No Mesut, no Rambo – what’s the point of two top class strikers with no-one to feed them then?
First Half
Wobbly dithered and we were one down in the opening seconds of the match.
However, there followed a period of commendable effort from the whole team and the equaliser gave everyone a boost. We even looked as though we might sneak something.
The offside second put the kibosh on a positive half time talk.
Second Half
Zero efforts on goal. Hmmm.
Hand of Sergio third goal.
Arsenal flat-lined.
Conclusion
Not as bad a scoreline as it might have been and at least City cut the dippers’ lead, albeit temporarly (maybe).
Nobody’s expectations were very high for the game and at least we had over half an hour on level terms.
Ratings
Leno – good second half … 7
Lichtsteiner – just not up to it … 4
Mustafi – injured – good or bad? … 4
Koscielny – a goal stooping when Lukaku’s size 12s must have been fresh in his mind … 6
Monreal – part of the mediocre nature of the team performance … 5
Kolasinac – not much to say … 5
Torreira – will be hoping his second season is in a better team … 6
Guendouzi – such a willing lad – shame he had little support … 7
Iwobi – such a bad start, never really recovered … 4
Lacazette – tried hard again … 6
Aubameyang – no service … 5
Subs
Suarez – a debut of microscopic proportions – best forgotten all round … 5
Ramsey – no effect on a poor second half whatsoever … 5
Mavropanos – A fit centre back – Hooray … 6
Managers
Emery – a hiding to nothing game in most senses – if we’d played a more attacking line up and got more severely thrashed, there would have been just as many complaining … 5
Pep Wagner – could he do it without the half a billion pounds budget? – not in the same way, that’s for certain … 6
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
sad day when Arsenal fans are happy because LA Rams lost in the final.
it is beyond me why Ozil and Ramsey are on the bench and Iwobi starts every game. I am beginning to hate Emery
AND. Because of my grandson I watch all the Tottenham games now and I must say they play way better than we do, much easier on the eye. that is wrong, very wrong
So another loss to Man City…following a loss to Man Utd and Tottenham…I think 6th is our place and we need to accept it. The other teams are better than us and that is that. Our aim should be to somehow aim to be less than 3 points away from 4th place before the last 3 games of the year and hope for a miracle…
For this game, Emery set us to fail. You gotta set up the team better and also, you know that we will give away cheap goals so you strengthen the backline….When playing teams like City and Liverpool, you need to:
1. Stengthen the back line
2. Have a team that is both physical and full of running
3. Be incisive on set pieces and counter-attacks, which means have at least one good player on the ball…
Anyways, 3 points lost and in a very saw way as well…
Next game please…Let us hope for UEFA Cup glory because the rest of the EPL season looks pointless UNLESS Emery just sticks with his preferred system throughout the rest of the year so that we are already preparing next season…Remember he likes:
4-2-3-1 or 4-3-2-1, I think the 4321 suits our squad better
Leno – Jenkinson, Sok, Kos, Kola – AMN, LT, Guen – Laca, Suarez – Auba
Ratings:
Leno = 6
Lichten – 2.5
Mustafi – 2.5
Kos – 4
Monreal – 5
Kola – 4.5
Torreira – 4.5
Guen – 5.5
Iwobi – 3
Laca – 5
Auba – 4.5
Subs – no comment, not worth it.
Emery = 4
Pep = 8
Aguero = 10
Sterling = 9
Morning all, once again I feel folks are being too harsh.
Our patched up back four = 1 x 34yo. who is miles off required quality, 2 x 32 yo’s and ‘Mustafi’ … against a side with a pacey front three and the best out and out CF in the league.
We weren’t humiliated and Guendouzi showed what youth, legs and bravery can bring to the team. Shame UE couldn’t have been bolder and started with Mavro.
I get not playing with Ozil, but I don’t understand why Ramsey didn’t start, his running would have made a difference.
One thing is for sure, this summer’s transfer window is going to be the most important in our EPL history, fingers crossed the club back the manager and the supporters have a reality check in the meantime.
I think RC78 is correct, we are probably just about 6th place quality. Having said that, win our next 3 and top 4 won’t be out of sight.
This is a great season to be an Arsenal fan because the Wenger haters can blame every loss on Wenger and every win on Emery. The Wenger admirers can blame every loss on emery and every win on Wenger.So all of the Arsenal fans should be happy this season for all of the time :-}I actually feel no stress watching Arsenal anymore because whatever happens i will be happy !
🙂 … very perceptive Arthur ..
Thanks to poster!
Big Kevin Campbell, 49 today. Enjoyed his “black panther” gallop (If that isn’t an oxymoron) on many occasions at Highbury. Remember it was commented on that he needed to put himself about a bit more given his size. Always smiling nowadays, and wears bow ties. Happy Birthday, Kev.
