So we drew to Norwich away, at Norwich but playing away is not an excuse. A team of our calibre should win this game (should not matter that Norwich had a good result vs City).

The positives:

– The team played with more intent going forward

– The team outshot the opposition, albeit by one shot

– Freddie’s reaction at the end of the game on the side line was good, he was annoyed that we didn’t win. His post-match interview was also good

– Leno was clearly MOTM

– Torreira did well when he came on

– Auba scored two

– Xhaka didn’t do poorly

The negatives:

– Conceded two goals on the break. We still can’t defend at the edge of our box.

– Chambers had a good first half and then he had moments but overall he struggled defensively

– Mustafi had the usual lapses of concentration

– Willock was like a ghost on the pitch

– Ozil didn’t really impact the game but seems he was told to play more like a fake winger

– Auba on the right wing worked well initially but he is so much more lethal as a central forward

– Luiz is not acting at a leader at the back

– 2 points lost

Questions for Thursday’s game:

– Will Bellerin, AMN or Chambers play at RB?

– Will Holding or Sok or Mustafi play at CB next to Luiz?

– Will Tierney replace Kola?

– Who will play ahead of Willock or will Freddie trust him again?

– What about Ozil?

– Will Pepe be given a chance?

– Will Auba be back in the centre?

– Will FL and BFG try new players?

Leno – Bellerin, Holding, Luiz, Tierney – Chambers, Torreira, Douzi – Laca – Pepe, Auba

Anyways…COYG!

RC78  

Tonight we are facing a very intriguing Frankfurt team. One that can beat Bayern Munich 5-1 but also lose to Liege or smaller teams in the German league. Frankfurt has some decent footballers in Hasebe, Sow, Rode, Kostic, Fernandes, Silva, Dost, Paciencia…They should end in the Top 8 in Germany but their inconsistency is a source of concern for them. They like to line up in a 3-4-1-2.

Rumour has it that this could be Emery’s last game in charge but let us see…If it is, I hope he ends his AFC tenure with a resounding win through a good team performance.

As this is the Europa League we should expect to see some players that otherwise don’t feature.  If a team plays          3-4-1-2 it is believed that if you want to counter their play (Emery tactics basically), you should play 4-2-3-1 with two very pacy wingers, so here is my predicted line-up for tonight:

Martinez

AMN   Mustafi   Sokratis   Tierney

Willock   Torreira

Nelson   Ceballos (or Smithe-Rowe)  Pepe

Martinelli

In German, Frankfurters are not only the inhabitants of the city of Frankfurt but the term also refers to the sausage usually stuffed in a German baguette to make local hot-dogs. It is usually served with Mustard (sometimes ketchup too) and for the most daring, also with horseradish and a beer (usually a white beer). So I hope that our team will gobble this Frankfurter team up and that we can enjoy a nice beer while the action on the pitch gives us hope and pleasure.

Given that Frankfurt is on a poor run as well, I would expect us to win this game at home so I am hoping for a 3-1 win for us with Martinelli, Pepe and Ceballos on the score sheet while Frankfort will score from Kostic.

If it is Embers’ last game, I wish him well in his future endeavours and I hope that Ljunberg does well in the interim!

COYG!

RC78

So the end of the year is arriving fast and many news outlets worldwide are now having some articles about athletes of the decade, teams of the decade…

In order to brighten up the mood and forget about Emery and our failing team and board, I thought it woul be nice to think about who would make our starting XI if we were to put a AFC Team of the decade…

It is harder than you think as there has not really been a player that has been a consistently been a stand out player in the past decade…Here are a few names to get you thinking…

GK: Pole-in-Goal, Ospina, Leno

RB: Sagna, Bellerin

LB: Clichy, Gibbs, Kola, Monreal

CB: BFG, Kos, Sok, Holding, Luiz

DM: Arteta, Xhaka, Torreira

CM: Ramsey, Cazorla, Wilshere, Oxlade

AM: Ozil

FW: Auba, Sanchez, Walcott, Welbeck

ST: Van Persie, Giroud, Laca

Carraghers’ EPL team of the decade:

De Gea – Zabaleta, Van Dijk, Kompany, Azpi – Kante, Toure, Silva – Bale, Aguero, Hazard

Neville’s:

De Gea – Zabaleta, Van Dijk, Kompany, Azpi – Hazard, Toure, Silva – Kane, Aguero, Suarez

No AFC players 😦 It just shows that it wasn’t our decade…

RC78

Unai Emery has always reminded me of Dracula. It’s something to do with the way he slicks back his hair, his sallow complexion, his thin angular face.

Oh, and the fact that he’s sucking the lifeblood out of Arsenal right now.

I was going to suggest, as per the headline, that yesterday’s limp display and scrambled point at home against the most out-of-form team in the Premier League was another nail in his coffin.

