Match Reaction v Citeh (away).

[SMatthews]

I agree, with the current options we are where we are irrespective of the quality of the manager.

I think we just need to invest and squad build wisely. I don't think we are going to need "City" level investment to improve...we obviously won't be getting that investment anyway.

We just need to build the squad wisely.

Definitely not City level of investment but we have to make the most of what we have. That's why I've been banging the drum about Lacazette and sacrificing for long term gain. I'd love to keep him as he's a great player to watch but we all know our budget isn't going to be mega. That means taking a lot of risks that might not all pan out. Plus, the mess upstairs with back room changes isn't helping matters.

All we have to do is look at Utd to see how hard this is going to be. And they've had hundreds of millions to throw at it too. Another year from now will tell us about the direction we are going as a club. Right now we can only make wild guesses that may or may not be true.

[Bumble]

Definitely not City level of investment but we have to make the most of what we have. That's why I've been banging the drum about Lacazette and sacrificing for long term gain. I'd love to keep him as he's a great player to watch but we all know our budget isn't going to be mega. That means taking a lot of risks that might not all pan out. Plus, the mess upstairs with back room changes isn't helping matters.

All we have to do is look at Utd to see how hard this is going to be. And they've had hundreds of millions to throw at it too. Another year from now will tell us about the direction we are going as a club. Right now we can only make wild guesses that may or may not be true.

If we aren't going to be able to put in a lot of fresh capital then like Liverpool did, we need to sell and reinvest in 2-3 players. The saleable assets are Lacazette, Bellerin, Ozil to a point, Mustafi for a bag of chips. that could raise £120m+ with that you could get 5 good players. and mustafi wont be around.

Across a season we cant compete with City, but in a one of game we should be able to do something especially as for 30 odd mins we did quite well.

I do like Laca and Auba up front with Ramsey/Ozil behind. think that would work the best.

[KSE Comedy Club]

I would like to know what has happened since the unbeaten run earlier in the season, that isn't being followed through and drummed into the players in training?

We at least looked like Emery was having some kind of positive influence on the squad, even commentators were saying how together they looked and that we had a combativeness about us and not pushovers anymore.

Defence has gotten worse each week, we can't even keep a clean sheet when bossing a game and 2 or 3-0 up!
We looked like a different league team yesterday - not so much in the first half as, once we scored, we at least had a few chances. But that second half - just a poor, inexcusable performance.

City are beatable, and if we had played against them like we did against Chelsea or Spurs we could have got something from the game.

Now, I know people are going to say that we have lost a lot of players to injury and what we have left isn't as good, but surely, if Emery is laying out his vision and setting up tactically for each team, then it shouldn't matter as much.

I've said it before, but our attack looks inept, tired and out of ideas. Players are in the wrong positions constantly, no one runs into the box to get on the end of crosses or when they do, they look to pass to someone else or lay it off - all of which usually ends up with the opposition taking possession.

Where are the direct, pacy runs through the centre that Aubameyang can get on the end of?
Or the quick one two's that lay Lacazette off, to have a shot or two?
Or the shots from range that unsettle the keeper and defence?
Or any kind of pace to our play what so ever?

We have looked like a Wenger team at times this season, and I have forgiven Emery for that, as it seems the players are still on a come down from the Wenger era - but should he not be giving the players a bollocking after each game & using his videos & analysis that we were told about, to show them where they are going wrong? Most managers would even without all the analysis.

Where is the improvement in defence? I mean come the fuck on, should we really be this shit at keeping the opposition out? Even with the players we have we should be a damn sight more improved under a new management team than we were under Wenger but we are inexplicably worse.

I said I would give Emery 3 seasons but he really needs to step up for the rest of this season tactically and with player selection or he his gonna quickly fall out of favour with most. I'm all for giving a new manager time, but I have to backtrack and eat my words if the new manager comes in and repeats the same mistakes that we have spent the last 12 years watching.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Emery talks contsantly about control in midfield. Ramsey is going and Suarez is coming in, so I suspect he feels Suarez has the culture and nous to play the way he wants.