Arthur 😀
It hurts to agree with Eddie but sadly I must – Spurs are playing much better football than AFC.
We may well be missing many important players but for €100m of strikers not to have a single opportunity in the second half was dreadful. Can’t blame them, they simply didn’t get the ball.
We cannot look to the opposition because we didn’t create a single chance in 45 mins at home to bloody Cardiff!
One can see some green shoots but they are few and fsar between.. We need tow CB’s, 2 FB’s (at least), a MF playmaker (idf UE refuses to play Ozil).
And AFC have to do something they are not good at – thinning out the squad,
LBG. I bought a car from Kevin Campbell.
As you are asking …. it was a BMW 325i Convertible in metallic blue. 2nd best car I ever owned.
and if anybody asked which AAer drove a blue convertible beemer…everyone would know who 🙂
yes Raddy, it is painful watching spurs, they play like we did 15 yrs ago
Big Raddy – this summer we will have a cleance:
– potentially 15
– confirmed 3 (Cech, Ramsey, Wellbeck)
GK: Cech, Ospina, Martinez
DF: Lichten, Jenks, Mustafi, Monreal (?), Chambers,
Mids: El Neny, Ramsey,
AM: Ozil, Miky (?),
FW: Wellbeck, Asano
Now if these 15 go, we have some work to do:
GK – we will need a new 1
RB – we will need 1
CB – we will need 1 for sure
LB – we will need 1 for sure even if Monreal stays
DM – we will need 1 for sure
CM – we will need 1 for sure
FW – we will need 1 for sure
Leno, Recruit
Bellerin, Recruit (Hakimi?)
Holding, Sokratis, Koscielny, Monreal (or Mavropanos) + 1 Recruit (?)
Kola, Recruit (Gaya?)
Recruit (Gueye, Ndombele, Allan?)
Torreira, Guendouzi
AMN, Suarez, Iwobi, Reiss-Neilsson
Laca, Auba, Recruit (Haller?, Milik?, Insigne?,Douglas Costa?, WIllian?
Leno – Bellerin, ?, Holding, Kola – D. COSTA, GUEYE, Torreira – Suarez, Laca – Auba
Recruit – Hakimi, Sok, Kos, Gaya – AMN, Xhaka, Guendouzi – Reiss-Nelsson, Iwobi – Haller
…
Hakimi and Gaya could actually start…
Haller is a different profile – he is like Giroud and Laca combined, he is very good at link up play.
Eddie. You are right 😀 😀
Cheers Chas, that must have been difficult to write. Poor selection, poor subs, v poor second half (in which Wagner took it easy on his beloved(?) Arsenal), poor tactics. The fact that free runner, 19 y.o. Guendouzi is seen as our best player says it all.
Emery is using his ‘time joker’ to the full, but he will now have to start delivering. With all games remaining winnable – including Mancs at home and Spudkies away – it is time to get us into the top four. Chavs and Mancs are blowing hot and cold like us, so there is every opportunity to get into the top four. Next season it will be harder by all accounts, so now is the time.
Yesterday’s game is one to forget quickly.
It takes guts to not play Mesut at all, I give him that. But he will know that he has made us look ordinary against the top teams away, and he wont get away with it much longer. Not playing Ozil in a game like this is proof for me that Arsenal picked the wrong manager, and it is only a matter of time before more will realise.
Thanks Chas,
Sad to watch – even though the Oilers goals were all iffy they were by far the more deserving team.
I was going to write a ratings sheet but “my pencil was broken so it was pointless”
Nice to see you on AA Eddie.
Spurs do play good attacking football – the type we all love, but it’s hard to like them – so i don’t even bother trying. So many years of total abhorrence is hard to erase.
Chas,
A woman in a grocery store thought she recognized me from the vegetarian club, but I’ve never met herbivore!
I am shocked that people on this blog are already saying UE was the wrong man. It was obvious that those who really loved Arsene were going to find fault and seize the opportunity to complain about the new man, but this is just ridiculous. We are doing better at this point than we were under Arsène Wenger last season. We haven’t capitulated to any massivee losses we’ve had to contend with a crippling raft of injuries. On top of that the club’s hands have been tied due to the excessive wages paid to players who are now not featuring, and it is apparent that we will be restricted until they move on. For goodness sake, can’t you get behind the team and the manager if you want the best for Arsenal.
Emery is a good coach to rebuild the squad and give it a new identity – I am not 100% if we will keep him for more than 3 years though. I think he will do the job for us the next 2 years, which is finish top 4 and compete in Cups. Will he deliver a trophy? To be seen but will he bring a new more tenacious identity and direct game to our club – for sure. If he is given the players, he want he may even finish top 4 next year….