But the analogy doesn’t hold up, does it? Vampires like coffins. Hammer another nail in Unai’s casket and he’ll probably be quite happy – it just makes him a bit more snug.

Perhaps it would be better to say that a 2-2 draw with Southampton at the Emirates is another clove of garlic in the eventual ousting of Count von Emery.

I feel mean even writing this. Unai seems like a decent bloke, even an honourable one. He doesn’t have a rampant ego and narcissism issues like the new man at N17. He’s not a footballing Neanderthal like the Allardyces and Pulises of this world. And he certainly can’t be blamed for his physical appearance: none of us gets to choose how we look (when I was younger I was known as “Rodders” because of my apparent similarity to Rodney Trotter from Only Fools and Horses. We all have our crosses to bear. Except for Unai Emery because he’s a vampire and doesn’t like crosses).

But the facts (and the garlic cloves) are mounting up against the Count.

I mentioned in comments after the game yesterday that, in their last four Premier League outings before facing Arsenal, Southampton managed a grand total of 16 attempts on target. That’s 16 attempts in FOUR full matches (or an average of four attempts per game). Yesterday they had 21 attempts on goal in ONE game against us (we had 12).

This can’t go on.

It’s not in my nature to pile in on a manager when he’s down and join the chorus of people clamouring for him to go, but recent performances have left me no alternative. You’ll now find me in the tenor section.

The Count has been a successful manager in his career, winning significant trophies at Sevilla and PSG, but for whatever mysterious reason he just can’t do it with this team in this league. And the longer we resist facing up to that fact, the more damage will be done.

It’s time for the people who run our club to hand him his cape, say fangs for everything and get him out of N5 like a bat out of hell. The stakes are too high (sorry).

And so to the game.

As usual, our team looked great on paper, but sadly someone decided to play the game on grass and at that point it all went wrong.

We had some good moments and some OK individual performances (as well as some poor ones) but I can’t be bothered to do a blow-by-blow report. Instead I’ll mention a few things that stuck in my mind.

• Our midfield under the Count just does not function and the more I watch it and try to figure out why, the more baffled I am. Hopefully some of you more tactically literate types can explain in comments. Yesterday I thought Guendouzi and Torreira put in plenty of effort, did some good things and generally looked OK. Yet Southampton were able to breeze through our middle like Moses parting the Red Sea (no, not Remi Moses, you Phillipinos).
• Ozil had good moments but also had moments where he seemed disinterested and lacking in anticipation. Not sure what’s going on with him.
• Pepe was unlucky not to get his first goal from open play (he hit the crossbar) but it also looks like his confidence is shot. At one point he was through on goal, one on one with the Saints ‘keeper. Any confident striker would have shot. But Pepe made a half-arsed effort to square the ball to Ozil in the area (despite there being a big lump of a Southampton defender in the way).
• The Saints penalty was as soft as you’ll ever see. And worse, the VAR review seemed to show an offside in the build-up. But this being Arsenal and that being VAR, the decision inevitably went against us. (Can I use my “all’s not fair in love and VAR” gag again?).
• How utterly Arsenaly was it that when our ‘keeper finally saves a penalty (which we never seem to do) the opposition score from it anyway. Grrrrr.

Player Ratings

It’s almost impossible to separate the players’ performances from the way they are being asked to play, which is just not working. Nevertheless, with that in mind, here goes:

Leno

Did well to save the pen, even though the rebound went straight back to the penalty taker. Was generally OK. 6

Bellerin

Struggled in defense, didn’t really get forward and seems to be lacking in touch and confidence. We need the old Hector back in the house.  4

Sokratis

Overall was OK, but almost gifted another goal to Saints in the second half by trying to dribble in his own penalty area. 5

Chambers

Did OK until subbed at half time. 5

Luiz

Missed a headed half chance. Was strong on the ball and tried to get us going forward a bit faster at times. 5

Tierney

Unlucky to be penalised for the (very harsh) penalty. Was really good going forward and delivered a terrific cross for our first goal. Struggled defensively with his fellow Scot, Armstrong, at times but worked hard all game. 7

Guendouzi

High energy, plenty of commitment. A decent player in a system that doesn’t work. 6

Torreira

See Guendouzi. 6

Ozil

Good moments, indifferent moments, a very Ozil performance. 5

Aubameyang

Was more in the game in the first half than the second. Always looks good on the ball and always a willing runner, but not much came off for him yesterday (partly because of poor service). 6

Lacazette

Our best player by far. Two well taken poacher’s goals, but he is also tireless in his willingness to chase lost causes, track back to get the ball and harry opposition defenders when they’re trying to bring the ball out. 8

Subs

Pepe

Always looks skillful and tricksy but he’s just not contributing enough at the moment. He doesn’t currently look like a £72 million player. 4

Martineli

Came on late and tried to make a difference with the little time he had. Did well to get the ball into the box for our second equaliser. 6

Willock

Didn’t have long but made an impression. Had a header on target and cleared one off the line. 6

RockyLives

This week’s excitement in the other half of north London has been a bit of a welcome distraction from our own tribulations. But the Premier League is back and we get to return to The Emirates today, for a 3pm kick off against Southampton.

