Match Reaction vs Aston Villa (away).

[McNamara That Ghost...]

A real stinker of a performance yet we win again. :dance:

[GP]

Easy.

Top of the motherfuckin league.

[Power n Glory]

3 points...shit performance...meh!
Top of the league.

[Master Splinter]

Another struggle against Villa. :rolleyes:

Poor performance. Stupid mistakes.

Need to start being ruthless.

[The Emirates Gallactico]

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/512/media/images/72261000/jpg/_72261798_e0e938ba-1d9a-44bc-985a-8d9e0ae4539c.jpg

[Özil's Panoramic View]

To The Top. :bow:

Frustratingly failed once again to smash a team we had on the ropes and allowed them back in causing undue stress in the end, but still did enough to secure an all too important 3 points.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Wheelchair gets MotM. Well done to him for the productivity tbf.

[Penguin]

Shite performance

3 points

I'll take that every week

[Niall_Quinn]

Is this a moan from jack?

[McNamara That Ghost...]

I don't think so, just what all players do - state their preferred position then go all non-committal and talk about competiton for places.

We do struggle against Lambert teams for some reason. Never beaten his sides by more than a single goal.

[Özim]

Good pub team win.

[Globalgunner]

Played crap, got the 3 points. We own the rights to any book of that title. When will this team finally arrive?

[Özim]

Benteke should have scored that chance in front of goal, we got a bit lucky with that.

[Marc Overmars]

Pretty much a copy and paste performance of so many wins over the past 12-18 months.

Play well in a burst then ease off and invite pressure. I suppose it's not really a huge issue given we're very adept defensively now, but it doesn't half make life uncomfortable.<_<

Anyway, back to the top and another vital 3 points. :dance:

[JonasTC]

Top of the league! 6 points clear of 4th place trophy.

Giroud was shit, but a great goal from him.

Cazorla was uber shit and i was surprised that he took Gnabry off and not Cazorla.

Gnabry is a beast :bow:

[milla]

After 2 weeks rest, still not convinced with Giroud. We gave away a cheap goal, Cazorla and Giroud comedy defending :doh:
:coffee:

[Maestro]

Benteke should have scored that chance in front of goal, we got a bit lucky with that.

sounds like you wanted him to, jeez

happy we won then?

[Özim]

sounds like you wanted him to, jeez

happy we won then?

Just saying the points ended up being more due to luck than great defending, we gifted them a chance to get to 2-2 and they blew it. Need to be more professional in future.

[Niall_Quinn]

We had no other chances in the game so 2-2 would have been fair. In fact girouds goal was a fluke so villa won it in reality.

[Özim]

We had no other chances in the game so 2-2 would have been fair. In fact girouds goal was a fluke so villa won it in reality.

Yeah but the refs are corrupt remember.

[Power n Glory]

Ozil and Cazorla were terrible. Very sloppy and nether earned their wages tonight. Good from Jack, not a perfect game but better than Ozil and Cazorla. Same goes for Giroud. Missed chances but did score and worked hard as usual. Fullbacks played well on attack. Monreal should be starting more games. Impressed with his attacks and use of the ball. Sagna's crossing has improved by a country mile. Merts was very good at the back with some important clearing headers towards the end.

We need to learn how to shut up shop without dropping a level and if we do concede we don't simply retreat into our own penalty box. I was thinking this could be the sort of game where the ref just gives a penalty after letting loads go all night. Can't leave these things to chance.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Zimm needs to quit the self harming and stay on Glory Glory.

[Özim]

Zimm needs to quit the self harming and stay on Glory Glory.

1) I've never self harmed
2) I'm not a member of Glory Glory.

Massive fail, D-

[fakeyank]

We really need to kill teams off.. we really need a captain to push the players to keep playing at the top of their abilities till we are 3-4 goals clear. The last 15-20 minutes of heart attack was completely unnecessary!

Oh, may I add, Giroud, Santi and Ozil were horrible. Ozil slows our game up way too much.. he needs to hurry the fuck up. Jack and Gnabbers were awesome! :bow:

[BOBN]

Ozil 42 million :haha:

Cant remember the last time we dazzled or entertained. Im suprised we even score goals given the bluntness of our attacking players bar Walcott.

