Match Reaction v Liverpool (home)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Well I think this cements us as title winners next season.

Liverpool. :haha:

Kloppo. :haha:

Champions. :haha:

Invincibles. :haha:

We were bloody awful!

[GP]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_JF8oSxXtM

[Shaqiri Is Boss]

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/JadedBelovedAngora-size_restricted.gif

[GP]

https://i.redd.it/uv9bce2m63b51.jpg

[Mac76]

did Shaqiri even get a touch? :lol:

[GP]

https://i.redd.it/vxis0pa373b51.png

[Marc Overmars]

That was bizarre. We offered nothing but a wins a win. :lol:

Thank you Liverpool. Hopefully we finish above Spurs now so the generosity won’t be in vain.

On to the real stuff this weekend.

[Niall_Quinn]

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/JadedBelovedAngora-size_restricted.gif

Stop boasting. You weren't that good.

[WMUG]

Excuse me what the fuck?

[Niall_Quinn]

https://i.redd.it/vxis0pa373b51.png

LOL

If only.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

https://i.redd.it/vxis0pa373b51.png

69. Nice.

[Niall_Quinn]

Van Dick talks about giving goals away as an act of generosity, rather than him being a dick. Lazy cunt. Took the money, can't be arsed earning it. Don't be blaming us for your lack of integrity.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Big Sol drops in that he won the league unbeaten. :bow:

Souness. :pal:

[GP]

Big Sol drops in that he won the league unbeaten. :bow:

Souness. :pal:

DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE!

Sol Campbell has won the double!

[Letters]

I mean, let's be honest with ourselves, they gifted us both goals and secretly I think we know that had the title race been active and Liverpool needed something in this game they'd have got it. But a bit of a much needed lift tonight. Last two games very winnable so although Spurs got an irritating win tonight we've kept up a bit of pressure on them. Any slip from then and we could just sneak in there if we do our bit.

:scarf:

[WMUG]

I mean, let's be honest with ourselves, they gifted us both goals and secretly I think we know that had the title race been active and Liverpool needed something in this game they'd have got it. But a bit of a much needed lift tonight. Last two games very winnable so although Spurs got an irritating win tonight we've kept up a bit of pressure on them. Any slip from then and we could just sneak in there if we do our bit.

:scarf:

We forced the errors with good high pressing, it's not on the same level as Kolasinac against Spurs.

[Chippy]

I mean, let's be honest with ourselves, they gifted us both goals and secretly I think we know that had the title race been active and Liverpool needed something in this game they'd have got it. But a bit of a much needed lift tonight. Last two games very winnable so although Spurs got an irritating win tonight we've kept up a bit of pressure on them. Any slip from then and we could just sneak in there if we do our bit.

:scarf:

The spuds have got Palace and Leicester. Easy for them, unfortunately.

[Marc Overmars]

Good post match interview with Arteta, he talks about how big the gap is and the task at hand.

I like him and the way he speaks. I just hope he’s the right man for the job.

[Letters]

The spuds have got Palace and Leicester. Easy for them, unfortunately.

I wouldn't give up just yet, Leicester are in freefall a bit but they might still have something to play for.
The trouble for us is both teams we play are in and around the relegation zone so could be scrapping for points.

We'll see, we needed a point on Sunday really but what's done is done

[Chippy]

I wouldn't give up just yet, Leicester are in freefall a bit but they might still have something to play for.
The trouble for us is both teams we play are in and around the relegation zone so could be scrapping for points.

We'll see, we needed a point on Sunday really but what's done is done

At least it will be interesting. I am still grumpy about losing to those fuckers last Sunday. We deserved at least a draw.

[Özim]

I think it's obviously a good win for us, Liverpool clearly aren't as focussed since they won the title, Van Dijk has made more errors in a couple games than he has since he arrived at Liverpool but they still dominated, wasn't their night.

Couple errors but Lacazette having a good run and scoring again, his confidence seems to be growing, no Mustafi which is a positve Holding was a million times better, Martinez got away with his poor kick early on but has been generally good since he came in, good to see Torreira in as well, for me he should play most games.

All in all good and good to see Nelson score too.