As far as I'm concerned though....I don't care about the new age Arsenal. I'd have done everything I could to keep Cazorla here, signed a veteran like Godin for a couple years and persisted with AMN and had him coached and micro managed to crap to play full back if we were this short of money.

I think Leno was very good yesterday but a keeper who is poor at coming for the ball in the premier league strikes me as a problem.

Wouldn't kill us to keep an eye on the next short, stocky South American forward from the streets or school of hard knocks neither. We need tough players with solid technical ability in attack. Tevez, Sanchez, Aguero, Dybala mould, though clearly we have at last got 2 top forwards. Doesn't stop people suggesting Aubameyang should be dropped every week though.

[Özim]

I would like to know what has happened since the unbeaten run earlier in the season, that isn't being followed through and drummed into the players in training?

We at least looked like Emery was having some kind of positive influence on the squad, even commentators were saying how together they looked and that we had a combativeness about us and not pushovers anymore.

Defence has gotten worse each week, we cant even keep a clean sheet when bossing a game and 2 or 3-0 up!
We looked like a different league team yesterday - not so much in the first half as, once we scored, we at least had a few chances. But that second half - just poor, inexcusable performance.

City are beatable, and if we had played against them like we did against Chelsea or Spurs we could have got something from the game.

Now, I know people are going to say that we have lost a lot of players to injury and what we have left isn't as good, but surely, if Emery is laying out his vision and setting up tactically for each team, then it shouldn't matter as much.

Iv'e said it before, but our attack looks inept, tired and out of ideas. Players are in the wrong positions constantly, no one runs into the box to get on the end of crosses or when they do, they look to pass to someone else or lay it off - all of which usually ends up with the opposition taking possession.

Where are the direct, pacy runs through the centre that Aubameyang can get on the end of?
Or the quick one two's that lay Lacazette off, to have a shot or two?
Or the shots from range that unsettle the keeper and defence?
Or any kind of pace to our play what so ever?

We have looked like a Wenger team at times this season, and I have forgiven Emery for that, as it seems the players are still on a come down from the Wenger era - but should he not be giving the players a bollocking after each game & using his videos & analysis that we were told about, to show them where they are going wrong? Most managers would even without all the analysis.

Where is the improvement in defence? I mean come the fuck on, should we really be this shit at keeping the opposition out? Even with the players we have we should be a damn sight more improved under a new management team than we were under Wenger but we are inexplicably worse.

I said I would give Emery 3 seasons but he really needs to step up for the rest of this season tactically and with player selection or he his gonna quickly fall out of favour with most. I'm all for giving a new manager time, but I have to backtrack and eat my words if the new manager comes in and repeats the same mistakes that we have spent the last 12 years watching.

Got to agree with you, for me I'm not seeing Emery's style of play or plan, it's all very similar to Wenger at the moment, we've got pace up front, I just don't get why we don't try and exploit it.

Also agree about our combativeness, seems to have disappeared, likewise the defence there's been zero improvemement, considering how bad Wenger was with defending it's a bit of a shocker to be honest.

What we can't forget in the unbeaten run is that we got pretty lucky though, we failed to turn up in almost all the 1st half of games in that run and got lucky the teams we played weren't good enough to punish us, when they were we lost.

I was pretty upbeat about Emery at the start, he seemed to be changing things, we were seeing obvious differences, but I feel he's lost his way in the last few months and his favouritism for certain players is annoying tbh.

[Özim]

Emery talks contsantly about control in midfield. Ramsey is going and Suarez is coming in, so I suspect he feels Suarez has the culture and nous to play the way he wants.

As far as I'm concerned though....I don't care about the new age Arsenal. I'd have done everything I could to keep Cazorla here, signed a veteran like Godin for a couple years and persisted with AMN and had him coached and micro managed to crap to play full back if we were this short of money.

I think Leno was very good yesterday but a keeper who is poor at coming for the ball in the premier league strikes me as a problem.

