It’s Time To Bring Ashley Cole In From The Cold.

September 5, 2019

Ashley Cole has announced his retirement from playing yet there doesn’t seem to be much interest in goonerdom. I find that incredibly sad.

What happened that resulted in a player of his calibre, that came through our ranks, to be so overlooked by the gooners fan base.

Well I want to revisit the alleged crime, call it a cold case if you like, to see if there has been a miscarriage of justice. I feel there has been, and have felt this for a while now, especially in light of other later events with other players.

Ashley was arguably the worlds best left back for 4-5 years at his peak, which included him playing in the famous red and white. Not only that, he was one of our own and an invincible.

The following analysis is based upon the generally accepted version of events and the publisher accepts no responsibility in regard to any unconfirmed falsified aspects of the said generally accepted version.

“The court invites the prosecution to make its opening statement”

“Well your honour, Mr Cole joined Chelsea, a rival, and wrote a book that was critical of certain aspects of the club (Arsenal’s) contract negotiating team. These 2 factors have infuriated the fan base and now any relationship between Mr Cole and the Arsenal fan base is irreconcilable. The prosecution Sue’s for divorce”

“And now the court invites the defence to make its opening statement”.

“Well your honour’ you see Mr Cole didn’t actually write the book but agreed to have his name attached to it. It was explained to him by the publisher that certain things should be exaggerated more as it was better for sales. In addition Mr Cole really wanted to stay at Arsenal, the club he grew up at and loved, so much so that he agreed to a lower wage than he was being offered elsewhere. He thought he had a gentleman’s agreement but was shocked when the club negotiators reneged on the agreement. He felt incredibly hurt and didn’t feel the club truly wanted him to stay. At this point he decided it would be best to move on”.

Personally I feel Ashley has been overly maligned  by some margin, especially considering what a special player he was for us in such a special period.

The book was most likely ghost written and more poor judgement on Ashley’s part in my opinion. He will not be the first or last footballer to fall foul of making a wrong call based on poor advice of those around him.

Can we really not also see how hurt he would have been that after agreeing to stay on wages less than he could get elsewhere,  just because he loved the club that had brought him up, to find that they didn’t value him quite so highly and were happy to go back on their verbal agreement.

Ashley was probably the first of the modern generation footballers, at Arsenal, to have a high profile fall out with the fans, but I feel this case needs revisiting.

The crime now, so many years on, seems so much less, and in reality I feel the club’s negotiators were far more culpable for that situation and that fallout than the player himself.

It is time to bring Ashley in from the cold and for the fans to show Ashley the love again. We need to treat him as the legend he is. He deserves a place in the stand at the Emirates and he deserves the applause and appreciation from us all.

The defence rests its case.

GoonerB

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Posted by Rasp

Do We Just Blindly Trust Unai Emery?

September 4, 2019

The “Opinion” Connundrum

We had a fantastic discussion yesterday on the question of Unai and Granit Xhaka related to how fans feel about them. FGG and I went back and forth, many others chipped in and in the end it seems there’s a fairly broad spectrum of opinion. Obviously that’s what a blog is for and on this particular site, almost always discussion and differences of opinion are respectful. So it seems discussion wise we’re on the right track. So what about the subjects of our discussion? Some of the points raised in the discussion were along the lines of:

“Should we be criticizing our own players/manager?”

“At what point is it disloyal as fans to criticize our players/manager?”

“Do we back them through thick and thin, even if we see an issue with their performance?”

All of which are legitimate questions. It got me thinking, when was the last time I felt like being critical of our players/manager (before Sunday !!)? I came up with during the last 2 years of Arsene’s reign when I got to the point of despair with his blind belief in his players’ ethic which it seemed obvious to most everyone else, was severely lacking. Anyone who watched Adams, Bould, Vieira, Parlour, Freddie, Santi but to name a few will know what I’m talking about.

I got to the point where I just couldn’t trust AW anymore because I believed he was too close to the technicalities of his management to see the more simple picture, which was – play your best players who will do the job you tell them to, no matter what their name or “status”. Also find a Captain that will lead by example and demand those players do what they need to. I think most people would agree that this was in fact the case and the reason he had to go.

