Second Half Thriller But Draw Gives PSG The Edge
Nov 23rd, 2016 by 'holic
Arsene Wenger surprised many by selecting Kieran Gibbs over Nacho Monreal, Alex Iwobi for Mohamed Elneny, and Olivier Giroud ahead of Theo Walcott. That meant positional changes for Ramsey and Alexis. One can only assume that Theo was considered close to the much-discussed ‘red zone’. David Ospina came in as the Champions League goalkeeper. The starting eleven had more of an attacking feel to it than a ‘hold and hit them on the break’ setup.
In the opening exchanges space and time were at a premium as both sides looked to press the other when in possession. The first big chance was handed to the visitors from a fourteenth minute corner when a deflected header from the unmarked Cavani was kicked off the line by Gibbs. Three minutes later Cavani got his inevitable goal when again he arrived unaccompanied at the far post for a tap-in from Matuidi’s cross.
Arsenal 0-1 PSG
Arsenal’s carelessness in possession in the minutes that followed made for worrying viewing. When we did keep the ball at this stage of the game we saw a lot of slow, sideways passing with no end product. PSG were also cute, and Marquinhos took a yellow for the team when he prevented Alexis from joining an attempted breakout in the Gunners half. The match was looking very similar to the one in Paris on match day one.
Unsurprisingly Francis Coquelin was next to be carded for a nasty challenge on Motta with little over half an hour gone. He will now be suspended for the last day trip to Basel. On rare forays into enemy territory The Arsenal floundered on the rock that is Thiago Motta. A couple of weak penalty appeals aside we were unable engineer any attempts on goal until a strong penalty appeal was granted when Alexis was tripped by Krychowiak. With the last kick of the half Giroud converted our first attempt of the night from the spot.
Arsenal 1-1 PSG
The break, and whatever was said in it, led to a different looking Arsenal start the second-half with much more intent than had been displayed in the first forty-five minutes. Alexis and Mesut Ozil were setting the example, both sprinting to apply pressure on the PSG defence. However the visitors were doing the same and when Laurent Koscielny surrendered the ball he was booked for the resulting foul on Lucas. The victim thumped the free-kick against the crossbar with Ospina beaten.
Verratti was next in the book when he cynically pulled down Alexis as the Arsenal battled back. Carl Jenkinson’s cross found Giroud beyond the far post and the Frenchman’s on-target effort was blocked by Marquinhos. Astonishingly we were ahead when another Jenkinson cross saw Aaron Ramsey’s blocked effort turned in by the unfortunate Verratti.
Arsenal 2-1 PSG
Cavani’s blatant dive earned him neither a penalty nor a yellow card, somewhat surprisingly, as the visitors threatened an immediate response. Ben Arfa, once of Newcastle and Hull was introduced for Krychowiak to strengthen their attacking options. We threatened a third when Alexis just failed to connect with Ramsey at the far post. PSG were denied by a brave Ospina as Cavani lurked with menace.
The reprieve was temporary. From a corner Lucas dropped behind Jenkinson at the far post and Iwobi at the post could only help his header into his own net. The ‘holic pound was lost with thirteen minutes remaining.
Arsenal 2-2 PSG
Ospina again denied the unmarked Cavani on the break. The goalkeeper didn’t deserve to have two put past him. Ramsey’s attempted response drifted wide. Walcott, Xhaka and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were introduced as Arsenal sought the winner in the closing stages. That created space for the visitors to attempt to exploit. Cavani’s diving header took a coat of paint off the far post. The second-half was as compelling as the first had been embarrassing.
And then it was over with a sense of anti-climax. PSG need only to beat Ludogorets as their away goals in the head to heads with us gives them the advantage. Our superior goal difference is but a secondary consideration in this competition. Still, November is almost at an end and somehow we remain unbeaten since the opening day of the season in all competitions.
That is something to cling to and when we do hit form again we will be in healthy shape.