We are now the ugly ducklings of the top 4.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Thank fuck that's over. A good performance by Jack. Ozil is looking like he can't really be added and Cazorla was very poor. Monreal looked lively and it would be nice to see the spark he is showing in some others.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Letters]

We are now the ugly ducklings of the top 1
Fixed your typo

[WMUG]

Ozil 42 million :haha:

Cant remember the last time we dazzled or entertained. Im suprised we even score goals given the bluntness of our attacking players bar Walcott.

We are now the ugly ducklings of the top 4.

And top of the league.

[WMUG]

<_<

[Özil's Panoramic View]

1) I've never self harmed
2) I'm not a member of Glory Glory.

Massive fail, D-

I'd say appearing miserable and moany in match reaction threads where we've won is a bit of self harming.

As to the Glory Glory bit, only a spud could try to find something to pick at everytime we win, so I'd recommend best you take a moan there whenever you don't get your desired result.

[Niall_Quinn]

He's banned from glory glory for being OTT on the arsenal bashing.

[Özim]

I'd say appearing miserable and moany in match reaction threads where we've won is a bit of self harming.

As to the Glory Glory bit, only a spud could try to find something to pick at everytime we win, so I'd recommend best you take a moan there whenever you don't get your desired result.

Only a plank would say this, self harming is a rather more serious issue.

No not really, we played poorly today, usually when you play poorly there's lots you can pick out.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Eight away wins. :blink:

[Heisenberg]

After the weekend's results, it was a must win game and we did win it :scarf:

[Marc Overmars]

Cheeky little home banker against Fulham on the weekend as well.

Good stuff.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Only a plank would say this, self harming is a rather more serious issue.

No not really, we played poorly today, usually when you play poorly there's lots you can pick out.

It is more serious than you're willing to admit.

You show absolutely no joy whenever the result is a positive one. So I'd say, yes, this is a bit of self harming.

[BOBN]

Fixed your typo
Fair enough, nice edit.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Cheeky little home banker against Fulham on the weekend as well.

Good stuff.

And we don't have to see everybody else winning first. Hurrah.

[Özim]

It is more serious than you're willing to admit.

You show absolutely no joy whenever the result is a positive one. So I'd say, yes, this is a bit of self harming.

:lol: Sorry pal but that in your head, I think you need to see the doc if you think otherwise.

Not true, when the performance is enjoyable like the FA Cup against Spurs I do, sh*t performances like this though don't particularly excite me, we won yes but we were poor and it wasn't great to watch. It'd be good if we could turn out and play a bit of champagne football from time to time as well, if we're going to win the league it'd be nice to add a bit of style into the equation.

It will be great if we win it obviously, there's a long way to go though.

[Marc Overmars]

Fair enough, nice edit.

You have a point though. However I wouldn't swap this defensively astute, if a little mechanical Arsenal, for the one who could create 20 chances a game only to see it all undermined by some rancid defending.

[Özim]

You have a point though. However I wouldn't swap this defensively astute, if a little mechanical Arsenal, for the one who could create 20 chances a game only to see it all undermined by some rancid defending.

True, but wouldn't hurt to see some expansive football like we saw against Spurs from time to time either.

[Letters]

Not true, when the performance is enjoyable like the FA Cup against Spurs I do, sh*t performances like this though don't particularly excite me.
Apart from in 92/93 when they were thoroughly enjoyable?

[Özim]

Apart from in 92/93 when they were thoroughly enjoyable?

Yeah apart from that.

The difference with that is the excitement came from the comebacks, late goals and the fact they were knockout games. This is the league which is played over an entire 38 game season, so each game doesn't mean the same, the only games I can liken to cup games are the games against the top sides.

[Ralpheroo72]

Ancelotti's summary of Ozil appears to be very close to the mark - Lazy etc

[Niall_Quinn]

Ancelotti's summary of Ozil appears to be very close to the mark - Lazy etc

You have to offset that against the fact Ancelotti is a cunt.

[Syn]

The thread rapists have turned this place into a real shithole. Glancing through, the match thread was embarrassing.

