Flattered But Three Valuable Points For The Gunners
Jan 1st, 2019 by 'holic
Unai Emery opted to retain Bernd Leno and reverted to a back three of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Skhodran Mustafi, and Laurent Koscielny for the visit of Fulham. Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac flanked Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi with Lucas Torreira dropping to the bench. Alex Iwobi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and (Hallelujah!) Alexandre Lacazette were selected as the attacking trio. There was no sign of Mesut Ozil.
As early as the second minute a flowing move opened up Fulham’s right flank but Aubameyang couldn’t keep his flick from Iwobi’s cross below crossbar height.
A ninth minute rampage down the same flank by Kolasinac resulted in a corner that Xhaka carelessly swung out of play. Fulham’s first clear break saw Sessegnon sprint clear for a one on one with Leno but mercifully he pulled his curling effort wide of the far post. A warning sign indeed and met with the first rumblings of discontent from the home support.
Guendouzi’s attempt to free Lacazette was appreciated by the striker but it fell comfortably for Fulham goalkeeper, Rico. Again Sessegnon was put clear by Schurrle but miskicked and his second big miss was to prove costly moments later when Xhaka was put in a similar position by Iwobi and calmly finished to give us the lead on 25 minutes.
The Arsenal 1-0 Fulham
Leno was called on to save when Mitrovic out-muscled our entire back three to send a close range header on target. Back we surged through Iwobi and Kolasinac who teed up Xhaka once more. Rico somehow kept it out, more by luck than design.
Next up everybody had to do a double-take as Sokratis set of on a mazy run, cut-in, and fierce drive that was blocked. Yes, Sokratis! We were a coat of paint away from a second when Lacazette and Iwobi teed up Aubameyang for a near post header.
Next to be put in the clear was Lacazette but Rico scrambled the ball clear with his right leg as the Gunners attempted to tighten the screw. A strong finish to the half hinted at a second-half to be enjoyed.
Lucas Torreira was introduced at half-time for Mustafi and we kicked-off set-up with a flat back four, although Xhaka was quick to double back aas Fulham started the stronger after the break.
Ten minutes into the half the Gunners struck against the run of play when Kolasinac, Iwobi, and Aubameyang opened Fulham up again and laid it on a plate for Lacazette who made no mistake with his right foot. That’s why he should be starting matches!
The Arsenal 2-0 Fulham
Lacazette was denied a second in quick succession by Rico as The Arsenal attempted to cut loose. Claudio Ranieri made all three substitutions in a five minute spell to disrup the Gunners flow. One of those substitutes, Seri, caught Lacazette with a flailing arm in the box. No penalty resulted, surprisingly.
Presented with yet another close range header Mitrovic headed straight at Leno but Fulham were back in it after Seri was adjudged not to have fouled Torreira, and Kamara was presented with a tap in at an unguarded far post by Sessegnon as the defenders just stopped playing to the whistle.
The Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
Emery withdrew Lacazette to make way for the departing Ramsey. The reaction of the crowd emphasised their displeasure at the substitution. In a midfield scramble that followed Fosu-Mensah went over the top on Xhaka and was fortunate perhaaps that the colour of the card was just yellow.
Ramsey, ironically, eased the nerve netting our third from the rebound after Aubameyang’s shot from a Kolasinac cross cannoned back into his path.
The Arsenal 3-1 Fulham
Guendouzi sprung Aubameyang once more but once again Rico came out on top in the one on one. That delayed the inevitable. Sokratis teed him up for a deflected effort, and Aubameyang cartwheeled once more. It was cash-out time for the ‘holic pound.
The Arsenal 4-1 Fulham
The cash-out proved unnecessary but I was not about to risk a couple of hundred quid on either defence. A happy if unconvincing start to 2019 for the Gunners. Better days await, hopefully.
64 Responses to “Flattered But Three Valuable Points For The Gunners”
Arsenal News 24/7
Mighty quick Guv
Headline sums it up
Out of the blocks like a rocket. Happy New Year Holic.