[LDG]

Love beating Liverpool. Don’t care when, don’t care how.

Apparently they haven’t been beaten when Rush Mane scored first for like EVER.

Fuck em.

Tets :bow:

[Letters]

I think it's obviously a good win for us, Liverpool clearly aren't as focussed since they won the title, Van Dijk has made more errors in a couple games than he has since he arrived at Liverpool but they still dominated, wasn't their night.

Couple errors but Lacazette having a good run and scoring again, his confidence seems to be growing, no Mustafi which is a positve Holding was a million times better, Martinez got away with his poor kick early on but has been generally good since he came in, good to see Torreira in as well, for me he should play most games.

All in all good and good to see Nelson score too.

:hug:

[I am invisible]

Wow... was expecting an absolute battering there. Instead we got an absolute battering and 3 points?! Fair enough - I'll take it.

[Letters]

Wow... was expecting an absolute battering there. Instead we got an absolute battering and 3 points?! Fair enough - I'll take it.

I only saw bits of it but I'm not sure we got battered. Saw most of the second half and felt we contained them pretty well.

It's funny, football. I'm pretty jaded by it all. I'm jaded by Arsenal and the sport in general and am pretty fed up with the state of the club and how we are run.
I don't watch games much these days.
And, let's face it, had the title race still been alive and Liverpool had needed something they'd have wiped the floor with us.
Holiday brochures well thumbed at Anfield.

But...all that said, my heart was still thumping towards the end as I feared we'd concede an equaliser and while I wasn't leaping round the room at the final whistle I still went to bed a happy bunny and have a spring in my step this morning.

Football :rose:
and
Football :bow:

[Marc Overmars]

We defended well and didn’t fold under the constant pressure, that was pleasing to see especially as we limited their clear cut chances to just 1 or 2. The result is hilarious because we offered practically nothing at the other end, embarrassingly so. That’s one of those games we’d lose 9 times out of 10 playing like that but it was our night fortunately.

Hopefully we haven’t used up all our luck yet because we’ll need a lot of it this weekend.

[dazthegooner]

Think our night could have been worse if Arteta had started with Koz rather than Holding with all the pressure we were under giving Koz enough time I'm sure he would have kindly scored an own goal to even things up (though Arteta did give him a couple of minutes to do so) :unsure:

[I am invisible]

Good post match interview with Arteta, he talks about how big the gap is and the task at hand.

I like him and the way he speaks. I just hope he’s the right man for the job.

Yeah, it's refreshing to hear someone actually acknowledge the problems, rather than trying to throw dust in our eyes and convince us that god-awful football is actually brilliant - that we don't appreciate it because we're not professionals - or that we're one step away from domination! Also glad he's continuing to heap pressure on the owners and the execs - these guys can't be allowed to just slide into the background this summer.

Tbh, if you've followed his interviews since he took over then you'll know exactly what he's been working on and where he thinks we are right now as a group: basically we've re-established some professional standards and accountability, given the players a crash course in fitness, shape and pressing, and at least got the players showing a bit of fight and pride in wearing the shirt again. And not too much more than that - we just don't have the players to play the football he wants yet, as he's been saying pretty much from day one. Quite frankly, if you thought we were only a different managerial hire away from immediate champagne football and the Champions League, and you're disappointed with where we currently are, then that's on you.

We're not just talking about a first team rebuild here - we're talking about a root-and-branch overhaul of the entire club: players, coaching staff, scouting, exec team, culture, identity, ambition... everything. Years of work, and we're only a couple of months into it (not counting the dead time on lockdown). It was always going to be a big enough task anyway (after no CL income for 3 years, possibly no European football at all next year, dwindling cash reserves, an astronomical wage bill, and a bunch of players who we're going to struggle to sell and who probably won't raise much even if we can), but now it looks like we're going to have to try and fund it all without match-day income too! Seriously, if you haven't already done so then reset your expectation levels now, because any progress is going to have to be gradual, and we're likely to be heavily reliant on the kids we have maturing and getting very lucky scouting talented nobodies and freebies. We're also likely to be stuck with many of the same problem-players until their contracts expire, so steel yourself for more self-destruct moments before we're done, because they're going to happen.