Wouldn't kill us to keep an eye on the next short, stocky South American forward from the streets or school of hard knocks neither. We need tough players with solid technical ability in attack. Tevez, Sanchez, Aguero, Dybala mould, though clearly we have at last got 2 top forwards. Doesn't stop people suggesting Aubameyang should be dropped every week though.

The thing about Suarez is that he only played for Emery for one season, at the end of that season he didn't even try to sign him, moreover to me he doesn't really seem like a player who is going to control play, he seems to make the odd run and pass, his highlight reel isn't that impressive either, wich considering they can make the worst players look like world beaters is worrying.

I just don't see what Suarez can add, I agree with you about Cazorla he was perfect, real talent and eye for a pass, good skill and could shoot a proper playmaker and even at his age he could still perform as his game wasn't reliant on pace. What we need is another player like him, not Denis Suarez.

Godin would have been great, he's top notch and he's the kind of player young players could learn so much from, I'm not usually an advocate for older players, but Godin is start quality.

We'll need to start looking for another forward anyway, Aubameyang won't be around for years and years, be good to get a young player with potential who can then takeover eventually, South America is the perfect market for that.

[Letters]

I was pretty upbeat about Emery at the start, he seemed to be changing things, we were seeing obvious differences, but I feel he's lost his way in the last few months and his favouritism for certain players is annoying tbh.

People who said that Wenger was a bumbling idiot and anyone would do better

[SMatthews]

If we aren't going to be able to put in a lot of fresh capital then like Liverpool did, we need to sell and reinvest in 2-3 players. The saleable assets are Lacazette, Bellerin, Ozil to a point, Mustafi for a bag of chips. that could raise £120m+ with that you could get 5 good players. and mustafi wont be around.

Across a season we cant compete with City, but in a one of game we should be able to do something especially as for 30 odd mins we did quite well.

I do like Laca and Auba up front with Ramsey/Ozil behind. think that would work the best.

Absolutely - the other obstacle we may have to overcome in that scenario is will the sale funds be made available for reinvestment, or go elsewhere now that Stan is our overlord. Given the prices players are gong for now we could see Laca and/or Bellerin for £60-80 million each. With Bellerin out until next season that only leaves Laca on the table. We’d have to take a hit with a Ozil as no club is going to pay a big fee and his wages.

What we have to realise as fans is that without the very best players, the mistakes managers make (which happens all the time like any other person in their job) they are less likely to be covered up. It’s what we’ve seen since moving the new stadium and will continue to be the case unless we do exceptionally well in the transfer market. Or, if we stumble across the next Pochittino or early Wenger. It’s a high wire act that doesn’t leave much room for mistake on or off the pitch.

[Mac76]

If we aren't going to be able to put in a lot of fresh capital then like Liverpool did, we need to sell and reinvest in 2-3 players. The saleable assets are Lacazette, Bellerin, Ozil to a point, Mustafi for a bag of chips. that could raise £120m+ with that you could get 5 good players. and mustafi wont be around.

Across a season we cant compete with City, but in a one of game we should be able to do something especially as for 30 odd mins we did quite well.

I do like Laca and Auba up front with Ramsey/Ozil behind. think that would work the best.

selling Laca and /or Bellerin would leave us even worse off and needing two players that could do the things that, err, Laca and Bellerin do

but agree that Ozil can link up well with Laca and Auba, i think he's another one who really suffers from having an unsettled team, when i've watched him on the odd occasion he actually plays the other players aren't used to looking out for him - which is usually in a position with space to go forwards or play in others

having said that he does need to be more consistent but again that's tricky if he's not getting a run in the team

[Marc Overmars]

The problem is even if we did sell our valuable players (which I don't agree with anyway) without CL football we would still struggle to bring in the required quality. It's not just a top 3 or 4 anymore, everyone has money now and everyone is a bigger draw than us thanks to our years of standing still.

Ozil we should definitely offer out to the highest bidder though.