So here’s the question: Do we just blindly trust Unai and not take our players to task. I think everyone would say no to that so where is the line? At what point is it ok to question, criticize, hold accountable? Obviously I’ve reached my tipping point with Xhaka and yet, although Unai keeps picking him, I am not there yet with the manager. It will probably take a while for that but I feel it’s ok to question him at this point.

I know we’re just fans and we don’t have all the technical information, nor see the players in training every day so is there a point that allows us to voice our opinion if it’s not necessarily positive or even downright negative. I’ll not be a hypocrite here and admit I had a few choice words for people who have criticized Wenger, Fizman, the Kroenke’s over the years because I always thought there was more to the picture. So what do you all think? Are there rules for this or do we just have to agree that we all see it differently?

Mike M

 

 

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Points shared ………. nearly very good ……… will get better

September 2, 2019

So what do we know after this game?

1. Leno will make the odd mistake but will be solid throughout. Better than Scezesny? Not sure but definitely a good GK

2. Xhaka is a disaster despite his warrior attitude.

3. Pepe is great and Auba and Laca are legends. I hope Laca is not too injured

4. Guendouzi’s workrate never disappoints. I thought he was our MOTM, just based on his second half.

5. Sokratis is not very solid and Luiz is not really having a Van Dijk effect

6. Kola and AMN had a good game I thought.

7. Torreira cannot be our playmaker. He is a lot more comfortable as a BTB.

8. Ceballos has such good ball control and his passing Is good but he needs to beef up and play quicker.

9. Mkhy can be useful because he always did the right runs and good passes BUT he is slow now and cannot beat anyone one to one. He needs to play as a false nine or as an 8.

10. We only have 7 points after 4 games but we have played Liverpool away and Tottenham at home. Now the break is welcome and when we resume, we need to pick up the pace and the points

11. Emery messed up his starting line-up according to me and our players need to understand better the transition in defensive phases because we conceded well too many chances.

Ratings:

Leno – 5.5 – At fault for the goal but kept us in the game as well.

AMN – 6 – Did well at both ends

Sok – 4.5 – Not his best day at the office and could have conceded a PK at the end or gotten a red card.

DL – 5 – Anonymous

Xhaka – 4 – Usual Xhaka showing. Runs a lot. Tackles a lot. Fouls a lot and picks up a card. Has a decent distribution but gives away PKs for fun.

Guendouzi – 7 – Great work rate. Possibly his best showing in an Arsenal shirt. Really stepped up when others were not playing well. An assist, countless runs and ball recoveries. Well done!

Torreira – 5 – Anonymous.

Pepe – 6.5 – An Assist. Some chances. Desire to get behind the ball and have a go. What a recruit!

Laca – 6.5 – A goal and his usual fighiting spirit. Hope he s ok.

Auba – 6.5 – A difficult first half but a good second half and a good goal.

Ceballos – 6 – Instant impact.

Mkhy – 5 – Good runs and decent passes but heavy and sometimes heavy touches. Cannot dribble anyone with this type of pace. Needs to work on his pace and also needs to stop double guessing himself.

RC78 

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

It’s The Biggie … Time for The New Look Arsenal to Show its Quality

September 1, 2019

Quick side note that I feel everyone should know if you don’t already. If you go to google and ask “what is a hotspur?” – it returns “a rash, impetuous person”… who says you can’t always believe the internet???

Anyways… on to the important stuff …………..

We’ll start with potential lineups. I think we’ll return to the 4-2-3-1/4-3-3 line up. My Dad (Mike M) and I have gone with the following for our preferred line up:

I know a lot of people on here may disagree as it seems many do not see Torreira as a DM. I however feel that’s his only option. I think as a BTB he isn’t as good as Willock or Guendouzi and I don’t think it’s very close. I think this is his time to prove that he can play for us and he can play as a DM.

Up to this point I truly believe that he has always been deployed alongside Xhaka and never explicitly been told to play in the DM role and has therefore been guilty of running too far up field. I think he has what it takes to play DM and hope we get to see him in that role at some point.

