It Felt Like Two Points Dropped
Sep 2nd, 2019 by 'holic
It’s hard to know where to begin with an account of the first North London derby of the season. I suppose chronologically to set the scene. I arrived at 12.30 (I didn’t want to miss the kick-off!) and spent a pleasant pub crawl in great company sipping rather unusually at refreshing Bloody Marys. It was evident from the time I arrived that a raucous atmosphere was building. It transferred into the Grove.
So the supporters most definitely did their bit, but what they witnessed was an astonishing contest. Both sides seemed out of sorts with the exception of Matteo Guendouzi for us and Son for Middlesex. Having said that we most definitely started on the front foot and Nicolas Pepe’s effort that just cleared the target hinted at better to come. Unfortunately it was the visitors who took the lead after a comedy of errors at the back, too many to mention, where we still have serious problems. Eriksen knocked home a tap-in.
That knocked us out of our stride. I had hoped beforehand to see a 4-2-1-3 but Unai Emery picked all three of the men of whom I thought two should start. That was amplified when Granit Xhaka threw himself into one of those absurd lunges in the area and presented Kane with the opportunity to double the lead. Remarkably the Swiss international avoided a card of any description although frankly he could not have complained if he had seen red.
Before the ball hit the net I had escaped to the bar. Fortunately they show the game on a big screen so I did not miss the moment when Guendouzi and Pepe combined to put in Alexandre Lacazette. With two exquisite touches he teed himself up to smash the ball past the helpless Loris and that would have lifted the spirits at the break.
The bulk of the second-half was all about us. How often do we come from behind to beat them. We have a mental hold over them at home. Would it be another 5-2? Frankly it should have been, particularly after we sent on Dani Ceballos for Lucas Torreira. Most thought it should have been Xhaka hooked so the Uruguayan was afforded a sympathetic standing ovation for a relatively average performance by his standards.
The midfield immediately had a better balance. The substitute himself saw a fine drive tipped over by Loris, Sead Kolasinac was a whisker away from a far post tap-in, and then a moment of magic. Guendouzi drove forward and played an unbelievable ball to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who got a stud on the ball to volley just inside the near post. 2-2 and game on.
The atmosphere had been outstanding throughout and now we were threatening to lift the roof off the stadium. Credit to the home support for their uplifting efforts. They should have been rewarded and thought a winner had arrived from the unlikely source of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, but had missed the assistant referee’s raised flag for Kolasinac being offside in the build-up.
Harry Kane once again demonstrated his chronic inner ear infection seeking to win yet another penalty as he stepped across Sokratis and hit the deck in theatrical fashion. No surprise there then.
The substitution of Lacazette by Henrikh Mkhitaryan was jeered by many but the striker had indicated that he had a problem and would need to come off. The choice of substitute appeared bizarre earlier today when Mkhitaryan departed on loan to Roma. Perhaps the manager thought Reiss Nelson a little too inexperienced for a tempestuous derby which nearly boiled over a couple of times.
The closing moments were surprisingly open and either side frankly could have nicked it. Neither did so two points were shared, although it felt like we had dropped two. We shouldn’t be happy at anything other than a win at home to them, and whilst I understand the degree of relief at the way it panned out they were most definitely there for the taking.
83 Responses to “It Felt Like Two Points Dropped”
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Foist?
It did indeed Guvna.
Yes you are Pangloss
The future is red.
Well said Guvnah.
Something I noticed yesterday, but forgot to mention in the previous bar.
I noticed that for many of the Tottnum goal kicks, we left Pepe, Lacazette and Aubamayang up around the 18 yard box, and each time, they kept five defenders back to cover them. Is this something we’ve done before this season; is Lloris particularly suspect with long kicks, which he was forced to resort to?
I’m also going to claim first place for moaning about the international break.
Bloody interlull.
COYG
No, I am Pangloss
That’s the game I saw, H.
Guendouzi is developing nicely. The workrate from Laca and PEA is superb and Pepe looks a good fit on the right. I was a bit underwhelmed by his performance in real time (indeed the phrase Eboue Mk 2 passed my lips) but I rewatched the game on Sky this morning and retract all my negative thoughts. The boy just needs a few more minutes and to score his first goal.
If we continue to select Xhaka over Ceballos then we will underachieve again this season. Leno’s handling needs work. Get some gorilla glue on those gloves.
@4, I think you’ll find that I am Spartacus.
[…] Original article: https://goonerholic.com/2019/09/it-felt-like-two-points-dropped/ […]
I think Xhaka was harshly criticised
Nice report H. Pretty much the game that I saw from my bar stool.