Art of Football teeshirt competition
A reminder, if one is needed, that two Art of Football Arsenal teeshirts are ‘up for grabs now’ in this post. It’s almost your last chance to enter so get your entries in before it is too late, and good luck. The result will be announced on Thursday evening, and if you are unlucky in the draw you will still be able to get a 20% discount from Art of Football on this Black Friday.
Get your entries in before you forget. Cheers all.
34 Responses to “Second Half Thriller But Draw Gives PSG The Edge”
First. Getting accustomed to high-speed Holic
We are the Spurs of Champions League, unbeaten but second best.
We couldn’t decide on whether to win or to hold at 2-1. We chose the wrong option, let the pressure off and before we knew it, the Holic pound was down the gurgler. Pity.
Thanks for another lightening report, Holic.
Thank you for the report Guv. (There may be a verb missing from the there sentence in the para below the 2-2 scoreline.)
I didn’t watch the game, nor listen to it, nor was I there. It seems to have been one of those games that will amplify everyone’s prejudices about this Arsenal team. The optimists will find much to cheer them up, as we extend our unbeaten run. The pessimists will believe themselves justified by another unconvincing performance. Doubtless individual players and the manager will have provided further evidence for both their supporters and their detractors.
Ho hum. Not long until we get to another month; one with fewer bad memories.
COYG and thanks again ‘.
That’s …’H @4 above. What a time for my temperamental H key to throw a wobbly!
Finally, a word of thanks to Auntie Beeb. I went to the match page which features a picture of OG being sent of in Paris. I naturally assumed the worst – that it was a picture from tonight’s match. I’m sure that was not their intent. No, indeed.
COYG
Ah! The verb has appeared. High speed editing as well as writing and posting. You’re spoiling us, Mr Ambassador.
Hadn’t read the CL tie breaker specs closely, so was surprised with the substitutions of Theo and Ox at 2-2. But AW had, so our wailing “What are you doing? Why are we gong for it?” was totally off base. But maybe getting on Elneny and Nacho, and moving Gibbs up for Iwobi at 2-1 to shut it down, would have been the right move.
Speedy H does it again top man!
Now to read the post.
In all honesty first half was awful to the bone ? I have not seen us play so badly in a while. What happened to the Arsenal that beat Chelski the other day? We were skating on thin ice and got punished for being too respectful!
No urgency no desire no plan, strolling around as if we were ok with what they did against us. You could tell they where up for it chasing us down as soon as they lost the ball. We were on the other side for some apparent reason.
I hope we can wake up from this November omens!
Evening H
If only we had played with the speed and verve with which you have posted your match summary. !!
Alas we were clearly,as in the first game against PSG,second best both technically and physically.
Not that it matters a jot.
None of the 3 English teams left in the CL,have a hope in hell of lifting the Trophy.
Mesut without Santi,is like Abbott without Costello,Morecambe without Wise.
Since his injury against Ludo,we have won just 1 of 4 PL games.
Without the vision of Santi and the pace of Hector,our Orchestra is missing the Violin and the Trumpet.
So we muddle on without them,slightly off key,just doing enough not to lose.
An ever changing midfield does not help the team balance.
Hector lucky to be back before Christmas,Santi who knows when.
I don’t think it is going to be pretty viewing over the next few weeks,so i will be more than happy if we swing into the New Year in the top 4,and still in touch with the leaders.
Evening one and all. Just on the way back from the game. I must say that for the most I thought we were dreadful. There was a massive feeling of frustration amongst a largely positive crowd. The fact that we ended up drawing a game 2-2 and only had one shot on target probably tells you all you need to know.
The first half was pedestrian, lacklustre and lacking in any real quality. How we went in level I will never know. The defending for their first was embarrassing. Schoolboy stuff.
I don’t think the second improved that much. There was more effort but very little quality.
Faced with a big queue at the station I made a decision I have only made once before and left a few minutes before the end. I, along with many others had seen enough by this stage.
