Lacazette Strike The Least We Deserved
Nov 4th, 2018 by 'holic
In the pubs and bars around the ground a full house of Gooners came together with varying degrees of caution and hope. There was a nervousnesss about who would be fit to play in the back four up against Salah, Mane, and Firmino. Two that most would have wanted failed their fitness tests. Nacho Monreal and Sokratis Papastathopoulos played no part in the proceedings that followed. Hector Bellerin and Sead Kolasinac were passed fit to fill the full-back roles.
The primary concern pre-match was whether we could start the match switched on enough to resist the high press and create fluent attacking football. The answer was an emphatic yes. Full of power and purpose we could have taken the lead with barely three minutes on the clock, but Alisson in the Liverpool goal was alert enough to deny Alexandre Lacazette’s near post flick.
Again we went so close when the excellent Granit Xhaka freed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who saw his effort deflected into the side netting. From the resulting corner Xhaka himself drew a save out of Alisson. A minute later we were so close again when Kolasinac and Aubameyang combined on the left and the latter’s cross was headed inches wide of the target by Henrikh Mkhitaryan. This was the first-half performance we have been crying out for all season.
Stung into a response the visitors thought they had taken the lead when Firmino struck a post and the rebound was tapped home by Mane only for him to look around to spot the assistant referee’s flag rightly raised for offside. Liverpool are not title contenders without reason. Van Dijk found himself one on one with Leno who smothered the volley sufficiently to enable Skhodran Mustafi to complete the clearance.
Just past the half hour with Lucas Torreira and Xhaka bossing the base of the midfield they sent Mesut Ozil and Aubameyang clear only for the latter to see his effort deflected wide of the post again. The atmosphere at the Grove was as good as it has been for many a moon and the chants from the home crowd grew in volume as we warmed to the performance we were witnessing.
Xhaka and Ozil combined again to put Lacazette in for a low drive that fizzed narrowly wide of the far post. Five minutes from half-time the same player did put Mustafi’s header across the target into the back of the net only for the other assistant referee to raise his flag for offside. A moment of euphoria in the stands was nipped in the bud.
Still though the half could have gone either way and we survived a huge scare when Bernd Leno came for a cross he was never going to claim and mercifully van Dijk’s header came back into play off the upright.
The second-half bubbled to life when Fabinho made two bad fouls in quick succession, only seeing yellow for the second of them on Torreira. Just past the hour mark our relatively comfortable grip on the game was surrendered when Leno could only palm Mane’s cross into the path of Milner who took full advantage of the gift. If anyone thought Arsenal heads would drop after that they were proven so very wrong.
Torreira it was who started the fightback with an ambitious run and drive that Alisson was pleased to tip over the bar. Unai Emery sent on Alex Iwobi for Mkhitaryan, then rather more surprisingly Aaron Ramsey for Aubameyang. Leno made some recompense for his earlier errors when tipping another van Dijk header over the bar at full stretch. An Iwobi cross flew across the face of the visitors goal with nobody quite able to apply the finishing touch.
Ten minutes from time our last substitution saw Danny Welbeck join the fray in place of Kolasinac, with Iwobi pushed into an unfamiliar wing-back role. Liverpool also made a change with Shaqiri replacing Firmino.
Then came a moment of magic that added to an already thrilling game. Iwobi played Lacazette into the box. With his first touch he turned away from Alisson, then turned around Gomez before unleashing a beautiful curved finish around them both and inside the far post. The celebrations for the equaliser our efforts deserved were long and loud.
Three points almost came our way but Bellerin missed the target after some good approach work from Welbeck. Fabinho brought down Ozil and there were loud requests for the red card he had already avoided but Andre Marriner’s patience spared the Brazilian.
All good things come to an end and so did this wonderful display. Back to the pub we went for some post mortem discussions accompanied by a couple of delicious Icelandic firewaters (thank you Zaph). Despite the nip in the air it seemed as though everybody had a warm glow from seeing that The Arsenal are close to being the real deal.
Unai Emery said afterwards he was only fifty percent happy because we had only drawn and explained that he felt we could have won the match.
“Today the balance was good in our speed and intensity. We worked very well for the 90 minutes and the two goals is the difference in the match. This is a point and a draw, maybe we deserve a little more.”
I certainly wouldn’t argue with him on that.
34 Responses to “Lacazette Strike The Least We Deserved”
Curls it into the side netting, a la Laca.
Now off the read the post…
Nice report H.
I’m glad that everyone had a good day in the ground. Here’s to many more before the season is done.
Well in, GSD. Fine report, Guv’nor, that sustains the mood of good cheer.
Behold the united (with a lower case u) Arsenal supporters. Something to hold on to when things turn rockieras they of course will at various points.
