The game started well with a goal that came our way in the oddest circumstances but we ll take it. Then we give away a cheap goal by not following Fred in the box…Following this, we give away another cheap goal but we quickly react and get an equalizer after a good transition phase seeing Martinelli square off with Odegaard. Odegaard then slices a player in our box for no reason…gives away a PK that CR7 scores to make it 3-2 and reach his 801 goals. Upsetting loss. Worrying performances by Partey and Auba. Bright lights were our full-backs again, El Neny and our brightest star yesterday Martinelli.
Fatgingergooner says:
“Not sure how we lost that game but we did. As with the Liverpool game, we conceded just before and just after half time. You’re not going to win many games doing that. Also in line with the Liverpool game, we managed to fire up the home team. Arteta’s spat with Klopp sparked Liverpool into life, and our weird goal and a sense of injustice fired up United. The nature of our opener certainly didn’t help our cause. I think we missed Saka’s cutting edge in the final third, and we somehow managed to concede 3 sloppy goals. I’d like to see a front 3 of Martinelli, Saka, ESR for a few games as I think the Brazilian looks really sharp and it’s clear that Auba is struggling. Onwards and upwards”
RC78 rates:
“Ramsdale – 5, nothing wrong but not decisive
Tomy – 6.5, played well
White – 5.5, not his best esp. in the first half
Gabs – 6, the better CB tonight
Tavares – 6.5, played well
Partey – 2.5, quite a disaster today
El Neny – 6, our best midfielder
Odegaard – 5, ghastly, then hero through his goal and then villain by conceding the PK
Martinelli – 7, our best player
Auba – 4.5, another outing that begs the question of his utility to the team
ESR – 5.5, quiet by his standard”
Yesterday our two worse players were Partey and Auba and Odegaard, besides his goal, was also poor.
If these 3 do not perform, we have Lokonga/El Neny + Martinelli-Laca and even Nketiah in our locker so I would agree with Fatgingergooner and as in a previous post, let us just play Martinelli, ESR, Saka up front and may be we make them play with Laca in our 4231 set-up. These 4 players are showming more hunger and form:
Rams – Tommy, White, Gabs, Nuno – Lokonga, El Neny – Saka, ESR, Martinelli – Laca
Arteta: 4.5.
Man Utd: MOTM – CR7 because of his two goals.
How we lost this game is still a mystery.
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
I completely agree with all that you say. I watched the whole game last night and what struck me the most was how little football we played. I also thought that after going 1-0 up, against a team that must surely be low on confidence and seems to repeatedly lose at home, that we would gain confidence and really give it to them.
It felt to me like watching a team typically from the bottom half of the table play against one of the big sides – stay compact, don’t be too ambitious and we might nick a chance. That isn’t Arsenal! Don’t get me wrong, I know we aren’t currently at the level of Arsenal teams of the past, but we are playing a very poor Man Utd side. When was the last time you saw us string 10 passes together? When was the last time you saw Arsenal have a negative goal difference so far into the season??
I try not to be too reactionary, but this notion that “Arteta has a plan and we can see what it is” is nonsense to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not calling for his head, but the only reason I’m not is because there isn’t a great alternative out there right now – Arteta is as good as any in a bad bunch. We know we aren’t getting Pep, Klopp or Poch so might aswel sit tight. But having said that, the football itself is pretty dire. Even in Wengers later years we could still turn it on at times.
I really don’t know where we are going. Arteta is 2 years in and we still got spanked by Man City and Liverpool, and lost to Chelsea and Man Utd. Is that really progress? I wasn’t a great Emery fan but he was only 1 win away from finishing top 4 with an inferior squad to this.
I’d say the ship is relatively stable, but it isn’t actually moving forwards, it is just stagnant. Truth be told, if Wenger was to come back in now (not that I want that) I’d have no doubt that within a month we would be a better side than we currently are. I don’t want Wenger back, but I expected more than this after 2 years of someone getting their ideas across. This is his squad of players – he bought most of them – and we still look like a mid-table side right now. 4th is only up for grabs because Man Utd, Spurs and Leicester are making such a hash of it of late, not because we are a decent side. Our creativity is at an all time low.
And let’s not even get started on what on earth has happened to the £100m worth of talent that we bought in Pepe and Saliba. Whoever is responsible for spending such a huge sum of money on 2 players that don’t get on the pitch for us needs firing (unless it was Raul who is already gone), but either way the handling of them has been pretty disgusting and very un-Arsenal.
Sigh.
It still surprises me after all these years how Arsenal loosing has such a deflating affect on my whole life, I feel drained, hollow, down right miserable.
Still, I feel confident we will beat Everton :]
Good read RC and great comment Sebastian, hope you come back and if you ever feel in the mood to write a headline post, look above to “Be our guest” This probably sounds like I have something to do with running of this site — I don’t.
We never get much at Old Trafford but playing into their hands is a bit silly. We never looked convincing.
I think the experiment with Tavares needs to come to an end. Sure he’s an athlete, but he can’t defend and he constantly gives the ball away in very dangerous areas. He is a liability against good teams.
Elneny was a strange pick. He did very little. (Not sure what game you watched RC)
PEA is paid to score goals. He isn’t doing that at the moment. It’s blunting our game.
With a bit more defensive concentration we should have got a draw at least from that game.
I’m beginning to worry that after all the hype prior to his arrival and the anticipation after he signed that Thomas Partey is evolving into the Arsenal version of Sebastian Veron.
I just don’t know, can not figure out what kind of tactics were in MA mind.
We had the players to give a good go at Old Toilet. And it is not just Elneny, who is who he is but why Tavares, why Auba were playing? We have KT3 who is experienced reliable both in defennding and attacking. We had Laca to start with Martinelli also Pepe on the rigbt….
But…. I don’t know why we played with handbrake on. Even against this terrific Pool side we played fire in our belly but such a tame approach against Manure last night…. it makes me uncertain regarding Arteta tactical capability.
It hurts…
COYG and beat Everton
I forgot how much I hate Ronaldo, absolute banned word.
El Neny was definitely the best midfielder of ours yesterday but that was not hard because Partey was just Part(h)eytic (sorry for the bad joke)
Also, If Arteta does not see a future for Laca and Nketiah at the club, then why not give playing time to Balogun?
One thing I would say about Auba is that in the second half there were quite a few runs off the shoulder that went totally unnoticed by his team mates. We’d won the ball high up and the United back line were high but he never got the ball. A lot of his game does come from running in behind on the shoulder and if the ball isn’t forthcoming then that isn’t really his fault. Don’t get me wrong, the rest of his game is poor at the moment, but I still think he has a lot to offer if used correctly.
Well, that was a balloon running out of air slowly.
AFC are now 1-1 against coaches with 2 games or less with their new teams.
Arteta screams from the sideline, after we scored early, on a fortunate ESR goal, “stay in your lane and do not go past the halfway line” or something like that. Turtle up baby…..
Elneny was himself, the partnership with Partey is horrible. Auba ain’t getting any service and the entire left hand side of the line up is a total no go, sum of parts is not even sum of parts, 1+2+1 = -2.
Again, xG is not looking good and we conceded poorly to increase our goal difference in the wrong direction.
Martinelli looked like someone we have been missing for ages, ESR needs to be on the right with Saka, and we better be buying in January to help create a workable midfield (sell Leno and use those funds and bring up someone for backup), because for the last 2 years we have not had one that will get us to top 4!
If AFC do not get 6 points from the next 12, we will be sitting between 6-8th and sliding backwards.
Did u jxt say Partey was one of our worst performers on the pitch? Huh! Sometimes I wonder how some of us watch the game.