Run over. Disappointing performnce done. Emery had severe selection problems. Let’s move on …
But before we do here are some purely subjective player ratings:
Leno: Despite GIE’s fine disclaimer, I think Leno could and should have done better with the goals. Made one fine save. 5
Bellerin: A costly injury to a player who has done well this season. Could have got closer to the crosser for S’ton’s first goal 5
Lichtsteiner. Not good. Despite his vast experience he was continually caught out. S’ton are not blesssed with great attackers but the defence allowed them to score 3 headers. 4
Koscielny. Love the bloke but he had a shocker. I know there are many excuses/reasons but nonetheless we can only judge on his afternoon’s work 3
Xhaka. Not a Swiss Army knife. He is no full back nor is he a CB. Did his best – it wasn’t good enough 4
Monreal. One of hhis worst ever games. Apart from the cross for Mhiki’s first he contributed little to attack and was absent too often in defence 4
Guendouzi. Ran about a lot. As yet not a creative MF, and we needed one. 5
Terrier. As usual he took a kicking which the referee allowed. Probably our best player. 6
Iwobi. Started well, faded rapidly. A poor performance from a man who needs a goal to bolster his confidence 3
Mhiki. Scored twice which raises his rating from a 4 to a 6
Auba. Well marsalled but had chances. Worked hard. 5
Subs. AMN. Caught napping for S’ton’s winner (according to some) 4
Ozil. Played too high up the pitch to influence. Some delightful flicks 5
Laca. Busy. 5
Mr. Emery. Given the lack of available defenders he was always struggling but I felt his choice of Duozi in midfield and Xhaka at the back caused us problems. We never managed to gain control in midfield nor did we have players to create chances for PEA (apart from an early long ball from Douzi).. Was he keeping players back for the midweek Spurs game. It was obvious that S’ton with Ings and Austin would try to score from crosses so why not play a Back 4? 4
The run had to end but it should not have done at team who had yet to win at home this season.
written by Big Raddy
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Our usual vulnerability to crosses was exaggerated here because of the makeshift defence.
I agree in that I found the use of 3 at the back strange especially when it involved 2 non centre backs and a third who had not played a league game for 8 months.
In hindsight perhaps ue will accept that this was an invitation to the trouble that ensued.
Interesting that last week we had 3 players booked for alleged simulation and this week 3 goals conceded from crosses.
What will the 3 be in the next game?
Morning Raddy. Agree we need to move on, but disagree with two of your assessments. Leno was only at fault (David Seaman style) for the third goal.Defenders totally responsible for first two.
Ouzi is a creative MF player. Looks forward, plays dynamic passes, happy on the ball. Only criticism is occasional impulsiveness through youth.
Have a good week AAers. Europa draw is at 11.00am. I Will inform those without immediate info link.
Am afraid this loss reminds me of the Arsenal of last season and unfortunately, it had Koscielny and Monreal like the last game…I love Kos and I think Monreal is ok but together with a poor Xhaka game (like last year), we had a very weak game defensively.
I also thought that Emery should have started Lacazette from the start ahead of Iwobi.
That is clearly 3 points lost and the chance to keep up with the Top 4 and really put Man Utd away for good.
My ratings –
Leno – 4, did not make any crucial saves
Bellerin – 4, did OK until his injury but first goal is from his side of the pitch
Lichten – 5 – nothing good and nothing bad
Kos – 2, clearly not at his best
Monreal – 3, clearly not at his best
Xhaka – 4, a poor showing
LT – 5.5 – good showing again but could tell he was tired
Guen – 5 – tried hard but needs to think faster and tidy up his running with the ball
Mhiky – 5, 2 goals and nothing else
PEA – 5.5, tried hard but failed to convert good changes
Iwobi – 5, full of running
Laca – 5.5, a good entry
AMN – 4, one goal is for him
Ozil – 5, glimpses of class
Emery: 4.5. The team selection was not easy but he did not put a robust enough team to beat a relegation battling side.
Hoping for a good draw in an hour
Jigsol – maybe three goals coming up from defenders are coming next 🙂
Arse v Bate
Possibly second Leg WEDNESDAY 20th Feb 5.00pm. Can’t trust Chelski to do anything right. Early travel for Vines Bros!
Ooh. I am in London on Feb 20 ⚽️
A 3 for Koscielny no way , if koscielny got a 3 then Leno deservea 1
Fred – they both deserve bad grades….
Bate Borisov is an anooying team but we should go through.
PSG to play Man Utd – I hope that we (PSG) thrash Man U but Man U is not very predictable and PSG always disappoints in the CL…
Here are the transfer rumours for this winter:
– Defender: Cahill, Bailly
– Midfielder: Suarez, Rabiot, Grillitsch
– Winger: Pavon, Under
What do you make of it?