This is the team I expect Emery to pick:

 

This is certainly pretty tough. I think the back line is pretty obvious at this point and while I think it’s possible, he won’t unleash the PAL (Pepe, Auba, Laca) front three, I’d be a surprised if he didn’t. So that leaves a predicament in the center of the park with 5 players for 3 spots. I think he’ll give Xhaka the nod as that seems to be who he wants for whatever reason I can’t seem to figure out. I also think he’ll pick Guendouzi and Willock as he loves the former and has started the latter all three games (1 at Attacking Mid – Newcastle). Therefore I think he leaves Torreira and Ceballos on the bench.

Now for the Match Preview:

We’re at home to the Spuds this weekend, and therefore nothing more really needs to be said, a win is a must. However, this particular clash seems like it could be more important than some in more recent times, at least in terms of how vital it is to win. We are a team that in my opinion has a lot of momentum heading into this game. I know we just lost but without going into far too much detail… I’m ignoring that game. We’ve begun the weekend in 3rd rdplace, we have potentially our best front 3-4 in over a decade and seem to be teetering on this tightrope of obtaining the sort of swagger needed to push us out of the “top 6” group and maybe into the “top 3” group. A month or two ago, I couldn’t have really imagined writing that sentence because in my mind the Spuds were a major obstacle in that scenario.

So let’s talk about the Potatoes briefly. They have declared that Ndombele, Walker Peters, and Foyth will not play due to injury. Others such as Eriksen, Alli, and Dier possibly missing out for various reasons. So far this campaign they have struggled, they squeaked by Villa, were extremely lucky to get a point against City, and obviously lost to the Barcodes (At Home!). They also seem to be having internal issues with Eriksen wanting out, as well as other reports saying that some of their players are growing tired of Pochettino. I certainly do not think they are in free fall, but I do believe they’ve been lucky over the years and said luck (and Harry Kane) has papered over some cracks. Nonetheless, the cracks are there and it’s time for someone to try and break them open, why not us?

With all of that said I want to stress that I don’t believe this will be a walk over game, I actually have a predicted score line of 2-1 (Mike went with 2-0). Part of me also thinks that there’s a possibility we could screw this up. None of that is the point though, the point is that in terms of 4th games of the season, they don’t get much bigger than this. This game is an opportunity for us to show why this season and this squad are different and why we may finally be returning to form as one of the best clubs in England. Mike thinks it hinges on how Xhaka plays if he gets picked and in that sense, he doesn’t feel great about it even ‘though he predicted 2-0.

At the end of the day, it is just one game. It’s not a be all end all game but make no mistake, this has potential to be huge for the futures of both of the clubs involved.

C’mon you Reds !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Late update – this was written on Friday. As of yesterday, Nacho has gone. That’s a bit of a shame but hopefully Tierney isn’t far away. Seems plausible that he could go with 3 at the back or bring in Chambers at RB and move AMN to LB but I’d assume Kolasinac will be the replacement.

Good luck Nacho, you were consistently one of our better later AW signings. Thanks for all you did (also in Emery’s presser last night he cagily hinted that all 3 of our front players are now completely fit, so here’s hoping !!!!!!!!!)

Brady’s Namesake

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal’s 12th Man Needs a Better Song …

August 31, 2019

We need a new anthem.

Something Rasp mentioned the other day about how he wasn’t very keen on the chant of “stand up if you hate Totnum”, got me thinking. Rasp said:

Something that really wound me up at The Emirates on Saturday happened when we were probably only 20 minutes into the game – the ‘stand up if you hate totnum’ chant started up.

I find it pretty juvenile at the best of times, and it’s disrespectful to the players on the pitch. I just wanted to concentrate on watching the game. It’s usually brought out when there’s not much happening. This time it died down quite quickly, but it was started a couple of times more during the game and was met with the same indifference.

I started to think about the different songs and chants that we hear at the Emirates but also around the other grounds. I would assert that some are more positive, and really grip you, making the hairs on the back of your neck stir.

These songs sweep you along and change the mood in the stadium to a positively Arsenal one that must surely rub off on the players.