I think most of us agree on the majority of things. PEA and Laca will be a handful for any defence. Pepe I think will be a fantastic signing. I don’t quite get the criticism of him in the previous round of drinks. Henry and Bergkamp took time to find their feet and they turned out okay? Give him time and I think he will start to terrorise defences. When he builds up a proper understanding with the other front two then it could be a thing of beauty.
Two sloppy errors cost us two goals. How many times have we said that in recent years? We have started to address the issue but until we get Bellerin, Tierney and Holding back fit then we will not know for sure if we are on the right road with that.
Like everyone else the midfield trio surprised me. I have no idea what Xhaka brings to the party. Never have and not sure I ever will. I genuinely hope his days are numbered. No one was surprised with the penalty he gave away. It was just typical him. Guendouzi was outstanding and Torreira worked hard.
Mkhitarian making an appearance was also a shock considering his move today. Like many I have been totally underwhelmed with his performances. If he was on £200k a week surely the better option would have been to try and offload him a year ago and just give his wages to Rambo and made sure we kept him? He could have worn the armband and we might well have been able to get shot of Xhaka as a result???
Cut out the silly mistakes and who knows where we will end up. There is certainly a lot more quality in the squad now and if some of the youngsters can fulfill their potential then it could be the start of something very special.
Onwards and upwards people.
Two best players on the field were Guendouzi and Eriksen. If the latter leaves on a freebie it mightn’t be a bad idea to try and do a Sol next summer. Just saying.
Who are all these fuckers pretending to be me?
NIAS has a point- admittedly a completely invalid point but a point nevertheless.
Great account Holic, I also saw a similar game but I didn’t decamp to the bar in disgust?
As Harry got his habitual penalty against us( I made that five in NLDs) I turned to my neighbour and said I’d take 2-2. To his credit he felt we’d come back to win 4-2 . This shows a degree of faith I didn’t have. But the NLD must be the most exciting Premier League derby bar none. It regularly delivers goals and excitement, probably because the teams are well-matched. I’ve seen three 4-4s in my time plus lots of other goal bonanzas.
We did well to come back and scoring with twenty minutes to go should have gone on to win. I still think Nelson would have been a much better sub than Mkhi and Torreira should have stayed on in place of Xhaka who illuminated the final stages with lots of trips and passes to S***s players.
Ceballos made a big difference and Guendouzi had his most effective game I can remember. Up to know he has been red shoes and no knickers but there was real end product yesterday and his work rate was immense. He deserves his call-up for France today. There was a rumour that Juve were in for Mustafi but then the alarm went and I woke up. One further point. Auba was criticised for missing chances in pre-season. He has three in four and they add up to five points already. He is a top striker.
Pangloss
Re our front three pressing Lloris it is a function of the new goal-kick rule which has led to teams planting several men in the penalty area. Most teams are playing even shorter passes at the back and then eventually having to welt it up field which they could have done thirty seconds earlier.
One thing that is different is that we leave at least one player upfield when our opponents have a corner. Against Burnley we drew two of their team back to mark Pepe. Under Wenger we used to bring Theo back to defend when he would have been much better employed taking a position on the halfway line.
I’m 102 and often repeat myself. But I do remember us beating Leicester Fosse in 1924. Third goal was offside .
Who are all these fuckers pretending to be me ?
One point that emerged today is that after the various windows have closed we will have shaved £30 million off the annual wage bill which should give us much more leeway in subsequent transfer windows .
Apparently Roma paid us €3 m and will have to buy Mkhi if he plays 25 games for them. Raul is a bit of a star if you ask me
Prediction. Mkhi will play 24 games
Nice to know Kirk Douglas follows the site but that third goal against Leicester Fosse was perfectly legal. I reckon his mind’s going.
TTG
Guendouzi all red shoes and no knickers.
LOL ???
“Theo much better employed on the half-way line”, TTG? As a flag you mean?
The flags used to beat the hell out of him in training by all accounts but Arsene insisted they were too wooden to play on Saturdays and so picked the gutless wonder. He wasn’t as shit as Pepe in his first two games according to some.
“they were too wooden to play
on Saturdays”
You should know all about wooden
Kirk
Thanks for the report Guvnor.
The Mkhi choice was quite
strange as a sub. Why have him
in the squad at all?
Good luck to Kelechi Nwakali
too.
Mustafi stays to warm the bench
in the Carabao Cup I suppose.
