We Didn’t Turn Up For The Derby
Feb 10th, 2018 by 'holic
As I start this piece I should warn you I suspect it will be brief. Ahead of the North London derby the Gunners suffered the loss of Aaron Ramsey with ‘a minor groin’ problem. Jack Wilshere and Mohamed Elneny came in for Rambo and Alex Iwobi.
The first-half appeared to be an attempt by us to sit on the ropes and invite Tottenham on to us in a bid to hit them on the break. Indeed we almost did that when Jack Wilshere opened the hosts defence up but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was wrongly flagged for offside. Last week a tight call went his way, and in such moments matches can be won or lost.
Arsene Wenger would probably have been the happier manager at the break, but four minutes into the second-half his gameplan came unstuck when Harry Kane hung in the air, largely due to leaning on Laurent Koscielny’s shoulder, and headed what would prove to be the decisive goal. I believe in modern day parlance he showed he wanted it more.
So, a goal down in a North London derby you would expect the Gunners to respond, yes? For reasons that escape everybody, including the manager, this team seems to melt away from home. Lee Dixon reminded people at the opening night of 1989 the movie that in his first North London derby Tony Adams pinned him up against the wall by his throat and let him know in no uncertain terms that “we cannot lose this”. It seems nobody did that to Henrikh Mkhitaryan or Aubamayang. The anonymity of the first denied opportunities for the latter.
They weren’t alone, however. We owed a great deal to Petr Cech for keeping the deficit to one as Tottenham went for the jugular. Where was the fight? Where was the commitment? For the final 25 minutes Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette were sent on to try to inject some enthusiasm. The latter had a couple of chances to level matters, including a wonderful last minute opportunity when he was one on one against Lloris and pulled his effort wide of the far post. That has made him the lightening rod of choice on social media tonight. A player in his first season in the Premier League. It’s a good job Twitter wasn’t around when Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp first arrived.
I am sure there will be more damning pieces written about the day, and to be honest I would rather others write them. Rather than go over old ground (because the issues haven’t changed) I would just like to congratulate the better team on the day on their win. With equal possession they produced 18 shots to our 6, 6 on target to our 1, and 10 corners to our 2. Possession is worth bugger all if you don’t do anything with it.
131 Responses to “We Didn’t Turn Up For The Derby”
Easy now.
I thought we played ok first half although we were awful in attack and that bloke we got from United whose name I can’t spell looked terrified from the start.
Ozil was abysmal as usual when it matters, giving the ball away, slowing it down and generally showing just why he’s not worth giving a new deal to. He doesn’t turn it on enough.
All in all a shite game though. Koscielny is a bewildering bloke. Often our worst defender, adored by most fans for some reason that escapes me. Very weak in the air and slow on the ground.
Lacazette’s already shot confidence will have been done no favours by the manager’s post match interview.
I would never have taken Elneny off either, I would have given Xhaka the hook. And when you;re relying on Danny Welbeck to come off the bench and inspire, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. The one you tunnelled through the planet to Australia to scrape the bottom of.
Apaprt from all that we were great.
No worries Esso. Totally numbed now. ?
Agree about Xhaka, Cynic.
I think the playbook says “Midfield change = Elneny” and that’s almost like Holy Writ. He seems to get hooked no matter what he is playing like.
I can’t see this group of players doing anything and I don’t see Ozil and that bloke we got from United whose name I can’t spell in the same team. Wouldn’t be a complete shock if one of them left when the new manager arrives (if they haven’t retired before then of course 😉 )
Didn’t see it as I was at a conference on DNA in Archaeology. Superb lectures on an utterly riveting subject. I’m not going to ruin a great day by delving into the guts of a disintegrating corpse.
Your report is enough for me Guvna. Nothing will change until we have a proper DMFer, dominating CB, top keeper in his prime and new coach. A bit of fight would be useful too. Iván you have the floor…..
Bath, you know I would have started the Columbian Yashin today, but to be fair Cech was outstanding and spared us a proper twatting.
We have hardly turned up all season. Sorry ??
Cheers ‘h! ?
Roll on Summer, and bring in the new Head-Coach & Man-Manager whom Ozil actually resigned for, and for whom Mkhi and Auba were actually brought-in to play under! ?
UTAAD&AN!
AFCOF! NAWF!
H, I didn’t know that. However he is on the downside of the hill now. I’m sure he remains an important figure in the DR. Nonetheless he and we will benefit from the presence of a vibrant young competitor. It’s clear that Ospina, whom I too would have selected on recent firm, is not going to dislodge Cech so it’s time to change the mix. I’m grateful he kept the score down but it’s another position where we can upgrade.
‘Holic, was the server served too much lasagne?
Ah well, onward to Europa. Will be interested in seeing what AW will do with the team selection. No cup-tied Aube and the cup keeper in for Cech, but beyond that not sure what the selections will be, but he’ll have to go with a strong side, given that there will be no weekend match.
Sometimes nowadays on match days I have a feeling of dread simply because we are playing and I fear how we will do. I was shopping with Mrs TTG and would have been quite happy to wander around with her avoiding the match, even in the rain.
I took the option of watching the game and at half- time the hope was starting to build. For some reason Mkhitaryan was played on the left and Ozil on the right. Aubameyang was like Lacazette all season, given naff all to feed off and throughout the game Wilshere and Elneny and Nacho were the only ones who looked like this really mattered to them .
I am a Koscielny fan, he is normally an excellent defender but like all Arsenal defenders lacks protection from a player like Dembele who beasted our midfield . I was interested in Keown and Ferdinand’s technical criticism of him on the goal. Frankly it was pathetic of Wenger to suggest to the fourth official the goal was a foul. Strikers have scored headers like that down the years and that was a great example of how to take a chance in a derby match. After that we left the useless Xhaka on and took Elneny off and the Totts poured through . I can also understand wanting to replace Cech but with Ospina….seriously?