Happy and unconvincing start indeed. Keystone Cops couldn’t have done a better job on serving up their goal for them.
He’s in the money, he’s in the money! Congratulations.
Burn the Witch
Some positives today, AMN did
well mostly and UE’s lucky touch
with subs came back. We stuck
4 goals in and could have got 7
or 8 on a good day.
I didn’t think it was a foul on Torreira
for their goal. It wasn’t a good ball
to play to him in the first place and
then his first touch was slightly
wrong. Poor defending after that
and really we could have let in 4
on a bad day.
Let’s enjoy the win !
Cheers H! 4-1 will do very nicely thank you!
Got the job done but we could have easily lost it. Cannot understand why we play such a high line defensively when we get caught in every game irrespective of the quality of the opposition. Emery has to rethink and organise the team with a lot more emphasis on defence. Almost every team fancies playing us as even the weak teams definitely get chances to score and unless we stop that we will not finish in top four.
However, enjoying the win and looking forward to seeing the match again tomorrow..
Congratulations Holic, that was a big win.
OM @4, no one tracked the runner Kamara and that is a basic
defensive mistake.
I had a small wager on 5-1 at 40/1 and cashed out for a seventh of what 5-1 would have brung me, but was happy to do so.
Dear Unai
Please stop taking Lacazette off all the time, it stinks of Arsene Wenger’s Coaching Manual, page 36.
“If you need to make a change in the second half, either wait until the 70th minute or take off the same player in every game. For added Genius Skill Points, take off your selected scapegoat in the 70th minute”
ksn, @7
yes, I haven’t watched it again but
I think it was Kola and Guendouzi
who just let him run in and score.
Same old, I feel I’ve watched us let
in that same goal any number of
times.
Kola did well going forward as he often
does but his defending hasn’t improved.
I like him as a wing back.
Happy but unconvincing. Sounds about what we might have expected from recent performances, unless you count unhappy and unconvincing.
Greetings from the nordic ski mecca of northwest Minnesota where the bt8 crew just finished a new year’s day loop around the frozen lakes. Was half expecting to return to news of a Mitrovic hat trick so all is jolly round here.
The first game of 2019 and all very much the same. There were several positives but we look so vulnerable at the back that I’m sure almost any team would have aspirations of scoring against us.
The central defence looked stronger when Mustafi went off. Sokratis and Kos may well be our strongest pairing. I prefer playing 4 at the back but Kolasinac looks incredibly out of his depth in that system. I think he’s fine I laying the wing back system but lacks major defensive qualities. That’s not ideal for a full back.
Hopefully the January sales will bring us more defensive reinforcements. We also need to get some full backs fit. I think it’s difficult to judge Leno behind that train wreck.
3 points is still 3 points. Many congratulations to those that went some way to paying for Christmas on the back of it.
Nice stuff H, as always.
Drinks on the bar for everyone. Just before the resolutions all kick in.
Nice report Guvna and congratulations on the punt. Hopefully that’s setting your form for the year. An important, nay vital, win for the team under the circumstances however it was achieved. Onwards.
A very fair report Holic and as others have said your title sums it up well. Although we won more comfortably than I anticipated we rode our luck with Sessegnon giving us two lives and although their goal should have been disallowed for a clear foul on Torreira, when they scored it was not any more likely that we would score the next goal than them. We’ve still only kept three clean sheets in the League this season .
Emery brought on Ramsey, took off Laca and kept on Aubameyang. Even though it worked out well I’m sure we would have fared as well if Ramsey had replaced Iwobi. Iwobi did some very good things but ovehit numerous passes to a very tolerant Kolasinac .
I think Emery fiddles too much and this hits both the confidence of the younger players( in the last two games AMN has been wide right midfield, twice a right back in a four and a right wing-back) and any sense of organisation that the defence might try to develop. Leno has to face so many different situations in front of him not a stable four or three with similar personnel.
Today I was very impressed by Kolasinac, Lacazette, Koscielny who is still not fully match- fit and Aubameyang. Xhaka and AMN were good in parts and Guendouzi worked hard . Xhaka was awful in parts too and can’t indulge himself as a quarterback in the Premier League. He doesn’t get the time or pass protection .