Going to be a long few months
for him. He isn’t good enough
but he’s not that bad and I
hope he finds somewhere in
January.
Is the option to buy if Mkhi
plays 25 games correct?
BBC was reporting there was
no option.
Better if he leaves really as
we just have the same
problem next summer otherwise.
Hearing from Kirk Douglas certainly makes me feel a bit more youthful, not necessarily to agree with the geezer’s opinions.
Apropos the Walcott v Pepe discussion.
OK, Walcott was 16 when he joned us and very inexperienced but fast. An immediate observation was that he was fast but could not control the ball. “Give him time,” they said, “He’s just a boy!” We gave him time. He remained fast, was cool in the box and had a good shot. He developed a turn (his one trick) but never developed any other ball skills in all his time with us. I’m guessing he isn’t in the Everton starting 11 for that very reason. Nice man apparently, loved the Arsenal, earned a lot of money but never the player we needed. We hoped and hoped. There were flashes (usually at contract negotiation time), but too often it was “Unlucky Feo!” or “FFS Feo!”
Now, Pepe. Older than Feo was when he arrived and with some top level (well French top level) experience under his belt but with the finest of touches, bursts of pace and turns that make you dizzy just watching. Yes he needs to deliver a better final ball (remember Feo?) and improve his shooting. But this fella gives you real hope that he will deliver. He just needs to score his first goal and then I think he will grow into this team. He also clearly doesn’t lack confidence. Exciting times again.
I was just going through the list of players to come and go over the last 18 months or so. It’s more than substantial. Some major changes have taken place. All that, and despite many best efforts in sure, and we still can’t even give Mustafi away?????
Steve @20, that is the combined effect of inflated salary plus a bad rap/rep. I saw stats at the weekend that show Mustafi beats Maguire on every defensive parameter. However it didn’t include ‘brain-farts’, not that Maguire doesn’t have them either.
The Arsenal crowd have always had a scape-goat for as long as I’ve known them. Mustafi is by no means the worst CB I have seen play for us. Now he is staying for at least another 6 months I suspect he will have a part to lay in the outcome of our season. Hopefully it’s a positive part.
There are people defending emery’s selection and subs?? i mean home game against the enemy, spurs had no team whatsoever except for Eriksen and we start with zilch creativity in the midfield and expected our forward line up to just have a great game?? I am sorry Emery fucked this up. Torriera/Xhaka/Geundouzi as a midfield? was it really necessary? first half both xhaka and Matteo were all running no sense, Lucas only one with the drive and in the second half he gets hauled and leaves Matteo to do all the running which he did very well. The point is were we trying to win the game or not lose? Ceballos coming on changed the momentum and if anyone tells me Mkhi was better off to come on than Ozil, i need to stop watching the game completely.
2 points dropped, stupidly open and gung-ho defending, lacazette and Aubameyang saving the day yet again. How long will this be?
The question to ask Emery is, what are you trying to do? if you think planning your team to contain the opposition’s strengths is your strategy, then it is hopeless. Arsenal should have won the game easily and we ended up dropping 2 points more, the inter lull should hopefully drill some sense to Unai for without that, we may be regretting too many times this season, a season where a top-four is definitely possible.
Bad day Vinay? Bit strong mate. Long way to go.
bath.
Feo jonesed us when he was 16? He was such a light touch I didn’t even notice.
joined? 🙂
KD@11 @TTG@ 12: You are both losing your minds. We did not play Leicester City (as the Fosse had been since 1919) at all in 1924. Just check the videotape for the season.
OM
Not only did we negotiate the option to transfer Mkhi if he plays 25 games, Roma are picking up all of his salary. If Carlsberg did transfer windows they would have done the one we just had.
This window shows the contrast when proper planning and negotiation teams are in place. We had so many windows when Ivan and Arsene fumbled their way through . I have been told that the loss of David Dein was a blow to Arsene who relied on his dynamism and contacts. He also wouldn’t countenance dealing with the super agents which Sanllehi does regularly. He also kept changing his mind and latterly had the very un-dynamic Dick Law doing his negotiation for him. Our transfer machinery was less than optimal.
We have shaved so much money off the wage bill it gives us lots of room to be more aggressive in January. Remember last year? We lacked a pot to piss in and wasted what we had on Dennis Suarez.
If you want a TTG tip do not be surprised if we go in for Zaha in January. Having unloaded Mkhi and accepted a lot of money for Iwobi we could do with some more experience out wide. He did not move in the last few days of the continental windows and is keen to join the club he supported. This becomes even more likely if Mesut does decide to move to Washington in January.