Wenger having destroyed Lacazette’s confidence threw him on and he showed his pace to burn Sanchez only to miss a relative sitter…and he should have scored with the earlier volley too.
But the plain truth is we are sixth because there are five better teams ahead of us. The Totts are better coached and have a goal machine who understands English football. They also have a midfield with much better balance than ours . Until Wenger leaves nothing, sadly will change
Utter dogshit today and I really can’t fathom it. We didn’t want it as much as them and that is a real concern for me in a NLD
BJ
My prediction for the team
Ospina
Bellerin Mustafi Koscielny Monreal
Xhaka ( compulsory pick) Wilshere
Mkhi Ozil Iwobi
Lacazette
He might add Elneny and leave out Iwobi .
Well said, well played Tottenham whindeserved the win, but I’d like to say there is much more to come from this arsenal team, for the briefest moments in the game I witnessed enough to see when we get a head of steam and some form, we will be very difficult to stop going forward, as for defence, do city worry about that?
By the way I agree with TTD! Nothing changes until Wenger goes but the next manager has a proper bunch to work with! They are all technically very good, with direction they could be frightening
It could have been a lot worse. Thanks to Cech and some wayward finishing by a Spuds team that was quicker in their thinking ,stronger in their tackling, incisive in their passing and had a finisher in Harry Kane, we weren’t at the end of a real hiding.
The sad thing was that we didn’t have a go at them until late on in the game and the two real chances we had fell to a striker who is so out of form.
It must be so dispiriting for our regular away fans to see us fail to make a fight of it away from home . I wonder how we are going to cope with the frozen north on Thursday and what sort of team will start that game.
Have just seen MOTD and the Man City game. Last week I was very positive about our double header with them, tonight I’m not so sure.
COYR
We should now switch our #1 and Cup sides around and concentrate on the Europey as our ticket to the CL, even if it means falling down the Prem to 8th or below (which would be a massive advantage next season, imo).
Guys modern football is not about a defence that doesn’t leak! Tottenham’s defence is the best in the league but they are not winning it, goals win games and arsenal now have a team that can get bat fulls, keep the faith the Wenger era is almost over, Simone to come in and turn us into world beaters! The coach is the final piece! He beat pep and Mourinho with athletico love to see Home at arsenal
Like Trev in previous drinks I was perplexed by AW sending on Laca to CF banishing O’Bomber to the wing. A complete waste.
Good to see Cech vindicating my faith in him, easily our motm. Echoing Cynic (as usual) re Ozil. Supposedly the greatest chance creator in all European leagues created bugger all yet again.
Chris if we play without fear we will run them close in what would be a football feast, if Man City and arsenal play to attack without fear it could be any score! Am I the only one to feel positive about our future? Today just came to soon
Laca ended up missing our two best chances, for all Tottenham’s play they couldn’t finish and in this league that normally means punishment today I felt confidence was our issue, we forgot how good we are and remembered how fragile we are at the back, invited pressure! Gifted them the win! Next time it won’t be like that
I thought that in the first half we dug in and held our own but the fight drained away after conceding the goal. Had Laca taken one of the two chances that fell to him towards the end, it would have been a point salvaged against the second half run of play. Kudos to Cech for keeping us within touching distance of doing that. I also thought Mustafi had a good game. I fear Kos has permanently gone in the fetlock. He doesn’t seem to jump anymore.
Kos’s Pace always got him out of trouble, it’s the first thing to go with she, I fear he’s just not as quick any more! I have to say he seems like the weak link at the minute! That will be a very unpopular opinion and I love kos! But he’s 31 now guys
*To go with age*
I hope we will try Holding /
Calum in the PL games now
as we need to make a decision
on CBs come the summer.
If we see they’re not at the
level then fair enough but
they really need 8-10 games
to tell.
Kola last week and Kos this
week – not competing for
headers is difficult to understand.
It’s easy to blame AW and/or
coaches for poor defending but
those 2 goals are nothing to do
with poor coaching just rank
poor play – you cannot be
bullied in the air as a defender
in the PL.
Great post, holic. Sums it up perfectly.
As is too frequently the case, this team showed no sense of urgency. So many guys, but especially Xhaka and Iwobi, looked terrified every time the ball came their way. I’m not sure anyone save Jack and Cech showed up at all.
I want to rant, but there’s no point anymore. It’s all so damn familiar, and to see it in the derby is brutal. A numbing performance.
Cheers.
Lee Cherry
Some very good points and some positive thinking which I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t manage. One point of disagreement. I have it on good authority that Chelsea have approached Simeone recently and he is reluctant to come to England mainly because he can’t speak the language but also because he thinks La Liga is superior. I also understand there is resistance in the Arsenal boardroom to him. That might change with Sanllehi coming in but I doubt it.
I think if we change it will be to Loew or Ancelotti. But I don’t think we will .
By the way Chris Ozil isn’t supposedly the best creator in Europe , it is a matter of statistical fact and he has achieved that while being surrounded by the likes of Xhaka and Iwobi. He wasn’t at his best today but the Totts dealt with him well and Dembélé was able to dominate the area in which Ozil flourishes.
If only we had a midfielder of his strength and dynamism instead of the seemingly undroppable Xhaka who can’t defend, tackle and creates very little.
I also don’t get your logic of wanting to miss the Europa next season. It provides a chance to get into the CL, one we might well take this season. I think I know that Chambers and Holding aren’t the answer at CB but I think Maitland – Niles should play in midfield instead of Xhaka .