The game may have been pants but that is a very good read BR
Agree with all the ratings, but especially Emery, maybe should have put Zech Medle in center with AMN out right to start.
Hindsight I know, but I have been banging on here for some time for a player like Virgil van Dijk at the back of a 3 or 4.
We actually could have signed this guy, and let him go to pool.-Crikes, the Arsenal have needed a tough center like Sol or Staam for over a decade.
Well we should get a better look at Medley on Wednesday.
Thanks, BR.
You’re a far better man than I.
The team played very poorly.
You would have though that with an inexperienced/rusty back three that the rest of the team would have been given instructions by the manager to be more compact.
Playing out from the back was an effin disaster – didn’t work once as far as I could see. On Sky they emphasised that the Arsenal back third was very busy as an ‘action area’. They failed to also say that it was us who had the ball back there half the time.
Ugly, ugly game and team performance. We had the chances to win and, for a change, didn’t take them and then compounded that with chronic defending from crosses. It would be nice to never ever see Xhaka in a back three again. David Wagner couldn’t believe his luck.
As far as subs go, I think A.M-N for Bellerin would have made more sense.
The Bate home leg is now back to Thursday 21st Feb with kick off 17:55.
Top comment, Chas.
well done, Raddy. Really bad evening. This gave us something to discuss and agree/disagree with. Thanks a lot! 🙂
GiE suggested not many comments because we did not care enough. Not in my case. I do not believe in knee-jerk reactions, and overall I still see progress here.
Positives? The return of Kos. Yes, a full game in a long time.
Also, I know official bashing is good fun. But the lines(wo)man was good. At least two brilliant decisons. Credit where one is due.
The gap between the central defenders was shocking.
On the ratings, I agree generally. But would go higher for Auba and Douzi. I was also pleased with the work rate of Ozil and Laca.
The 22 game run is over npw. But all good things come to an end. Let us bounce back next weekend. Onwards and upwards!
Van Dijk? Not really shit, but close to. Remember our game against Pool. On tops 75m? No way! Wastage. Sorry.
Red A. I think Van Dijk is worth every penny of the 75m. A born leader and a fine player.
AFC would never sanction paying that money for a CB and neither would L’pool had they not sold Coutinho for far more
Red Arnie,
Points noted but if pool win CL and do not allow a goal in either the semi’s or finals will you own your statement then?
Big Raddy,
But we will sanction Sanchez, Ozil’s and Ramsey’s contracts??
Spend the damn money on some world class defensive players then the Arsenal will have a real chance, as it stands not a snowball chance in hell right now.
Our team is giving up more goals that even Wenger’s worst team of all time.
Aaron – defensively, we are indeed still letting in too many goals.
Transfer alert – PSG contemplating Rabiot-Ramsey swap.
ha ha, Raddy and Aaron.
75m for a defender is not sustainable model, IMO. 🙂 wastage of silly money
I would rather spend 37 and 38 on two defenders and spread risks so that at least one will click and the other a buffer against injury/suspension.
If it were 50m for a good forward or creative MF, that is fine by me!
With a British premium, 60m can also be fine.
Just saying!
Red Arnie – defences win Championships and Cups in England.
The best examples are Guardiola’s teams. I would not be against spending 105 Mln EUR on Koulibaly from Napoli and I would also be happy with paying 55 Mln EUR for Allan from Napoli as well.
yes, that looks like 75m indeed. in front of either goal! 🙂
sorry, RC, but not me! Arsenal are one of the most profitable football clubs ever because they believe in a sustainable financial model. We are different.
Spread the risks, I say. That’s ABC of finance. Defenders cost less because they are less valuable. That’s what the market says. Yes, Pool have tried to be different but they have taken a big risk.
Will they succeed in winning the CL? We will see. But chances are certainly low.
For now – they are challenging. If you look at the market, Goalkeepers are going for 100 Mln nowadays and top defenders between 50 and 80…It is just a matter of time before someone pays 100 Mln for a defender. The reason is that you need the defensive stability to allow your talented attackers to do their thing up front.
Our Wenger successes came when we had strong defensive unit from GK to CM. The most successful teams and coaches rely on strong defensive unit to land trophies.
I agree that financially you want to spread the risk OR you can take a chance (calculated risk) on a strong player. Other option is to find and nurture strong CBs like Barca did with Puyol and Pique…City now has Laporte and Stones…
You add Van Dijk or Koulibaly to our defense, I guarantee you we will see less goals against us
yes, RC, maybe. But will it be worth the foregone opportunities of adding another top forward for the same money? I dont think so.
How much did Rob Holding cost us? Let us wait a year and see, I say.