I feel a sense of confidence in the off-field management of Arsenal I’ve not felt since Dein and Ken Friar were running the show.
Hey Ned,
Don’t quibble with a Hollywood legend pal. I’m right even when I’m wrong . I remember Fosse rhymed with Posse and I was in plenty of those.
As for that TTG he knows nothing. The offside rule changed in 1925.
By the way did you know I used to be that gladiator fella? Wotsisname as you Brits say .
Apropos the Walcott v Pepe discussion
There hasn’t really been one, all there has been is the usual over reaction to a bit of criticism, which exaggerated that criticism to make it far more than it was, and then lumped in Walcott for a comparison that was as irrelevant as it was daft.
When people try to paint criticism as something far worse than was actually said, it makes me wonder if those over egging it are subconsciously expressing fears of their own.
But that’s probably gobbledegook and they’re just being jessies.
Speaking of jessies, if cba is on the lurk, hope you’re doing ok and not missing the long nights of posting obscurish tunes too much.
If you’re not lurking … fuck ya then! 🙂
Cynic. @29. The whole post was gobbledegook.
If you want to read again my response to what you said about Pepe then the first line was that I agreed with your general point. Hardly “the usual over reaction to a bit of criticism, which exaggerated that criticism to make it far more than it was”.
The Walcott comparison was not brilliant analysis. Fair enough. But it was not so off the point as to be ‘irrelvant’ or ‘daft’. You are a guy who consistently digs outs players you take against and champions your own favourites. Nothing wrong with that, per se, but don’t expect the rest of us not to notice it or comment on it.
No one painted your ”criticism as something far worse than was actually said” and if you took it that way then that is entirely up to you. But don’t blame others for your response at the same time as you patronisingly give us the options between your own Freudian analysis or that we are just being ‘jessies’.
Holic. Cheers.
That is the game I saw. It is so frustrating that we now have two weeks before we get any real football.
ttg@67 from previous drinks…THANK YOU! woo hoo! we’ll talk. 😀 in the meantime, a bottle of your favorite on the bar for you.
i still haven’t watched the game, but watched clips from it, and both goals were taken silly good. xhaka needs to be a sub in europa league games where we’re up by six. or joining mustafi on the back bench. when i come to london in october i’m sending kane a speedo and swim hat. i’ll watch the whole game tonight and see, but thank you guv for your eyes and your ever-excellent writing.
the next few weeks i’ll be doing my winnie-the-pooh imitation, rum-tumming along through my days 🙂
Here’s one for cba:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh9W0Fmn3m8
Slàinte Mhath, duine mòr
Thanks for the clarification
@27 TTG. Agreed. Getting rid
of Mkhi’s wages and getting
money from Roma is a
great deal.
I’d still rather buy Fraser
than Zaha. Just an opinion.
I don’t think Zaha is worth
the hassle he brings.
I can’t say I’m sorry we’ve
sold any of the players we’ve
let go over the past couple of
years – a succession of never-
wozzers and rarely-fitters.
Except Nacho…..oh, and Kos
who was a cracking CB for a
while.
KD@28: Its all been downhill since the 1863 rule changes.
Today in TGSTEL news. Our hero joins his home-town club Copenhagen.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/49561709
35 goals in 86 games wasn’t
bad for TGSTEL.
He’s getting closer to his
actual level.
Matt. If we wait another 9 months or so Fraser will be available on a free. As will a few other high profile players if they do not sign new deals.
TTG@27. Your last paragraph. Couldn’t agree more.
Steve T
That seems a reasonable plan,
in the meantime we can have a
look at Nelson and Martinelli
before deciding whether we need
to chase Fraser.
Matt
The one plus point of the Europa is that we get to play some of those that wouldn’t normally get a lot of game time. I would expect both Nelsin and Martinelli to feature quite strongly. Along with others such as Willock and ESR.
Steve T,
Yes, even the Ropey League has
one good point 🙂
As it’s the interlull I’ll have a crack
at my Ropey League team
Martinez
AMN Calum Rob Kola
Willock Xhaka
Sako ESR Nelson
Martinelli
Don’t know if all of them will be fit.
We could play Auba/Laca for a half
each against Frankfurt I suppose but
I’d rather not as I don’t much care
if we go out at the group stage.
Also it might be useful as a warm-up
game for some of the players coming
back from injury.
OM
Interesting team
I think we are short of strikers after letting Nketiah go on loan.