This season Wenger has taken our two summer signings and destroyed their confidence entirely, he switches between a four and and a five at the back without any obvious strategy and we just don’t coach defence. I agree with Ned that Koscielny is failing because of injury but it looks increasingly obvious that we just don’t practice defensive alignment.
Apart from that he’s right on top of everything!
Thanks Holic.
In truth we were never in it and were fortunate to still be level at half time. Dembele totally bossed midfield, Miki never got into it and Ozil was absent until the last twenty minutes. Jack tried hard but with little support. Auba was asked to feed off scraps.
Defensively we were again chaotic. Cech made some good saves but his kicking is mostly misplaced and he was twice lucky not to give away another stupid goal, once when he tried to interplay with Mustafi was just plain reckless.
Kos has cost us too many goals and points this season, injury or otherwise. And where is Kolasinac? After a brilliant start to the season he seems to have been banished to the bench. Why?
As for Lacazette, Arsene has done his best to ruin him – record transfer fee, always subbed and never finishing a game, replaced by another record signing and then thrown on for a few minutes to save a NLD. Is it any wonder that his confidence and match sharpness let him down when a chance came.
I said some weeks ago I was resigned to sixth place – nothing has changed. Actually I would prefer to miss out on the Europa next season – have a break to let a new manager ( I’d be happy with Loew ) make his imprint with only the Prem to focus on, much like Chelski recently.
However, Arsene has never broken a contract so I fear the changes may not happen until 2019.
UTA.
Anyone found Arsenal’s midfield yet ?! Another shocking non performance to add to the catalogue – Hopefully change is coming in the not to distant. Our possession stats are based on the goalkeeper and back 4 playing tippy tappy between themselves as we sure as hell don’t play in the oppositions half anymore.
The issues haven’t changed. Indeed.
Nice succinct write up. The worst thing about it was the fact I was able to turn the telly off and get on with my day without feeling too bothered. A nld derby defeat used to send me into days of depression. No criticism is as damning as apathy.
I agree with you, Lee Cherry. There is a lot to feel positive about with our attacking players. Strangely enough, I actually feel we have a number of good defenders too, but as a team defend badly too often. I think we only need two additions to the team, a good left back with pace and an all action midfielder who can cover the pitch for 90 minutes. We have a very promising defensive midfielder in AMN, who I hope will start the next season in that role, especially away from home. I’ll reserve judgment on the season until it’s over. There is still an awful lot to play for! Stay positive!
Nice write up H. I’ve only managed to see the last 20 minutes and not had the chance to watch any highlights. I’m not too sure that I need bother now.
Some interesting stuff above. Hardly surprised to read how dreadful Mesut was and how it’s all his fault. My only surprise was not to read Thei’s Name anywhere? Surely he would have buried the chance missed by Lacazette, collected the ball and then scored the winner straight from the kick off?????
We all know we are a long way short from where we should be. Hopefully, after the last window, we are at last making progress. It’s not going to happen overnight.
He was absolute crap, Steve, but not alone in that and actually not our worst player. There, I said it.
The Corporal has been utterly horrible for Birmingham this afternoon. Lucky not to have been sent off, but playing so badly he’d probably have quite liked to have been shown the red card just to put him out of his misery.
Sad to see.
You missed the bit where Theo would have nipped back into the box, out-jumped Kane on their cross, headed clear, sprinted out to pick up his own clearance, sped up the wing to give us width then hit the first defender with his cross, Steve.
I haven’t watched it either. Listening to the commentary on Player was tough enough. Is this season the one that wins the award for the highest number of absolutely abject Arsenal performances in the last 20?
Yes to your last sentence. A couple in the squad won’t survive a change of manager unless they transform their performance though. See you at the Cup Final? No doubt you’ll be ‘overseeing’ my every move again?
A. Dubbya ‘as broken a contract …
https://youtu.be/LR4XNqrqxrU
And no matter wot they say, Loew is not the answer (actually, it might be, but not for these purposes). Must dash!!!
https://youtu.be/_QZjJU-mtFU
BTM@35: 🙂 for the bit on Theo.
LC@18: In terms of league goals conceded, the Mancs have the best defence in the league, followed by Citeh and then the Chavs. Spurs have the joint fourth best defence with Burnley. Then it is Liverpool sixth and us joint seventh with Newcastle, of all teams.
I was tempted to start off with “you guys must have watched a different game to me then?” but it seems there’s quite a few comments from peeps that haven’t watched the whole sordid 90 mins 😀
I didn’t think it was that bad. Honestly. Holic covers the first half well, honours even, a game plan almost working.
2nd half, we came out of the blocks slow, as we often do, and they were suddenly one up. It was a good header by an in form striker. No foul.
If it was a foul, then Bellerin getting turned at Chelsea was a decapitation. But it was deemed neither.
Our horrible neighbours then upped the pace but, unlike recent matches, our defence and goalie held strong, by hook or by crook, granted.
We were still in the game.
Changes came and the two players that looked to be tiring the most made way for two others that ‘at least’ had fresh legs and caused problems. We then managed to produce two really decent chances to, unfortunately, and out of form striker, who wasn’t able to take them.
I’m not going to jump on the lacazette hate bandwagon, I’ve been asking for some time now “is he really any better than Theo?” and the comparison was plain for all to see. I happen to think that Theo would have taken the second of Laca’s chances myself, but ho hum.
Two matches into the two new signings and I think that there’s promise there. Just needs some good coaching to go with it.
Which will be 15 months away IMO. 🙁
A lot of sensible and insightful comments here following possibly the worst 45 minutes of NLD performance I have seen (which is admittedly limited to Arsene Wenger era) us play.