There were startling reminders tonight of the fact that we are not really that good. Certainly not as good as some would have you believe. A midfield with Le Coq at the heart lacks any real creativity. Ramsey and Iwobi look way off the pace. The midfield tonight looked totally unbalanced. We look shaky at the back and are creating very little up front.
It looks like second in the group it is, although I’m not sure it will make too much of a difference.
The one positive is that somehow we actually managed to get a point out of that. As with the first leg in Paris, it could have been an awful lot worse.
Nice report Sir. A fine read on the Central Line.
Bring on Bournemouth. Can’t believe I actually said that.
I’m just coming back from the match waiting for the inevitably delayed train. Good report on the hoof from the Guvna. If we had nicked a 2-1 win it would have been undeserved . We had few standout performers . Ospina did well, Mustafi does some harebrained things, the reserve full backs are way below the level of the first choices and Ramsey is not a central midfielder. Sanchez worked his bollocks off but we were stretched and disjointed for most of the game although we rattled them in the second half just by working harder . Iwobi yet again was out if his depth and needed to be taken off earlier. He is not yet the player many claim him to be but he has immense promise.
We didn’t lose but we weren’t good enough to win. Clive summed it up well. We miss SNti terribly and we are a class below the better teams in Europe but lest a S***s fan should be reading at least we are in it!
Charlie Nicholas (or perhaps Unbelieveable Jeff, but Charlie was doing most of the talking) made the point on SSN tonight that we had one attempt on goal tonight, one against United and two against Spurs. Four attempts on target in three games.
Which is pretty awful going.
Too right, Trev, something we can agree on …. Iwobi out of his depth. I was calling for his replacement after about 15 minutes and would have pulled hiom off at half-time. It was just inevitable when he ‘scored’. Given the task of minding the right corner post he drifted off the line as soon as the ball was kicked and then didn’t know what to do when it came back at him sharpish. Watch the video and see how Gibbs defended the left corner post for what Iwobi should have done.
Mesut missing again. For a so-called ‘creative’ he doesn’t do nearly enough of anything in these ‘big’ occasions. Give me Marco Reus any day.
And I don’t care how far into the red zone Theo is he has to play a bigger role than the last ten minutes when we’re only defending anyway.
Cavani was my motm, for us that is. He should have had a hat-trick in both legs but gave us every opportunity to win the group instead. Every opportunity we were reluctant to seize.
Without Theo, Belle and Ox we played like a bunch tortoises. We never deserved to win and didn’t. Roll on Barca in the next round…
Ooops, that should have been Ttg, not Trev. Me agreeing with Trev? lol.
We had just one attempt on target, Cynic, and that was the penalty. But we still scored 2 goals! Go figure.
Another thing I never understand is why we switch off so often when leading by just one goal. That’s committing football suicide imo.
Horse shyte!
All of you 😀
Bayern lost to who? What’s the name of that club again?
Chris, you just reminded me of the Rodney Marsh story with Don Revie, or was it Charlie? “I’m going to pull you off at half-time” “That’s awesome, we only get half an orange at our place!”
The most appealing part of tonight’s game was the fact that we did not loose.
What worries me it’s this pedestrian attitude of all the players included in the squad and hello Alexis was as bad as the others!
Those crosses and mimic passes that never worked made me feel rather curious! We are plain and simple not in form since the LWC’s game and I think we will snap out of it but I sincerely hope it will be soon enough as we can’t loose any more points in the league.
There is another twist to whole story our bad month last year was Jan rather then Nov it all started at our abysmal display at Southampton and I’m sure we don’t need to be reminded again of the score line but we just fell apart.
Our defense is really bad we badly miss Cathorla and Bellerin end off, I love Ramsey and I always will but you can tell a difference when he plays his spot for national team and Arsenal he is a completely different player!
Ok enough is enough lets re group and start wining some league games!
