Ostersunds Night But The Gunners Squeeze Through
Feb 22nd, 2018 by 'holic
The Arsenal went with a stronger eleven than was expected by some. Ahead of David Ospina was a back four of Hector Bellerin, Calum Chambers, Rob Holding, and Sead Kolasinac. Ainsley Maitland-Niles got a second opportunity to partner Mohamed Elneny behind a trio of Alex Iwobi, Jack Wilshere, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Danny Welbeck was given the chance to regain some more match-fitness.
The visitors started more positively than a week ago and earned a corner in the opening minute. Wilshere headed clear at the near post. Three minutes later a goal bound strike by Hopcutt was blocked by Calum Chambers and scrambled to safety. The first corner for Arsenal followed as Papagiannopoulos deflected behind a through ball intended for Danny Welbeck. Not only did we clear the near post for once, but the far post too!
Before ten minutes were on the clock Ghoddos put his captain, Nouri, free in the box but fortunately for us his first-touch surrendered a great opportunity. Were the Gunners heeding these warnings? Iwobi’s attempt from the inside-left channel sailed high and wide of the far post. At least we had engineered an opening.
Midway through the first half the Arsenal defence was caught out of shape twice in little over a minute. First Aiesh was freed in space on the right flank, cut in and saw his effort deflected inside the far post by Chambers. It didn’t get better for the young defender. Sema turned him rather too easily and smashed a left footed effort wide off Ospina’s left hand. 3-2 on aggregate looked a narrow advantage at this stage.
On the half-hour Edwards had a go from outside the box, but thankfully his fine drive was narrowly wide of the target. There was only one team attacking with purpose. When Iwobi won a free-kick in the attacking third Mkhitaryan’s cross was flicked on by Welbeck, took a deflection off a defender, and ended up in the arms of the Ostersund goalkeeper, Keita, at the second attempt.
Three minutes before half-time Keita dropped Mkhitaryan’s free-kick at the feet of Wilshere but the skipper blazed his half volley into row Z of the Clock End. Ostersund drove forward again, Maitland-Niles took a yellow card for the team at the cost of a free-kick that Ghoddos got on target but Ospina was equal to. An enormous chorus of boos not unexpectedly greeted the half-time whistle. Martin Keown spoke of his embarrassment at our performance during the interval.
The Arsenal response was to send on Granit Xhaka for the unfortunate Maitland-Niles. A flowing attack ended with Bellerin crossing to the far post for Kolasinac to smash home the goal that calmed the nerves. A two goal cushion restored, we finally showed some purpose. Welbeck broke free down the left and attempted to chip Keita from an impossible angle. The goalkeeper saved comfortably.
Six minutes into the half goalscorer Aiesh hobbled off to be replaced by Tekie. Potential disaster was averted when Ospina bravely dived at the feet of Mukiibi when a glancing header dropped invitingly between the two. It was another warning that the contest was far from over. The possibility of defeat on away goals hung in the air.
Elneny’s foray into Ostersunds territory ended with a drive that stung Keita’s palms. Midway through the half Iwobi created space to cross onto the head of Welbeck, but the out-of-touch striker guided his effort straight at Keita from six yards out. Xhaka teed up Kolasinac for a volley but the Full-back was denied a brace by a mishit finish. Mukiibi made way for an attacker, Islamovic. We responded by sending on Joe Willock for Wilshere who was not moving too well.
Ten minutes from the end Chambers connected with a Xhaka corner at the near post but sent his header over the top. That allowed the visitors to make their final change, Arhin for the impressive Hopcutt. Ghoddos played a beautiful curling cross in which Islamovic came close to converting. Back came the Gunners only for Iwobi to chip one over the target.
As the match petered out in front of a rapidly diminishing crowd Mkhitaryan picked up a needlesss yellow card for a late challenge and the biggest cheer of the night greeted the referee taking a spectacular tumble. The luckless Welbeck made room to hit a left foot effort straight at Keita. Iwobi, suffering from cramp, was substituted by Reiss Nelson and the final whistle put an end to our fifth consecutive home defeat in the knock out stages of European competitions.
Verdict at the end of the night. Must do better. Bigger and better teams lie in wait in the last sixteen.
71 Responses to “Ostersunds Night But The Gunners Squeeze Through”
Poor effort all round!
Bloody quick write up though!
I concur Keowns view…
We are so bad at so many facets of our game I don’t know whether to laugh or cry – It does not matter a jot who comes in or goes out the paceless, Non positional, Tippy tappy, Brainless football that now defines us stays the same – Its a massive rebuilding job for the next man now. Some big teams left that we best avoid till this side gets some confidence back.