Holding is out for a year at minimum, maybe forever….
The Arsenal have not had a set D for over 3 years. Rotation based on injuries is not sustainable.
The Arsenal can score, but the defense has been in shambles for years.
Kos, Must, Sok and an older Mon are not the answers period!
The Arsenal D is a gosh darn joke.
The brain trust better get their crap together sooner than later or 6th place here we come.
Arnie just to clarify the lack of comments being unsurprising was more aimed at how we all felt after the defeat. So far this season watching Arsenal has been much more enjoyable than that. It was at least nice not to have to read lots of venom in the accusations at the team.
As Chas said there was something amiss in playing out from the back, something both Mustafi and Holding are comfortable with, its never really been Kozzers game especially when on the left of the two he always left that to BFG then Mustafi, more of a stopper, perhaps that’s why Xhaka was back there, but it didn’t work defensively.
As Chas says the play out from the back was probably our worst and as LBG noted the infield back and across and back seemed to get stuck in that pattern, again maybe because of the inability of those in the back three to play the ball in that way?
I also think away from home we should look to play Laca more he comes short and brings others in to the game more than PEA.
I think we need top 4 finish, so we are going to need to do something in transfer window about Holdings absence,
Morning All,
Red A, We spent 35m on Mustafi and we need better, so the 75m spent on a standout PL player with 8 years left at the top seems good business.
Knowing AFC we will buy a Man U reject … Is Jonnie Evans still availbale? 🙂
6.47 Lauren?
Evidence of progress, heart and soul for the manager, entertainment whenever possible…….and third place, Europa Cup, and Carrier Bag Cup……Not much to ask,IMO!
Wow. Merinho sacked!!
No more comedy villain 😦
Good riddance, Moaninho.
Morning all … apologies for being one of those hiding after Sunday’s performance.
I’m pretty sure the outcome would have been different had it not been for the missing defenders, so I’m not having any negatives, we’re still doing remarkably well.
Compare us with manu who have just sacked their 4th manager since SAF retired and who are 8 points behind us!
It looks like Mo Po will have a choice between Real and manure next summer …. he’s too good for the totts.
Mr. Wenger temporary manager until season’s end???
not according to the BBC Raddy ….
Rasp
Mo P.o. is too intelligent to go to either Manure or Real!
So the Nutty One has gone — good riddance, altho as a Specialist in Failure he makes plenty of money from it each time he gets the chop.
Coach of 4 major clubs and sacked 5 times — yes, I know — Chelsea twice.
Money can buy success — £400 million in two years — but his megalomania persona just is not sustainable nowadays.
If he wasn’t such a decent man, I bet Arsene would have grinned when he heard! 🤩
Shame he has gone, he was taking all the flack while we were getting a well deserved break.
‘but his megalomania persona just is not sustainable nowadays.’
So true RA
🙂 🙂 high quality batner. great fun!
I like your thinking Arnie — sound, sensible and wise advice for almost any business model.
The trouble is that sport, in general, and football in particular are different.
What other business would allow, for example, an agent to benefit to the tune of £millions for ‘allowing’ a player to join club A rather than club B?
That’s crazy — and makes the argument for your point — but at base, money does buy success if winning trophies is the criterion for that.
So, a crazy financial model is the way to win trophies it seems — but the risks, as you said, are high.
Hope you are keeping well, despite your high powered gallivanting from city to city! 😎
The irony of Moanhio’s sacking is that he will allegedly get somewhere around £28m for his severance pay, but I think he will possibly bounce back to Real, who are having a bad time this season, and earn another pot of gold if he joins them again.
well articulated RA. I couldnt have expressed this better. 🙂
For me, Mustafi 35m, together with Licht and Holding for peanuts is better value than 75m iffy “risk”. 🙂
Red Arnie,
Licht has been injured 2X, Holding done for year, and Mustafi countless times, and even walked off field one time in big game.
$75 Mill is peanuts for stan the man.
If the Arsenal buy wiser, hold, and allow asset to appreciate, then sell before expiration date, the model is sustainable. As it is ,we have barely bought new, shiny and young for a while, and mostly upper grade, older plug-in’s, who are now unmovable.
Really hope that our academy turns out a few great kids, but if the past is any indication that is not a sure bet.
Maybe the Arsenal will not purchase in the January window, but they will have to this summer or go backwards.
Been enjoying the games under new manager, but read somewhere else he gets offenses going, but not defenses. So, purchase a young Cahill or Van type who can play many games without injury and help the team crawl back into the top tier of the EPL.
I’m with Aaron on this one.