Come on Arsenal!
Fine report Guvna. Very much the match I saw.
The observations in the Drinks above also hit the nail on the head. Indeed Steve T used the two adjectives I used on my way out of the ground. Pedestrian and lacklustre. I think we need to get them all a mobility scooter each and one of those sunshine lamps as early Christmas gifts if we are to sort out this malaise pronto.
In truth, PSG are a pretty good team and they move the ball around nicely from front to back. We are certainly no better than them and to be honest, we could easily have lost both games. Cavani’s movement up front is superb and I am just grateful that in both matches against us he missed several excellent chances.
The lack of shots on goal in our last three games are certainly a concern.
Lots of reasonable questions might be asked?
Some already have.
Why do we start so slowly?
Why aren’t we up for big games?
How do we only create four chances in the last three games?
Why do we persist with players struggling for form or confidence- e.g. Iwobi. The boy hasn’t played well for weeks, even against Reading.
Why such sparing use of Xhaka, he is twice the footballer Coquelin is.
Why play Ramsey where he unbalances the team ( i.e. Almost anywhere!)
Ozil needed to be much more assertive tonight. It doesn’t feel like we are watching a top side. When we played Basel and Chelsea it did. The only inference I can draw is that Santi makes us tick
Lots of nails hit on their heads there, TTG. I find AW’s starting XIs harder to understand the older he (and I) get. One of us has lost the plot.
Over to you, Trev. 😉
The other point about Santi’s absence is that it means that opponents just have to shut down Ozil to snuff out our midfield creativity. Double teaming the pair of them leaves a lot of space elsewhere for Iwobi, Walcott and Sanchez to exploit.
The lack of shots on target has been a constant failing for several seasons now. It’s not new and should not really be a surprise to anyone.
As usual a very balanced view of things from Holic in the report and he seems to be making up for Arsenal’s lack of speed with his speedy reports.
Back drunk and quite a few valid points mentioned there.We instantly looked a better team last night whenever we pressed hard and did not let PSG dictate the pace of the game. In the first half we let the likes of Motta and Veratti have too much time on the ball and allowed them to keep the pace of things very slow with intermediate quick exchanges with the likes of Lucas, Matuidi and Cavani. This slow languid style interspersed with change of pace by their front-line is exactly how they like to play and we let them do that at will in the first half. We came out quick off the blocks in the second, pressed them much tighter and did not let them dictate the game. The spell of 10 to 15 minutes before our second goal was very good and PSG did not know how to respond to the intensity we confronted them with. The unfortunate part is that we decided to sit back and let them dictate again after the second goal which proved to be our undoing.
Aaron Ramsey is coming in for a lot of criticism for his last two displays. He has not played anywhere close to his best in these two games but a lot of players get a bit of leeway after long injury lay off but he doesn’t get from the fans. Ramsey plays best in central midfield when he plays alongside a player like Arteta who holds his position well and is composed on the ball. The problem with Coquelin (a player I really like) in the absence of Santi is that he unbalances the midfield. He cannot be the pivot who sprays the ball around, neither can he be the box to box guy who makes late runs. The combination of Coq-Ramsey still played much better yesterday than the combination of Coq-Elneny against United. The way forward for the midfield would be a combination of Xhaka-Ramsey or Xhaka-Elneny until Santi returns. We will miss the combative tackling of Coq but would gain more composure on the ball in the bargain. A combination of Coq-Ramsey has a lot of energy and running around which is good for pressing and winning the ball back but lacks the penetrative-ness after that winning the ball phase. I personally feel Xhaka-Ramsey is the way to go especially in home games until Santi comes back. I hope fans are patient with that partnership because it could very well turn out to be a very cohesive one for this Arsenal team.
Cheers Holic !
Just between patients atm.
Very good write up – have to read the drinks and add a few thoughts later.
Basically, I was worried by the team selection but trusted that AW knew a thing or two I didn’t. In reality, the formation and some of the personnel do not work together.