So I’m still not totally confident in Emery nor do I feel any serious need to doubt him.
And a very touching reaction to PHW’s death. You could have heard a pin drop.
So we are unbeaten this year!
I know it’s Paul Parker but he did give me a chuckle on the radio when he said Xhaka had been good inside the box but awful outside it, so he should be told to just stay in the penalty area and not move and he’d be fine.
I finally agree with some opinions that Emery is a transition coach and with the targets set for him, it’s very unlikely we see the best of his ability.
10 days to the next league game.
Time to get Hector and Nacho fit.
Give Torreira a break, Auba and
Xhaka too.
Not sure if ESR will be fit but the
team for the FA Cup could be
Cech
AMN, Sokratis, Medley, Kola
Elneny, Guendouzi
Sako, ESR, Iwobi
Laca
Eddie, Willock off the bench.
Plus some experienced players
just in case.
Flattering yet not deceiving, the scoreline could have been anything, 6-3, 3-3 and ended up 4-1 which is all that matters.
The defense is horrible and there are no 2 words about it. Sokratis and Kos are similar and want to win every ball that is played towards them, the art of allowing the attacker to get the ball first and then dragging him wide seems to be a forgotten thing. Niles was not tested yesterday so i reserve my comments and kola is no lb, as a wingback he is just fine.
So have we seen the last of Ramsey and Ozil? if so who will be replacing them? even against a poor fulham we were missing the creativity of Mesut so imagine a team without him. Isco wants to leave real, fancy a bid for him? Banega is not the answer Unai, he is more the steadying the ship types, we need players who can win games. Let’s begin with the shoring up the defense though, Godin is free, so that’s a start.
OM
I like your team but ESR is not fit as far as I am aware. We might see the lesser spotted Ozil but more likely Ramsey!
I was chatting to my neighbour in the ground yesterday who had been studying the warm up. He counted NINE coaches on the pitch during it and that didn’t include Emery. I would have expected that number of coaches to have sorted the defence out more effectively than they have thus far .
The financial situation we find ourselves in relative to our Key rivals is ridiculous. It smacks of mismanagement but also compared with Liverpool a similar club with a similar model it smacks of a very limited ownership horizon. Arsenal fans ( with respect to our American friends on here) don’t give a shit about the LA Rams and all Kroenke’s other franchises. None of them seem to have the success of the Red Sox which is also owned by those who run Liverpool. They seem to have a much more ambitious perspective and have done extraordinarily well at offloading unhappy players. The Coutinho sale was a master stroke. Klopp has much better backing than Emery
Is getting to games about to get even harder???
http://www.sportbible.com/football/news-reactions-take-a-bow-a-new-saturday-kick-off-time-will-be-introduced-in-2019-20190101?source=facebook
From the Wonders Never Ceasing Department:
Samir Nasri signs for West Ham.
I am just going to drop this here so some of us can get a better idea of the revenue that NFL teams get. There are 32 teams in the league. There is revenue sharing, mostly from TV Rights, + Online Video Streaming Rights + Nike pays the NFL for every team to wear their Nike branded uniforms and then more importantly there is a salary cap for all team players. Each team is limited to 53 players.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nfl-set-revenue-record-despite-national-anthem-controversy-green-bay-packers-financial-disclosures-show/
https://money.cnn.com/2018/03/27/news/companies/nike-nfl-gear-contract/index.html
Chelski drop 2 points
Tapera,
Thanks for this.