Defence held strong as usual, although they didn't have much to do for 70 mins. Flamini and Wilshere did well in the centre. The mistake was not scoring more; we had a few chances - Giroud in particular could've done better on a a couple of occasions (I'm thinking from Sagna's crosses early on). He scored a cracking goal though. Ozil was drifting in and out of the game. Cazorla a bit sloppy today, could've been a game for Podolski on the left.

As is typical of us now, we just tried to keep the lead in the second half. Villa didn't look like scoring at all until we allowed them to get their tails up. Mertesacker's reaction to Cazorla summed it up. These days we're looking to show off how tight we keep things in defence and that was a needless one. Overall, no harm done and job done.

But yes, ultimately we're just really shit. Wahhh wahhhhh.

[Ralpheroo72]

Monreal is broken now

http://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2014/1/13/5305570/nacho-monreal-arsenal-injury-news

[GP]

The thread rapists have turned this place into a real shithole.

Name names you fanny

[IBK]

Fks sake - lay off Zimm. Anyone who has been on here a while should know that he's a perfectionist, not anti Arsenal.

The game - good win against a team that would have been more optimistic than most about playing us at home.

We weren't at our best, and if I had one criticism it was that after going 2 up in a short space of time we got a bit complacent/cocky.

But Villa's goal was down to an individual error - it happens. And like at Newcastle we defended well when it mattered - against a team that played like it was their cup final after they'd scored.

IMHO we deserved this win more than Citeh did on the weekend with Newcastle's inexplicably denied equaliser. That's good enough for me.

[BOBN]

Thread rapists :haha:

What a queen.

[Dein-machine]

Even during the match thread some of you were asking why we had backed off, got complacent & started defending very deep - this is what we are seeing in virtually every match we play in when we have the lead. When you are 2-0 up to a utter shit Villa side why on earth would you want to sit back & let them punt balls into the box. A 3rd goal either side of half time would have completely finished them off & Lambert would have had to resort to damage limitation mode. You do not buy players like Cazorla & ozil then ask them to spend the 2nd half defending & playing so deep. The fact that it keeps happening against teams we should go & kill off would suggest this is what they are being asked to do. Someone in the changng room needs to tell Wenger that these negative tactics ( the same ones that very nearly cost us our champions league place ) are totally ridiculous against a beaten team like Villa. If this continues we will lose & draw games that we shoud be winning. The Gypos would have gone out 2nd half & smashed another 3 or 4 goals in against that Shit which is why they will win the league.

[Ollie the Optimist]

thought we were superb until the villa goal, we seemed to switch off then but actually looking back, baring their goal and header by bentekke straight at szcesney (think it was called a foul too) they had no chances, just long range pot shots and lumping balls in which we dealt with easily. great win to go back to the top.

also guzan and agbonlahor are cunts

[GP]

Agbonlahor is a cunt. No idea how he wasn't sent off.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Agbonlahor is a cunt. No idea how he wasn't sent off.


he was looking for the dive at every opportunity and then broke rosickys nose. you could just tell flamini was having to stop himself from taking him out

[Ollie the Optimist]

:lol: Sorry pal but that in your head, I think you need to see the doc if you think otherwise.

Not true, when the performance is enjoyable like the FA Cup against Spurs I do, sh*t performances like this though don't particularly excite me, we won yes but we were poor and it wasn't great to watch. It'd be good if we could turn out and play a bit of champagne football from time to time as well, if we're going to win the league it'd be nice to add a bit of style into the equation.

It will be great if we win it obviously, there's a long way to go though.


i don't think anyone would give a fuck how we played if we won the league. yes the football isn't pretty but we have had pretty football for the last 8 years and won nothing. this year we are solid, hard to beat and winning games like that. the last 8 years you have moaned about style and no substance, now you are moaning about substance with no style. enjoy following the Arsenal ffs, we are top of the league and fighting for our first title in years

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Even during the match thread some of you were asking why we had backed off, got complacent & started defending very deep - this is what we are seeing in virtually every match we play in when we have the lead. When you are 2-0 up to a utter shit Villa side why on earth would you want to sit back & let them punt balls into the box. A 3rd goal either side of half time would have completely finished them off & Lambert would have had to resort to damage limitation mode. You do not buy players like Cazorla & ozil then ask them to spend the 2nd half defending & playing so deep. The fact that it keeps happening against teams we should go & kill off would suggest this is what they are being asked to do. Someone in the changng room needs to tell Wenger that these negative tactics ( the same ones that very nearly cost us our champions league place ) are totally ridiculous against a beaten team like Villa. If this continues we will lose & draw games that we shoud be winning. The Gypos would have gone out 2nd half & smashed another 3 or 4 goals in against that Shit which is why they will win the league.