I think John- Jules will be first cab off the rank
TTG,
I was wondering about CF as I
don’t know anything about John-
Jules.
Martinelli struck me as the one who
might be able to adapt.
John-Jules was excellent in pre season, albeit more as a 10 than a striker. I really like him and think his time is coming.
Balogun is another who may get a Ropey League run-out at No 9. He is still only 18 but starting for the U-21s and a highly regarded prospect.
C100@46: John-Jules certainly caught the eye in pre-season. He, too, is still only 18. He has been playing for the U-23s mostly as a No 10 this season, but was used as a nine or, occasionally, on the right wing last season.
(re Balogun above, U-21s should be U-23s, too)
It’s too early to judge Pepe. I don’t understand those who are already criticising the lad. Would like to see AMN given a chance in midfield at some point.
94-2 in the cricket and Smith is starting to bed in! I’m gonna make a prediction either Smith will get himself out or he’ll make 200 runs on his own and scupper any chance we have of getting the Ashes back.
I’ve seen both John- Jules and Balogun in the youth team . I was more taken by Balogun but both are clearly very talented. I understand John- Jules is extremely highly rated at the club. Loss of Welbeck restricts our options but he wasn’t worth what he was demanding as a salary .
We’ll be seeing Welbeck after
the Interlull. I hope he doesn’t
stick it to us the way he did to
Manure.
Finally seen the highlights of the game. Conclusions:
Laca (top)
Auba (top)
Xhaka (not top)
My humble apologies friends.
Last night I watched Essex reach the finals day of the Vitality blast away to Lancashire.
Tonight I am recording this week’s ABW podcast.
Tomorrow I have my last golf day of the season at Chipping Norton.
The next post will be on Saturday.
Thank you for your understanding.
Just some reflections on Emery and our squad. First, I have never yet known anyone to predict correctly the Arsenal team for any game under Emery, no one on this site, no pundit and no journalist. He seems to throw a curve ball every game. Is he the new Tinkerman? I hope not. Some of his decisions I find perplexing. Away at Liverpool he had three up front and three in midfield, including two players new to the rigours of the Premier League. It was a game crying out for five at the back, Laca and Auba up front and Pepe on the bench. With Spurs, he had no creativity in midfield and three up front. Pepe again should have been on the bench and Ozil or Ceballos in midfield. Pepe needs to be eased in not thrown in. Have the three up front at home against the lesser teams.
Also, why try to play out from the back at Liverpool?? He did the same last season against City on the first day of the season and we were crap at it and made it very easy for a depleted City. Why not delay it until you are up against a lesser team?
Despite the above, I am most definitely not calling for his departure and I will back him all the way as I did AW. I actually think we have a very promising squad of players and we could even mount a challenge this season. I do worry that some supporters will undermine some of our players, eg Mustafi and Xhaka. I have never ever jeered an Arsenal player and never would. It can only make them play worse.
Follow up question for the Monks, Ned. How often has Emery started the same 11 players in consecutive PL matches?
Devon Stu,
Terrific post. My thoughts exactly in Emery in that his thinking is muddled in the extreme and he very rarely pucks the right team to start a game. He makes huge selectorial mistakes in big games like the two you have referenced.
I wish him well this season but in my opinion he is at best a second rank thinker and we will never attain what I believe are reasonable expectations for a club of our stature with him in charge. Sanllehi is no fool and will see him at close quarters. He is also a hard bastard. So Emery needs to convince him he can match the sort of ambition that Raul is demonstrating. If he takes us into next season it will mean he has achieved top 4 at least and possibly won a cup , especially the CL.
DS@55: The last time he did it was in January, v Fulham and then West Ham.
Letting Nacho go before the
NLD was not UE’s decision
it seems. Nacho chose not
to play.
And Mkhi didn’t know about
the Roma move until after
the NLD. So I can understand
why he was on the bench –
although I still wouldn’t have
brought him on.
It is becoming abundantly clear that with cba on the sidelines each and every one of us is going to have to increase our share of the heavy lifting.
Roma took the Mkhi.
😀 😀 😀
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc-Y6XeVfMM
Thank you for your speedy response, Ned.
‘Holic@53: Enjoy.
@59 bt8
A bit like Arsenal without
Ozil? Raise our collective
creativity.
Adios Mr Mkhitaryan
thanks for fuck …
Mkhi got 13 assists and 9 goals
in 59 games.
He was disappointing but that
end product mainly from wide
right is better than say Iwobi or
Ox I believe – and we got 35m
each for them.
