Gunners Win A Battle
Dec 22nd, 2018 by 'holic
We went with a mixed bag of a back four of Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Nacho Monreal and fit again Sead Kolasinac. Burnley not surprisingly opted for two up front. The recalled Mohamed Elneny slipped into a midfield three alongside Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi, with Lucas Torreira dropping to the bench. Unfortunately he has been ill and we needed him to get booked today. Mesut Ozil was recalled in attack with Pierre Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette finally reunited.
The Arsenal had an early chance to strike but Tarkowski’s last gasp challenge denied Aubameyang the opportunity to apply a finish to Maitland-Niles cross. A warning shot across our bows from Barnes was superbly saved by Bernd Leno. It was a lively opening.
Xhaka, enjoying his return to midfield duty, unleashed a long range effort that Hart claimed at full stretch. Then Lacazette, seemingly alternating on both flanks, engineered a cross that Elneny met but his header was blocked by Daniels.
Surely the opening goal was coming? Cue Mesut Ozil’s sublime pass to Kolasinac and his cross was lashed home by Aubameyang. That’s why we need Ozil, if you needed to ask. The early goal gave us a platform to work from.
The Arsenal 1-0 Burnley
Another Kolasinac raid down the left ended with Maitland-Niles getting a shot away but unfortunately it was straight at Hart. Both full-backs looked far more comfortable attacking. Interestingly after the goal on a number of occasions Mohamed Elneny or Granit Xhaka dropped into a back three. This was probably to allow the wing-backs to continue to prosper. It was intelligent use of our highly adaptable team.
In the 35th minute a flashpoint arrived when the constantly moaning Barnes pinned Sokratis to the floor and refused to release him. Kevin Friend took a lenient view of the incident and just booked the clumsy striker. Straight after that Nacho Monreal made an early exit to be replaced by Stephan Lichsteiner. Surely yet another injury to a Gunners defender?
The Sokratis versus Barnes clash was reignited when the Gunners defender hauled the striker down. Another yellow card, and no complaints. Kevin Friend is far from a favourite official of mine, but he was having a good half on the whole. Burnley came closest to an equaliser when Xhaka’s back-header threatened to sail over the leaping Leno, grateful to reach the ball in time.
As added time approached Lacazette was denied by another desperate but legal challenge. The scoreline was an accurate reflection of a match that started brightly but faded into a degree of tedium after the goal.
We had a lively start to the second-half. Leno came out of his area to clear a long ball through to Wood who kicked the goalkeeper in the chest. Whether there was intent or not the Burnley man was correctly carded for dangerous play.
Kolasinac and Lacazette combined to tee up Aubameyang and his fierce deflected effort flew past Hart to double the Gunners advantage.
The Arsenal 2-0 Burnley
The loathsome Barnes jumped early and smashed a knee into Guendouzi’s back, and appeared to pull his hair on the way down. Mr Friend turned a blind eye to what should surely have been a second yellow for the Burnley man.
A Burnley free-kick saw at least four of them not given offside but Sokratis made a heroic last ditch challenge. Then Barnes, again, fouled Guendouzi and stamped on the fallen Gunner in full view of Mr Friend who again did his best Blind Pew impersonation. Guess who did see the next yellow card? Guendouzi when Hendricks took a spectacular tumble. It was time to send on the little gladiator, Torreira, for Elneny.
The battle raged. Cork went over the top at the unfortunate Guendouzi and Ben Mee scythed down Aubameyang. Both were rightly booked. There was a distinct edge to the match but the likes of Sokratis and Kolasinac were giving as good as they got.
Just past the hour Barnes, incredibly lucky to be on the pitch, was in the right place to finish a goalmouth scramble at the far post.
The Arsenal 2-1 Burnley
Scrambles ensued at both ends before Barnes pulled down Lichsteiner and again avoided further censure from Friend. Westwood’s lunge through the back of Xhaka drew no more than a talking to. The referee had long since lost control of a niggly affair. With neither defence looking in command I cashed out the ‘holic pound for a respectable 3/1.
Wood left a foot in on Guendouzi, a human pin-cushion in the second-half. Again Friend did not produce a second yellow card to a second Burnley player. It was hard to believe the evidence on the screen. Sean Dyche cleverly withdrew his two offending strikers and sent on Vokes and Vydra. Alex Iwobi was sent on for Lacazette who left the field to warm applause from an appreciative crowd and head coach.
Burnley’s final change saw Lowton on for Bardsley, hardly a sign of attacking intent but we were far from sure of holding on. Burnley had successfully disrupted our rhythm and couldn’t be blamed for doing what they were allowed to get away with. It is the job of the referee to manage the game. I’ll leave that there for you to consider.