Very poor defending on both goals, slow, predictable build up and a strange, slack first half.
Play your strongest game with your best players.
They get injured for a year at a time in training so i often, not always, don’t get the protectionist stuff.
Pedestrian and clueless. I do not understand why we continue to be poor in big games. Arent these games the ones everyone looks forward to and go the extra mile? i do not see that from anyone with this team, except alexis.
Ramsey has been mentioned as being one of our best players yesterday’s game in various quarters. I wonder which game i saw wherein found him ponderous, casual and short of ideas. He has to keep the game simple, pick the simple pass and not those hollywood passes. For me he was poor yesterday but then so were the rest of the team.
Ozil is a player i love but he needs to be there in tight situations asking for the ball. I know he is the one who drifts and creates spaces like no one else can but at times i really wish he comes for the ball in tight situations and helps out the midfield. He has the guile to wriggle out, doesnt he???
We cannot win the champions league, not even the most optimistic one will say we can so the expectation is limited. What would be great is Arsenal showing the fighting attitude. They very well maybe doing it but the body language does not indicate it, sorry.
Yesterday Motta/Moura and Verrati just showed the composure a midfield needs, so wish we can also show the same in such big games. The players we have arent that bad but when in a situation why are they found out? They need to learn to dig deep and the lack of a leader is even more evident again.
What a disappointment, sadly we were second best for all but the start of the second half until we were gifted the second goal. PSG ganged up on Mesut as did MU and snuffed him out. Once again no one took advantage of the spaces left, we were static .
We are all asking ourselves why did we spend £30m plus on Granit for him to warm the bench?He is needed on the park from the start. Kos was beaten for pace time and again last night. When did that last happen?
Without Santi’s skills we can’t seem to function as we know we can and AW has not yet come up with an effective, alternative combination in front of the back four. Some radical thinking needs to be done and quickly.
We are in a rut, there is no spark and Hector’s absence just highlights our problems. Still at least we are still in the CL so must be grateful for that even though it probably means we go out in the last 16 but while there’s hope.
COYRs
How about Arsene humbles himself and bring Fabregas back for that Santi slot?
Desi’ Gooner
A very good post but I ( as one of his critics ) must put the anti- Ramsey case more clearly. Firstly I am not sure what he is. He is not a good enough passer to play in central midfield in the Champions League.Or the Premier League. He joins up better with the attack than any other midfielder but I’ve never seen him,play well out wide and he is considerably slower than Walcott or The Ox . He is not a great tackler nor does he have the discipline for the holding role. I have no wish to get down on any Arsenal player and hope they all do well for us but he is a bit of a luxury player and would be nowhere near a start for us if I picked the team ( Lord help us) .
I find the suggestion that he is a world- class player quite laughable . He played well in the Euros for Wales but he played as a number ten and he cannot replace Ozil who does that job for us. He is a couple of levels below Ozil and if Arsene did want to raise funds he would be a very useful source of cash . If Barca or Real Madrid really do want him and this is not a fantasy dreamed up by his agent I would be happy to put my SUV at his disposal en route to the airport . He could even have the heated seat on if that is his wish.
Cheers H!
Don’t get all the Ramsey hate. At all. Load of phish to me.
http://arseblog.com/2016/11/ramsey-ramsey-will-lead-us/
Esso,
Thoughtful article from Stillman but I have to say he is guilty of assessing Ramsey as the player he was in what he calls his breakout season 13/14 when he was about the best midfielder in the league .
But may I say I don’t hate the lad at all. I would never hate an Arsenal player and Ramsey showed great courage in coming back after that horrific injury. I always caveat any criticisms about our players with the hope that my words come back to bite me on the bum . If Aaron gets the winner in the CL final no one would be happier than me- except perhaps the man himself!
Ramsey has taken over Theo’s mantle as scapegoat, Esso. Gotta blame someone.
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