I agreed with Rasp that “the stand up if you hate Totnum” had more of a negative feel to it. I am not saying it should be binned entirely, but more that it should be used less often and at the appropriate times.

I have also never been too keen on the “come on Arsenal, come on Arsenal” chant. It just sounds a bit feeble and insipid in its tone to me.

Also invariably it comes out at a time when we are either losing a game or drawing in a game we should be winning. With this chant we are urging the players to shift up a gear, but I never feel it is an entirely inspiring chant.

Back to the main point in the title, and I believe the Emirates needs a new anthem. Something positive that seeps through the stadium infecting every Arsenal fan and player. Something that says to the opposition fans and players “we are the mighty Arsenal, and you have entered our den”.

 

 

The kind of chant I feel we are missing out on is one that starts in a slower more haunting way for one verse and then once repeated it builds up in pace to a crescendo ending with the whole stadium chanting “Arsenal,”Arsenal”.

West Ham have ” I’m forever blowing bubbles”, Liverpool have “you’ll never walk alone”, Southampton have “oh when the Saints, go marching in”, and dare I say it Totnum have their own identical version of the latter which I hate to admit is quite haunting and rousing.

I would like to hear from all A.A’ers about how they feel about our chants and songs. Which ones do you like and dislike?

More than this though I want you to seek out your inner Mozart and help us come up with something new. There must be some budding Beethoven’s and Tchaikovsky’s out there that can do this. Let’s start the ball rolling and create a pandemic in goonerdom.

I have my personal choice but will leave that till later and see if anyone else chooses my option…..I’m more of a Des O’Connor than Mozart anyway…… In the meantime, over to you gooners.

Gooner B

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Torreira and Xhaka – what are their best positions?

August 29, 2019
This week there has been a lot of discussion about how our collection of mid-fielders fit into different systems and what our best combination could be. The following comments formed part of that discussion a couple of days ago.
Mike M says:
August 27, 2019 at 2:40 pm

FGG. Here’s a question that I don’t know the answer to, mostly because I didn’t really know anything about him before we signed him but what role do you think we signed Torreira for?

I really though he’d be our anchor DM along with Xhaka. Indeed when we signed Xhaka I thought that’s what he was too !! Now I understand interchanging so if LT or XG go forward, someone covers them but without the ball, shouldn’t they be our deep lying midfielder and if we lose the ball, be busting a gut to get back in front of the defence centrally? Or is it that the roles are changing in the PL?

fatgingergooner says:
August 27, 2019 at 3:01 pm

Mike,

I have to say that they’ve both baffled me a little as well. I think roles have changed a little in that clubs now realise you can get more from a HM player than just tackling, so in that respect these 2 could be perfect modern day players as they both offer more (Xhaka with his long passing and Torreira with his attacking play) but the problem seems to be that neither does the defensive part well enough in the first place!

I can’t answer your question about why they were bought, but what I would say is that there are a couple of things to ponder when looking at the signings. Firstly, they were bought by different managers who have different ideas about what our midfield should look like, and secondly, and probably more importantly, they were both bought within a certain budget limitation.

What I mean by that is sometimes when you don’t have infinite financial backing, you have to compromise a little bit on a players skill set and hope that you can develop him as you want, which is always a bit of a gamble. Maybe both managers saw tenacious, tough tackling players and thought they could mould them into a HM type, but actually when they’ve had them on the training ground, it’s turned out that they don’t quite have the discipline or the ability to read the game as they had hoped.

Xhaka just seems to lack the ability to sniff danger before it’s happened, whereas Torreira doesn’t quite have the positional discipline required and seems to enjoy getting involved in the attack a little more than expected. I wonder if both were bought with that HM position in mind but it just hasn’t worked out.

I actually think they were our best partnership last season and their skill sets complimented each other fairly well. I’d like to see them get another crack as a pair or maybe even as a 3 with Willock behind 3 attacking players.

It seems to me that we have been collecting mid-fielders in the hope that some turn out to be the players we require in the positions we need them. If Emery is going to find the right combination, how long is it going to take?

peachesgooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Mesut Özil Ate My Hamster …

August 28, 2019

I know, I know, but its a slow Wednesday morning and Sunday seems to be taking forever to arrive so don’t expect too much this morning people. The link, however, is the position that Ozil plays and I am assuming that had he been fit and on form then he would have played at the head of the diamond in place of Ceballos against Liverpool, agreed, or maybe not?