We played some useful keep-ball as the final minutes ticked over. Another moment of Ozil magic left Iwobi in the clear to grab a clincher in added time. Westwood overdid the offside claim and was booked. The cashout proved to be a good one!
The Arsenal 3-1 Burnley
To call this a hard-fought win would be to capture it in a nutshell. Three important points were secured but not without a few scares. The next unbeaten run has begun, but at what cost today?
161 Responses to “Gunners Win A Battle”
Underwhelmed by our second half.
Smart cashing out ‘holic. Good tidings indeed. 🙂
Thanks Guvnor.
3 points is very welcome and good
to see Auba scoring, Özil creating
and even Iwobi getting a goal.
Friend bottled it. Poor.
Now fingers crossed that Nacho
was a precaution
Sat in the Tolly with my young lady. 3 others walked in wearing dinosaur outfits.
3 points. End of. Job done
Oh yeah, I forgot- congrats on the
win Guvnor!
Still, an excellent and a critical 3 points that give us some holiday cheer for the coming days. I’m coming around to see the good side, and your write up helped. 🙂
Sokratis stood strong and solid and kept us in the battle.
A maestro maneuver on the cashout ‘Holic! With this Arsenal side in this type of match, ya never know. Shrewd on your part!
Guendouzi (aka the human dart board) also played a very good game.
Only saw the second half but that was tough to watch.
That wasn’t a top four performance in my book. We were very lucky to get away without a penalty for Kolasinac’s push in the back. Our midfield was rarely in control of the game and we had zero ability to win the ball in the air when it was pumped into our half.
These missing defenders are being missed badly. I hope Nacho’s injury isn’t too serious and that Hector, Kos and Mustafi (What? Mustafi?) are all available for the game at Liverpool.
Congrats on the Holic Pound. You can’t go wrong on 2-1, especially when the game finishes at 3-1 🙂
Kola had a great game too I thought.
Scrappy game , poorly referred. Burnley have an honours degree in the dark arts but worryingly gave us a close game in the second half . Good performances by Kolasinac, Sokratis and Aubameyang who is very lethal when presented with a chance ( though he shinned the first !). Injuries and constant switching of formation are disrupting our defensive organisation
Very keen that we bring in a decent central defender ASAP. Lichtsteiner is awful in the middle and Xhaka has not got a defender’s mentality.
Three important points though
TTG you mean he did a Welbeck on his first goal ?
Shitty and Chavs both losing
at home 🙂
City 1 Palace 3 early 2nd half. Chelsea 0 – Foxes 1 early 2nd half.
Merry Christmas ?
Watching City chase the game –
they’ve brought Aguero, De Bruyne
and Mahrez on. Kind of ridiculous
really.
Come on Lestah!
Both lost, nice ?
Burnley are the new Stoke. Dyche is the new Pulis. I hope they go down.
Looks like ManUre may be waking up; the non-Mourinho bounce.
Appreciate the report Guvna. Congrats on the strategic cash-out on the punt. Smart move. It sounds a hell of a scrap. I’m glad we now have players who will give back as good as they get. I’ve seen the goals on my phone. Lovely vintage breakout for the second. I’ve also heard Dyche’s bleating. From your report it sounds as if he is trying to deflect attention from his team’s rough-housing. I look forward to tonight’s MOTD. Well done you redzzzzz.
I hope Emery has seen why Ozil is important for this team. He had a good game and Kola had a great game. Aubameyang took his goals with a little luck and didn’t miss too many unlike the Southampton game.
Three points in the bag but if we keep picking up injuries like this, I wonder if anyone important would be fit and available ( Torreira on four yellows so can’t be risked against Brighton) for the Liverpool game.
Great day for us with Chavs losing but Liverpool must now be seriously considered favourites to win the EPL for the first time. More because City looked distinctly ordinary against Palace. Long way to go yet, though.
Better in 2nd half – check
Injuries everywhere – check
Battle for the 4th – check
Defensively shite – check
Goals galore – check
What’s the difference?
SSY- Win/3 points – check. That is the only thing that matters.
We were lucky in a way from the highlights on MOTD I thought, have not seen the game so can’t really judge.
Reading fine Holics write up seems they were even worse than us and that we also played against a 12th man team!
We got the job done, all that matters is three points and I don’t give damn how they come! We were ruthless and I liked it but very shaky at the back. Could really do with a decent CB in Jan…
Congrats on the Holic Pound too! Nice one! 😀
Agree with Countryman . Burnley played like Stoke/Bolton/Blackburn.
These 3 teams are now in the Championship.
As for Arsenal the big one is against Liverpool. The reds are a well oiled machine and have a strong defence and potent attack.