[I am invisible]

I only saw bits of it but I'm not sure we got battered. Saw most of the second half and felt we contained them pretty well.

It's funny, football. I'm pretty jaded by it all. I'm jaded by Arsenal and the sport in general and am pretty fed up with the state of the club and how we are run.
I don't watch games much these days.
And, let's face it, had the title race still been alive and Liverpool had needed something they'd have wiped the floor with us.
Holiday brochures well thumbed at Anfield.

But...all that said, my heart was still thumping towards the end as I feared we'd concede an equaliser and while I wasn't leaping round the room at the final whistle I still went to bed a happy bunny and have a spring in my step this morning.

Football :rose:
and
Football :bow:

:good:

Tbh, I haven't had a chance to watch it yet - just going off reports I've read. It sounds like pragmatism and containment are going to be the order of the day in a lot of our tougher games until we can get the players in the middle to do something more - at the moment it feels like we have wingers, fullback, strikers and keepers, but not a great deal in the heart of the side?

[Mac76]

Yeah, it's refreshing to hear someone actually acknowledge the problems, rather than trying to throw dust in our eyes and convince us that god-awful football is actually brilliant

...and it neatly deflects from his having to face up to his poor team selections in the past don't you think?

he did better having Holding and leaving out both Kola and Mustafi

and Nelson for all people's criticism did well enough

It's ironic that Laca has finally remmebered how to score goals again, although hopefully it might help us sell him

although knowing us, we'll sell the constantly-misused Auba and keep Laca who will no doubt drop back into his poorest form come next season

[I am invisible]

We defended well and didn’t fold under the constant pressure, that was pleasing to see especially as we limited their clear cut chances to just 1 or 2. The result is hilarious because we offered practically nothing at the other end, embarrassingly so. That’s one of those games we’d lose 9 times out of 10 playing like that but it was our night fortunately.

Hopefully we haven’t used up all our luck yet because we’ll need a lot of it this weekend.

We're at least starting to get a lot of goals through forced errors now - that's promising in as far as it goes. Still massive amounts of work to do on the creative side of things, but at least it's hammering home the importance of work rate and pressing from the front.

God willing we might at least squeak through to the FA Cup final, even if we don't go on to win it - if we can crawl up another couple of places in the league, and the other finalist already has a European place secured through the league, then that gives us two decent chances of a EL spot.

[Mac76]

for some reason i didn't care at all that we won last night as the performance was so disjointed but i think it would be hilarious if we pubbed the FAC

:lol:

[I am invisible]

...and it neatly deflects from his having to face up to his poor team selections in the past don't you think?

he did better having Holding and leaving out both Kola and Mustafi

and Nelson for all people's criticism did well enough

It's ironic that Laca has finally remmebered how to score goals again, although hopefully it might help us sell him

although knowing us, we'll sell the constantly-misused Auba and keep Laca who will no doubt drop back into his poorest form come next season

Dude... we only have shit (or at least flawed / one-dimensional options) to choose from in some areas. Maybe there are no good team selections here?

I agree with you that Holding is far better than Kolasinac, but up until the sp*rs game that crazy defence had only conceded something like 1 goal in 4 games. Don't ask me why, but for some reason that unlikely combo was working. And as soon as it wasn't working, Kola and Mustafi found their asses dumped back to the bench. Hopefully Holding will now get a decent run in the side (although I do wonder whether there's maybe still some careful fitness management going on there after he was out for so long). I certainly don't think there's any personal issue there, though, or that the manager is playing favourites with senior players - just look at how often Pepe and Lacazette get benched for Nelson and Nketiah.

Oddly enough, playing Auba out wide really doesn't bother me - he still seems to bang in the goals at the same rate, so I'm easy with it. I get why he's doing it, anyway - we desperately need goals from someone and somewhere else in the side, and looking through the squad that's only really going to come from Lacazette, Nketiah or Martinelli. If Martinelli had been fit then maybe we could have kept Auba central, but unfortunately the other two will only get us goals playing as CF, so that means Auba moves.

It's not ideal, but what can you do? This is what we have to work with.