No doubt the monks will tell me
if I’m wrong.
And calling the Alexis / Mkhi
swap the worst ever is also
unfair while I’m at it.
Sanchez was a disaster for
Manure, Mkhi was a so-so
average player for us, it’s
just that we expected much
more than we got and so
rightly we let him go.
OM@68: You are so very right:
Iwobi
149 games, 8,841 minutes played, 15 goals and 27 assists
Mkhi
59 games, 3,845 minutes played, nine goals, 13 assists
AOC
198 games, 10,461 minutes played, 20 goals, 32 assists
So on a per minute played basis, Mkhi was the most effective of the three — goal every 427 minutes and an assist every 296 minutes, against 523 and 327 for the Ox and 589 and 327 for Iwobi.
And you are right @67, too.
Quick work from the Monks
there – no Interlull for them.
Thanks Ned!
So there you have it ladies
and gentlemen, in the case
of the Crowd vs Henrikh
Mkhitaryan, the defence rests.
Face it the Ashes is lost. I’ve given that ghost up with Leach’s no-ball. However it is Manchester in September (come on rain, do your job!).
I can name a keeper better than Leno, Rui Patricio. But even he has his moments. I can forgive Leno that one. I don’t get why every one is being so hard on the lad when we’ve got Sokratis and Xhaka making mistakes week-in, week-out.
I’m not convinced with UE, but the proof will be when he abandons ship at the end of the season. I hope we go for someone like NES when he does.
Torreira is a decent player, but he isn’t the midfield anchor C is making him out to be. He certainly isn’t a Kante and not even a Henderson. We have a lot of midfielder’s and hopefully with the contention for places we might see better performances. We certainly not far off of being a top four team again and I do believe that we can get fourth place this season, provided everyone stays fit.
Cheers H!
“15OsakaMatt
“they were too wooden to play
on Saturdays”
You should know all about wooden
Kirk”
Best drink in many a long year!
Henry,
Don’t be quite so pessimistic!
We need to draw this Test and go to the Oval with all to play for .
If we win there the Ashes are ours. I will be there next Thursday . I am a lucky omen
I agree with TTG @73.
Henry.
Who is being hard on Leno? I don’t use social media, is it there? I haven’t seen him getting stick.
There is a lot of football to be played this season and I’m not at all convinced that we won’t do quite well. I think it’s more likely that we will sack Emery if he does not do well enough than that he will abandon ship. Frankly, I can’t see either happening and have no idea where your certainty that Emery will quit at the end of the season comes from.
If you don’t rate Torreira then I disagree. If you would rather have Henderson than Torreira then I don’t know what to say. I, err, disagree most strongly.
Roy. The Mustafi of cricket.
This chart is interesting to data nerds like me as it reveals the playing styles of all the PL teams. My main conclusion re Arsenal is that we are looking to break at speed and use our speed upfront to advantage- hence one presumes the signing of Pepe
https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11661/11802620/premier-league-club-styles-revealed-in-advanced-opta-stats
Interesting metrics, TTG, and I will look into them further to divine any possible meaningful analysis. Always thought PPDA stood for purposeful public display of affection though. 😉
Henderson – just No.
Leno was saved some stick by the
comedy defending in front of him
I think. Couple of big game mistakes
but mostly ok so far.
We need Laca / Auba/ Leno to stay fit
for 4th – elsewhere we’re covered.
I was chatting to someone connected with the club loosely who told me that Nketiah is highly regarded and that Emery wanted him to stay but he preferred regular football on loan. He appears to be thriving at Leeds and we clearly chose his Lian club carefully . Europa league squads will be interesting. We won’t go to Frankfurt without Laca or Auba starting but I think we should really play the youngsters in the Carabao Cup and if the strikers we use there flourish we can use them in the Europa if we are doing reasonably well.
I won’t hear a word of criticism about off-field organisation which is the best it has been for aeons but I hope we have a recall option for Nketiah if we hit injuries. If Nketiah was so highly regarded by Emery I think he should have used him more last season
If I was UE I’d have wanted
to keep Eddie as well.
It’s an interesting example of
why a coach and a director of
football might disagree. There
are two different arguments in
this case.
AW really may have been the
last of his kind. I understand
there may be many different
opinions about that but just my
opinion is I’m glad we tried.
4/5 ton brightens an otherwise lullish day.
Nketiah and Nelson propping up an otherwise sinking English ship?
Watford part company with their manager, no doubt looking for a post-interlull boost against Arsenal. Beware.
Thanks for being patient. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>