If Arsenal played like the first game there is no reason to think Arsenal cant win.
The reds are on a long winning run . Its about time the law of averages take over and make sure they suffer a loss. After all CP
beat MC despite the Blues fearsome reputation.
In jest,Emery could do worse than employ a 5 man/men md to choke the md and hit on the break.
You never know.
Dyche is just whining as he lost,
Burnley are in the bottom 3 and that
kind of soft southern cheaters rant
goes down well with their fan base.
From memory I think we have a good
record against Burnley so I don’t much
care if they go down / stay up. I’d much
rather Soton went down. But it could be
any 3 from 6 or 7 this season.
Dyche thinks our players dive which he believes is cheating but forgets that kicking opposing players and constant fouling also amount to cheating. He was lucky to have all his players on field at the end of the game today.
Southampton play good football and under their new manager have started playing with confidence and belief. No way are they going down. Burnley will fit in well with Stoke, Blackburn, Bolton etc in the Championship and I would not be surprised if they get relegated.
Before Liverpool there is the small matter of of our away game at Brighton which is a difficult team to beat. Interesting to see how Emery rotates. It will be a real dilemma for him whether to play his strongest team against Brighton and ensure three points or keep his best team for the Pool match.
In any case shouldn’t field Torreira at all against Brighton as we can’t afford him picking up a a yellow card and becoming ineligible for the match against Liverpool.
Dyche whinging pissed me off. His team played like thugs, and were lucky as hell that the referee brought one football onto the pitch but apparently no other balls at all. I thought he was truly awful. Burnley were a nasty lot yesterday and that’s not Arsenal being soft- it’s just what I saw. Again and again.
Glad that we stood up to it. Sokratis in particular was epic in how much he was up for the battle. Top man.
I’m thrilled with 3 points. We had some decent moments and we worked hard. Defence is obviously an issue but not one I can see a solution to apart from buying a player/2 players when the window opens, or waiting for our injuries to clear, so I guess that is an area that we will have to keep making do and mend.
Ozil played well. Not brilliantly. He was not as committed in a few moments as some. But he did have a good game and his teammates seemed fairly happy with him. I’d like to see more of the same.
I can’t get on board with the suggestion that nothing has changed under Emery. Whoever thinks that is not seeing the same games as me. I’m looking at SSY @ 23 in this round.
He needs time and transfers. But I’m happy that we are moving in the right direction.
Dyche can still do one. The new Pulis indeed. Muppet.
And I do like Unai. He is not having it all his own way but he has some steel about him. And with referees like Friend, who needs enemies?
UTA
Just watched MOTD. None of Burnley’s thuggery shown.
Countryman.
Punditry. Pre-determined narratives. Only showing the bits that support whatever they want people to believe.
Too many people not watching and thinking for themselves and going along with whatever rubbish the ‘analysis’ of their favourite show/newspaper/podcast etc tell them…
Leading to more ‘punditry’. And less people with a bloody clue what they have watched, until someone has told them what they have watched.
There aren’t many pundits who like us much. And Burnley are top English lads with a strong work ethic and a no nonsense approach to the game. It would hardly be fair to dig them out for kicking and stamping on people when they are trying to play against Ozil, Guendouzi and a bunch of foreigners who go down at the slightest hard and deliberate knee in the back, now would it?
I’m sure I said recently, in relation to another issue entirely, that the society I live in has a long way to go.
I stand by that.
I’m gonna be grumpy for another 2 hours. Then I’m off to my sister’s for an early Christmas dinner and I’m going to cheer up considerably for a few days of Christmas fun.
Until then, bah humbug.
Robbie Savage. Michael Owen. Alan Shearer (which autocorrect brilliantly changed to ‘Alan A Header’.) Stewart Robson.
I hope that Santa has not got you on his nice list.
If he exists then I imagine Santa’s anagram twin Satan is planning something really special for you all. That’s a list that gives some cheer- I’m feeling better already.
GSD. Merry Christmas mate. Keep the faith.
While I’m about it Merry Christmas to all who pass through the doorway to this bar. It is a small haven of civilised debate. True Gooners all.
My next game Fulham on NYD and then Blackpool. Those going to Brighton and Anfield, sing up and bring home a pair of victories.
I was about to add my late comments but Countryman @19 took the exact words from me.
Not for the first time has a team seemed to target Guendozi – the youngster needs some back up which thankfully he got in this game. Too much sideways from him though imo.
Laca seemed mightily pissed off at being dragged. Emery seems to be treating him the same way that Arsene did – either not starting him or subbing him early. I just don’t get it at all – can someone please explain it for me.