[I am invisible]

Also, on team selections, I suspect there's been an element of flinging shit at the wall and seeing what sticks going on? If you take out time spent on lockdown then Arteta has really only been at this for about 4 months - it's really not much time to figure out, not just which players work, but also which combos of players work. This season was pretty much a write-off before he even took over, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's been using it to stress-test everyone to see who breaks...

[Özim]

He was probably resting the likes of Mustafi for the FA Cup, so picking Holding wasn't a choice, he doesn't seem to fancy him so I expect he'll be dropped. I'm not saying he's top notch but Holding is the best CB, he at least does a half decent job of defending.

Likewise Torreira, he doesn't fancy him either, but he makes us more solid, would pick him over Xhaka every day of the week. We rode our luck big time, it was a combination of Liverpool having won the title and not being as focussed as they were (understandable), lady luck and some of the players he was forced to bring back helping to make us more solid. Tierney is very good too, the only issue with him is that he's injury prone, but again he can defend.

Liverpool had 70% possessions, 24 shots to our 3 and 13 corners to our 2 which says a lot about which team was the offensive team and which one was defensive.

Good win definitely and I guess a confidence boost, but it's not really indicative of where we are, the defeat by Spurs in the NLD was more so because even though it was pretty meaningless in terms of achieving something, it was a derby and thus a game you want to win.

Weekend will be interesting, I expect Arteta will drop Holding and Torreira for that.

[Niall_Quinn]

We defended well and didn’t fold under the constant pressure, that was pleasing to see especially as we limited their clear cut chances to just 1 or 2. The result is hilarious because we offered practically nothing at the other end, embarrassingly so. That’s one of those games we’d lose 9 times out of 10 playing like that but it was our night fortunately.

Hopefully we haven’t used up all our luck yet because we’ll need a lot of it this weekend.

I'd rather they beat the spuds. That was the main challenge. A freak win against a team with boarding passes stuffed into their shirts doesn't tell us much. But the loss to the spuds tells us not much has changed here.

[Letters]

Just read a stat that the Arsenal player who registered the most touches last night was Martinez :lol:

[Niall_Quinn]

Just read a stat that the Arsenal player who registered the most touches last night was Martinez :lol:

Inevitable when you have the most efficient backwards passing game in football. The backpass stops with him.

[Mac76]

Inevitable when you have the most efficient backwards passing game in football. The backpass stops with him.

that passes stat is the biggest piece of BS in football - it's the reason Xhaka and Mustafi get loads of completed passes because they just pass back and forth along the line or to the goalie - and mugs like Arteta just lap it all up

[Letters]

mugs like Arteta just lap it all up
Do they, though? I mean, maybe, but is this a stat Arteta focuses on?

[I am invisible]

Do they, though? I mean, maybe, but is this a stat Arteta focuses on?

No. In fact he's been quite clear in highlighting the huge gulf in quality between us and the teams above us (I can't even call them our rivals atm) that will need to be closed before we can think about that kind of football.

[GP]

Do they, though? I mean, maybe, but is this a stat Arteta focuses on?

No. Arteta plays Xhaka every game because he's the best midfielder we've got.

[selassie]

We parked the bus, plain and simple. Second half was painful viewing, but we got the job done. This was more luck than executing a decent game plan.

The gap between us and the likes of Liverpool and City is huge, we have a lot of work to do.

[I am invisible]

No. Arteta plays Xhaka every game because he's the best midfielder we've got.

We also play 343 with wingbacks for the same reason - because we're light on central midfielders and ACMs, but heavy on wide players. I don't suppose for one minute that it's actually Arteta's preferred system, but for now it's a good fit for what we have.

[I am invisible]

We parked the bus, plain and simple. Second half was painful viewing, but we got the job done. This was more luck than executing a decent game plan.

The gap between us and the likes of Liverpool and City is huge, we have a lot of work to do.

:good:

Park the bus and hope there's enough quality up top to keep knicking goals - that's basically where we are right now.

Tbf, I do think there's some pragmatic planning going on there - I don't think it's nothing but blind luck - but yeah, it's not exactly pretty and it's not particularly clever stuff. Basically Mourinho football, but with shitter players.

