Match Reaction v Chelsea (home)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Shat on them for most of the game.

Martinelli, Saka and Smith Rowe. :bow:

Leno had a very good game.

We can only win the big games now. :lol:

[Globalgunner]

Guess we are stuck with Lego man till the end of the season now

[GP]

SWEET CAROLINE!!!

[Xhaka Can’t]

BOOM! BOOM! Laca Xhaka Saka!

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Guess we are stuck with Lego man till the end of the season now

Yeah I'd rather have lost. :sarcy:

[Slacker]

4th place from the relegation places trophy a distinct possibility. It's just like old times.

[Marc Overmars]

Best performance and result in what seems like forever.

All on you Mikel. Team selection should be a no brainer now. :shrug:

[Globalgunner]

Yeah I'd rather have lost. :sarcy:

Id rather not be in this position also but lets not fight. It was a good performance everyone's happy whos wearing red.

Plus we are safe from Burnley for now

[Letters]

It’s a Christmas miracle!

Staying up, staying up, staying uuup!

[Xhaka Can’t]

Id rather not be in this position also

Yeah, 15th was better.

Sheesh! Just enjoy a fucking win.

[GP]

Yeah, 15th was better.

Sheesh! Just enjoy a fucking win.

Are you a crackpot youtuber?

No? Then you're in no position to tell him what to think.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Id rather not be in this position also but lets not fight. It was a good performance everyone's happy whos wearing red

Obviously. We'd be in worse position league wise if we had lost though. Again, obviously.

[Marc Overmars]

Get the 6 points from Brighton and West Brom and I reckon we’ll stay up you know.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Best performance and result in what seems like forever.

All on you Mikel. Team selection should be a no brainer now. :shrug:

You'd hope so, he's a big fan of rotation though, which I personally hate.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Saka says he meant it. I believe him. :bow:

Also, actually watching MotD tonight. :faint:

What an experience.

[Globalgunner]

Are you a crackpot youtuber?

No? Then you're in no position to tell him what to think.

Being able to think is more than many can muster. But thats a different topic. I thought we wanted to enjoy the win.

[hobson's choice]

Best game Xhaka and Bellerin I've had in about 2 years. They must be thinking Arteta bout to get fired, so no more free ride.

Need to keep the Youngers for the next games

[hobson's choice]

Saka says he meant it. I believe him. :bow:

Also, actually watching MotD tonight. :faint:

What an experience.

Cause Mendy was so out of position, he had to had meant it.

[selassie]

That was superb. Should and could have been 5 or 6-1.

[Ralpheroo72]

Chelsea missed Willian today

[Letters]

I think Saka meant it.
Good performance all round. Actually looked dangerous going forward :faint:

[selassie]

Chelsea missed Willian today

:lol:

[selassie]

I think Saka meant it.
Good performance all round. Actually looked dangerous going forward :faint:

This is Saka’s team. He’s running it like Cesc was. If he improves his finishing this kid is gonna be a monster. He even looks fairly decent when we lose.

[hobson's choice]

This is Saka’s team. He’s running it like Cesc was. If he improves his finishing this kid is gonna be a monster. He even looks fairly decent when we lose.

Yep

[Xhaka Can’t]

Being able to think is more than many can muster. But thats a different topic. I thought we wanted to enjoy the win.

If being able to think is to regurgitate crackpot YouTube, Qanon and other radical right sources, you and NQ are modern day Platos and Socrates.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Chelsea missed Willian today

:haha:

[Letters]

I also enjoyed watching it on my TV :angry:

[Ollie the Optimist]

Basically the key lesson from this game is that Willian should never play for us again

[LDG]

Fan bloody tastic.

Christmas :bow:

[Gooner23]

Basically the key lesson from this game is that Willian should never play for us again

Pepe should be relegated to bench duty as well. Front 3 of Auba, Martineli and Saka going forwards please. Although to be fair Laca had a good game today.

[I am invisible]

What was the shape today? Who played where? I’d like to think you could guess these things from the starting XI, but you never know with us...

[Gooner23]

What was the shape today? Who played where? I’d like to think you could guess these things from the starting XI, but you never know with us...

433 with Laca up top, Martinelli left and Saka right.. although they switched flanks for a bit.

Smith Rowe played behind Laca but went ahead of him at times... seemed to work well.

[Mac76]

Saka says he meant it. I believe him. :bow:



Of course he did, i was surprised it was ever in question, Saka would never play in a cross that badly

[I am invisible]

433 with Laca up top, Martinelli left and Saka right.. although they switched flanks for a bit.

Smith Rowe played behind Laca but went ahead of him at times... seemed to work well.
Nice! Simple. I like it.

Good to have that Martinelli / Tierney combo down the left again.

[Mac76]

Pepe should be relegated to bench duty as well. Front 3 of Auba, Martineli and Saka going forwards please. Although to be fair Laca had a good game today.

Can't believe i'm saying it but based on today i'd leave Auba out and keep Laca, he does actually really put in a shift and give defenders something to think about, auba's been an irrelevance this season

[Globalgunner]

If being able to think is to regurgitate crackpot YouTube, Qanon and other radical right sources, you and NQ are modern day Platos and Socrates.

and you would have to be dumb and dumber I guess, either or

[Xhaka Can’t]

Fuckin great film

[I am invisible]

Can't believe i'm saying it but based on today i'd leave Auba out and keep Laca, he does actually really put in a shift and give defenders something to think about, auba's been an irrelevance this season
Saka, Martinelli and ESR look like the future - let Auba and Laca share the CF spot until one of them finds their form.