3 points – yeah ok, but not really convincing. Ozil was worth it though.
UTA.
Get in Theo!
Feoooo
Theoooo!
Bloody ref just robbed Everton of a legitimate goal
And Pickford gifted the equalizer
And then Everton a completely
stupid goal. One more please
Feo.
The England goalkeeper having a wonderful game .
Well bollocks is all I can say to
that – I hope Everton come out
with some fight 2nd half
Noosa@33: Rotation to deal with fixture congestion and big matches is only part of it. It is a long season, especially if a team has deep cup runs. Managers plan out before the season starts how much game time their key men will be able to manage and they want those minutes loaded towards the games in the pointy end of the season. Their calculations are continually tweaked throughout the season to accommodate individual and team injuries, suspensions and general fitness levels. But take note of how much time Klopp and Guardiola’s key men spend on the bench in the first half of the season.
Get in Sigurdsson. There is still time for Everton to win this 5-4.
Not with Pickford in goal and this ref
If anyone ones some Christmas cheer then go into Google maps and type in shit hole.
See what comes up?
I was very unimpressed with MOTD’s coverage yesterday. They took all of Dyche’s complaints and analysed them. There was no balance with no coverage of a series of nasty Burnley tackles and brawling as described so well in Holic’s account of the match.
For some reason, probably because he is English the media love Dyche . They laud last season’s achievement which was creditable although they generally played rubbish football.
This season they have been so dire they couldn’t get through the Europa League qualifying rounds which is pathetic for a PL team. As Countryman, Noosa and GSD indicated they play kick and rush . If we want to laud an English manager laud next year’s Spurs manager Eddie Howe whose teams play intelligent football and who has built a very decent team from virtually nothing. Dyche was a big lummock as a player and his team are built in his image .
Fortunately, again as GSD pointed out we have players who are up for a battle in Sokratis who is an old fashioned hard bastard, Torreira, Kolasinac and young Guendouzi who got kicked from pillar to post.
Older Gooners will remember our first double team were attacked after a banquet in Rome by the Lazio team. Frank Mclintock told me that night he saw the character of players in his team really well. He admitted that being born in a tough part of Glasgow it was business as usual for Eddie Kelly and him and he said Storey was well up for it. And Bertie Mee took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and slugged it out alongside his lads. But the strongest bloke in the team – John Roberts – didn’t want to know and Frank said he never felt he could entirely trust him to have his back on the pitch after that.
That riot would have caused huge fallout if it occurred now but Lazio arrived the following week for the second leg with just a few headlines . Imagine what Sky and TalkShite would have done nowadays!
It’s a couple of seasons too late but
Sokratis would have been a good fit
with Kos as a pair of CBs.
Just a random thought from
from reading TTG’s post and thinking
about McLintock / Simpson, who were
our first great CB partnership from when
I was a kid.
No Mr. Computer I do not wish to accept any “cookies “ or any of the other garbage you are attempting to peddle thank you very much.
Polite but firm?
for cba.
i.
hope.
yer.
listening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHon8E0H9B8
An underwhelming second half notwithstanding, 3 points and a win was crucial. We need to win the Brighton game at all cost now for it looks a tall order to get anything off the pool game over the weekend.
Ozil was alright, still hesitates from the challenges but worthy just because of his ability to pick the right pass and get the team moving, his casualness may have cost us considering he misplaced his pass initially post which we ended up scoring on the counter. He is necessary is an understatement considering we have no one else to create chances.
Pierre was excellent, lacazette needs a goal but Kolasinac was the best player on the pitch by a mile, if he has a monreal behind him to cover, he is terrific as a wing back. Sadly, Kola is not a defender and Monreal is on his last legs.
The overwhelming fact is we continue to be poor defensively, even the Burnley goal was such a soft one to concede, an easy clearance was needed and instead of doing so, Xhaka kept wondering, others were on their backside and Barnes scored. How long will we keep getting away with it? I am worried sick what will happen at Anfield even if we have our so-called main defenders back, Mustafi is not a defender at all for me.
City losing means pool look favorites for the title, I can’t bear to see that happen, I dont care who wins as long as it is not pool or spurs, shit not pool.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0
Vinay, I have a bold yet humble prediction that could help to put your mind to rest a bit. All of the speculation about the successor manager at Manchester United that we will be seeing over the coming weeks and months could be a real distraction up the other end of the Seven Sisters road. Will Pochettino be leaving at the end of the season or will he not, and what will happen if he leaves? Will the players think they should give their all for a manager who may be on the verge of betraying them? The esteemed members of the media will not leave it alone because the story will be so compelling. If Harry Kane misses an easy chance they will be asking if it was caused by the distraction of the Pochettino to United Story (PUS for short).