I'm not sure that's accurate, Man City have obviously annihilated a lot of teams but they haven't really done the same away - they let Fulham back in to it at 0-2 and Swansea made it 2-3, Southampton made it 1-1 and Newcastle should have done too. Of course they won half those games I mention and it's a bit churlish to try and take those wins away from them but it's not like they are just taking teams apart easily away from home.

[selassie]

Good result and important one too. This team is efficient and at times quite ruthless, they showed that in the first half.

We tailed off second half and had a few hairy moments but I do have a lot of confidence in the defence now, especially Kos & Merts, both of them were outstanding again yesterday.

Onwards and upwards.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Got in at 2ish last night. What a brilliant result.

Made hard work of it but we're the Arsenal so it's expected.

Mertesacker was an absolute rock. Wilshere was brilliant. Giroud fought his way up top as usual.

Benteke had a great game for them.

WE ARE TOP !

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

i don't think anyone would give a fuck how we played if we won the league. yes the football isn't pretty but we have had pretty football for the last 8 years and won nothing. this year we are solid, hard to beat and winning games like that. the last 8 years you have moaned about style and no substance, now you are moaning about substance with no style. enjoy following the Arsenal ffs, we are top of the league and fighting for our first title in years

Ollie I completely forgot to text you last night for the meet. Was too busy singing songs in the pub across the stadium with the others! Hope you had a good time. We got hammered.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Ollie I completely forgot to text you last night for the meet. Was too busy singing songs in the pub across the stadium with the others! Hope you had a good time. We got hammered.

no worries. was great atmosphere wasn't it in the away end. every song possible was sung i think :lol:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

We had no other chances in the game so 2-2 would have been fair. In fact girouds goal was a fluke so villa won it in reality.

:haha:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

no worries. was great atmosphere wasn't it in the away end. every song possible was sung i think :lol:

What time did you get there? Did you see the fat guy get escorted out the stadium after we scored? :haha:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Ozil and Cazorla were terrible. Very sloppy and nether earned their wages tonight. Good from Jack, not a perfect game but better than Ozil and Cazorla. Same goes for Giroud. Missed chances but did score and worked hard as usual. Fullbacks played well on attack. Monreal should be starting more games. Impressed with his attacks and use of the ball. Sagna's crossing has improved by a country mile. Merts was very good at the back with some important clearing headers towards the end.

We need to learn how to shut up shop without dropping a level and if we do concede we don't simply retreat into our own penalty box. I was thinking this could be the sort of game where the ref just gives a penalty after letting loads go all night. Can't leave these things to chance.

Wrong. Ozil was sensational.

You have to see him in flesh to appreciate his contribution.

This is from a Villa fan:

https://twitter.com/matt_bubb/status/422831694518161408

[Ollie the Optimist]

What time did you get there? Did you see the fat guy get escorted out the stadium after we scored? :haha:

got there around 6.45. wasn't sure where you guys were all drinking so headed straight to the ground. yeah i did, didn't see what he did though. was a mad minute that. so many of us jumping around after jack, saw the guy getting taken out then suddenly a roar as giroud got the ball and then everyone going mental again. was awesome.

were you upper or lower tier?

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

got there around 6.45. wasn't sure where you guys were all drinking so headed straight to the ground. yeah i did, didn't see what he did though. was a mad minute that. so many of us jumping around after jack, saw the guy getting taken out then suddenly a roar as giroud got the ball and then everyone going mental again. was awesome.

were you upper or lower tier?

Upper. Apparently he slid on the pitch towards the Villa fans after we scored. He's just come back from a 3 year ban for doing the same thing apparently :haha:

[Ollie the Optimist]

Upper. Apparently he slid on the pitch towards the Villa fans after we scored. He's just come back from a 3 year ban for doing the same thing apparently :haha:

:haha: awesome.

yeah i was upper as well. near the top right at the edge of stand. loved it all. the away fans never stop. couldn't hear the villa fans at all :lol:

[Power n Glory]

Wrong. Ozil was sensational.

