This is the reason international friendlies never entice – if there’s nothing riding on a game of football, tedium ensues.
First Half
Laca scored a beauty from a Mesut pass.
Laca even had time to do a celebration dance as the ball sped under the keeper
Second Half
I went to bed to read.
Ratings
Everyone got a … 6
except
Laca (for scoring), Kos (for surviving) and Mesut (for being Mesut) … 7
Qarabag … 2 – so poor they didn’t even try to make it an entertaining game of football even though they had nothing whatsoever to lose.
Comments from AA match attendees
LB
I got the feeling that Ozil wasn’t out there for as long as he was to get important game time but as a kind of sop to us poor souls who braved the cold.
LBG
I can safely say that was a worse game to be at than even the recent 0-0 draw.
Good luck with player ratings. Not one of the youngsters did themselves justice. Sokratis OK, Kos OK Laca frustrated by no service. Mesut reasonable. Ref shit (for a change…ed)
On to Sunday, take your boots if you’re going, you might be needed.
chas
Arsenal News 24/7
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Ho Ho Ho
Even she wasn’t laughing last night! And the wind would have been nasty around the Trossacks!
Morning All,
I fell asleep during the second half. So cannot comment on the players performances.
Well done to those hardy few who braved the elements
I was moaning all weekend about what a dull game Huddersfield had made and how it was the worst game I’d seen in years, since the dark days of Hull City and a million Eboue step-overs…didn’t think it would be beaten for Mogadon-like zombie state inducement and DEFINITELY didn’t expect it to be beaten so soon!
On the bright side, a lot of those youngsters looked very good last night, although trying to draw conclusions when facing opposition that would struggle to keep pace with my boys u10 school football team…is tough.
Rhyle. Agree.
I could not understand Qarabag’s tactics. They were already out of the competition, so why not try and entertain? So what if they got hammered?
Some managers have forgotten that football is an entertainment and if they do not entertain fans will stop being interested.
I don’t think that Qarabag had enough collective talent to entertain.
That match report made me smile more than most have in precent past.
I started to write a comment which has turned into something that can loosely be termed as a post for tomorrow.
Well it seems like I’m the odd man out as I was not that upset watching the game.
I agree that it was not entertaining, especially for those that attended, but there were some positives.
1. Arsenal will save on the dry cleaning bill because Martinez did not get his uniform dirty.
2. No further injuries.
3. Another shutout.
4. Top of the group.
5. A few touches of magic from Ozil and Lacazette.
6. Our young talent strutted their stuff and some made their case for future involvement.
7. 23rd consecutive game unbeaten.
8. Saka is already a star at 17 years of age and will only get better – what a talent!
9. The youngsters inter changed positions with ease.
10. Unai Emery is our super star.
Oops I was ahead of the fact – Southampton will be our 23rd unbeaten game. Memory ain’t what it used to be!
Michael Owen has compared Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka to Cristiano Ronaldo because he’s bloody mad.
Saka made his Arsenal debut in Thursday’s Europa League victory over Qarabag, which extended the Gunners’ unbeaten run to 22 games.
The 17-year-old made quite the impression, with Unai Emery praising “a good performance” and “a very big personality”.
Emery added that the winger’s strength is “to continue trying to go one-v-one and break lines with his quality,” which Saka certainly did: the England youth international had four shots and completed eight dribbles in 90 minutes.
But Owen has gone a little further, comparing Saka to bloody Ronaldo.
“He looked really nervous at the start of the game, myself and Martin [Keown] were both talking about it,” Owen told BT Sport.
“But he certainly grew into the game. Just him having the courage to run at players was really refreshing to see.
“Some of the skill… I watched Ronaldo doing this the other day for Juventus.
“He’s just different class and by the end of the game, his confidence was oozing.”
GN5
Who was ever interested in Michael Owen’s opinion. Should stick to horses- on the same wavelength!
Point 1 on your positives. One of the biggest cheers of the night came when Martinez dived to the ground to claim a “dribbled” cross, and I commented he gets a fine if there are no grass marks on his top!
LBG.
Michael Owen is a crap analyst but I agree with his opinion on Saka and more importantly so does Unai Emery.
On reflection I expected nothing more from the game than an opportunity to see our “potential” future stars and I was very happy with their performances.
I am with you, GN5, I just cannot stand Owen, but his views (and yours) coincide with mine — young Saka could be the dogs bollards!
I think comparison with Ronaldo are a little previous – but ………
Another young un I like the look of is Medley who has the physique and the skill to become a bit special too.
To be fair — if I had been able to attend the game like LBG, LB, Chas et al, I would be less than impressed too. That was the classic dead rubber on a freezing night – not nice!
Mind you – Chas is a cool dude (as you know) fancy having his own bed (I take it it was his) at the Emirates, so he could go to bed and read when he got bored with what was on offer. 😋
I wasn’t upset or unimpressed, in fact I enjoyed it and stayed to the end, I have even written a post on it that should appear tomorrow. I know there are plenty of people out there who are just dying to relive yesterday’s unforgettable moments. lol. No peaking.
Micheal Owen might be a twit but I wish I had thought of comparing Saka with Ronaldo.
Better than being compared to Joey Barton
You are right
Right, we have GN5’s traditional pre pre-match for today plus LB’s Qarabag thoughts.
Should I slap them both together for double bubble? LB’s thoughts won’t really wait for another day as they’re so Qarabag relevant.
Hmmmmmmm?????
The other alternative is adding GN5’s post to tomorrow’s pre-match.
Thoughts anyone?
Morning All,
Rumour mill reporting we are interested in Di Maria from PSG. As if …
chas. We can start with one and then publuish the PM later in the day.
OR include GN5’s in my pre-match
My choice is to add his PM to mine – that way I can write less and spend less time 😀
OK, you’re the boss.
LB’s for today.
I’ll prep GN5’s for tomorrow and you can add to it. 🙂
I am not even boss in my own home
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