Still, is there really much point in pushing this bunch to try and play like fast, complex possession football yet? We lack too many attributes for it, and I'm not convinced a lot of them are even fit enough to play that way, so it would just be a giant mess. For now, we've given them a task that's within their ability to achieve and that's restoring a bit of pride and confidence - that'll do for now, and should see us through these last couple of weeks.

[Mac76]

No. Arteta plays Xhaka every game because he's the best midfielder we've got.

Please tell me you're being sarcastic...?

[GP]

Please tell me you're being sarcastic...?

Xhaka has played well since the Arteta took over.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Xhaka’s game has certainly improved. For starters, he passes it forward and has been finding attackers in good positions. That coupled with a lethal shot and steady improvement, could bode well.

[Penguin]

Xhaka doesn't make stupid mistakes leading to goals as much, so that's an improvement. I also agree that his passing has improved a bit.

Still don't think he's good enough. High up the list of players that need to be replaced.

[Letters]

Good win definitely and I guess a confidence boost, but it's not really indicative of where we are, the defeat by Spurs in the NLD was more so because even though it was pretty meaningless in terms of achieving something, it was a derby and thus a game you want to win.

I don’t think any individual game tells you where you are.
The season as a whole does that and I think we know where we are which is a million miles away from really competing.
It was refreshing to hear Arteta admit as much after the game. I like what Arteta says and while he hasn’t performed miracles did you really expect him to with our squad?
My only concern is whether he is taking is in the right direction. Few tentative signs that he might be.
We’ll know more next season.

[Mac76]

Xhaka doesn't make stupid mistakes leading to goals as much, so that's an improvement. I also agree that his passing has improved a bit.

Still don't think he's good enough. High up the list of players that need to be replaced.

Quite, he may not be such a disaster area as he was, but that's the best that can be said

He's too slow, too clumsy, and too dumb

[I am invisible]

What can you do? This is what we have to work with at the moment.

We can all see that we need more power, dynamism, creativity and goals from midfield, and god willing we’ll somehow find a way to add it this summer, but unfortunately that doesn’t help us get through what’s left of this season. Right now Xhaka is probably our most consistent and reliable CM so he gets picked. What else is there to say?

[I am invisible]

I don’t think any individual game tells you where you are.
The season as a whole does that and I think we know where we are which is a million miles away from really competing.
It was refreshing to hear Arteta admit as much after the game. I like what Arteta says and while he hasn’t performed miracles did you really expect him to with our squad?
My only concern is whether he is taking is in the right direction. Few tentative signs that he might be.
We’ll know more next season.
We’re definitely going in the right direction - all of the stats show that. Unfortunately the teams above us just haven’t been dropping enough points for it to have made much of a difference to out league position, but the way I see it we were in total free-fall before Arteta took over, so the fact that we’ve kept pace, and maybe even clawed back a bit of ground, is proof that we’ve turned something around...

[Globalgunner]

What can you do? This is what we have to work with at the moment.

We can all see that we need more power, dynamism, creativity and goals from midfield, and god willing we’ll somehow find a way to add it this summer, but unfortunately that doesn’t help us get through what’s left of this season. Right now Xhaka is probably our most consistent and reliable CM so he gets picked. What else is there to say?

What is there to say. Is that Xhaka shout not be a part of our midfield going into the new season otherwise we will be lamenting his crappiness for another year. No other top team has a lummox like him in their team. We have suffered him long enough. If Artets keeps him. He loses me Immediately.

[I am invisible]

What is there to say. Is that Xhaka shout not be a part of our midfield going into the new season otherwise we will be lamenting his crappiness for another year. No other top team has a lummox like him in their team. We have suffered him long enough. If Artets keeps him. He loses me Immediately.
I’m not that fussed if he stays or goes, tbh, just as long as we bring in better. What narcs me more than anything is that he ends up as a guaranteed starter every week almost by default because we don’t have much else to turn to. But that’s not down to him.

That being said, if he’s not a guaranteed starter then £100k/wk is a lot to be paying a squad player, especially when you don’t have match day revenue or European football. And that goes for at least 7 other players in the squad too!