That’s very interesting and shows the scale of potential earnings in the USA. It always seems to me without relegation and the draft system there is an equalisation of earnings. Only one team gets real success, indeed a 9-7 season is a ‘winning season’. Try that on Arsenal fans! There is one trophy only and maybe Mr. Kroenke is less focused on success than revenue . Just maybe
TTG, on # 23 – I would say Mr Kroenk didn’t get to be a billionaire by not focusing on revenue. And if this helps – his L.A. Rams were based in St. Louis (Mid Western States) as late as 2 years ago. They relocated to Los Angeles mainly because the potential for revenue multipliers in Los Angeles is much much greater than St Louis.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2016/01/12/los-angeles-rams-chargers-raiders-move-relocation/78688808/
Oh one more thing. Here is a few other NFL/PL joint ownerships:
Fulham & Jacksonville = Khan
Man U & Tampa Bay = Glazer family
Arsenal & LA Rams +++ = Kroenk
Watched Chavski huff ineffectively
against Soton, glad they dropped
points but it still annoys me that we
let Morata score against us.
I suppose everyone else does so
I’d best get over it.
The Pulisic deal confirms that
Hazard is going in the summer?
Ttg, it’s a pity ESR isn’t fit, I like
watching him play.
TD@24: Kroenke married a Wal-Mart heiress and then made his real estate fortune developing malls where Wal-mart was a anchor tenant.
Tapera Doma @24, Fenway Sports Group owner James Henry owns Boston Red Sox (MLB) and Liverpool FC. Kroenke also owns a number of other baseball, basketball clubs in addition to his football clubs – details here -https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kroenke_Sports_%26_Entertainment
An interesting read.
Some of the figures quoted are a bit speculative but I very much agree with the sentiment. This is an area where we need to see massive improvement in my opinion.
https://shewore.com/2019/01/03/arsenal-lose-200m-due-to-poor-player-sales/
TD@24
And that should be the most sobering thought for any Arsenal fan – If Kroenke could shit on his own in his home state in the pursuit of better money streams why would he give a fuck about Arsenal really being competitive if the money still roles in. Its not through fate hes now one of the most hated men in Missouri its through his greed. Being named after two of St Louis darlings would normally go some way to offsetting that especially in such a baseball mad state but by relocating their NFL team hes become a pariah to the normal Missourian.
Steve T @29, that article is bang on the money. The contract management at Arsenal has been criminally negligent.
I fear that the rebuild required to make this team competitive again will take a decade.
Interesting stuff, thanks for the
link Steve.
Apart from the valuations, I
mostly disagreed but they’re
arguable obviously, we need to
improve our commercial operation
as we’re lagging.
Basically, we’ve been choosing to
keep players in the hope of short-
term success. It hasn’t worked and
now the cows are coming home to
roost in the shape of reduced funds.
It was a gamble – if we had won the
PL the situation would be better and
we all want to win trophies – and it
didn’t work. Given that Ivan, AW &
Co did it because they wanted to win
I don’t blame them. Some you
win, some you lose. They’re both
gone now so their final service will
be as convenient scapegoats for
people who weren’t there and didn’t
have the decision to make to
bitch and whine endlessly.
Steve
My thanks for sharing a very cogent analysis. It didn’t always used to be that way. We were famed for selling high and raising money when
Wenger first came to the club. We sold Anelka to build the Shelley training centre effectively and I remember driving home from the airport listening to Adrian Durham crucify us for selling Petit and Overmars to Barcelona for about £25 million which was big bucks on 2001 . We replaced them with a no hoper called Pires and a bloke called Edu who only won about five medals in four years !
We started to get it wrong after we left Highbury but it may be that Dein took more of a back seat. Certainly the socialist wage system was a disaster!
Anyone watching Pool vs City?
The standard of these two teams is incredible. They are the pick of the crop, and the general level has skyrocketed in recent years too.
Taking nostalgia out of it I’d expect either of these teams to comfortably beat The Invincibles, United’s treble winners or any Chelsea Mourinho team over the course of a season.
GSD I don’t agree completely with your assessment (2nd part) although we do look like 2 categories lighter then them
Gunner KS.
The game is so much faster. The intensity is fierce. The fitness is at new levels.
Jimmy Connors was the fittest tennis player in his day. But he would have nothing on Nadal or Djokovic. In a straight comparison (with no adjustment to allow for different eras and relative opposition, training, money etc) I can’t imagine any team more than 15 years old would be able to keep up the level for long enough to get a result in many matches against the current top sides, let alone over a season.