Credit where credit is due:
1) Great match report ‘holic and deserved delayed delivery. 🙂
2) Xhaka – Laca axis came good, big time.
3) Our patchwork back four done good too, including Mustafi.
The back four and two deep-lying midfielders were indeed excellent to a man.
Here’s hoping Mrs TTG is much improved this evening.
We have a real tough bunch of league games ahead (Wolves (A), Bournemouth (H), Tiny Totts (H) and Manure (A)) and our results there would have great bearing on whether we finish in the top four or not. Wolves gave Totts a torrid time yesterday and lost only because Mike Dean and his men pitched in for the scums. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dean supervising our game against spuds. Bournemouth are in great form and were unlucky to lose to Manure. The one big plus for us is that, based on yesterday’s performance, we now appear to have the game and the confidence to beat any team. How UE rotates his squad would probably hold the key to our season.
Against Pool yesterday almost everyone (except Mkhitaryan and Leno, to some extent, had below par games) played very well and with real passion which was good to see. I expect them to maintain the standard set against even the so called lesser teams.
I watched the first five minutes of yesterday’s match with a lot of anxiety but after seeing our players perform so well, the rest of the match was a pleasure. This season will be work in progress but the improvements UE has brought about are very clear to see. We have considerably improved in playing the ball out from the back and our passing has improved and we don’t mis pass as we routinely used to do last year. UE has also infused the side with belief and passion and it shows. There is already a better feel about the prospects for the rest of the season and a top four finish would be a good accomplishment for the manager.
Merson eats humble pie.
https://amp.sportsmole.co.uk/football/arsenal/news/paul-merson-i-was-wrong-about-arsenal_340575.html
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moooooooooooooooooooooo m’lud
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Very fine report Holic ( and your kind good wishes) . I feel as if I was there and can sense it was a fine evening. It was a big step forward for us and there is now a real feeling that we are making real progress under Emery and the future could be very exciting . We stood toe to toe with a genuinely good team and weren’t remotely found wanting. Had Van Dijk not given one of the best defensive performances I’ve seen for a very long time I’m certain we would have won comfortably. It might be a false dawn but I’m convinced it is a genuine moment of real excitement for Arsenal.
Mrs TTG is looking a bit brighter but no one at the hospital is quite sure exactly what happened on Friday. She was much more excited about her grandsons’ matches over the weekend than ours but felt guilty she’d kept me away from the match.
Bath,
Thankyou for a lovely note. She has been boosted by so many good wishes and I hope to hear better news this week .
Fingers crossed the news from the Hospital continues to be encouraging.
Fingers crossed the news from the Emirates continues to be encouraging.
Yup. Order seems to be about right.
COYG
Leno was unlucky with the goal, and I thought otherwise he mostly played well. He had pushed the cross towards the wide area where there was no Liverpool player. But Holding caught it with his heel which both deflected the ball into Milner’s path and took the pace off it, setting up an easy shot. Otherwise and the ball would have headed out towards the wing and everyone would have had time to regroup.
More encouraging news about Mrs TTG. Hope it all keeps going in that direction.
Your report was as much a pleasure to read as that performance was a delight to behold.
As Pangloss said @11, fingers crossed for Mrs TTG. ??
@TTG absolutely correct when it comes to Van Dijk, colossal performance, never looked fazed and could have scored a couple too, complete defender and currently the best around.
As ever these games produce classics and both teams deserve huge credit that they play to win. The Arsenal can never be accused of playing not to win and this pool side seems to be the same. Fantastic football match.
The much-maligned Granit Xhaka close to being the man of the match and maybe Holding just edged it for me, Torreira immense as well. Leno was very good too and could not be blamed much for the goal but yes the flapping in the first half could have avoided, the van dijk off the post chance. I am not sure why Mkhi was criticized, he had a good game and he starting over Iwobi made sense too, defensively far better. Lacazette took the goal with aplomb, Ozil created chances which should have been scored but overall apart from Auba who had an average game, everyone else were excellent. A returning Bellerin/Kolasinac as well had games which they should be proud of.
Arsenal still need Cb’s, we need those imposing performances if we need to challenge next season, this current team can compete for top four for sure but next season, if we need to beat city, we need a shore up on defense.
lastly, the crowd were fantastic and Paul Merson was seen searching for trees.
Thoroughly enjoyable report on and excellent game. Sounds like a great day out too.
Even in his Celtic days, Van Dijk was a stand out performer whom I would have loved Arsenal to buy (for a small sum then). Disappointing that we missed him twice and ended up with Mustafi. It would be unfair of me not to mention that the recruitment of BfG and Kos influenced this outcome and these two gentlemen have provided some wonderful days out in the interim. Life rolls on and Holding is beginning to look like a prospect and a deal at £3M.
TTG please pass on my very best wishes to your wife for a speedy return to full health.