What does Wenger do with the players every day? Apart from inject them with Ovaltine and tell them they don’t need to worry about minor little things like tracking back or defending…
Lightening, Guv’nor.
Bigger and better teams lie in wait, but we have one, too.
That is the hope now Ned. This has to be the point at which the first team play every match.
I blame Ozil.
And the ref.
?
That display just showed how paper him in talent this squad is. Can’t see anything but a massive clean out and either massive spending or incredibly astute recruiting of hidden gems to avoid many seasons in the wilderness. Midfield particularly woorrisme,with AM-N not ready for prime time and Wilshere moving slowly, second to everything.
That was painful to watch. Osters’ two forwards showed up just how woefully poor ours were tonight.
i’m getting sick of the talk about young ‘uns, young guns etc
ainsley this, joe that, nelson this
someday maybe, not now
fuck em
this is not a playground
someone here even suggested to use those brats on sunday
yeah, right
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxgIgAhWQcc
Two things struck me when I saw the starting XI … who was going to score the goals (if needed) and who could be subbed to rescue the side if our defence performed true to form? No one, apparently, although perhaps I should have trusted the striking power we have in LBs these days.
Iwoeful suffering from cramp, ‘holic? Did you mean suffering from crap? And as for Danny unWellbeck “the out-of-touch striker” has he ever been in touch since joining us?
AMN looked excellent when he was moved to LB earlier in the season, but a different player since returning to midfield.
But why pick on three when the whole lethargic lot of them seemed to think the job was already done in Sweden?
And puhleeze, can someone teach them how to pass the ball. I lost count of the number of passes that went astray. How we managed 56% possession is a mystery to me.
…and so much for our unbeaten run at the Grove. Drinks all round for the pub team, whichever one you supported tonight.
..and someone actually get paid to design that kit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhR9zlVv2nQ
Just back from the game. Haven’t read the Guvna’s pearls yet. No doubt I’ll agree with him.
Pre-match, over a fine Italian repast, BtM and I speculated on the prospect of viewing a team replete with youngsters offering an indication of the future for the Arsenal. When we saw the selection, we agreed that rather than a sprinkling of future prospects it was quite a strong side of players with an opportunity to make their case for the first team plus Bellerin. We expected it was good enough to put the tie to bed and looked forward to AMN proving himself as a future prospect at DMF.
Well…..
A few lessons can be taken. Ospina isn’t a top keeper. Bellerin can easily be replaced when he decides to leave. Harding and Chambers have a lot to learn. Kosalinac is a total liability at LB. Jack is now a Wet Spam quality player. Elnenny runs around a lot, squad player at best. AMN has a lot to learn and is not the immediate answer to our longstanding lack of a MF ball-winner/DMF presence. Mkhitaryan needs to be surrounded by good players but does his defensive shift well. Welbeck is now a West From quality player. Iwobi flatters to deceive and will not be a top player. Xhaka is talented but another liability.
The future is perilous. The new man at the helm has to cull and rebuild.
As to the match, the visitors deserved their win. They should have scored three before they opened the scoring. Had we not burst their bubble as the second half opened, we could well be in the position of having to concentrate on the league. Oh!
And to think there were some who thought the squad was good enough to challenge for the title????
Oh well. As Bath said, there is a lot of rebuilding to do.
“…Bellerin can easily be replaced when he decides to leave…”?
with who? peppedonna?
ffs the whole team was build on him and he IS a great player
maybe the only one really great in this sad Arsenal
What a dispiriting performance – it was like watching 2 pub teams. At least the best team won. The team in blue just “run around a lot” – nothing more to say.
Bath’s appraisal of individual players on the money. Big changes in personnel required starting at the top.
Sunday’s another day – behind the sofa time perhaps.
I was not there and did not watch it. I taped the ‘ highlights’ but will liberate the disk space quickly.
Our second string has lost at bottom of the Bundesliga Cologne, was thrashed at Forest and now lost tonight . Had Ostersunds not begun so hesitatingly last week, or converted that penalty we might be out.
Let us hope the people who matter understand what is required and appreciate the lessons from the debate we had in this bar at the start of the week.
Today ranked with losing at home to a Copenhagen side we beat 7-1 away in 1963. I suspect Ostersunds were better than they showed at home last week and if the tie was played again would present us with real problems. They will rejoice at a major scalp but the way our club is run currently we aren’t really that at present. We are a famous scalp.
Let’s pray we can surprise everyone including ourselves on Sunday.
Forget the prayers TTG, let’s try to organise a defence for a change.
