Can Arsenal prove them wrong?

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Under  Klopp (who really should be managing AFC) they are playing lovely football and sans City, would be likely title winners. But we aren’t sans City and Liverpool, having spent an absolute fortune, will (IMO) remain also-rans.

I know a number of Danish chaps (saddos) who have YNWA tattooed somewhere on their body, such is their devotion. Liverpool have probably the largest foreign support of any team apart from MU and Barca. They are a massive club and finally appear to be matching performance to promise.

Klopp has created a wonderful team with quality in every area of the pitch. He has spent a fortune on defence, midfield and attack but without Klopp’s coaching genius L’pool would be another MU. And the massive difference between those two Northern giants is the demeanor of their managers which sums up the current state of both MU and L’pool.

Can our weakened and out-of-form defence stop the “best front three in the PL”? I doubt it. We have conceded 13 goals in the PL and are likely to ship more. this afternoon.

Can we score against a defence who have conceded just 4 PL goals this season? Yes we can.

If we start as we have been the game will be lost by half time, yet Emery cannot PTB and hope to score on the break …. actually he can, and that would be my tactics for the first 20 minutes!

My Team.

Bent

Hector   Greek Bloke   Holding    Kolasinac/Monreal

Ramsey  Terrier   Xhaka   Iwobi

Ozil

Lacazette

Yes, PEA on the bench. Unleash the Gabonese Goalgetter on 60 minutes. The team doesn’t, as yet, function with him out on the left and Mr Emery doesn’t seem to want him leading the line with Laca anywhere but central.

Iwobi will be important, he will need to cover his full back and be in place to attack down the wings.

Ozil??? If he turns up we have a chance, if not …

Mustafi has to be rested and instructed in the art of defending. His mistake at Palace was that of a player lacking in common sense; who dives into a tackle in the penalty area with a referee as whistle- happy as that comedian?

If we see Xhaka walk out to play at Left Back then we are screwed, Salah and Mane are much more dangerous than Zaha. I would prefer us to play Holding and go 3 at the back.

Bent has done enough to take Helmet’s first choice place as GK.

Are you confident we can win or even draw today? If so, you are a better man than I. If we continue our unbeaten run my confidence in the team and especially Mr Emery will soar.

That’s enough from me. Enjoy the game

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arsenal FC – Our home record against the mickey mousers

November 2, 2018

Our first game against Liverpool (October 28, 1893) was a Division 2 home game at Manor Road before 7,000 fans – they gave us a rude awakening and beat us 0-5.

The Arsenal team on the day –

1 Billy McOwen, 2 Andrew Hannah (c), 3 Duncan McLean, 4 John McCartney, 5 Douglas Dick, 6 Jim McBride, 7 Matt McQueen, 8 Malcolm McVean, 9 Harry Bradshaw, 10 Jimmy Stott, 11 Hugh McQueen.

Game Notes – Harry Bradshaw makes his LFC debut – Douglas Dick makes his LFC debut – Liverpool league position after match: 1st – Woolwich Arsenal league position after match: 13th

– The Liverpool Echo report is rather vague on the scorers of the 1st and 3rd goal, but Lloyds Weekly Newspaper and Yorkshire Herald both credit those goals to McCartney (1st) and Hugh McQueen (3rd). Later statisticians credit the 1st to McLean but Echo clearly says he should be credited with an assist. The fourth goal has also been credited by them to Bradshaw but Echo says he “headed well in from a long kick from his defence,”, but McQueen had the pleasure of putting on a fourth so clearly McQueen the scorer.

– The Pall Mall Gazette wasn’t impressed with the referee, reporting on 30th October : “The referee was the same gentleman who ordered two players off the field in the Arsenal v Walsall match. Many people considered that he acted in an extremely harsh fashion on that occasion. On Saturday he went to the other extreme and was too lenient. Hence the rough play.”

So AAer’s it’s now a proven fact that we have always been the victims of poor refereeing – how many other teams have suffered for 125 years?

 

Notable home fixtures

1st September 1934 – Arsenal 8 Liverpool 1

This was the season Arsenal claimed our 4th title in 5 years and the third on the bounce. Ray Bowden and Ted Drake scored hattricks as Arsenal sent the Scousers back up to the North West with their tails between their legs. Still annoyed about losing the clean sheet though. 🙂

4th April 1953 – Arsenal 5 Liverpool 3

Another title-winning season, Arsenal had already won 5-1 at Anfield before this entertaining victory became part of a run of 5 straight wins that eventually proved vital.