GN5 – I thought it was your daughter-in-law who is a vegan 🙂
I am not here for long. very busy these days. But I read your posts and appreciate them of course 🙂
chas is right – the only 2 good things about yesterday’s game was Guendouzi and the fact we didn’t do Liverpool a favour.
Certainly have to totally disagree with you Total (BUT with respect).
Think Dick will prove himself – maybe even this season ( I’d take a Europa Cup win, and mid table in the League now!!) The crux is however, is probably prove that , with hands tied behind his back financially, and even with 3 transfer windows, that The Arsenal ( or for that matter most other teams in the Premier League) cannot compete with the very top, if by that we mean WIN the League.
Here’s an extreme illustration of the difference in the quality of the two sides (not the managers) yesterday….
Full backs:
Man City
Walker bought for £53m
La Porte bought for £57m
Total cost £110m
Arsenal
Lichsteiner signed on a free
Kolasinac signed on a free
Total cost sweet FA
… does anyone really think that we could have hoped for much more than a battling loss.
Hi LBG, agreeing with your view that we will never be able to compete with the spending of City and the mancs (and who knows which other teams in the future), I’d say that when we have a stable squad and a cohesive team, an EPL win maybe every 5-10 years would be the best that could be expected.
Here’s a depressing thought …
Some believe that the totts new training ground and stadium are carrots to entice a super rich buyer to take over and fund them to the higher level ….
Eddie,
You are correct my future daughter in law in a vegan and my son now only eats meat 3/4 days a week – which is a huge change for him.
I thought that both Torriera and Guendouzi were our best players which bodes well for our future.
Our defense is shockingly poor with or without the walking wounded. While many of our stats are better than last year (a very narrow comparison) our goals against after 25 games (36) is the worst in our PL history (27 years).
Although I was an AW advocate (for good reason) it should be remembered that he was ridiculed and deemed responsible for the myriad of injuries that his teams incurred – which included injuries to his defense.
Keep posting – we miss your input.
Rasp – the thing is that we should also look at our poor North London neighbors from Tottenham…
Ultimately –
1) our season will be a success if we win the Europea League OR finish 4th. I d take the Europea League win any day.
2) our season will be meeting expectations if we finish 5th or 6th and if we make it to the Europea League quarter finals at least
3) Anything below the scenario 2 above will be a failed season
If I had 220 Mln EUR (this is Neymar’s fee), I d buy:
– Hakimi – 25
– Koulibaly – 70
– Gaya – 25
– Gueye – 35
– Douglas Costa – 40
– Milik or Mitrovic or Haller – 25
If you sell:
– Jenks
– Chambers
– Mustafi
– El Neny
– Ozil
– Miky
– Asano
You should be able to get about 100-120 Mln…so it would be a cash injection of 100 Mln…let us see what Kroenke does
Yes, Guendouzi did a lot of running around and was visible doing so, but with all the possession he had with the ball, what did he do with it? Not a lot.
One has to admire Man$ity’s passing and ability to keep the ball. How many times did one of their passes go astray and how many time were we able to dispossess them, that is when the ref did not give them a foul?
I am afraid everything is being offered up on the altar of the heavy press and we simply do not have the players for it.
For that, you can all blame AW, who wanted players to be ones that can play the ball and not simply run around like headless chickens.
I doubt if we replace the whole lot, we will be any better, and we will still not be able to afford the really good players.
We will simply end up as another bus parking team who only play to prevent the opponents from playing.
I applaud your optimism RC78. I’d certainly expect us to spend close to the amount permitted by FFP (not by wasting the money, but assuming the players we target want to come). Bizarrely, I understand that we can only increase our limit by spending more and paying the players more … but I’m probably wrong about that.
Hey Eddie how things, missed you
And first comment u already know what am thinking
Eddie is always right mate
Letting ramsey go is another reason I know we have the wrong manager
Jigsol it sound like you think we will return to the Arsenal of the late 50’s and all of the 60’s where we finished an average of 9th and won sweet FA. Those of us who supported during that period hope we don’t – it was a dire time.
Rasp, we differ in point of view. 🙂
You believe that things are structurally okay with Unai and I believe they are not. We will see who is right in the end. I hope you are okay that some people do not agree with you at times. 😕
The Wenger link is a poor one btw. I loved Wenger for what he did for us and how he made the team play. Unai is clearly not in the same league, but that was to be expected. Even so, I was a proponent of his departure in the end, and simply judge Emery on what he is doing at Arsenal: how he makes us play, how he man-manages our players, how he makes tactical changes, how he is getting the best out of a very talented squad. I am not impressed. You clearly are. So it is.