While our defensive performances have been mostly atrocious away from home this season I don’t think that’s all due to individual qualities of the defenders. Sure, Koscielny has lost pace and athleticism following his chronic ankle troubles, and Mustafi can be inconsistent but most importantly we no longer have any functioning midfield. And as a result not only we are so poor defending as a team but poor going forward away from home.
Arsène would be remembered primarily for the early years of breathtaking football and great successes, however the way he kept us competitive while playing exciting football in a shoestring budget in the lean years after the stadium move was no lesser an achievement. We played intricate free-flowing football with a forward line of Arshavin, Chamakh and Nasir. Year after year we ensured top four with Denison and Song in the middle of the park. We went to CL semi-final with Almunia in goal, Gibbs in LB and Sylvestre in defense.
He used to be one of the most creative managers in the world who used to design inventive solutions to team’s footballing problems. And he was not averse to pragmatism: Arteta’s first season he moved him to a Pirlo-esque pivote role and using Song to make through passes he got us playing a simpler brand of football that used RVP’s strength to get us a series of 2-0 and 2-1 and 1-0 towards CL football.
Those years have definitely taken too much out of him, and he seems no longer capable of the creative solution for footballing problems. It is quite remarkable that we are almost in Spring and the main problem this season — away performance— shows no signs of being addressed anytime soon. At Emirates we are capable of playing great attacking football in the final third but even at home our midfield often has no shape, structure, consistency. The Liverpool game was a great example.
We also have formed this alarming habit of not playing to our strength just because it seems obvious. Yesterday after the first through ball to Aubemyang found him offside — mistakenly one should add – we simply stopped trying that route. With their defensive high line even a few over the top balls would have come in handy. Last year it was same with Giroud, we will deliver crosses when he is not in the field but will forget to do so when he is introduced.
We really have mismanaged this entire transition and instead of bidding our most successful manager a fond farewell we cannot wait to see him go now. Instead of planning for the inevitable for years we ostriched our way through one problematic season after another, the club hierarchy hanging all hopes, responsibilities and blame on one man’s shoulders and failing or unwilling to acknowledge that he himself is no longer capable of lucid objective assessment of the team’s performance.
We are rightly proud to be a club that conducts itself with class and dignity, but I think we have failed to manage the transition with either class or dignity, and as much Arsène is to blame for his stubbornness and loss of perspective our club management and ownership are as much culpable by their inaction, lack of planning, and lack of leadership.
Nasri and Denilson, of course, not their autocorrected versions…
denial anger acceptance
(not necessarily in that order)
Just seen the highlights and Cech’s excellent saves (to save our dignity). Not yet finished (tho’ his kicking could be better).
Agree with Faustus @39.
BTM. Wrong my old friend. I was working on the assumption that he had already cut the cross out.
I’m lucky enough to have a ticket for the final but am extremely doubtful I’m sad to report. I will update you later on.
Well said Faustus @39.
My only slight disagreement would be that AW probably can assess our performances lucidly – because the problems are so obvious – but he will not express his thoughts publicly.
The question for me is why he hasn’t done something about it. If it is his decision, then your reasoning is correct. The other option is that his hands have been tied by the financial restrictions placed on him from above.
It is sad, though, that he will not now leave with the fondness you mention and that his first ten years – and several after that – deserved.
We really have mismanaged this entire transition
We have only mismanaged it by continually giving contract extensions when he hasn’t been worth them because there isn’t, or hasn’t been, a succession plan.
If we came back here in four years time and AW was still manager, it wouldn’t be a great shock to me.
I’d be slightly surprised because things do seem to be coming to a head, but it all feels as if the change is being resisted to the very last possible moment by all involved.
But I wouldn’t be shocked if he was still in charge.
A few thoughts on some of our players yesterday – and beyond …
Does Iwobi have a position ? He gets played all over the place and those changing roles may be why he looks so panicked all the time – he’s trying to work out where he is and what he should be doing. He drives me mad with his flustery giving the ball away but maybe there are mitigating circumstances ( ye gods, my autocorrect wanted to say ‘circumcision ‘!) though that wouldn’t help his confidence either. ?
A M-N looks such a natural midfielder, yet plays left back.
I’m not honestly sure what Reiss Nelson is but having looked so good in pre-season he doesn’t seem to feature st all.
Aubameyang found himself pushed out wide left yesterday and it’s only his second game at the club. So the solution to not giving your new 60million striker a service he can thrive on, is to push him out of position.
What is Chambers ?
Is Holding a full back or a centre back ?
What is Xhaka ?
What is Elneny’s most effective position ?
Someone made the comment that we don’t have a functioning midfield. Hardly surprising as a) we don’t have a natural defensive midfielder at all and b) whoever is in there never plays twice with the same partner.
Our players are good enough to improvise and get away with all this against weak opposition at home, but against top teams and almost anyone organised away from home, they are not.
The Invincibles were good enough and strong enough to work out a system of fluid movement between them but the current crop are miles off them.
I find myself violently agreeing with almost all the recent posts. I like Lee Cherry’s optimism but don’t share it and I think Dr.F and Cynic and Trev all make very valid points. Something that got slightly overlooked in the euphoria of signing some star players was the comment that Wenger made about not being able to afford Jonny Evans. Thank goodness I say but that is a nonsense if you follow our finances through the analysis of Swiss Ramble for instance. He reckons we have this incredible financial reserve but we don’t dip into it. It means we could pay cash rather than the staggered deals most clubs negotiate but there are clearly financial shackles. Will our new management accept them, did they come to join a Europa League club?
This summer should be a catalyst for great change but I hope we can win the Europa League just as United did last season and give ourselves extra revenue and a seat back at the top table. We will find it hard to finish below Burnley and Leicester even with our indifferent away form so the key focus is Europe.