In brief, the Nomads will be in chaos both before and after they move into their new stadium and they will finish below where they currently sit in the table. Feel better now? 🙂
More injury trouble as Mkhitaryan has reportedly broken a metatarsal in his right foot which will keep him away for a minimum of six weeks. So many injuries at just the wrong time.
Merry Christmas to Holic who does such a great job here and to all the many Holics who debate the issues around the club so enjoyably . Have a great time everyone!
A very Merry Christmas to one and only Holic and all Holics who make this bar so special!
May this festive season sparkle and shine, may all of your wishes and dreams come true, and may you feel this happiness all year round. Merry Christmas to you all!
Merry Christmas, Holic holics and the grandholics everywhere.
COYG
What those fine inhabitants of this establishment @ 55. 56 & 57 said. The season’s greeting to all, and especially to the Guv’nor.
A very merry Christmas to Holic and all holics.
Ho ho ho and a free pass from close encounters with reindeer droppings for all the holics and for our fearless leader. 🙂
Merry Christmas everyone. Wishing you and yours a blessed year ahead.
A very Emery Christmas to The Guvna of this fine establishment and to Holics everywhere. Have a wonderful day.
merry christmas holic, and all here at the bar. spent a tough one on the beach today, snorkeling… ?
Rahajeng Nyanggra Rahina Galungan lan Kuningan. may your dharma conquer your adharma and may you and your families be blessed!
Merry Christmas to all Holics everywhere.
Merry Xmas to all in the bar, and
all those players in training today!
Merry Christmas to all!
Holic and Holics- I hope you have a great day and I wish you and yours all the very best.
The bar keeps getting raised round here. Now the minimum requirements include a reading knowledge of Indonesian? 😉
Wishing all Holics and especially the Proprietor of this establishment a most enjoyable time over the festive season. Cheers ?.
bt8, no, just of balinese ;). hope some warmth from here makes it to the north woods for your christmas day!
Apologies, my friends. Clean forgot to pack a laptop for the trip north. Twat! So no preview of Brighton, and the report will be late on Thursday when I get home. I can’t do this on an iPhone. The ‘holic pound is again on 2-1 to the Arsenal. I hope you all had as good a day as I. ?????
Have a nice hols Guvnor.
2-1 looks about right. A cobbled
together defence with maybe Mus,
Sokratis and Kos available.
No Nacho means deciding whether
to trust Kola as left back or play
the three CBs and have Kola/Licht as
wing backs. From reports it seems
UE intends to play Torreira, in
that case he and Xhaka in the
middle, which though risky does
in theory (I know!) give us a
solid stable base. The frontline
options are basically 4 from 5
now that Mkhi is out – Auba, Laca,
Ozil, Ramsey and Iwobi. Plenty of
talent and goals in there but it also
shows we are running short.
Starts for Eddie and Sako may be
coming sooner than we or even
they expected.
UE was right about 3 points from
Brighton being worth the same as
3 from Liverpool. I assume he is
trying to keep focus on the next
game and, perhaps manage our
expectations for the Anfield trip.
However, I will still be praying
there’s no yellow for Torreira!!
Thank you all for the kind words. They are appreciated.
I have a special present for you all. Clive is alive and well but too busy with work to contribute here for a while longer. He sends his best to everyone.
As James Brown once sang, “I feel good”.
great news about clive, makes my night.
a win by our boys would cap it off just fine.
Holic
Great news about Clive. Thanks for checking. I’m off to the panto imminently. I pretend aim taking the grandkids but they are really taking me ?
Let’s hope the only panto defending ( he’s behind you!) is at the Brighton end today. 2-1 to the Gunners woukd be a very nice outcome .
Cheers H.
I’m so pleased to hear about Clive. I’ve never known anywhere on the internet where there is a group like this- some who know each other personally, some who rarely inhabit the same timezones, yet the whole bar has infused in it a real feeling of care, and pleasure at all being able to share our passion, regardless of all the differences in location, age, race, religion, opinion and countless other criteria I’m not going to try to list.
This really is a special place.
One measure of that will be quite how many people breakout into a wide smile to hear that Clive is well!
Boss, you’ve managed to oversee and set the guidelines that have allowed this place to flourish. That’s one hell of an achievement, sir. Our own Bergkamp! (With maybe a few more Guinnesses on the way than Denis ever managed…?)
Cheers all!
Hope y’all had a wonderful Christmas Day. Focused now on taking 3 points from Brighton. A clean sheet would be delightful but I’m inclined to agree with the Guvna that we’ll concede as usual so 2-1 it must be.