I’m pretty in awe of how much quicker the game is even compared to ten years ago. Also, the standard of the bottom 5 league teams has improved probably even more in the same time. The standard of football in the premier League is better than ever in my view.
Re our transfers and contracts. I don’t think we been the same since DD left. Gazidis was not even close to being match fit. Silent Stan is useless. I don’t think it will take 10 years to put right but it won’t get sorted overnight.
Watching the game tonight and I agree that these two are head and shoulders over the rest. I also think that The Invincibles were better than both of them.
But I am slightly biased.
The quality of their benches, esp Shitty’s, is scary
@38. Yes. Yes it is.
Steve. Agree with 1st paragraph totally.
Okay. This bit might sound a bit blasphemous but I’m in a safe place… The Invincibles drew too many matches. They did not push for wins, especially late in the season, as they did not want to lose. Even that great team had a handbrake.
I’ve been quietly gutted by how many title winning sides have bettered their points total since. Some by a long way. Of course I loved and enjoyed our side in a way that no team from another club could emulate… but when I watched Mou’s Chelsea sides I thought “The Invincibles were better than this lot”. I’m not watching tonight’s match with the same confidence.
Liverpool lose.
Only one team is Invincible.
Not easy to be invincible as Pool realised today. Citeh still in it. Great watch for the neutrals and shows how far behind the leaders we are. Great result.
I agree about the standard of the top teams nowadays GSD but the Invincibles were magnificent individually . Only Salah , Van Dijk and maybe the two full – backs would get into the Invincibles . Henderson,Wijnaldum, Lovren and Milner would struggle to get on the bench.
It was an epic game tonight.
Agree with GSD that the speed & fitness level of players and the standard of the other teams in the league have gone up tremendously and being invincible today would be a lot more difficult. Liverpool, though, had me worried this year given the strong team they have, the form they are in and the love they are getting from the refs. Big relief?.
“ The Invincibles drew too many matches. They did not push for wins, “
An entire season unbeaten? You’re a tough man to please GSD.
The only player in that Scouse side that gets into the Invincibles is Van Dijk? That was s then harsh on Kolo. As good as he is I don’t see Salah getting in ahead of Bergkamp and Henry.
Whatever happens, the record won’t be equalled this year.
Chippy@30: US pro-sport franchises move. It is in the nature of the beast ever since the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team moved to St. Louis in 1902. And home town fans hate it, as you would expect. In Brooklyn, they still revile Walter O’Malley for moving the Dodgers to LA in the 1950s. (And I would imagine there were some irate folk in Woolwich in 1913, too.) Kroenke’s St Louis Rams were the Los Angeles Rams before moving to St Louis in 1995. So in one sense he has only taken them back whence they came — although not all the way back as they started life as the Cleveland Rams in the 1930s before moving to LA in 1946.
GSD@39: After 21 games, the Invincibles’ record was W14, D7, L0, GF40, GA14 Points 49 Position 2nd — which is only two more wins than the team has this season after 21, and six fewer goals scored.
By the end of the season, the Invincibles had won 26 and drawn 12 (Games 5, 6, 10, 14, 15. 17, 20, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36). So five of the last nine games were draws, which might colour your memory — or provide evidence for your case.
But could the Invincibles defend! Just 26 goals conceded in 38 games, with no opponent scoring more than twice.
The love they are getting from the refs.
Van Dick nearly demolished a player at the halfway line leading to Liverpool nearly scoring the equalizer, which they would have done if not for a great save. The referee didn’t move a muscle.
That was an awesomelicious (yes my word) game.
My 1 key takeaway from this game for me, is wow look at the wing players they have and that we do not have.
We let in 26 Ned?
We’ve let in 31 already and the season is only half way through???
Wow. Who’d have thought that we had issues at the back???
Mavropanos is back in training. Best news I have heard in a while.
Speaking for Ozil, his agent says he agrees with the values of Arsenal FC.
Visit Rwanda?
Speaking as a supporter of Arsenal FC who does not necessarily agree with the values of same.