What Trev said@44. In spades.
Lots of good comment above, but not a lot of solutions. New manager next season, and leave it to him for mine.
TTG … When I say Ozil is supposedly Europe’s best creator it’s the ‘facts’ I rely on. It’s just that I have no idea where those ‘facts’ come from or what exactly constitutes ‘a chance’ in this context. An assist (obviously). A pre-assist? Any pass to someone within shooting range (who may have no intention of shooting) perhaps? Any piece of intelligent play that begins an attack that ends up (several passes later) with someone having a shot? Or what? And who decides?
When you play most of your career as an attacking midfielder for teams like Real Madrid, Arsenal (and Germany in internationals), all teams who score lots of goals (yes, even us compared to the majority of teams in our league) it’s no real surprise that you get involved in creating chances, whatever it means.
…and how many points should we deduct from his ‘chances’ tally for ‘creating’ the chance for Harry Kane’s goal yesterday? As he did.
Assist stats are almost as rubbish as the pre-assist stat. If you were shit hot at corners and rubbish at everything else, but you had a great centre forward, assist stats could prove you were the greatest player of all time.
The only thing that really counts is how often a player can do it when it really matters and how consistent that player is at delivering.
Turning it on against average opposition doesn’t really matter, it’s whether or not you carry your team to success against the best teams around you.
A truly top class player elevates those around him and inspires them. Ozil doesn’t do that IMO, so he is capable of being very good but he ain’t no great player and we’ve wasted a fortune signing him up.
Our record is so poor against other top six teams and that’s all the proof you need really.
I wish we could turn it on against average
opposition away from home 🙁
I thought a truly top class player was one
who was better paid than other pro players
in his position. Mesut is paid most in the
PL so he’s the best – that’s capitalism:)
“Our record is so poor against other top six teams and that’s all the proof you need really.”
Is it not a team game anymore then???
Awesome stuff Chris. You do make me laugh and put a smile on my face.
Those saying Theo would have scored, naaah he would have been offside 🙂
Chris@49: Perhaps the solution is no more complex than playing a settled team so everyone gets to know their job and how to do it.
Trev@46: Reiss Nelson is another being played out of position. He is a winger not a wing-back.
Is it not a team game anymore then???
Obviously, but you need what Wenger once called the oil in the engine (Pires in that case) to make it tick. Ozil is supposed to be that oil.
Sadly, this particular oil is full of grit.
I think a bit more grit in midfield is the solution, Cynic.
True enough, but when you’re creating nothing and as a result scoring zero goals, especially away, and you have the abject defence we have which means you need those goals, the problem is your supposed best and world class player, who fails to impress far too often IMO.
Anyway…
I agree Mesut could have been better and he is expected to do so in such games but then if the whole team turned up not to lose, he as well looked far likely to be the winner.
I am not sure what ails the team, it is so stifled up and i wonder if it is the unrelenting pressure to perform or they just are not good enough. I believe it is a combination of both. Some of the players in the current 11 arent good to play for us.
Cech, Kos, Mustafi cannot be the spine of the defense. Cech is past his best and so is Kos. Mustafi is average at best, has good and then poor games and that cannot be your center back. Monreal has been good but we all know he is on borrowed time. Bellerin has regressed and with a defense such as this, we cannot win much if not anything noteworthy.
Defensive midfielder, till we fill that space with a dembele type, we will never win the league, it goes without saying and i cannot understand as to why it is so unseen by the boss and the rest.
The season will end as a disappointment and the only hope is winning the mickey mouse cup to make it a bit less sadder. No, we wont win the europa league, we do not have the defense to do so.
Cynic. Are you really suggesting that the players that Özil plays with every week are on a par with those that played played alongside Super Rob? Elneny and Xhaka are the new Vieira and Petit? Our strikers are the new Henry and Bergkamp? Mustafi and Kos have become the new Adams and Sol?
If only that was even close to the truth.
Trev/ Pangloss
I get where you are coming from and I desperately wanted Wenger to get the acclamation he so richly deserved. I don’t know quite when that desire, which is still there somewhere in the background, started to dissipate but there has undoubtedly been a real tarnishing of his legacy. Partly because he had nine seasons without winning anything and partly because the team is clearly declining as evidenced by our place in the table. I thought his procrastination about the new contract harmed the club last season and I think he was well aware it did and that the uncertainty still continues.
I can’t bring myself to join any stupid marches or abuse him during games, he doesn’t deserve that and I won’t harm the team by creating negativity during games. I would rather stay away.
But if as he says he doesn’t want to carry on if the supporters don’t want him to( and this would have to be a majority thing) I think that point has been passed some time ago. Even the regulars in this bar , some huge Wenger loyalists now believe he should leave.
The point Trev raises is the key. Has he operated under constraints we know nothing of or has he been ultra- conservative to create a strong financial position for the club going forward? ( he has certainly done that)
I , though critical, was for him staying until about two or three years ago but I no longer believe he can take the club forward.
It was really unfortunate that having trained all week for the Derby with a game plan and line up based on the attacking formation we used against Everton,that Ramsey got injured in the last training session on Friday.
That fucked everything.
Come Saturday a rejigged side saw Iwobi sacrificed,as Elneny stepped in as extra midfield cover,and Wilshere came in to central midfield.
At a stroke our attacking formation was compromised,with Miki and Ozil both playing on the flanks and unable to influence the game leaving Auba isolated with no service.
We were always sitting too deep to make any difference in the final 3rd which showed in the stats.
Iwobi might not be the most gifted player,but he does have pace and much like Welbeck,Wenger likes to use him out wide left to stretch defences,and it was he who picked up the pace of our front line when he came on as a late sub,and he who made the great pass that Laca failed to convert late on.