Hi Total, of course I am more than happy to agree or disagree with anybody and always to do so with respect and courtesy. This is indeed an area where we disagree. I would also not agree that Wenger is a better manager in this era of football, his brilliance came at a time when he was a pioneer and others had to catch up with him, but unfortunately after that we got left behind and all the successful managers work by the blueprint of Pep Guardiola. We have met and I know you are a thoroughly decent guy, I would never wish to upset you. I think you should have a look at Le Grove, they are mounting a serious campaign to remove UE, I would be surprised if anyone of your calibre would want to be associated with that kind of behaviour.
fred 🙂 i missed you too and your one liners. I am very busy, no time to blog. Will be back in a few weeks
Raddy’s blue mettalic convertible beemer was well worth blogging today, made my day
UE needs time but my great concern is that after 6 months in the job we still have no clear idea of his Plan A let alone a Plan B.
Is it just a high press and playing out from the back?
I don’t mind losing but I do object to seeing my team play with so much fear that they cannot mount a single attack in 45 mins.
And why is no-one talking about what was an obvious handball goal? If a defender had done that it would have been judged a penalty and rightly so.
Rasp I guessing you were an arsene out
U might have a point since I was arsene in and things emery do drive me crazy
fred, with due respect to the great man, I did believe in the end that he couldn’t take us any further. But I never resorted to personal attacks or involved myself in some of the disgraceful stuff that went on. He will always be the greatest manager we’ve ever had. The good times he gave us will stay with me to the end.
HI Raddy,
Things have changed a great deal in the past 2 years and It’s now a club that I don’t recognize. With Gaza and AW we had almost weekly communication and now all we get are UE’s broken English (no fault of his) press briefings before and after a game.
The January transfer window was full of if ands and buts and I felt that UE was very tentative and maybe was not as demanding as we would like in pushing his player needs – he just seems very accepting.
It almost appears as though he is using this season as a look see throw away. I not down, as some would believe, I’m simply mystified as to what direction we are moving in?
Fred AW gave us more thrills in his 22 years in charge then I could have possibly hoped for, his achievement’s are simply irreplaceable.
Unai Emery needs time but I’m unsure if he will be able to reach the same levels of performance and achievement as Arsene.
GN5 – Emery will not give us the same thrills in the EPL but maybe in the Europa League…
RC78,
I don’t really disagree but there are some excellent teams left in The Europa League that are above our level so I’m unsure that it will be thrilling – but I hope I’m wrong.
Chambers hasn’t impressed you
Ok
With a little luck I think we can, the man thing is being lucky with or defence not getting injured again
Fred
No-one has a clue what you are replying to ever.
Fred. As you say, injuries have affected our season.
Rasper, I reckon Arsene just got a bit tired and needed a break. It looks like he is having himself on a sabbatical and may even be hoping/planning for a return to his Arsenal! 😉
I could not care less what happens at lG, that cesspit of discontent. Like you I believe Unai needs to be given time; but I am not enjoying what he is doing to our Arsenal at the moment. Happy to agree to disagree. 🙂
Unfortunately looks like game will be abandoned due to fog.
Dippers just had a goal allowed which was at least 2 yards offside.
Strange.
Look at the lino’s position.
Feckin disgrace.
Officiating awful. Need VAR a.s.a.p
Even VAR couldn’t have fucked that one up.
Declan Rice looking a really good player at West Ham. Solid in midfield tonight.
Total @ 7:29 … yes, I agree. AW was looking very tired for the last couple of seasons .. he’s like a new man now, he really needed a break even if he didn’t know it himself.
Brave effort, Chas. Thank you. 🙂
We are in with a chance of CL qualification next year. And if we achieve that, we should be able to make some player acquisitions in a financially sutainable manner.
Hapy so far to the be the beggar that rides that wish-horse. Onwards … 🙂
welcome back, Eddie. You are missed. 🙂
some excellent good analytical and thoughtful comments today. 🙂
could pen a quickie
Yes please, Micky
LBG might be familiar with this location.
A lot of us might recognise this place.
no 2 finsbury park 🙂
no 1 exeter? 🙂
no 1 is Viv Anderson street in Exeter – how on Earth did you get that?
no 2 ✔ – we spent many long hours under those railway bridges waiting for a 279 to take us back to Edmonton.
Morning All,
I know 7.33 😀
n4
ooops, forgot, post sent
Micky penning a quickie
I’ll get on it
7:23
Judging by the words on the bus as well as on the store, I’ll go with Allders Croydon 🙂 🙂
Do you want a photo in the post?
8:06
You’ve got to get up early in the morning to catch you asleep.
NEW POST
Not my fault chas , since over a year now I can’t receive emails from the sites so I have to use the wordpress app
That was a really to no one has a clue what am replying to
Also winning europa gets us into CL so I wonder if emery shouldn’t wrap kos and greek wool and save them for Europa to give us a better chance