[GP]

Fuckin great film

Man, you are one pathetic loser.


No offence.

[Xhaka Can’t]

No, none taken.

[Bumble]

As has been said

Saka smith rowe and martinelli 3 behind the striker is the way to go.

Laca works harder but auba is a much better finisher.

Back four is solid with bellerin holding gabriel and Tierney. Leno is good shot stopper.

So its the central midfield that needs work and the obvious lack of depth. Partey when fit is one option so i would like the energy amn would provide as the other option.

As i have said before the board come out and show that the onjective of arteta is to blood youngsters then the fans can buy into that and perhaps give breathing space for this season.

[Ralpheroo72]

:haha:
Man, you are one pathetic loser.


No offence.

[I am invisible]

As has been said

Saka smith rowe and martinelli 3 behind the striker is the way to go.

Laca works harder but auba is a much better finisher.

Back four is solid with bellerin holding gabriel and Tierney. Leno is good shot stopper.

So its the central midfield that needs work and the obvious lack of depth. Partey when fit is one option so i would like the energy amn would provide as the other option.

As i have said before the board come out and show that the onjective of arteta is to blood youngsters then the fans can buy into that and perhaps give breathing space for this season.
There’s the start of a decent team there - not much depth once you scratch the surface, so it’s going to need a lot of reinforcement, but enough to see what we could be.

We’re going to have to manage our expectations with this pretty carefully over the next few months because we may not get to see this XI too often - Martinelli and ESR aren’t up to playing a full 90 yet, let alone 3 games a week, and random injuries and suspensions will mean it’s going to be rare that everyone is available at the same time. Between now and May I just want to see these players picked whenever it’s possible, even if that’s 1 in every 3 or 4 games, and that we get a good look at the type of football we want to be playing when they do all come together. In between those moments I guess we just have to hope that the other players are stung enough to raise their games and fight for their places?

I’m not setting any points totals or expected finishing positions - not much point now - but by the end of the season I want to see clear evidence of the plan / vision for this team. Whether Arteta makes it to his second 18 months all hinges on that.

[Slacker]

There’s the start of a decent team there - not much depth once you scratch the surface, so it’s going to need a lot of reinforcement, but enough to see what we could be.

We’re going to have to manage our expectations with this pretty carefully over the next few months because we may not get to see this XI too often - Martinelli and ESR aren’t up to playing a full 90 yet, let alone 3 games a week, and random injuries and suspensions will mean it’s going to be rare that everyone is available at the same time. Between now and May I just want to see these players picked whenever it’s possible, even if that’s 1 in every 3 or 4 games, and that we get a good look at the type of football we want to be playing when they do all come together. In between those moments I guess we just have to hope that the other players are stung enough to raise their games and fight for their places?

I’m not setting any points totals or expected finishing positions - not much point now - but by the end of the season I want to see clear evidence of the plan / vision for this team. Whether Arteta makes it to his second 18 months all hinges on that.

Arteta is for me the problem. Luiz will be fit again soon and will displace Holding. He'll put Martinelli back on the bench, find room somewhere for Kolasinac and we'll be back to square one. From the moment he walked into Arsenal and started playing proven failures and not giving the youngsters enough game time, I knew I couldn't trust him. I just don't buy him at all.

We need a bold manager who is going to stick with the kids and keep players like Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac and Xhaka out of the way. They have never been good enough for Arsenal and if he doesn't know that, he shouldn't be the manager.

[Mac76]

Arteta is for me the problem. Luiz will be fit again soon and will displace Holding. He'll put Martinelli back on the bench, find room somewhere for Kolasinac and we'll be back to square one. From the moment he walked into Arsenal and started playing proven failures and not giving the youngsters enough game time, I knew I couldn't trust him. I just don't buy him at all.

We need a bold manager who is going to stick with the kids and keep players like Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac and Xhaka out of the way. They have never been good enough for Arsenal and if he doesn't know that, he shouldn't be the manager.

that is the key test - he's been shown the way and if he doesn't now have saturday's side (minus Xhaka) for his default starting eleven he isn't the right man for us.

he had to be taught the lesson but someone on £5m a year should be bright enough to wake up and smell the coffee at this point

[I am invisible]

Look, if Martinelli and ESR aren’t making it through a full 90 minutes yet then they’re probably not going to be up to playing 2 or 3 games a week just yet either. I think we all know that we’re still going to have to rotate with the bums for a little while to come (likely until the end of the season) because that’s all we have in depth right now, so I’d set the expectation level more at expecting Arteta to pick this team (*with Partey) whenever the players are available and rested.

If it makes everyone feel any better, Chelsea was a massive, massive game for Arteta - his neck was literally on the block before this one, and when he really needed a result these are the players (and the system) he turned to. He didn’t have to pick these guys - he could still have gone with Pepe or Willock or Nketiah over Martinelli and/or ESR. He could have picked Mustafi over Mari. He could have played it safe and gone with a back 3 instead of a #10.

Likewise, earlier in the season, when Partey was fit, Xhaka’s ass was getting benched on a regular basis, and you could see a definite preference for athletic, mobile central midfielders. Of course we didn’t have the attacking players we needed available at that time, so it still wasn’t a complete side, but I think there have been little signs along the way that hint at how Arteta would like to shape this side when everyone is fit and available.

I’d also say that, as bad as these last couple of months have been, it was really encouraging to see how much of a difference just two more decent attacking players made to pretty much everything.