The box to box engine of Ramsey is the crucial ingredient that keeps the opposition backline guessing,much like Lampard did so often for Chelsea,arriving late on the scene and not being picked up till it was too late.
Spurs were were cagey from the start,but once they worked out we were no threat going forward,there was only ever going to be one winner.
With the attacking formation in place,i was confident we could make a real game of it and give the neighbors defence a real chasing,but once i saw the revised lineup with a more defensive bent,my thoughts turned to securing point at best,and despite being outplayed in the 2nd half,we had the one clear chance to nick a point at the death but didn’t take it.
Such is life.
Good stuff, Sweeper 🙂 Great to see you having a laugh, Steve. You’ve been taking life a bit to seriously of late.
Are you really suggesting that the players that Özil plays with every week are on a par with those that played played alongside Super Rob?
Nope, but here’s the point that you seem to be ignoring.
Ozil ain’t no Pires either.
You can’t be 3rd in the league on points won at home, whilst be 9th in same league on points gained away from home, if that isn’t a chronic mentality thing that’s emanating from somewhere or someone?! That somewhere or “someone” has to be the lowest common denominator over the past 26 matches against one’s direct rivals, and within which you’ve only picked-up 26 points (the lowest of all of the top 6 Clubs), with the LWCs being above you with 44 points?! ?
Please stop hammering the players! They’re only ever able to do what they’re being coached to do during the week! ?
https://youtu.be/L1yYOz1tM8Y
When things go as badly as they did on Saturday, Steve, it’s perfectly logical to point the bone at the players who get the big bucks. Ozil, for all his agreed talent, rarely if ever provides the inspiration I expect of a top gunner in the ‘big’ matches.
His half-hearted attempt to tackle Dembele, while ignoring Davies wide open on his wing, was as poor as anything Theo was ever accused of. But where Theo would have chased back for a second go, all Ozil did was stand and watch while Davies set up Kane for his goal. The laziness, disinterest, lethargy, indifference (call it what you will) demonstrated in this significant moment exemplified his attitude for mine.
@65
Dan,
Some good points that are quite true I think
– something is clearly wrong and the manager
and his staff must take responsibility. But the
final request / demand / anguished scream…..
…… If we still had some
of the younger teams of a few years back
I’d probably agree but we have a team of
experienced players now. After some of
the away performances this season it’s
not unreasonable that players get called
on their perceived shortcomings.
Anyway, one constant I’ve noticed after
40 odd years is that patience is in very
short supply after a derby defeat to the
LWCs !
A couple of games with Ostersund to get
back on track, and a cup final win over
Shitty and all will be forgiven 🙂
Chris, It was Xhaka who didn’t go forward to closing down Davies. I remember I was shouting for him to close down Davies.
I agree Ozil needs to show up more but Xhaka needs to stay away from the pitch or even the bench. He is so far a liability for us, well, for me at least.
I found this tactic analytic video from the game and I think it is interesting to see from the video how we defend as a team and how certain players not doing their job properly
https://youtu.be/okD4djxcQhg
@68
Thanks Ambydex, interesting.
Jack and Mkhi both picked out as examples.
No surprise really as neither are noted for
their defensive qualities. The same things
happen over and over – players with time
and space to put in good crosses and a
lack of a proper challenge from the CBs
when the cross comes in.
The fact that we do close down and
challenge most of the time is why I’m
doubtful it’s really down to coaching.
On the other hand to let it keep
happening is clearly down to management
and leadership both on and off the pitch.
Xhaka was in the centre roughly parallel with Davies, Ambydex, and started across as soon as it was obvious no one was marking the LWC, but he was never going to reach him. I agree he could have shown more urgency but Ozil showed none at all.
Come on guys. We are now stretching it by saying Iwobi has pace. Really? Since when did he acquire pace? Iwobi does not have pace.
If you view the video from 15 seconds earlier than the analyst in your link, Ambydex, you’ll see Ozil losing the ball to Dembele on the touchline, with Xhaka behind him covering Davies. Then as Dembele takes the ball infield Xhaka tracks across in cover, expecting Ozil will stay on Davies as he should. But Ozil trots after Dembele (regardless he must have seen Xhaka ahead of him looking in the opposite direction where the play had gone), leaving Davies in an acre of space behind him. When the play came back and Xhaka could see Davies in an acre of space he could have tried harder to get across, but he would never have got there. Meanwhile, Ozil, having been beaten again by Dembele simply stood and watched.
You’re welcome, Matt.
Yes, I’m not sure eiher it is down to coaching because I remember we showed some great close down and defending against Chelsea, City and Spu*s in the past, certainly the team instructed to do so. But I do not know, and probably will never know how Arsene reacts toward players who didn’t do their job properly, is it only a father to son pep talk or give them the hair dryer treatment. But I remember my father give me his father-son talk with hair dryer treatment hahahhaa
Chris, I think it was pretty sure that it was Xhaka job in the first place to go for Dembele, because xhaka was so deep, it’s his defending area. Ozil went forward to cover for him that is why Davies so wide open. If Ozil didn’t do that then he will leave space for Dembele to move forward. And that little bit of urgency needed from Xhaka is crucial, Davies has all the time in the world to launched that cross and you can see again from the replay / video, as Davies crossed it, Xhaka managed to be close enough with him even with little urgency, imagine what Xhaka can do with little more urgency. And it’s not the first time.
Watch the video from earlier, Ambydex, and it’s clear how Xhaka came to be where he was and that Ozil was wandering about like one of Brown’s cows instead of staying on Davies.
My last on this cos it’s getting boring. 😀
Ambydex,
I don’t know either but whatever approach
AW is taking we do know it’s not working!