Southampton are in a bit of a state, they sit 19th in the table, having lost 8/12 games played this season. They have the worst defensive record in the Prem with a goal difference of -18. Their manager wants them to be a bit more nasty.

To be fair to our opposition we are in a bit of a state too. No wins in our last 4 games – Drawn 2 Lost 2. We are unbeaten in our last 7 home games but have won only three of those, which is embarrassing.

We have a good head to head record against Southampton having not lost to them at home in 24 meetings but they did beat us 3-2 last December at St Mary’s.

Lots of questions about who will play and how Emery will set up the team. We need a win, so he needs to have worked out how to get the ball to our goal scorers. I’ve stopped trying to be clever and work out why it’s gone wrong and how he can fix it. Emery gets paid a lot of money to do just that job so let’s see if he can work it out.

There were a couple of moments of exciting attacking football in the game against Leicester which dried up once Kolasinac got scared of moving the ball across the halfway line. I expect The Emirates crowd to show their displeasure if there’s too much passing back instead of moving forward.

Hopefully Emery has a new plan and today is the day to execute it against a poor Southampton 😁

Xhaka may return but we are probably missing Ceballos, Pepe and Kolasinac will be decided on today.

I would like to see this team …..

Leno

Chambers Holding Luiz

Bellerin Torreira Guendouzi Tierney

Ozil

Lacazette Aubameyang

We haven’t seen both Bellerin and Tierney in action in a Premiership fixture and I’m hoping having them both will keep the play moving forward.

I shall be there ……….  enjoy the game everyone.

peachesgooner

The following paragraph is taken from an article written by Adam Bates for sky.

Unai Emery was brought in to improve Arsenal but the decline has accelerated under Arsene Wenger’s successor, writes Adam Bate. Faith in Unai Emery is fading fast but he doesn’t help himself. The pressure is building.  Some of the stats are damning. The Gunners conceded 25 shots against Wolves, the most that any Premier League team has faced in front of their own fans this season or last. It is the most that any Arsenal team have ever conceded in a Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium. And yet, it is still not as many as the 31 shots they faced at Watford recently – a Premier League high this season.

Emery was brought in to address defensive problems but the systemic defensive issues are still there. The team is neither pressing, neither possession-based neither controlling the game. Instead the team seems to be set up to counter the opposition rather than impose a style/game plan on the opposition. Against City and Liverpool, the approach can be understood but against the rest of the teams? His tactics seem confusing. They have however improved in fast transition and seem to be focused on being a counter-attacking team. It is however only creating less than 2 big chances per game and if Auba (and Laca) were not so good in front of goal, the team would not be able to score much as the chances are simply not created.

Emery has now a solid squad at his disposal and it seems that he is  not getting enough from it. When you have Auba, Laca, Pepe, Ozil, Martinelli and even Saka at your disposal up front, you would hope that the team can create more chances and that the game plan is more exciting than it is at the moment.

The heat is on Emery but who would you like to replace him?

1. No one, he should stay until the end of the year.
2. Ljunberg should be given a chance a la Ole style
3. Allegri, and his trophy-laden record in Italy. He is, however, very much a fan of the team shape rather than a fan of pressing. In the EPL, it seems that pressing is key to success. He is, however, an astute coach with the ability to play in various systems depending on what is at his disposal. He is not one to ask for shiny signings.
4. Arteta, our former captain who is being groomed by Guardiola, He knows the club, he knows the players and he was a leader on the pitch respected by his peers although his captainy coincided with the declining years under Wenger. Guardiola rates his tactical awareness.
5. Mourinho, our nemesis. A man whose ego tends to cast a shadow on the club he manages. A man who had success with Porto, Chelsea, Inter, Real and Man Utd. He knows the EPL, he is obsessed with winning and he would try to address our defensive issues. He is a diva and may make some fancy demands and play the spoilt child if he does not get the toy he wants.
6. Blanc, an underrated coach. Knows the EPL as well, favours possession football. He likes the Barcelona type of game so he wants his team to also be able to get the ball back and to conserve it.
7. Ten Hag, Ajax magic coach. Ajax philosophy, nurturing the youth and playing pretty and effective football.
8. Favre, Dortmund coach. Similar to Ten Hag and Blanc in a away but likes also more direct football.
9. Vieira – Henry, former heroes looking to make an impact as coaches. Vieira more successful so far.
10. Ralph Rangnik – the visionary that has made RP Leipzig a solid club in the Bundesliga
11. Someone else

RC78