In the end, we can say that we did not deserve more than a draw given the fact that Palace dominated the game from the moment we took the lead through Auba’s goal until the 70th minute…We even basically rescued 1 point thanks a late stoppage time goal, courtesy of Lacazette…
The performance was disappointing on many levels:
- Why did we go to sleep after scoring the goal? We were really good in the first 15 minutes.
- How can we concede soft goals like this?
- Partey was having a stinker yesterday but Odegaard was even worse. Why is Arteta insisting in playing them as a double pivot? Where is El Neny? What about AMN? Or why not play Lokonga from the on-set…Odegaard can not pay as an 8. He is limited to play as a 10. That is a fact.
- Is Tierney low on confidence going forward?
- Tomyasu, Lokonga and Gabriel also were off their usual selves yesterday
- What happened to Pepe after he created the first goal? Started brightly, fell asleep with the team and then woke up again when Laca came on.
- Arteta’s changes were rather positive but does he tell the squad to sit back after scoring the first goal?
On the other hand, I felt like Palace was a team that was playing rather well with Edouard and Callagher in particular form. Vieira is definitely creating a strong team with a decent game plan. I hope they stay up and have a good run in Cups.
Ramsdale – 5
Tomy – 5
White – 5.5
Gabs – 5
Tierney – 5
Partey – 4
Ode – 3
Pepe – 5
ESR – 6
Saka – N/A (Lokonga – 4)
Auba – 5.5
Laca – 6.5
Arteta – 4
Definitely an opportunity lost to land 3 points at home but given the way the way the game panned out, we re lucky to get a point out.
Now regarding the referee, the second CP goal could have been cancelled since there is indeed a small foul on Lokonga but the most importantly, CP should have played with 10 men after McCarthur senseless kick on Saka’s leg. What were the Refs and VAR doing?
Anyways, I think that Laca reminded us on why he is such an important piece of our system.
Next game:
Ramsdale – Tomy, White, Gabs, Tierney – Partey, AMN? – Saka, ESR, Auba – Laca
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I understand nothing about yesterday
Zero urgency,1million back passes, damn near no creativity,the turnovers of the ball continually,flat no energy and an absolutely disgrace against CP to walk about for 90 minutes. I understand Stan Scrooge and family are gonna gut us before they go and I’m sorry but today I am questioning ARTETA.
Valid points, RC, and your ratings, including Arteta, were frankly spot on.
After scoring our first goal our game seemed to go from whiz-bang all-energy to statuesque, where every Arsenal player slowed down (stopped) and began miss-passing, or giving the ball away when a Palace player stuck his boot out.
The two Palace goals were gifts, as the defence waited for Benteke and Edouard to simply steady themselves and pick out a shot without anyone even trying to tackle them outside the penalty area, and leaving Ramsdale no chance to save.
[Any sane person could see that the cowardly hack into the back of Saka’s leg deserved a red card – except when the incompetent Dean is the ref.]
Dean must be a Tottenham fan, there is no other explanation…
As for the goals, Partey and Lokonga were abysmal but I was not impressed with our central defenders either. They could have defended better.
But one thing is for sure, we cannot play with Partey-Odegaard..For me, Odegaard should be…ESR’s sub. He has his days but overall, his strengthts are in finding the right pass in the final third and his defending and positional awareness are not great so not sure, why Arteta is insisting.
Also, I think that even if Pepe starts, Saka should be play on the right.
Ultimately, Auba is the better forward between him and Laca but seems Laca makes the team gel so I dunno how Arteta is going to solve this conundrum.
Was also nice to see Martinelli in the mix yesterday, positive play but not always decisive
Anyways…terrible day at the office and saved by Lacazette and given Arteta’s discourse, I think we ll lose Laca at X-Mas.
Some good points re Palace’s two goals.
Partey & Lokonga were guilty of amateur play giving the ball away in dangerous areas.
Gabriel for the first & White for the second backed off their forward too much giving them plenty of time to pick their spot. We seem to have stopped tackling around the area, inviting shots at goal.
We appear more balanced with two midfielders.
5 games undefeated.
1st game back after the international break and we steal a draw at the death, whats not to like.
4 more games to continue the undefeated streak until we face Liverpool, which will be the real indicator of how far we have progressed this season.
Onwards and upwards:-)
A short Parisian interlude…
Pochetinno must be one of the most overrated coaches…He arrived in Paris in December last year and until now, everyone is saying that the team is still learning and still needs time to work better as a team/unit. It is have been almost a year. How long does a coach need to get his team to play “his/her” way?
Under Pochetinno, PSG lost many games both on the European and national scenes. They lost the league under Pochetinno and so far, except maybe 3 games in the Champions League, the team has not played well and has often struggled to defend properly. Pochetinno is known for his attacking mentality – he has two options: 1. Fast counter-attack and 2. Overload one side. But he does not seem to get the team to press or defend properly…Every time we face a counter attack, the opposing team scores…Our left-backs (Nuno Mendes, Diallo, Kurzawa) are really struggling and I can’t wait to see a fit Bernat. Then our right-back (Hakimi) is doing well but he needs more support from the midfielders in the defensive phase and we cannot ask Messi to do that now so it is down to whomever plays central midfielder to also cover that right side to help Hakimi…Kimpembe is having a poor season so far so maybe our saving grace at the back will be Ramos once he is fit…
Anyways, the team is often divided into two with huge gaps defensively and also offensively. This is a constant issue under Pochetinno and he needs to solve it ASAP or we will not only lose in the Champions League but also in Cup Games. I think in the French League, we should be ok this year as other teams have yet to find their gear except Marseilles and Nice….
If Pochetinno insists on playing: Neymar, Mbappe, Messi up front, he has to find a way to keep the team’s balance.
Navas/Dona – Hakimi, Marquinhos, Ramos, Bernat – Di Maria, Gueye, Verratti – Mbappe, Messi, Neymar
But ultimately, I think that if Pochetinno stays in Paris, PSG needs a striker that can hold up the ball well and provide a presence in the box too and basically play in a 442. I think they should invest in Isaak and cut their losses with Icardi.
Anyways…
Parisian interlude over.
@RC Sarkozy & Platini sold PSG to the devil. They are now in a Faustian pact and it’s unlikely the soul of the Club will ever return. The same goes for a number of the clubs in the Premier League.
Just look at the way the Geordie’s were lauding their new owners.
Plus, I think the club made big mistakes last year letting Tuchel, T.Silva and Cavani go and they are still paying for these mistakes. Leonardo acted like a spoiled toddler because Tuchel publicly asked for different profiles and did not want Leonardo’s intervention in team and tactics selection…
As for Pochetinno, there is no hope for him. He is not a coach for big teams. He is a coach for teams like Nice, Lille maybe Lyon in France and teams like Southampton and Tottenham (;-P) in the EPL but even Tottenham proved complex for him when expectations of Top 4 became a reality. Ultimately, he should coach up and coming teams rather than established or trophies-seeking team.
So far this season, PSG got results only because our GKs, Hakimi and Mbappe have played really well especially Mbappe. Otherwise, the team has been rather crap and that is mostly due to Pochetinno’s set-up and requirements.
COYG! Allez Paris!
If we are on interludes then look no further than the transformation that Aussie Ange is doing at Celtic. Puts to shame other coaches that say they need time to integrate new players etc.
COYG!
Or what Tuchel did Chelsea last year
Rc78 we spoke about camavinga and tch, now watching soumare from Leicester he was brilliant
Leicester seriously has a great transfer policy only gems
Another gem of their is tieliman
All from the French league: Fofana, Tielemans and Soumare. Soumare is good but Tchouameni is even better…