We do something 10 times but we don’t do
it the 11th, then we repeat the same cycle
until we inevitably get punished.
Regardless of whether that particular one
was down to Ozil or Xhaka, there were
other examples showing Jack and Mkhi not doing
their jobs defensively – it’s not any one
player as neither of them were even
playing earlier in the season. To me it’s
a team failing. If we’d kept doing our job
and been patient enough to keep trying to
beat the press then it’s a whole different game.
Anyway, it’s up for the cup now as the league
is looking grim
“When things go as badly as they did on Saturday, Steve, it’s perfectly logical to point the bone at the players who get the big bucks.”
What utter garbage. If you do want single out individuals then it’s their performance, not their wage packet that should be of concern. Judging someone on how much they earn? Please.
As I have said, I’ve not seen any of the game so not going to comment. Theo however couldn’t tackle the skin off of a rice pudding so I have no idea where you get the notion of him making tackles and then tracking back to make another???
The fact is, as a side we aren’t even anywhere near good enough we lack the required quality all of the pitch. The main reason for that is thatvwhen we saw quality leave, we never adequately replaced it. It’s been happening for years. If you genuinely think think that getting shot of Özil makes us stronger then we will just simply agree to disagree.
@Chris: I’m sure it is not as boring as our away records ??
There are pros and cons in watching games at the ground or on TV. I go to nearly all home games and a very few away games and from time to time I focus on players just to see if I can work out what they are about.
Take Ozil and Xhaka. Ozil works back deeper nowadays so he can pick up the ball to start attacks. Watching him live it is instructive to see how hard he works in getting into positions to receive the ball and his ability to spot a pass is unrivalled. He is not a good tackler and his pressing and winning back the ball is his weakest quality. But going forward he is of the level of Liam Brady except he scores less goals than Liam. Anyone who knows what I think of Liam Brady will realise what high praise that is.
Xhaka is more defensively positioned. He is ( I think ) a holding midfielder but note how much more open we were when Elneny went off on Saturday. He lacks concentration defensively, his tackling is erratic and he doesn’t cover as much ground as Jack- not as big an issue if his role is to play in front of the back four or five.
His distribution, which is his greatest strength , can be sublime, and his left foot is a wand , but he gives the ball away far too often in dangerous situations . I compare him to Petit who was a perfect fit for our current team, a left- footed midfielder and he is nowhere near that quality. He plays a quarterback role for Switzerland and makes lots of short passes , usually of no great attacking value. If I was to be asked what one change would you make to the side to improve it I would put in Kante, Dembele or Matic to make us much less open and I would take out Xhaka.
He is not without talent and he played wonderfully in the Cup Final where he bossed midfield but he is in my view £35 million not very well spent.
TTG nails it for me.
Laca out for 6 weeks after knee surgery.
Could make Europe interesting.
I blame Özil. His fault.
?
The last line was a joke by the way….
Many a true word spoken in jest 😉
SteveT
I thought all of it was a joke.
I’ve wondered about Lacazette since he made that miraculous recovery before the Man United game. I wondered if he was rushed back too soon. But Arsenal mishandle an injured player.? … ?.
I rate Nketiah but it’s a big ask to put him in there. We just hope the perpetually injured Welbeck can stay fit enough for four Europa League games. …if we are lucky.
Lacazette’s knee problem might explain the goals drought over the last couple of months because he hasn’t been as sharp as he was previously. A loose area of cartilage or a floater in the knee can certainly be problematic. Here’s hoping that we can make do and mend in the Europey whilst he is recovering.
Best wishes for a speedy and total recovery Alex.
Sad to hear about Lacazette’s injury. Will be interesting to see what his previous injury record has been. Hopefully he is back soon, and hopefully we are going all the way in Europa and maybe he scores the winning goal at the final in his hometown. 🙂
Seeing Giroud in that blue shirt, celebrating with Hazard, feels really strange. Feel bad, but also very strange.
He is probably thinking now he should have stayed put and given our injury records he would have had enough chances.
Lacazette – Another player mis-managed physically by Arsene Wenger?
For this to continually happen every season to almost every single first team player without exception, cannot be a coincidence?! ?
I have to admit that blaming Ozil is funny but Lacazette having an injury for 6 weeks is far from funny.
My conspiracy theory would be Arsene exiled him for at least 6 weeks because that late chance he missed.
Danny Welbeck is Arsenal’s only fit senior centre-forward.
Let that sink in.
Danny Welbeck is Arsenal’s only fit senior centre-forward.
In the January transfer window, we sold or swapped three players who scored 293 goals for the club in all competitions.
Danny Welbeck has scored 22 goals for Arsenal.
In all competitions.
Danny Welbeck is Arsenal’s only fit senior centre-forward
Don’t jinx it, cynic…?
Does this mean Danny Welbeck is Arsenal’s only fit senior centre forward?
Back in November we played Huddersfield and won 5-0 with Lacazette scoring an excellent opener and then being taken off with a knee injury.He was expected to be out for several weeks but reappeared to start the game with ManU three days later and scored again but he has only scored one goal since.
Was the injury mis- diagnosed? It seems a remarkable coincidence that his form, which was much better then , has nosedived since .
As Dapper Dan says this is not an isolated incident.
I defer to Trev and Bath in these matters but it is not good enough to keep making the same mistakes.
A pasting in the making for ‘The Bestest Team Ever’.
May it end as a massive shagging, so that this fucking circle wank can come to an end.
I guess Juventus is no Arsenal
Kane has served on a submarine and keeps hearing: dive, dive, dive
Don’t laugh we’ve been there.
And I hear that Danny Welbeck is Arsenal’s only fit senior centre forward.