9th April 2004 – Arsenal 4 Liverpool 2

Perhaps the most famous of recent victories, Arsenal came back from being behind twice to hold on to our unbeaten status thanks to a rampant Thierry Henry.

4th April 2015 – Arsenal 4 Liverpool 1

Our biggest win of the last decade back when Liverpool were a Europa team along with the spuds. A left footed curler from Hector, a superb free kick from Mesut and an edge of the area banger from Sanchez, all in the first half, decided the result.

Our games against Liverpool have always been difficult with our last home win being on April 4th 2015 – I expect a fired up Arsenal team and hope we get a result for us fans and the new boss.

GunnerN5

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Posted by Bongo

Not the most entertaining evening at the Seaside – Blackpool ratings

November 1, 2018

Another tie against a lower league side, another chance for our exciting youngsters to get some Emirates pitch time. Well, that’s always the hope. The reality is usually far less enticing.

First Half

Pretty dire throughout. The only moment of quality was the goal. Stephan Lichtsteiner made a superb diagonal run in behind the Blackpool bus. Matteo Guendouzi picked him out with a glorious punched wedge shot and the Swiss trooper managed to divert it past the stranded Tangerines’ keeper.

Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty

That really was the only football worthy of note in a turgid display of insomnia-crushing tedium.

Second Half

After the break, it seemed a case of, ‘score the second and we can all go home’. It duly arrived when a Jenko cross-cum-shot with his standing leg was palmed out by the Blackpool goalie back into the danger zone where Emile Smith Rowe shinned it into the turf and high up into the net.

Enter the referee, who was obviously disgruntled that his 15 minutes of fame was likely to peter out like a damp firework. He’d already missed several touches for corners and the like, along with the help of his incompetent sidekicks, but the coup de grace was still to come.

In the 56th minute Guendouzi put his arm across a Blackpool chap before hastily withdrawing it. The chap with orange shorts went down as if he’d been slung across the ring by Shirley Crabtree and the pathetic excuse for an official decided that this was a heinous-enough crime to send the Frenchman from the pitch for an early luxury jacuzzi and massage.

Game on for Blackpool. To be fair they did press, hit the post and then scored a goal from a corner from which O’Connor was given the freedom of Islington at the back post. They might have had an equaliser if their shooting and crossing was anywhere near standard. Cech was grateful to see the ball sail over his bar half a dozen times.

Petr’s passing out from the back hasn’t improved while he’s been in the sick bay. He nearly gifted Blackpool a second but the offside flag saved us.

Blackpool’s resurgence was ended when the ref evened things up after the Blackpool goalscorer committed GBH on Auba in the centre of the pitch. There’s a difference between taking a booking for the team and committing an offence which should get jail time. This was the latter.

Summary

Arsenal never looked like a team all night. Some seemed offended they’d been chosen to play for the second string, others were content to pass backwards rather than attempt to beat the bus.

The prize was yet another home tie, this time against our smelly neighbours. Hopefully we’ll get the winners of Boro v Burton in the semi final 2 legger. 🙂

Ratings

Cech: not a lot to do – needs to work on his passing…6

Lichtsteiner: great goal, looked at home against League One opposition…7

Mustafi: effective in parts – left his man (when he had a choice of two) for their goal…6

Pleguezuelo: Doesn’t look a centre back but a competent debut…7

Jenkinson: You can almost see how much he enjoys playing in a red and white shirt – assist for the second…9

Ramsey: not willing to make his extra class count – played well within himself…6

Guendouzi: MOTM by a country mile until the ref intervened – only pipped by Jenko’s enthusiasm…8

Smith Rowe: don’t remember him taking anyone on – the goal will give him some confidence hopefully…6

Maitland-Niles: lost at the start of the game but showed some decent touches when dropping deeper – rusty…6

Mkhitaryan: why am I playing in the Caribou Cup? – another Ramsey-like performance…6

Welbeck: ran around quickly but lacked much quality on the ball…6

Subs

Torreira: gives 100% regardless of the opposition – others take note…7

Auba and Iwobi: came on to see the game out…6

chas

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Posted by Bongo

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