You have to see him in flesh to appreciate his contribution.

This is from a Villa fan:

https://twitter.com/matt_bubb/status/422831694518161408

He's a Villa fan. What do you expect?

That wasn't Ozil's best game imo. Certainly not spectacular.

http://news.arseblog.com/2014/01/aston-villa-1-2-arsenal-player-ratings/

[LDG]

Ollie I completely forgot to text you last night for the meet. Was too busy singing songs in the pub across the stadium with the others! Hope you had a good time. We got hammered.

:haha:

[Ollie the Optimist]

He's a Villa fan. What do you expect?

That wasn't Ozil's best game imo. Certainly not spectacular.

http://news.arseblog.com/2014/01/aston-villa-1-2-arsenal-player-ratings/

why does the fact he is a villa fan make a difference to his opinion?

[GP]

why does the fact he is a villa fan make a difference to his opinion?

You know why

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

He's a Villa fan. What do you expect?

That wasn't Ozil's best game imo. Certainly not spectacular.

http://news.arseblog.com/2014/01/aston-villa-1-2-arsenal-player-ratings/

Where did I say that was Ozil's best game?

[AFC Leveller]

Koscielny and Merts since Jan 2012

Played


27

Won


19

Drawn


8

Lost


0

Clean sheets


16

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Koscielny and Merts since Jan 2012

Played


27

Won


19

Drawn


8

Lost


0

Clean sheets


16

:bow:

[Ollie the Optimist]

comparison time in the league from last season and this one after 21 games.

2012/13
won 9
drawn 7
lost 5
scored 40
conceded 24
points 34

2013/14
won 15
drawn 3
lost 3
scored 41
conceded 19
Points 48 + top of the league.

[Power n Glory]

Where did I say that was Ozil's best game?

May be I understood what you meant by ‘spectacular’ and that tweet from the Villa fan. It wasn’t a great performance.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

May be I understood what you meant by ‘spectacular’ and that tweet from the Villa fan. It wasn’t a great performance.

I'd trust a Villa fan attending games over an Arsenal fan sitting on a forum that doesn't even attend games. When was the last time you went out of curiosity?

[Power n Glory]

Cardiff was my last game. You want to pay for my next ticket?

You have a serious personal beef with me don't you? So aggressive and argumentative. Can't be civil. :lol:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

How was asking a question being aggressive?

[Dein-machine]

I'm not sure that's accurate, Man City have obviously annihilated a lot of teams but they haven't really done the same away - they let Fulham back in to it at 0-2 and Swansea made it 2-3, Southampton made it 1-1 and Newcastle should have done too. Of course they won half those games I mention and it's a bit churlish to try and take those wins away from them but it's not like they are just taking teams apart easily away from home.

What about the 5,6 7-0's they have & the 59 league goals (45%) more than us. Its becuause they are ruthless, yes it sometimes works against you & you can let other teams back in but last night Villa were there for a pounding & the only way they were going to get back into it was if we let them & we did. We played the 2nd half like we were a Div 2 side protecting a lead against a Premier league team. If we were 2-0 up away to City or United I can see the argument for holding what you have but not last night against one of the worst teams we're likely to play.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Cardiff was my last game. You want to pay for my next ticket?

You have a serious personal beef with me don't you? So aggressive and argumentative. Can't be civil. :lol:

Funny that, you went to the Cardiff game but were posting in the match thread at the same time. Emirates must have introduced wifi since I last went.

http://www.goonersweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2674&page=6&p=356419&viewfull=1#post356419

[Ollie the Optimist]

Funny that, you went to the Cardiff game but were posting in the match thread at the same time. Emirates must have introduced wifi since I last went.

http://www.goonersweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2674&page=6&p=356419&viewfull=1#post356419


:haha:

[GP]

lmao

[McNamara That Ghost...]

What about the 5,6 7-0's they have & the 59 league goals (45%) more than us. Its becuause they are ruthless, yes it sometimes works against you & you can let other teams back in but last night Villa were there for a pounding & the only way they were going to get back into it was if we let them & we did. We played the 2nd half like we were a Div 2 side protecting a lead against a Premier league team. If we were 2-0 up away to City or United I can see the argument for holding what you have but not last night against one of the worst teams we're likely to play.