Özil or Ceballos?

This brings me to the link between Ozil and Ceballos and the question of why do we need them both; the answer is that we probably don’t. My guess is that Ozil remains wrapped in cotton wool on the off chance that someone might buy him in the remainder of this Euro transfer window. As a guess as to what is going on behind the scenes with him this is no big deal, pedestrian really, but how the club are going about replacing him is what is fascinating me.

Buying a tried and tested attacking midfielder would probably cost, in wages terms, around four hundred thousand pounds a week, hang on didn’t we have one of those but let him go – Ramsey wasn’t it? You get my drift, they are few and far between, they are expensive and even worse it is still possible to make a massive mistake. There is no better example than the debacle that United are dealing with right now with the “tried and tested” Sanchez — phew, dodged that bullet.

Back to Ceballos. Last week we all would have been happy if he were signed then and there and the name Ozil never mentioned again, this week, mah, not so much. It is also far easier to see why the club didn’t try and push the boat out in an attempt to sign him outright from day one. Cleverly, we get to see him develop all season before we choose to spend the big bucks, the club might want to do that as well but our opinion (we) is far more important of course, lol. It’s a good strategy, it’s a clever strategy and as an attempt to replace Ozil, be it this season or next, I think it is worth pointing out.

Ceballos or Torreira?

And, that believe it or not, brings me to where I wanted to be all along. Mike asked: “If you lose a game does it by definition mean the tactics are flawed?” Certainly not, in my opinion, but with the use of hindsight surely we would have been better off playing Torreira at the head of the diamond instead of Ceballos.

I am not convinced that our five foot, two Uruguayan is the defensive midfielder that we all seem to think he is. Has anyone seen such archetypal DMs such as Kante or Makelele steal inside the box and score goals such as Torreira’s against spuds or against Liverool on the weekend for that matter?

Our pocket rocket can operate well in the box and score goals, the importance of which should never be underestimated; perhaps I can describe him as a Swiss army knife with far more tools available than people are realising or maybe accepting — surely he is better deployed as an attacking midfielder than a rigid DM?

LB

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Posted by LB

Does Guendouzi Do It For You?

August 27, 2019

Emery said this about Guendouzi in his pre-match conference for the Liverpool game:

Matteo is very young but he has talent, his talent is to adapt to what we need. We are working tactically and individually, a lot on videos and a lot on the pitch. It’s a big challenge for me and him to achieve a big level here. Last year his process was very good but we miss a lot with him to achieve big moments.

Really, really I am very optimistic with him because he has this talent. We can improve other things, physically – we are working in the gym – his mentality. He has potential right now to help us achieve the best performance.

After the game, Emery praised Willock but also said that Douzi had a good match.

I thought that Douzi had an “OK” game. He ran a lot, he had a lot of passes but he (and Sokratis) were beaten for the Matip goal on a corner kick and he did not have one shot on target, not one key pass. Douzi is only 20 and we shouldn’t be too harsh on him but it is clear to see that there is a lot of room for improvement. I think for him, it is about:

  1. Becoming more effective with his running and his passing
  2. Being tactially more aware on defensive, transition and offensive phases
  3. Becoming stronger physically as well

Torreira, Willock and Guendouzi have fantastic attitude and also a great desire to run and work hard for the team. They are young and full of energy but none of them is a DM as of now and they need to play with someone who is more sound defensively. If we are playing in a double pivot (DM-MC), then none of them can play together unless Torreira is confined to a DM role and none of them should play with Xhaka. So what is our best available DM-MC pair?

Now back to Douzi – I think he is a well liked players and fans – but should he command a starting spot for EPL games? Wouldn’t it be wiser to help him grow as a player by playing him in Cup Games and then giving him some game time in the EPL as a sub?