Great news re Clive. Worth a toast. ? Slàinte
And what GSD said about the Guvna – GH10!
someone notify cba about clive!
what gsd said, and bath. GH10 indeed.
The mighty Clive still rambling and giving them the business no doubt. ??
Tis the season of grind em out. Coyg
Chuffed that you’re alive and kicking, Clive!
Glad tidings of Clive. A glass raised to him and to ‘Holic for chasing him down.
Your match day trivia:
John Hollins was our last scorer of a league goal against Brighton in a winning cause, and that was in April 1981.
Of the five league games we have played at Brighton, we won only the first two, in the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons. We lost in 1981-82, 1982-83 and last season, which was our first away Premier League game against them.
However, we have had three FA Cup wins there between the last two league losses (1988, 2013 and 2015).
Starters v Brighton:
Leno, Lichtsteiner, Papastathopoulos, Koscielny, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Guendouzi, Ozil, Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Bench: Cech, Elneny, Ramsey, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Nketiah, Willock.
So looks like a back four to start, and that Nacho failed his late fitness test.
Hopefully Laca and Auba can do
some damage together
COYGs!!
Scousers 4-0. Nomads 5-0. Manure 3-1. Foxes 2 – Citeh 1 and a red.
Lots of coal in the stocking.
COYRG !!! Please….
Pretend it’s an FA Cup tie then?
Wheels falling off for Shitty.
Poo and Spuds won sadly.
Now for the BIG game.
Come on Arsenal!
A win is a must tonight and hopefully improve the GD, Auba with a brace, and Laca at least one.
COME ON!
Sorry for the commercial interruption but it offends me that the BBC has popup ads on its website. Just saying.
COYG. Blow the seagulls away despite the headwinds.
Pool and Spuds top the league and sadly, one of them will probably go on to win the league. I cannot understand what happened to City – one loss to Chelsea and they have imploded. After losing to us spuds have hit top form and they have been particularly lucky this year.
We have to win today and 1-2 will do fine. The team announced for today’s game would be the team I would have fielded against Pool. Emery prefers to ensure three points against Brighton and then take his chances against Pool. Hope Torreira and Guendouzi would not pick up a card today.
Get in Auba
Nice early goal
Get in, Auba. Great work by Laca.
oh yes
Need another goal as we look to be under terrific pressure.
Our high defensive line will always give the opposition hope and Brighton have become emboldened.
Auba misses a one on one with the goalie.
COYG.
Clusterfuck
Nice ‘assist’ by Lichtsteiner, damn
what was that???????????
Another comedy goal against us.
A goal against looked imminent and has arrived. Emery needs to redo his defensive organization and play a little less higher up especially when ahead. Agh!!
Why do we need 20 passes backwards?
Ozil gives the ball away and jogs back. Put in a shift you lazy..
Not impressed by any of our lads, maybe HT talk will do the trick
Lichsteiner and Ozil have a lousy game so far. We are too slow in transition while Brighton are in our box in no time. They seem to want it more as Theo used to say.
Like every team playing us, Brighton too is kicking our players as the ref turns a blind eye more often than not.
@106 – We’re perfecting the backward passing game, the key stat on which we lead the League.
Lichsteiner has wasted some great crossing opportunities very badly. When’s Hector back?
Wouldn’t be surprised to see Rambo for Ozil at half time.
Lichsteiner might have a distinguished back catalogue but he has been extremely ineffective and unimpressive for us. He is a liability in defence and ineffectual in attack. I would not offer him a new contract. #past sell by date
Should’ve pushed on from the early goal.
We just let them back in the game after
20 minutes. Too sterile and Ozil needs to
show more for the ball.
Get on top again at the start of the
2nd half and push on.
Why Bellerin, I would bring on AMN, iBTM. Ozil probably feels like teaching UE a lesson. He has nothing to lose as he is getting his £350000 a week. This is the first season I have seen this cussedness from him.
Iwobi on for Ozil.
ozil’s out
for good
At this rate we’ll be happy with a point
They build their attack so fast compared to our slow predictable build up. We need to hurry things up.
Carry On Defending!
Cannot imagine this team minus Torreira
Laca off, absolutely no service for him, wasted
Rambo should have replaced Guendouzi.
I meant vs Pool
We are not only second best at everything we also look poor like some second rate team. A point today would be a good result , the way we are playing.
Why are you taking Laca out? It probably been Guend.
Agree iBtM
We want the points here and need to
be more aggressive to push them back.
It probably should have been Guend
Again UE takes Laca out, as already said should have been Guendouzi, he might cost us.
Guendouzi is the only one making the bullets, Tapera.
We are so so poor.
I would take a point at this time.
