What a dramatic way to snatch the 3 points at home against rivals Man Utd! Fighting till the very end to get the win in front of our fans! The game was plagued by frail defending on both sides, plenty of miscued passes, incisive counters and great goals.
Following a good start to the game, Man Utd soon matched our pace and commitment and started becoming dangerous…Havertz misplaces a pass and next thing you know, a few seconds later, Rashford opens the score with another well taken goal against us. The defending was a bit weak on him knowing that two players were on him but we allowed him too much space to place his shot out of Ramsdale’s reach. Min 27…
Min 28 – Captain Odegaard restores parity on a well-constructed placed attach with an astute shot. No time to feel sorry for ourselves or doubt. What a frantic two minutes..
Both teams then have their moments in their game. We could have gotten a PK, Man Utd feel like Ganacho was on side (he was not) when he scored and both teams had their scare…
In the end, our “never give up” attitude was rewarded when Rice awkwardly controlled the ball from a corner kick before shooting hard at the first post. Onana touches it but not enough to keep it out of goal. 2-1 for the magnificient AFC and what a goal for Rice! Min 96.
Min 101…Gabriel Jesus scores on a great counter-attack when Man Utd was trying to score the equalizer. A good run, a little dribble behind the foot to fool the defender and the goal is open, a curling shot and a third goal for THE ARSENAL!
The Emirates is erupting! 3 points against a direct Top 4 rival! 3 points earned in the last minutes of the game…BUT…it was not easy…
What we learned?
- Havertz needs to up his game and fast. He clearly is a hard working player and he gets himself in good positions to be lethal on the attacking front but so far, he has not been able to contribute to a single goal and he also made an error leading to goal…so, he better wake up soon.
- The back 4 was back yesterday but it was not as solid as before. Is it because Partey was not playing in front of them? Are we missing Xhaka too? In any case, we were a bit shaky.
- Our midfield has yet to click it seems. Rice is doing his thing, Ode is doing his thing but we need Havertz to do his thing or even better, and when fit, Partey to join the midfield party (sorry, poor joke…)
- Nketiah is such a team player so he is great for harrassing teams but Jesus adds more to our attacking plays in terms of variety and runs. Let us see what happens when Jesus is fully fit.
- Viera is playing better this season but I can’t wait to see more of ESR!
- Ramsdale is not yet to his best level. Did Raya’s arrival stress him out?
- Rice is not fazed by pressure. He is doing well in our shirt and hoping he can become a legend for us. His goal is a step in the right direction.
- Martinelli and Saka were rather industrious vs Utd, it was good to see Martinelli be more effective.
Ramsdale – 6
White – 6
Gabs – 6
Saliba – 6
Zinchenko – 6
Rice – 8
Havertz – 5
Odegaard – 7
Saka – 7
Nketiah – 6
Martinelli – 7
Subs: 6.5
Arteta: 6
COYG!
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I think Gooners need to get a perspective on Havertz. He’s not playing that badly. His movement is good, he nearly won a penalty, he wins the ball back and presses well. Okay he fluffed a chance and gave the ball away once. So did Saka, and his chance was easier. It seems like some gooners and some journalists want to scapegoat one player, by heaping on him all Arsenal’s failings. That won’t help Havertz settle and it won’t help the team. Be patient. Let him come good.
Rumours…
– PSG and AFC still monitoring Fofana from Monaco
– PSG and Liverpool still monitoring K. Thuram from Nice
– PSG keen on adding an EPL Brazilian midfielder to complete midfield 3 under Luis Enrique: D. Luiz, Joelington or Guimares too
Donna – Haki, Marqui, Skri, Hernandez – Z.Emery, Ugarte, FOFANA (or Joelington, Guimares, D. Luiz, K. Thuram) – Dembele, Muani, Mbappe
Navas – Mukiele, D.Pereira, Kimpembe, Mendes – Barcola, Ruiz, Ndour (or Vitinha), Lee – G. Ramos, Asensio
Fully agree with you Gordon. However, fans and media are less patient so we hope that Havertz comes good quickly…Also, the league is so competitive now, can’t afford losing points…it s crazy…Man City is a machine, they ll be hard to beat again…
Thankfully some sense, Gordon. The Havertz ” needs to up his game” theory is being fuelled by journalists and pundits alike, and then taken up by plastic fans screaming abuse at him at the Emirates.