Like I said, all those results have been at home, where clearly they have been great, infallible in fact but the point is that despite their ruthlesness at home, it does not neccesarily extend to performances away from home. All sides will have games like the above where they have to hold out on a single goal margin when away, even if they had more than that to start with.

We're doing what has got us numerous away wins during 2013, we've won something silly like 20 odd away games in just over a year; we could make it easier on ourselves perhaps but I don't think it's the sign of aping a Div 2 side really.

[Power n Glory]

Funny that, you went to the Cardiff game but were posting in the match thread at the same time. Emirates must have introduced wifi since I last went.

http://www.goonersweb.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=2674&page=6&p=356419&viewfull=1#post356419

Oh you sad little man. :lol: You're actually stalking my posts? You have a problem, dude!

Sorry, it was the Hull game. Wednesday evening kick off. Dec 4th. Please look it up in the match thread. :lol:

On a side note, match attendance doesn't measure how much of a fan I am. I go when I can.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Sorry, it was the Hull game. Wednesday evening kick off. Dec 4th. Please look it up in the match thread. :lol:



http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Jon-Hamm-Sure-Thing.gif


Pretty big mistake to make.

[Power n Glory]

This really is personal. :lol: You're like a child.

Two new teams to the Prem.....:shrug: Hardly a CUP final or a game against one of our rivals. If you're willing to pay for my ticket than drop me a line. I'll gladly go to the next game if you're that minted. :good: Games are expensive and can only afford a few as a treat. That's life.

[Fist of Lehmann]

Ancelotti's summary of Ozil appears to be very close to the mark - Lazy etc


I think we made a mistake when we gave him the possibility to leave the club

Pretty close indeed (http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/453607/Selling-Mesut-Ozil-to-Arsenal-was-a-MISTAKE-admits-Carlo-Ancelotti) :good:

[Dein-machine]

Like I said, all those results have been at home, where clearly they have been great, infallible in fact but the point is that despite their ruthlesness at home, it does not neccesarily extend to performances away from home. All sides will have games like the above where they have to hold out on a single goal margin when away, even if they had more than that to start with.

We're doing what has got us numerous away wins during 2013, we've won something silly like 20 odd away games in just over a year; we could make it easier on ourselves perhaps but I don't think it's the sign of aping a Div 2 side really.

Agreed that the Mancs were pretty average away from home at start of the season but since December they have scored 3 at West Brom, Bayern & Swansea and 4 at Fulham. In Wengers own words he plays the game in the same way home or away, last night was like a home game, all the possission, louder supporters & then a 2-0 lead. Why would we not want to push on & get the movement & confidence going for the likes of Caz, Giroud, Jack & Oz by trying to score goals, Villa were shit & their heads had gone.
Our 2nd half performance against them was woeful & had Benteke scored with his late headed chance the mood on this site & amongst supporters would not have been so positive, it could also have affected players confidence. We have to get these things right to continiue to compete, not just brush over it because we got away with it at Villa. 2 defensive midfielders at home to Cardiff & it takes forward minded substitutions to nick a win in the 88th minute, another lucky escape. We are bringing these issues upon ourselves & won't keep getting away with it. Even our home league form Southampton 2-0 win, 64 mins between goals - Marsaille 2-0 win, 64 mins between goals - Hull 2-0 win, 45 mins between goals & then the very defensive home displays against Everton & Chelsea - we have to attack teams at home all game, they cannot score when the ball is in their half. Even away to Palace we were hanging on at 1-0 until Girouds very late goal - how & why?
We should learn our lesson from the Napoli game, even against mediocre opposition, if you sit back & offer nothing in attack it only takes a few minutes to score a few goals.

[WMUG]

we got away with it at Villa. 2 defensive midfielders at home to Cardiff & it takes forward minded substitutions to nick a win in the 88th minute, another lucky escape. We are bringing these issues upon ourselves & won't keep getting away with it. Even our home league form Southampton 2-0 win, 64 mins between goals - Marsaille 2-0 win, 64 mins between goals - Hull 2-0 win, 45 mins between goals & then the very defensive home displays against Everton & Chelsea - we have to attack teams at home all game, they cannot score when the ball is in their half. Even away to Palace we were hanging on at 1-0 until Girouds very late goal - how & why?