Thank’s Holic for a very full account of Saturday’s terrific encounter at the Ems. The atmosphere from kick-off was superb and it was a pity that there were a number of empty seats around me in 132, particularly as one of the King’s Lynn Gooners was unable to find a ticket on the Exchange.
It was the best defensive display of this and probably several seasons and the midfield duo were quite outstanding. Whether we can count on a similar performance in the coming weeks will depend on keeping our back 6 fit and whether we will be up for it from the start against some of the lesser sides is debatable.
On to Thursday and a few changes in the line-up, maybe we will have Nacho and Sokratis available?
COYR
Agree with Delia that having Sokratis and particularly Nacho back (instead of fish out of water left wing Kola) at left back is critical. In fact, perhaps the shopping list for players should be topped by a left back with an eye for covering/replacing an aging Nacho.
Also, given that Unai seems to be a tactics wonk, if (and it’s a big if) Kos comes back and plays close to his usual level, could the coach utilize a 3-5-2 alignment? You would start Laca and Auba together, with Welbeck in reserve. You’d have Kos, Sokratis and either Holding or Mustafi in the back line. The starting middle five practically chooses itself, with Bellerin and Nacho on the wings, and the added advantage of having Lichsteiner and Kola in reserve in roles where they’re better suited. With Torreira and Xhaka in front of the CBs, and Ozil pulling strings from the center, that’s a solid middle, and you’d have Ramsey or AMN as Ozil backup. Guendouzi would be your alternative for the holding slots, though you’d be touching wood that Torreira and Xhaka stay healthy and avoid red cards to keep it working.
It’s really good to be anticipating our games with relish and keen for matchday to roll around because I want to see how we keep developing and I have genuine, realistic expectations that we can play well and keep building momentum. It’s fun again!
What I thought would take 18 months UE has done in 18 games.
Still weak at the back but improving with the cover Torreira is giving us and Sokratis needs to be kept fit as he is a great old fashion English CB *the Greek version*, no messing just get it cleared.
So impressed with the way its going if not still very shocked how well the whole team is doing.
Most thought it would be a cricket score with our leaky defense but the lads stuck well to their task and got the goal they deserved.
Only cloud from the game was Leno, what was he thinking ?
It doesn’t matter as its just great to see the team back and with some real momentum and only getting better.
Every new Arsenal player should be approved by Emery and Torreira.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkas-NHQnsI
My name is Lucas
I live on the seventh heaven
infinite football
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtxqvUkDW2I
Torreira
He comes from Uruguay
He’s only five foot five
Torreira
He’s shorter than N’Golo Kante
Likes to drink his Yerba Mate
Torreira
France Football reporting that Wenger will return to management with AC Milan. https://www.francefootball.fr/news/Arsene-wenger-tout-pres-du-milan-ac/956264
I googled AW and found that he’s linked with
Real Madrid and PSG too 🙂
I’d be surprised (and amused) if he was linking
up with Ivan again. The conspiracy theorists
will be out in full force if it does happen.
red star 2
pool 0
draw your own conclusion
Liverpool lose to Red Star by two goals. Our match had taken too much out of them and they looked knackered from the start. We should have beaten pool and palace before that.
The big news to me is that Citeh and PSG according to Bild did a secret deal with Infantino ( before he took over at FIFA) to circumvent the full FFP regulations. Those of us who felt UEFA would be bullied ( or bribed) over FFP can’t be too surprised at this news but to me it taints any success either side have achieved and shows that Infantino is at best Blatter Lite.
As for Wenger to Milan , it would surprise me that Gazidis wants to work with Wenger again as I understand they didn’t have the happiest of partings . But the story appears to have legs.
Wenger’s just emphatically denied the AC Milan story on BEIN sports
Spuds one down against PSV at Wembley and according to the commentator it “sounds like a PSV home game”
To be fair all continental clubs fans make English grounds their home when they come visiting.
Spurs cling on for win but look destined for Europa
46,000 crowd.
Big club, my arse.
A lot of the same XI started for Poo last
night as against us. It was a draining game
and I hope UE rests quite a few against
Lisbon – or at least leaves them on the
bench. Especially players like Hector and
Kola who just came back.
Something like the XI that played Blackpool
would do.
We were the last away team to win at
Red Star apparently:)
A shocker of a home defeat for Monaco
tonight – 3 down after 25 minutes.
19th in Ligue One as well – no one can
say Thierry has taken an easy job to start.
@18
I think 3 at the back would fit our current
squad too Jean, especially now we have a
midfield more suited. It doesn’t seem likely based
on UE’s past record though.
Fingers crossed for Kos anyway.Even near his
best would be handy. Holding is doing well and
needs an opportunity to develop but he’s young
and we can expect a couple of dips in form over
a long season.
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