Not long ago bOdeguard was being hailed as a waste when we took up the option to buy after his first season. Vieira was a lightweight and not worthy of a place in the squad, and classically ( and here I have to own up to a repeated disapproval of a player on a game by game basis), what of Xhaka last season.
Trust the process, trust Arteta and his coaches, because Timber and Rice seemed to hit the ground running, doesn’t mean a little time to get acclimatised to a new system won’t bear fruit with Havertz. Remember Pires!
I don’t think Havertz should be abused for sure. It s clear though that so far he has not hit the ground running and it would be great for him and our team if he improved his form. Of course, he needs time but in this league, that is the one thing players do not have…the team has to perform from Day 1 to Day 38 if it wants to make it to Top 4, let alone to win the big gong…Looking at Havertz stats, they are actually not bad at all overall. He just needs to now find the end product on attacking phases and to keep cool when on the ball to avoid loose passes. I am confident he can come good but I am also quite confident that a midfield with Ode, Rice, Partey would do rather well and that a player like ESR could slot into the 8 role too…
Sad rumor: Jorginho may join the Turkish league.
RC what u think of Mbappe being France Captain
Mbappe as France captain was not my preferred option…I wanted Griezmann as the captain and then 3 vice captains: Maignan, T. Hernandez or A. Rabiot and Mbappe.
That said, if Deschamps names him captain, it is for a good reason and we do not know all the factors that led to this nomination.
Maignan – Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Tchouameni, Rabiot – Griezmann – Dembele, K.Muani, Mbappe
Samba – Pavard, Disasi, Konate, L. Hernandez – Fofana, Camavinga – Nkunku – Coman, Giroud (or M. Thuram), K. Muani
There is a possibility for us to also include players like:
GK: Lafont, Areola, Meslier
DF: Mukiele, Clauss, Gusto, W. Fofana, Bashiashile, Todibo, F. Mendy, L. Digne
MF: Kante, K. Thuram, Rongier, Veretout, Guendouzi, Z. Emery
AMF: Diaby, Olise, Cherki, Barcola
FW: Gouiri, Wahi, Kalimuendo, Ben Yedder…
and I am probably missing a few names…
Our pipeline is good at the moment…but in the end, let us see if we can somehow do better at the next Euro…
Ideal scenario –
Semi Finals:
– England vs Italy
– France vs Portugal (or Spain)
Final:
– England vs France
Winner: France 😛
Allez Les Bleus…lol
At the moment, the issue with the French squad is the right side with Kounde-Dembele or Pavard-Coman. It is not as good as the left flank with T. Hernandez-Mbappe but I think that once Malo Gusto matures in his game, especially defensively, he will be able to take that RB position in the senior squad…Clauss is also getting back to his best so I think that players like Pavard and Kounde may slowly either be integrated as CB or be eased out of the team…
Maignan – Gusto, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Tchouameni, Rabiot – Griezmann – Coman, K. Muani, Mbappe
The role of Rabiot and Griezmann for our overall balance cannot be understated. Without Rabiot, there is no lethal Mbappe and without Griezmann, there is no fluidity to our game in transition…
Luckily, we have Camavinga and Nkunku that can step in but they are not at that same level in terms of reading the game. For Camavinga, it is a matter of time. For Nkunku, he is just more inclined towards goal…
Anyways, time will tell 🙂
I d love for K. Trippier to be French, then our defense would be sorted 😛
Yea when I say it was was thinking who could have been captain, I think griezmann is an excellent choice
Is that it for giroud
Griezmann was the expected choice by most…Also for his devotion to the team and his good performance standards since 2016 especially (Euro 2016, WC2018, League of Nations, WC2022…). A reliable player and well respected by staff and squad players…
Anyways, Deschamps probably gave in to Mbappe’s request but also French Federation as they want to really bank on Mbappe’s star power…
Tchouameni in a good period at the moment both with Club and France. Good for him. I like the player a lot and shall Partey leave, I d be more than happy to have Tchouameni as his replacement.
PSG under L. Enrique: worse start since Qatar took over the club…Despite a very busy transfer window, the club has failed to address obvious gaps: lack of steel and movement in midfield, depth of our central defense…
Yea psg seems to lost the plot a bit instead of building a proper squad dey just tried to buy superstars
Trossard with another crucial match-winner.
I’m really quite fond of our sullen faced Belgian.
Yea was worried a bit this game
Don’t worry Fred, Cedric will save the day…
Lol