All of those games have something else in common. We won them. It probably isn't a coincidence.

[Dein-machine]

All of those games have something else in common. We won them. It probably isn't a coincidence.

Very observant of you, but if you read the posts you will see we are discussing our ability to kill a game off by being more ruthless. City are on fire at the moment, even without Aguero, because Pellegrini is going for it & murdering the pub teams because they are sitting back to limit the damage. We on the other hand get a 1-0 lead & let the pub teams have a go at us. I wonder what team Ozil would prefer to play in.

[Letters]

I agree we're not killing off games like we should but as WMUG points out, we are winning those games.
How many times have we dropped points far too often by conceding late goals in close games, this year it's been rare.
We might not be killing games off but we are holding out well under pressure and getting the 3 points in games where it's tight.

[Power n Glory]

Yep, just saying that on the other thread. It’s jittery to watch because you've seen us blow a lead countless times before and it’s like we're all waiting for the wheels to fall off for us this season. They're all waiting for it.

[Letters]

Oh yeah, it's not fun to watch. But I am getting more confident in their ability to see it through.
You're not going to cruise through every game and being able to see out the 1-0 is very important in a title run-in.
We have sailed close to the wind at times though and a bit more firepower up front would make more games comfortable.

[Dein-machine]

I agree we're not killing off games like we should but as WMUG points out, we are winning those games.
How many times have we dropped points far too often by conceding late goals in close games, this year it's been rare.
We might not be killing games off but we are holding out well under pressure and getting the 3 points in games where it's tight.

Yes we're winning games & the big difference is that Merts & Kos give us a strength & stability at the back that we haven't had for ages. But my concern is that our negative tactics when we have a lead means our quality attacking players are not doing what they're good at. Asking players like Cazorla & Ozil to spend 45 minutes defending against a pub team because we have a 2-0 lead is not why we bought them. If they are our tactics put Gibbs left mid & Jenkinson right mid at half time. None of these players inc Jack, Rambo & Theo are at their best with their back to goal deep in our half. They are not very good at defending for a start & they will tend to try the wonder passes that don't cause too much damage upfront when they don't come off but can cause damage in our defensive 3rd - like Cazorla's pass last night. We bought these players to attack & score goals - lets do that.

[Marc Overmars]

We wouldn't be challenging for the title without our defence, in fact we probably wouldn't have finished 4th last season without it. I keep saying it but just think about how poor we used to be at the back. For all the brilliance of RVC, Cesc and others, it was never enough thanks to how rubbish we were at defending and dealing with pressure.

Now the jury is still out on this team but just be careful what you wish for.

[LDG]

We're going all out for the biggest collapse we've seen yet.

:bow:

[GP]

Nice to see Bendtner score. He deserved it for all the stick he's got.

[GP]

Sorry, I meant to put that in the Hull thread.

[Power n Glory]

We wouldn't be challenging for the title without our defence, in fact we probably wouldn't have finished 4th last season without it. I keep saying it but just think about how poor we used to be at the back. For all the brilliance of RVC, Cesc and others, it was never enough thanks to how rubbish we were at defending and dealing with pressure.

Now the jury is still out on this team but just be careful what you wish for.

We’ve had brilliant moments marred by poor defending. That Champions League game against Liverpool always sticks to mind. Theo storms through Liverpool to set up Ade and before I’d even finished celebrating and we conceded….or was it a penalty? We were a joke when it came to defending.

[Globalgunner]

We’ve had brilliant moments marred by poor defending. That Champions League game against Liverpool always sticks to mind. Theo storms through Liverpool to set up Ade and before I’d even finished celebrating and we conceded….or was it a penalty? We were a joke when it came to defending.

Was a penalty, our old friend Eboue, with another brain synapse failure. S sewing up used to be our trademark then. Since January last year its been playing absolute shite and winning 7 games in a row. We are a good team, I still feel our winning honours will boil down to our crunch games against the top6

[Niall_Quinn]

We’ve had brilliant moments marred by poor defending. That Champions League game against Liverpool always sticks to mind. Theo storms through Liverpool to set up Ade and before I’d even finished celebrating and we conceded….or was it a penalty? We were a joke when it came to defending.