Fifth consecutive home defeat in the knock out stages of European competitions, you say GH?
I didn’t see the game but reading your report certainly can see the gloomy picture. Limping over the line given new meaning.
A fine night out. Well, the pasta was fine; night went a bit downhill after that though.
Still, there’s Sunday to look forward to. And the forecast is for more cold weather which will likely encourage us to drink a wee something to keep us warm.
Things are looking up already and it’s only Friday.
The only good news, for me that
is, would be that I didn’t wake up
at the required 4AM and missed
the game.
Grim reading from the report
(thanks Guvnor). Looks like the
team didn’t wake up either,
at least we’re through.
No real bearing on the next game
as it’ll be a different XI. But losing 5
in a row at home in the KO stages
is so frustratingly piss-poor.
GSD @15 in the last drinks
From the result it looks like
we wore the dinosaur suits
after all
f**k ** a**
t*e *as****s
Y**h
ye*h
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXrV9mBM7Pk
let that sink in
sink…………………………………….in
Link…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTe2qi0Cuh4
…to Shkodran
kill (the) city
yeeeeeeaaaaaaah
SSY @ 11, we’ve had adoration of young players ever since Wenger got here and the sum total of those who have made it?
You can count them on one hand and none of The Next Bestest Fing Evah! players ever amounted to more than a handful of appearances and then off to the lower leagues.
I don’t expect any of this lot to fare any better.
Anyone any idea where cba has got to?
I think it’s early to write off the younger players. However I now feel that their career trajectories will be seriously impaired under the malaise that seems to have engulfedthe 1st team.
I have now seen the key moments on an ipad and was appalled at our defensive incompetence. I am amazed ( yet again) by Wenger’s post- match comments about complacency.
Whose door do you lay that at ?
We are playing one of the best technical sides in Europe on Sunday. We found a great defensive performance last April, but can we match them again?
I’m not sure we have anyone at the club organising the defence properly and we aren’t making players better. Wenger draws a lot of flak (deservedly) but what does Steve Bould do? I’ve been convinced that Wenger was nailed on for another season but the next few days will be crucial. I desperately want us to win the two trophies we can but perversely, doing so may harm the future of the club if it does not promote real change in the coaching and personnel
Gawd Wenger and the players have had that many wake up calls their alarms must be constantly going off…
Steve Bould probably does what he is allowed to do.
I very much doubt he is allowed to take the defenders off on their own and drill them properly, it’s far more important to have them doing stretches, little shuttle runs and one touch passing routines around dummies.
Official attendance last night given as 58,405.
As if people are not laughing at us enough???
The most ludicrous moment was when we won a corner in the first half – the “big guys” assembled in the box, we took a short one and managed a series of passes that ended up back with Ospina. FFS.
Arsene complains of complacency but as someone earlier pointed out, whose fault is that?
One of our worst performances – ever.
UTA.
AC Milan vs Arsenal
..should be interesting 😀
AC Milan….well of course
Don’t fancy Dead Shot as the lone striker against Milan???
Interesting draw. Milan are coached by Gattuso who played like a bull. I would expect any team he coaches to play with great heart and determination, which should almost make Milan favorites in itself.
On the other hand great players don’t always make great coaches, and Gattuso’s coaching vision could be in question considering this tidbit from his playing history (quoted from Wikipedia):
“Gattuso had been experiencing vision problems in early September 2011, a few days before the season kicked off. On 9 September 2011, Gattuso crashed into teammate Alessandro Nesta whilst playing against Lazio in Milan’s opening Serie A game of the 2011–12 season. He was substituted off directly afterwards in the 20th minute and diagnosed with a left sixth cranial nerve palsy, resulting in double vision, an injury that could have ended his football career. He later revealed that he had seen teammate Zlatan Ibrahimović in four different positions during the opening stages of the match, and was unable to see Nesta, resulting in the pair’s clash.”
But no matter what happened to Gattuso at the end of his career, I surely wish we could implant an earlier version of him into our defensive midfield chasm.
Then there is the question of form: Milan are in 7th position in Serie A but are unbeaten in their last 10 matches, Gattuso apparently having spurred a revival in their form after taking over as manager in November.
I don’t know why people are so worried? It’s not as if we struggle at the last 16 stage in any European competition????
Noosa @36, I couldn’t believe it when that happened. Utterly hilarious.
Of course it was a triumph for an organisation prioritising possession stats as its ultimate goal.
AC Milan? At least I’ll see a second decent European team this season (after Ostersunds).
Milan then…
Could’ve been a kinder draw. Then again it could have been trickier.