Speculate to accumulate. After all, it’s not our money – it is Stan’s.
ha ha. I’m listening, Raddy and Aaron. Well expressed views. 🙂
groom Holding well and sell him on to someone else who is desperate to spend silly 75 or 100m and turn some black money white. 🙂
yes, the money is Stan’s. But the players are transitory, so is the manager, so is Stan. The club is ours. Forever
I appreciate your views, but just expressing an alternate view.
good riddance Moaninho. he is the kind of scum who is not welcome in the EPL
Aaron
Absolutely NOTHING in football is a sure bet, especially spending too much money for a supposed cert. Patience my dear, Aaron!
Returning to AA after a time away I feel I am back with familiar (mostly) blog friends who continue to amaze me with erudite points and counter-points concerning current issues of the day, and mostly with a polite and flexible exchange of views.
The Blog-World can be a vey rough-tough place to express an opinion, and yet few fans really countenance the fact that they are engaged in metaphysical theorising about substance and attribute, or perhaps between possibility and actuality.
Take the Mourhino debate, above, which is loosely linked with the more cautious financial model operated by Arsenal, as opposed to the big spending clubs in the Premier and the other top football leagues.
The comments made are not really a matter of right or wrong, but opinions relying on facts rather than fiction, or perhaps attempting to separate actuality from what might simply be a possibility or even (tongue in cheek) a probability.
And interesting reading it makes, although any hope of reaching a conclusive all inclusive resolution is doomed by a lack of mutual agreement as to the definition of key issues.
And then, even if agreement between us was reached, we would have to discard it because along comes another philosophical theory called logical positivism which holds that all meaningful statements are either analytically or conclusively verifiable, or at the lowest level capable of being independently confirmable by observation which makes metaphysical theorising pretty meaningless.
Who’d a thunk blogging could be so interesting and set at such an intellectual high? 🤪
I don’t care — Jose is still, in my mind, an excremental footballing narcissist.
RA
You lost me at “erudite”….
Where’s Chary to write the post entitled “A Specialist in Failure”?
Then again now that he’s left Man U, Chary won’t dislike him quite so much.
I have always been the same LBG — that’s why I have no friends! 🤠
You just know Maureen will be laughing all the way to the bank.
Shed loads of cash and he doesn’t have to have any grief.
I wish we still heard from Chary, Chas.
I blame myself. It was after I asked him to explain his blog-name that he disappeared, chased by his boss.
You see, Scylla and Charybdis were mythical sea monsters – Scylla was a 6 headed monster who used to bite the heads of sailors, so Homer tells us, and that seems reasonable — but Charybdis was a huge whirlpool which swallowed ships whole.
Chary was too nice to do that — except when he got fiery writing about Manure.
I miss him.
RA
I’ve seen him at a few games and he still likes being called the ‘Essex Whirlpool’. 🙂
JC, of legendary age fame, asked Chary where he was from and was nonplussed when the answer came back ‘Essex’.
I also seem to remember Chary mentioning the HMS Charybdis but can’t remember the link.
A.pair of nutters
Rabiot agrees terms with Barcelona…PSG keen on Ramsey and Suarez…
Darn, was hoping a straight swap for Ramsey. In my dreams…
I suppose if we got Burton in the semis it would be ok, but do we really want a two leg semi against one of the oily clubs in January?
I think we should stuff the spuds 5-0 and then let them go through – just to rub it in.
Mavro’s legs look as though they need some work.
In advance of tonight’s fun, thought AAers might be interested in the fascinating discussion on radio by a sports psychologist of two “effects” relevant to the Moaninho story and, I thought, relevant to us.
First effect is called the “false kick”.He was suggesting the problems at Manure are higher up and throughout the Club rather than at the managers door. The false kick believes all the problems will be removed by getting rid of him, and he was doubtful. The comparison with the Arse was interesting to me. Did we get rid of the main problem by ousting AW? (Much more complicated, of course because we have changed the structure dramatically at the same time).
The second effect he talked about is the “bounce”, one we are very familiar with, even recently. The result of a new man coming in and the change in “motivation” from the same players seemingly not performing for the last manager. Again surely we have witnessed a bounce from Dick’s arrival!? I liked his comparison with teaching. When a new teacher arrives, all kids dont know how to react (including the baddies, in my experience). How should we react, what will he/she be like, what are the rules. This is the strongest moment in a teachers reign. Doesn’t last long though folks.
This psychologist had one or two other interesting points, but I Will leave it there. Perhaps I should have saved it for a post, Chas?
Deffo a post.
Shall I remove it?
Can do, Chas, and I could add some when required
.
Morning All,
LBG. Defo a post. Why not copy and paste somewhere and I can remove the comment
Could you make the first para a bit more idiot proof as I am struggling to grasp what is trying to be said 🙂
But I am interested…………
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