All hail Dead Shot Danny.
What could possibly go wrong???
Bang.
Get in.
Yet another bat raiser.
Well in for the ton, Steve T.
Observations on tonight so far .
We did this to Basel last season with a below- strength team
Re Juventus – they have a top coach in charge
And I hear that Danny Welbeck is Arsenal’s only fit senior centre forward.
Subject to surviving training.
The Totts are coming back into the game very well. The second half will be fascinating
TTG@79: Not much if anything to disagree with.
Given previous drinks discussing players playing out of position, I wonder what Xhaka’s position is. For Switzerland he has been playing deeper and deeper over the years, falling back from winger to attacking midfielder to central midfielder and now defensive midfielder.
I have also often wondered when Chelsea got rid of Matic if we were in for him. He would have been a good fit for the DM we have needed.
What a pathetic penalty!
Sky and BT agree to pay 4.5 billion pounds for new EPL broadcast rights from season 2019 -20.
With Sanchez purported to be on 400,000 a week at Utd,who will be the first half million quid a week footballer in the EPL. ??
Thanks Ned. Nice to see someone with some manners.
Heathens the lot of you.
Apologies Steve
Great ton!
So the new improved Chesney can’t dislodge Buffon who is playing like a geriatric . My conclusion is that Serie A is not the league it was
Spoke too bloody soon. Hope they get turned over at Wembley; a man can dream.
Well in for the century, Steve T.
I’m no one’s after thought….
?
I’m genuinely surprised that so many learned members of this bar actually think that Danny Welbeck is actually a striker???
Great summary of Xhaka @79 TTG.
As Ned says at @105 Xhaka has been
dropping further and further back over
his career – it seems to me the time
is right for a legendary AW position
switch. All hail Xhaka – the new
Cech.
It has to be better than getting
bloody Chesney back.
Anyway, on to far Osterkand. I
wonder if we’ve played further
North before.
Poor Danny, a striker spurned. A
little tune to cheer him up
Oh Danny boy, the fans, the
fans are calling
From stand to stand, and down
the Clock end side
The league is gone and all the
dreams are dying
‘Tis you, ’tis you must score,
or else we’ll chide
Now come ye back, and prove
that you’re not deado
With your knee, backside or
heado
‘Tis we’ll be here in sunshine
and when you score
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy,
we’ll not slag you so
Danny is actually a half-decent, hard-working winger, and if he was ever played there regularly he’d be an asset. But as a CF I’d rather play Ospina, however fit Danny might be.
Nice one Matt. 😀
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mpJYIACehQ
A nice version Chris, a pure voice on the
young lady.
It was originally written by an English guy
I learned while filching the lyrics.
Cheers H!
Cynic, please don’t use that Infowars/Alt-right/composite filth of an expression – ‘let that sink in’. Really turns my stomach in any circumstances.
The unpalatable truth of the Totts game last night was that it is highly likely that they will be in the last 8 and will eliminate one of the traditional giants of European football. We once turned Juve over in the last 8 but time moves on and only we can remember that now!
The performance by the Swamp- Dwellers was excellent after a disastrous start and they had a let-off when Higuain took an awful second penalty but apart from Aurier ( we dodged a bullet there) they looked assured and had real quality on the ball.
I’m starting to believe that an English side ( not the Chavs or ManYoo) might go close in this because the Premier League is producing stronger teams, another reason we are struggling to qualify for the CL. I can’t say good luck to them but I will say that I’d have been proud if an Arsenal side had produced that performance.
OM
Xhaka in goal- that’s an idea?
TTG. It saddens me to say that the tiny totts gave a thoroughly impressive performance last night. Even though they dropped 2 early goals, their heads didn’t drop ( unlike another norf London team ) and fought their way back into the game. They ended up dominating the match with Dembele giving a masterful performance in midfield – power, pace & precision passing. This was a team that has been very well coached. We are far from that at the moment.☹️
Also the German referee had an excellent match with his decision making and positioning – he was perfectly placed for both penalties. Somewhat different to some of muppets we’ve had to endure over the years.
I may be praising the marsh dwellers here but they are still a bunch of cunts ?
Not being one to hang around those circles I had no idea that expression is used by such knuckle draggers, Esso.
It has sunk in though and it won’t happen again.
I wonder if clubs (such as ours) will dare to use the excuse of falling tv revenue when tickets go up next time.
Any excuse will do, Cynic.
Uply @122, ??
Cynic. The club have for years tried to say how great they are because they have not increased ticket prices. After the last TV deal every single club in the premier lge could have given every single season ticket holder their tickets for that season free of charge, and still mage more money than the year before.
A few years ago the club came out with the same Bollocks, about how great they were re ticket prices. Then increased the price of a cup of tea.
The cash cow just grows and grows…..
Someone has suggested that we all try to become informed and not just opinionated. Will the idea gain traction?
Present company already are an informed lot, I should add. But opinions can be pesky things.
Uply
Absolutely agree with your summary- in every respect! It shouldn’t escape the board’s attention that the Scum have developed very intelligently under Pochettino’s tutelage. He looks a very good coach indeed.
I thought back to our debacle against Bayern last year – and Juventus and Bayern last year , were of comparable standard.
We’ve touched down in Sweden without Jack,Ramsey, Koscielny and Lacazette ( Cech didn’t travel either) . Looks like the old injury problems we always have are surfacing again.
Interesting to note that Ox has not been injured yet at Anfield and Theo ( admittedly after a few weeks) is still fit at Everton. They were never able to stay fit with us and Ramsey has three serious injuries every season.
Sorry to be always moaning but I just don’t think we’ve got a number of things right at the club. In a very competitive world that will kill us.
Evening all. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>