Back to you…Does Douzi do it for you? Here are somes stats for you to help you make up your mind: https://www.premierleague.com/players/50512/Matteo-Guendouzi/stats?co=1&se=274

RC78

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Posted by Rasp

Enough of Your Moaning … Now For The Positivity

August 26, 2019

There were mixed reactions to Arsenal’s loss to Liverpool at the weekend, but most subscribed to the ‘work in progress’ theory and looked for the positives … here are some of the more constructive appraisals:

Kelsey:

Many are now blaming Emery for his team selection (debatable) and tactics but if he is to be a top manager for us he will hopefully have learnt something and the key areas where to strengthen. Luiz was stupid but you see that in every game. In all probability without pulling Salah’s shirt, he still would have scored

Xhaka again didn’t stamp any authority on the game and Monreal yet again got caught out of position.

Maybe Pepe should have scored but he will be awesome and no mean task to make your debut at Anfield.

We were always second best but one can’t fault our work rate.

fatgingergooner:

The first goal is always key in these games. If Pepe had scored when through then this could’ve been a different story, but to concede just before and just after half time will kill any side. It’s even worse when you gift them the goals.

I thought our shape was actually ok. We played a diamond with Ceballos at the point and Xhaka deep. Yes, we were very narrow and allowed their full backs space, but actually they didn’t test Leno really from the crosses that came in and it was other parts of our overall play that cost us.

Pepe was fantastic and if you don’t get excited watching him and Auba linking together then I don’t know what to say. I really hope we see the trio soon with Lacazette coming in to see what we can really do. His finishing needs work but his running and eye for pass were on show again.

Willock was outstanding and looks every bit a new star in our midfield and exactly what we need. What’s not to love about his energy, composure and ability. Love him.

Geundouzi’s energy was also a joy but he lacks a bit of refinement. Hopefully that will come with experience and I think his and Willock energy just takes a bit of pressure off Xhaka. Before the first goal I actually thought the midfield 3 were giving us good protection and we looked pretty good until that Pepe miss and set piece lapse in concentration.

Pat7:

Yes, we gave away the wings but did well protecting our centre and the crosses and I’d say we had the best of chances in the first half. I’m not sure if we were back to full concentration when Luiz saw Salah slip in and grabbed his shirt. I can’t blame him for that. Despite the rule change with VAR all players are still grabbing shirts and it will take time to get this habit out of their game, especially one that’s been playing the whole of his career like that!

So, 2-0 down and then 3. At this point I thought we looked doomed to another bashing with half hour to go but not sure whether Pool lost the desire a bit knowing the game was won or maybe they tired too – maybe a bit of both.

We played out the game and our heads didn’t drop, gained a bit more confidence and got a consolation, one back. I thought on the day we were just not as well oiled or confident as them. We have 3 first teamers waiting to join the crew and I look forward to a better match next time, maybe with better tactics by then if all goes well.

RockyLives:

Another thing to bear is mind is that ‘Pool had pretty much their strongest team on the pitch yesterday.

It’s quite likely that UE’s strongest team later in the season will be something like:

Leno
Bellerin-Holding-Luiz-Tierney
Torreira-Ceballos*-Guendouzi/Willock
Pepe-Lacazette-Aubameyang

GoonerB:

The positives from this game were as follows:

1. we can see that we have the depth and variety to change things from our bench, and Pepe I think will soon start to terrorise teams.

2. Willock indeed looks a great BTB player completely suited to the EPL and with quality as well. Scarily (good for us) he will also improve further.

3. We have some great players individually and I feel this will be a stronger EPL campaign for us overall. We should have enough to beat most of the teams that we should beat with less banana skins.

4. Torreira has again shown he has an eye for goal and the ability to drive forwards in addition to his tackling and defensive tenacity. He looks another great potential BTB player, but this raises the conundrum of who plays the holding midfield position to allow him to play to his peak.

So all in all, an away loss to the team that only lost one game last season and whose home ground has been the proverbial fortress is not a disaster.

We’d all have taken a loss at Anfield if we get the 3 points this weekend wouldn’t we?

Rasp

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Posted by Rasp

Arsenal Lose … by Trying Not To Lose

August 25, 2019

The starting lineup:

Leno, AMN,Sokratis, Luiz, Monreal, Willock, Guendouzi, Ceballos, Xhaka, Aubameyang and Pepe. This was the side that was going to keep our unbeaten strike alive hmm? I thought Lacazatte not starting a very strange one.