100% dive

[Power n Glory]

We conceded again after that. Seemed soft but most refs would have given it. It was Kolo on Babel and was on the wrong side of him and tried to jump on to the right side. No idea what he was thinking. Terrible defending.

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

We’ve had brilliant moments marred by poor defending. That Champions League game against Liverpool always sticks to mind. Theo storms through Liverpool to set up Ade and before I’d even finished celebrating and we conceded….or was it a penalty? We were a joke when it came to defending.

:cloud9:

I've said this a hundred times, but I was still in the kitchen swearing at things when we got that penalty. Didn't have a clue what was going on.

Good times.

[Master Splinter]

:cloud9:

I've said this a hundred times, but I was still in the kitchen swearing at things when we got that penalty. Didn't have a clue what was going on.

Good times.

Yeah, well you've got Kolo now.

In the end, everyone loses.

But you more, because you have Kolo now.

[Niall_Quinn]

In fact it's all a bit suspicious. Toure gives away that penalty when we had the game won and now all of a sudden he's playing for Liverpool. I'm sure some will say this is pure coincidence.

[Penguin]

:lol:

[Power n Glory]

In fact it's all a bit suspicious. Toure gives away that penalty when we had the game won and now all of a sudden he's playing for Liverpool. I'm sure some will say this is pure coincidence.

😄 Never crossed my mind. Complete scumbag.

[Letters]

OK, OK. We're all WUMs. If we could get back to the point of the thread...

[Xhaka Can’t]

We've all got in some spats here, but this one has gone on long enough.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Reopened

[Niall_Quinn]

Reopened

WUM

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Fks sake - lay off Zimm. Anyone who has been on here a while should know that he's a perfectionist, not anti Arsenal.

I haven't been on goonies web for long but I agree that what is essentially perfectionism by Zim is occasionally castigated and seen as him being needlessly callous. Perfectionism and it's place is of course its own debate too.

He isn't one to fail to mention mistakes we make, which rubs a few up the wrong way, but I do think the 1-2 Benteke chances is a fair point to make, although the whistle may have gone for one.


Wrong. Ozil was sensational.

You have to see him in flesh to appreciate his contribution.

This is from a Villa fan:

https://twitter.com/matt_bubb/status/422831694518161408

I have often heard that said and usually by our own fans and I have to say it is not very hard to believe either.

I don't actually get to many games myself as I am shamefully a pauper (though there has never been a time in my life when I could consistently afford it). The observation of players off the ball is generally one of the biggest disparities between football as viewed via the TV to football as a spectacle from within the stadium...... to my mind.

I remember years ago seeing Muamba and Kerrea Gilbert at Highbury for the first time and really thought that both were much better live than on tv, though both of their careers ultimately ended up away from the club.

I think we've been a tad bit harsh in regards to how bad we were against Villa. I think we were certainly in second gear but I didn't think Ozil, or Cazorla in particular were as bad as we're saying and it was lovely to see another decent performance from Jack. Putting some gloss on the scoreline or even killing opponents I sometimes feel is probably down to our lack of a flat track bully or even a consistently ruthless presence in attack that we have seemingly always had in the past. I know we have come back to this a lot in recent weeks but I do think it is probably the missing piece.

We do tend to sit a little deep late in games too, although clearly it is a tactic to soak up pressure and remain compact. As we have annoyingly experienced enough of ourselves it makes the space in which the opponents have to exploit so narrow, that if they don't trip over the defending pokeyout feet of our players, they start tripping over themselves or simply resort to playing percentages launching it into an ostensibly dangerous area only for Mertesacker to head it away without even jumping.

I think the key to repelling this a little is for Ozil top take a central position just ahead of the 2 holding midfielders from deep. He can then pick a pass to anyone in space or preferably to Gnabry, Cazorla close to the half way line, both of whom have the tricks, speed and quick feet to beat a player and the goalkeeper on a fast break.

It only works if Gnabry/Cazorla/whoever are on their bike as soon as somebody like Mertesacker/Arteta/Flamini nicks the ball away, so by the time he receives it, he's lost his marker and covered a load of ground.