AMN on, finally and some much needed pace.
KSn @ 129 above, what about defence?
Another Auba howler.
UE is just like Wenger where defence is concerned. Arsenal doesn’t do defence, Tapera.
Almost everyone is having a below game. Kola, Xhaka, Auba, Ozil and now AMN.
Below par.
Auba took one out of four clear cut chances that he had.
Anthony Taylor is doing his bit.
A perfect storm.
This game could haven done and dusted after 30 mins but we elected to play backward football even although Brighton were clearly on the ropes. Had AMN been on the field the he would have looked as good as anyone else as his 45 degree backward passing is adequate. As it is, now that the team is struggling, he looks lightweight. I do hope Hector is fit for Anfield.
The deflection was the closest we came in 2H
Between Southampton, Burnley & Brighton, are going to only collect 4 points out of a possible 9? Slo ball movement and all!!
Three points generously donated to the gurgler.
Guendouzi must be running on fumes. He is totally knackered.
1-1. Will take the draw. If not for the hara kiri defending we could have defended the 1-0 lead. We become worse by the day and I fear the worst against Pool as we just don’t have the legs.
iBtM holiday spirit
Others were donating goals
Auba scored a sitter and missed a couple as usual, he can show off his golden car all day, still costing us
God help us at the next one
Really bad performance not good enough for top four let’s be honest with one another.
Apart from the first 10 minutes that was incredibly tedious and tough to watch. As Tsmpera said above, 4 points from 9 against sides that we should have done much better against.
We will need to improve a great massively against the Poo or face a potential hiding.
Look very poor and shaky at the back. How we can concede a goal from our own corner is really so unprofessional.
We tried last 20 minutes to win it but just didn’t
have it today. Missing Nacho and Hector.
Pushing Xhaka back into defence doesn’t work
and we should stop doing it.
Anyway, onwards to Liverpoo and I hope we can
put out a stronger, more balanced XI
Would that be the Aubameyang who is the top goal scorer in the Premier League? He scored a very well-taken chance and was foiled twice by the keeper. He is not remotely where our problems lie. We are pathetic defensively. Worse than we were last season. Yes we are a work in progress but we don’t have any feeling of solidity. Come on Watford you can do us a favour because we aren’t good at doing ourselves many.
Watched the terrific game at Carrow Road with my brother and nephew and then switched over to our match and what a disappointment.
Apart from Auba’s first 10mins the game developed into a tedious affair. No one played well, we were bereft of ideas and we looked worse in the second half where we usual pick up the pace and score. Today the Subs didn’t work and there were a lot of tied legs on the pitch at the end.
Not looking forward to our visit to the Pool, we can only hope that some in the sick bay will be fit enough to play.Come on Nacho, Mustafi and Hector we need you out there on the park.
COYR
when the 19 year old is one of your best players from the beginning of the season, you know you’re in big trouble
Oh oh, Steve T. @141 above – you have decided to change my name!!! Must be the Christmas spirit. Spell check doesn’t work for a non-English name, does it? Correct spelling is T a p e r a. Thank you very much.
Chelski just did an Arsenal and conceided a minute after going 1 up ?
Deeply disappointing. One truth is that this team is in transition, is only spasmodically effective going forward and is diabolically inept at defence. The latter persists despite 6 months of coaching so suggests that personnel need to be replaced/improved upon. Holding is one for the future but meantime we need more young legs to take the strain but with the brain to read the game and the grit to give everything in the trenches. Cahill is NOT the answer.
A second truth is that as a team these players are miles behind the top three and if we don’t get a doing at Anfield I wil be very surprised. Fourth place may well be beyond our reach too.
Final truth is that the Emery miracle is going to take longer than his early bounce led me to expect. We must hope that Stan finds a shred of uncharacteristic generosity in his soul and approves the funds to take this team up a level.
Very much agree with you Bath, tgat is exactly how I see it.
There were all sorts of rumours abounding at Arsenal that Wenger prevented Steve Bould coaching the defence. Well Bould is still there and we still can’t defend to save our lives. There are teething troubles in the early months of a new manager after the initial bounce. I’m led to believe it’s a very unified team and respect for Emery and his team is very high. It took Klopp a long time to really alter Liverpool and you need transfer windows and funds available to compete at the level that the top three are setting.
Inevitablt#ome ideas £not work out. Lichsteiner on a free? Snap him up…and he has been awful I’ve scarcely seen him have a remotely good game. Debuchy was a much better player and I’m not sure Jenko isn’t .
Sokratis is reliable and tge sort of dirty bastard every team needs. Torreira is great, Guendouzi looks knackered but has great ability and by and large Leno has been a success.
