City will mash the spuds but I'm hoping Daddy Mourinho can park the bus for long enough to cause City to drop a couple points.
City will mash the spuds but I'm hoping Daddy Mourinho can park the bus for long enough to cause City to drop a couple points.
Great performances by Santi and Gnarby.
Ozil is a good player, and i'm very thankful for what his signing has meant to this team. But he is becoming Hleb, he just doesn't try to have a go at the goal at all, when he's in a good position to do something. Unless it's a clear cut chance, he's passing it up.
Santi when he is on it.
So good to watch.
Oh and Poldi's left foot.
Originally Posted by Master Splinter
5 minute patch of power play does it again.
Awful first half. Much better in the second, if still hugely wasteful in the final third.
Good games from Szczesny, Monreal, Koscielny, Wilshere, Gnabry and Cazorla who stepped up in the second period.
I hope all the people constantly saying Flamini is the much better option over Arteta have seen how much Arteta is missed in recent games. Flamini is supposedly a ball-winning terrier, but Fulham had periods where they dominated the possession and when we did have the ball, Flamini doesn't set any tempo and can also be erratic and loose with his passing. Arteta - or a ball distributor who is superior to Arteta - is essential for us. Flamini can be useful in some games, but he should be no more than a decent back-up option.
Anyway, another useful win, Wilshere getting back to his best with a run of influential performances, Gnabry impressive again and defensively solid once more.
Oh, and Koscielny is a monstrous player.
Arsenal.
The defence did not concede so credit to the guy who was covering and protecting ( Flamini ) . He still has my vote over Arteta while I also rate the latter highly .
The thing is it is the team work . Everyone must do their bit properly . The culprits are the lads at the other end of the pitch . They kept losing the ball easily and unnecessarily . They couldn't even make some combinations which is the basic of our game . At some stage , Fulham looked like " Old Arsenal " with their passes and we looked like Stoke or Wigan . That put too much pressure on our midfield and defence and made Flamini looked "average" . But he was doing a very good job protecting and organising his teammates who started to panic under pressure .
DO NOT POSTPONE TODAY'S DUTY FOR TOMORROW .IT MAY BE TOO LATE .
Our midfield weren't pressing. You could see that and you need to press as a unit to win the ball back. Flam only won 1 tackle out of 3 attempts. Cazorla didn't attempt a tackle, whilst Ozil, Wilshere and Gnarby all had 1/1 each. Kos and our wingbacks won the most tackles.
Flam and Cazorla won 4 interceptions each but no other midfield player won the ball. That's pretty bad. Not enough hustle from a lot of players.
He's going for the easy option all the time. We're not seeing a great team performance where he's dictating the flow, making space for others consistently and we're not seeing great solo performances where he's trying to make things happen when we're looking for that vital goal.
Despite his errors, I liked Gnarby's approach of trying to drive forwards and get cracks in goal even if the shots were well wide. Always thought Cazorla and Ozil should take that approach because players with their skill and experience would have more luck with a crack on goal or taking on their man. Cazorla stepped it up in the second half and did what I was hoping he'd do as an experienced player.
If anything I think Mesut Hleb is making it harder for himself rather than easy. The guy will look to pass no matter how difficult the option is, rather than take on some responsibility and shoot. He's completely selfless and it's easy to see why selfish players like Ronaldo loved him for it.
Unfortunately for us we have a lot of players like him already so it can be frustrating at times when he does this, as you expect a little bit more from a guy of his undoubted ability.
Last edited by Marc Overmars; 19-01-2014 at 10:25 AM.
He said recently he knows he isn't playing at his best and his sub reaction tells it all. He'll get there eventually. What I'd like to see from him is more aggression. More take ons and attempts to dance pass his man instead of a lay off. Someone also mentioned that he linked up better with Ramsey on another forum. It also sounds like he likes when Rosicky is playing. He gave him a lot of praise last week.
Szczesny - 6 - Off his line quickly to deal to get to ball before Kacaniklic (who the stadium announcer got tongued tied with) smart save from Steve Sidwell but almost spilled a ball from a free kick and got mugged by Darren Bent in stoppage time.
Monreal - 5 Every time he cleared the danger the ball seemed to land straight back at the feet of a Fulham player.
Koscielny - 8 Wasn't at all frightened to get stuck in to crunching tackles
Mertesacker - 6 - Calm and measured most of the game but had a few iffy moments from set pieces
Sagna - 6 - Defended reasonably well but a lot of his ball distribution was poor in setting up counter attacks and his crossing left something to be desired.
Flamini - 6 - Guilty of giving the ball away too much, although in the second half he was winning back possession more after ceding it.
Wilshere - 7 - Drove the attack forward through the middle of the park, some of his passes were a little too cute but good link up with Cazorla for the opening goal.
Cazorla - 8 - Looked isolated at times on the flanks in the first half, moved into the middle in the second half and took his goals very well.
Ozil - 5 - Was put through on goal by Wilshere in the opening five minutes but fluffed the chance, after that was constantly miscontrolling passes with a heavy touch....not a good afternoon for him.
Gnabry - 6 - A couple of wayward shots in the first half, linked up well in the attacks in the second half....drew good save from Steklenberg.
Giroud - 5 - Held up the ball well for others a few times just outside the Fulham Box, but really offered very little in the way of goal threat himself.
Subs:
Podolski - 7 - Looked dangerous as soon as he came on and was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet
Oxlade Chamberlain - 6 - Fairly anonymous but came close to scoring in the closing stages of the game.
Really disagree with the ratings for Flamini and Monreal. Flams got a 98% pass completion rate so he wasn't reckless in possession. I only recall that miscontrolled pass from the keeper that ended up with a shot on goal but I have no idea why Chesney played it short anyway.
Monreal set up Cazorla and was very positive on attack. Won all his tackles, covered well and didn't leave us exposed....5 is very harsh for him.
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