 

First Half

Arsenal started the game nervously making a few defensive errors while trying to pass the ball from the back. We are lined up differently with a back four and diamond in the middle with Ceballos at the tip and xhaka at the base (OH BOY). It seems Emery wanted to win the midfield battle and then release PEA and Pepe. It nearly worked when Pepe was released and Adrian trying to clear the ball gave it to PEA, but his chip went narrowly wide.

The most glaring error came when was Ceballos had dropped deep and then tried to hit a cross ball but instead passed it straight to Mane. Luckily Leno kept it out. There was some good work from Willock on the left nutmegging Arnold and giving the ball to PEA who then feds Pepe whose curling shot was narrowly wide of the post.

Arsenal allowed Liverpool’s FBs to cross the ball far too often. I was extremely nervous of this after last week against Burnley when we missed a lot of headers.

Another chance came when Pepe ran onto a though ball and beat the last defender, but he didn’t get enough power in the shot.

As often happens, we miss a chance and then the opposition scores as they did when Matips then put Liverpool one in front from a corner just before half time.

Poor defending from the corner let us down once again. Why was  Gendouzi marking Matip? The last few time we have visited Anfield the game was all but over by half time so I was pleased we were still in with a fighting chance today at this point.

 

Second Half

Not a great start.

Another lapse in defense this time from our most experienced defender who tugged on Salah’s jersey led to a penalty (what was he even thinking) and it was 2 nil to Liverpool. What was so infuriating about this goal was that it came 46th minute, Luiz shouldn’t be losing his concentration so early into the second half.

In the 51st minute Pepe slipped a ball through to PEA who was clearly offside, but the recovering tackle form Matip was amazing – why don’t we get that type of desire from our defenders. Later Luiz decided to jump out of the way Salah’s way and left the defense exposed and the Egyptian was clinical making it 3-0.

At this point, Emery decided to make a change bringing on Torreira on for Ceballos. I didn’t understand the move because at 3 nil down surely we should be attacking not trying to defend a 3 nil deficit. Liverpool just kept slicing us open and we were lucky not to concede another.

With 10 minutes to go Emery now decided to bring on Lacazette and within four minutes,Torrerira had made it 3-1. With 6 minutes to go there wasn’t enough time for a comeback. The side began to play with more confidence with Lacazette who looked lively and called for a hand ball but wasn’t given. Full Time 3-1

 

Conclusion

I’m still not sure how to feel after this defeat. If PEA or Pepe had taken their chances game might have turned out differently. Today was a real test and what I wanted from it was for us to show that we are improving. If we are going to play anti-football at least do it with some conviction. Should we be even be playing anti-football with our squad we have one of the best front 3’s in football?

Under Emery we seem to lack an identity, one minute we pressing the next we playing defensively. In the Burnley game I saw the passing out from the back worked on just one occasion – we have been practicing this for an entire year. (I watched Norwich today and they seem to be able to pass out from the back way better than we ever do).

 

Ratings

Leno – Little he could do for the goals, didn’t he have a stealer penalty record in Germany hmm … 6

AMN – should have given us some more width but seem he was instructed to defend rather than attack … 5

Sokratis – needs to stop pulling the person he is marking … 6

David Luiz – The reason I didn’t want him to be bought was shown in full effect in second half, was decent in first half … 4

Monreal – Wasn’t able to help the team today, better defending could have stopped the third goal… 5

Guendouzi – made some good dribble to bring the ball out … 6

Wiilock – another good performance … 7

Ceballos – sloppy passing almost leading to a Mane goal … 4

Xhaka – tried some long ball to find the attacker … 5

Aubameyang –  should have scored when mistake was made by Adrian … 5

Pepe – had to great chances unlucky not to covert … 5

 

Subs

Torreira – scored our consolation goal, hopefully he ready to start am sick of xhaka… 6

 

Emery – was guyilty of overthinking things I believe. He lined up today not to lose, rather than to win the game … 3

fred1266

 

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