Aubameyang and Lacazette are top quality strikers and our big challenge is in getting a midfield that is creatively strong consistently . Abnegation would be a good start. But let’s look at a younger CB and hope Mavro comes back strong soon.
We need to play as well against Liverpool there as we did at home. We were great then and we need something similar on Saturday
Mostly agree with the various
comments but….
Licht –
I wasn’t thrilled when we signed
him but since then I can’t fault
his attitude and effort. He’s been
played more than we would have
wanted and in unfamiliar positions,
basically I think we’re asking him
to do things that he just isn’t
physically capable of anymore.
Auba –
All forwards miss chances, he’s scored as
many as anyone else in the PL this season.
Ozil
He should have been more available for
the ball yesterday but why would we
want to get rid of our most creative
player?
I thought the main reason the
game turned yesterday was that Xhaka,
Torreira and Guendouzi became risk
averse after a good first 20 and simply
stopped playing the ball up to the front
players or wide to the full backs.
Hmm, a long waffle when really what I
wanted to say was that we’re not worse
than last season! In fact, a little better
away from home IMO.
To be a more agreey sort of fellow –
Bath is right about Cahill. He’s as much
a solution as Evans (now warming the
Leicester bench) would have been.
Good news is that Torreira wasn’t
booked, neither was Guendouzi and
the yellow card clock is reset.
Mostly the same as the previous posts. A couple of observations. Having a central midfielder who is uncomfortable with the ball at his feet is disturbing. Statistically, Auba is one of the most efficient strikers in Europe. We had 7 shots on goal to their 12, so maybe the problem is in our inability to create opportunities. Did I say we are slow in possession?
Emery wants us to be a pressing team. Unfortunately we are a ball watching team. We don’t anticipate passes. We watch until the pass falls to the opposing player and then we slowly jog up to apply “pressure”. If you watch opposing teams press us, they anticipate passes and are applying pressure quickly.
I think we are a long way from being a consistent top 4 team and Emery has a lot of work to do.
Why cant it be accepted that Emergy got his substitutions all wrong, it is ridiculous to blame Ozil for their goal and expect him to run back when almost all the others were in the brighton penalty box, was there a need for that? Taking of Ozil and Lacazette was clearly stupid and the second half showed it quite apparent.
Ramsey does not want to play for us anymore, Guendouzi is being run into the ground ala jack, Torreira was under clear instructions not to go for any tackles and less said about our defense, the better, shambolic in simple words.
We all understand this is the transition phase and everyone is backing Emery wholeheartedly, the fact remains that some of his tactics are bizarre and more so is his choice of personnel. We all knew yesterday was a must win and to do so, we needed to score more than expect a clean sheet, so why take out the 2 players most likely to get the job done?
I dont know how we can beat pool, they will destroy our full backs and Kos is done and wont be the player he was ever again. It is not about where we will finish, it is about making the same mistakes over and over again with no signs of changing. Shit.
http://www.sportbible.com/football/transfers-alex-oxlade-chamberlain-transfer-clause-why-he-struggled-at-arsenal-20181226
Bizarre if true
Auba is an excellent striker but he(we) tend to miss a lot, often easy chances, and sometimes it costs us or at least makes it more difficult for us to win the games.
Defensively we just don’t have the players, tactics can be adjusted and practiced but we are short 2-3 quality defenders.
Another area we lack are skilled wingers that can dribble. Something in the mold of Jadon Sancho (been excellent for Dortmund), even Zaha, and I believe there are some cheap-ish options within the PL teams outside top 6.
Steve, that is extraordinary. Why on earth would we sign up to a deal like that. One definite factor re lack of playing time was recurrent injury. He would just be reestablishing himself and he would get injured again. I’ve lost count of the number of times that happened.
No idea Bath. Perhaps that partly explains why drake take forever to conclude?
I just hope that our attempts to buy a new defence doesn’t involve such complications???
Deals take forever……
Interesting article in the Independent about Unai Emery’s attacking emphasis and Arsenal’s defensive problems mentions a moment in the Brighton match when Kos was yelling at Kola for not helping enough defensively but Kola was apparently in an advanced position where Emery instructed him to be. The same article said Arsenal have not kept an away clean sheet against a top-half side in 15 months. Kola is not the one to solve that issue though, I would say.
TTG@149 hits the key point, made by others, too, that it will take Emery time and transfers to make us a title-challenging team, as it did Klopp. The transition has not been helped by injuries being concentrated across our weakest area, the defence. No chance to play a settled back three or four, which is essential to improving defences, let alone learning a new system.
With apologies for forgetting to take my laptop away with me, I am back and fully-functioning, so to speak. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>