The Invincibles were brilliant but underachievers, i absolutely loved that pool lost and i wish the only record we have as our bragging rights remains forever, “Invincibles”, ideally we should 49 next to it than just 38.
The fitness and speed levels of teams are so good nowadays and we pale in comparison, we amble and lumber around at times and on a few occasions, we quicken the pace, we win. Leicester, spurs games prime examples this season itself. This is not to sound sad but it is true, we just do not have those physically strong players anymore, the Vieras, Bergkamps, Herny’s etc. They were not just skill, they had the power.
Aaron set to leave and we should be thankful for his contributions, he may not have been the most talented to have played for us but boy, he gave his best all times, never sulked and helped us end the drought. All this after coming back from an injury most dont. Thanks Aaron, now juve can you give us a cb.
The Invincibles were great, but the 2002 Double winning team were even better, with all the best players still in their prime. By 2004, they were just beginning to wane and pretty soon after did. Nevertheless, 2004 team maybe did underachieve, as they were probably the best team in Europe at the time and could and should have have won the Champions League.
ESR is back in training too.
Blackpool may be too early
so I guess Aaron as AM.
Lot of Blackpool fans boycotting
games due to the Oystons so
it seems the 5,000 strong away
support may outnumber the
locals. Strange and I feel sorry
for the Blackpool fans.
Steve T@49: 🙂
One of the odder stats of the 2003-04 season is that despite the Invincibles’ defensive quality, they kept only 15 clean sheets. Chelsea had the league-leading 21 although they conceded 30 goals overall.
Ned.
The internet informs me that a later Mourinho Chav team only conceded 15 league goals one season.
And that Man City got 100 points in a season. I didn’t check how many games they lost.
Steve. Maybe I am hard to please. Although at the time I was over the moon. I think it is with hindsight that I wished to see The Invincibles’ OTHER statistics stack up better to the money teams that have come since. They were SO good.
I doubt that another team will go unbeaten. If they do then they will thoroughly deserve the plaudits. As do The Invincibles.
When Pool bought Mane I was not worried. He’s not great. Then they got him to play in a way that made him suddenly hugely effective. Running non-stop in a coordinated press like some sort of laser guided berserker. And scoring goals and getting assists.
Would I swap Bergkamp for Mane? No. No I would not. Thankyou Mr Banker. No deal.
But if none of the Liverpool players have the individual quality to get into our best side then let me pose this question…
Would God get Mane’s place in the current Liverpool setup?
In their current team I think Mane would be far more effective, despite his lack of footballing ability relative to DB10.
@58
The fact that Ozil is not in our team now is probably a reflection of this idea. If we had Ozil twenty years ago it’s not hard to imagine Wenger building a monster team around him. But there is no longer as much room for the genius of Ozil or God. It’s all about incredible fitness and trained patterns of play. There seems o be more consistency in the latter, even if it is those moments of genius that light up a match like nothing else.
There’s plenty of room for a genius player in any team, and the thing that hasn’t changed across time, be it 20 years or longer, is that you cannot have a so-called genius if he only does it in the odd game here and there.
It’s no use tearing a team apart one game if you then have ten games off, which is why Ozil is not playing and is on his way out, with luck.
True genius is being able to do it eight or nine games out of ten, not one or two, if you’re lucky.
Can you rely on your best player to do it when you most need him to? If you can, he’s worth keeping around. If you can’t, get rid and get someone in who gives you more.
Interesting debate GSD and all but with a depressing conclusion….football becoming less of an art? More robotic? I hope not.
Cynic @60. Spot on. An approach that can win championships. Just add money.
FA Cup 3rd round, woohoo! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
We don’t have to be honest or rational on here.
We were hugely privileged to support a team tha5 went the whole season unbeaten and in 1991 we only lost once when we ran out of Centre backs.
I get your very well made point GSD but really Bergkamp’s speed was in his control and his head . Could Mane score that goal up at Newcastle or the three at Leicester? It was awful that Ranieri has only beaten us once – thatgame at Highbury in the CL. We beat them three times that season !