Selling Giroud makes even less sense than it already did.
Can’t remember when I was so cold at a game. Only Gooner Malcolm and I made it to the Ems last night, two silly OAPs who should have known better. We were in the Supporter’s Club when the teams were announced and I had hoped with those starting we might see a decent game, how wrong I was.
We were an embarrassment to football. Only the lovely Hector deserves a spot in Sunday’s 11, the rest of the outfield players weren’t fit to wear the shirt. What was that blue ensemble all about, weren’t we the home side?
Where on earth are we going to find an attacking player who can put the ball in the net. We can forget about Welbeck, Iwobi and Co. Perhaps we need to play Nacho at CF on Sunday, should have been used as an emergency striker last night.
What happened to Jack, he was dreadful and didn’t look fit. He was out on his feet when subbed. I am dreading Sunday. Those who were rested for the Ropey Cup will need to put in the performance of the season to placate me and the hardy band of fans who made it to the game last night. I doubt if there were more than 35000 in the ground to watch that load of rubbish. I am being as ladylike as I can be.
See you at Wembley on Sunday, make sure you wear your thermals, the forecast is dire.
Anyone can get beaten, but its the manor of the defeats that is most worrying, we seem clueless and without any leaders at all it will get worse.
Germany just beat Canada…. in Ice Hockey!
Which universe is this in… mayhap we’ll win the Europey CUP after all!
😀
Last time we played AC Milan in a European competition (champions league) my daughter was the mascot. Memorable night. 0-0 draw but Adebayour missed a great headed chance right at the end.
It’s gonna be strange to be well wrapped up at a cup final rather than shorts and t-shirt. Let’s just hope it goes better than that miserable day against the brummies.
Actually not sure if that was the last time. Feb 20, 2008 is the game I’m talking about.
Milan is perfect. Struggling in domestic league but has reputation and stature. If we face weaker team then i can bet we will underestimate them and being complacent about it.
I feel your pain Delia.
0 – 2 for us at the san siro 2008.
with pirlo, nesta, maldini, gattuso, inzaghi, kaka all playing for milan
and one and only kakha kaladze, now mayor of tbilisi
jesus h christ
The good news in the Europa League draw is that we avoided Madrid and Dortmund, both now ahead of us in the betting for outright winner. Um, er, that’s about it. We can beat Milan if we turn up, not if we don’t. But that is true for just about anyone we face now.
And it is a shame that Dortmund got the wrong Red Bull and Madrid the wrong Moscow.
The complete history of Arsenal v AC Milan:
1995: UEFA Cup: 0-0 at home; lost 2-0 away
2008: CL: 0-0 at home; won 2-0 away
2012: CL: lost 4-0 away; won 3-0 at home.
SSY@53: Ah! But we had Eboue and Senderos.
and abou
probably the ugliest team we ever had in CL
not footballistically mind you
Interesting, the Eboue and Senderos factor. Can anyone explain it? Probably only cba.
Ned,
If my memory serves me correctly the 1995 game was the European Super Cup Final, us having won the Cup Winner’s Cup the year before. I remember the slightly surreal nature of the game with our struggling team playing the best team in Europe by some distance .
But we has a great defence then that was coached by someone who knew how to organise a defence. Spot the difference!
This season could go one of several ways. It’s so unpredictable. We could get hammeted bt city lose to milan and end the season in 11th place. Or we could win the league cup and sneak 4th spot. Or we could get hammeted by city on sunday finish mid table in the league but win the Europa league!
The lapsed Catholic masochist in me is secretly enjoying it…
It will be very hard for Arsenal to finish above or below 6th Place . There are some very average teams just below us
Good wins today for the ladies and the Under 18s who won 5-1
Delia@46
Thanks for the report, I felt your
pain. Hope this weekend will make
it seem more distant.
I wondered about the blue kit too
but I read a report that said
Ostersunds only have 2 kits – one
red and one white so we agreed to
wear blue to help them out.
Quite gentlemanly of us I suppose
but I wish our charity had stopped
there.
good night hooligans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkGQn6FJF9Q
And for the U23 side who beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 to reach the semi of the Premier League International Cup , whatever that is
Holic’s leaving the preview a bit late isn’t he? He’ll need to give me a precis in the pub before kick-off at this rate. Will that leave me time to get money on the Holic Pound?
I imagine the odds could be tempting for any kind of an Arsenal win.
Even if it’s just a ‘holic farthing.
The Hloic Farthing. A new concept bt8. Having been shell-shocked and frozen on Thursday night, I’ll need to think one and hard about that level of expenditure.
One for BtM >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>