Match Reaction v Olympiakos (Home)

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Another game without a goal in it from us.

Third time Olympiakos have beaten us at the Emirates. :doh:

Sokratis keeping a clean sheet. :bow:

[Mac76]

Auba was toilet but anyway we got through, on we march etc etc

[Mac76]

Oh and...

Arsenal :bow:

Olympiakos :haha:

Sokratis :haha:

Ba :haha:

Greece :haha:

The Acropolis :haha:

Plato :haha:

Smashing plates :haha:

Retsina :haha:

(actually I quite like retsina… :d)

[Marc Overmars]

Obviously a night where they set out to do the barest of all bare minimums.

Auba is shite. Hard to believe this is the same striker who was burying them from all angles for the past 2 years.

[WMUG]

Spurs :haha:

[Letters]

Spurs :haha:

:gp:

[Gooner23]

Match reaction? Spurs are still shit.

[Letters]

Match reaction? Spurs are still shit.

Agreed

[Slacker]

Arsenal didn't seem overly interested in putting the game to bed so we had to endure another excruciating next goal wins drama that could easily have gone the other way. Is that 3 games in a row Olympiakos have beaten us at home? Seems like it. Sorry to labour a point but the buck stops with the manager. Piss poor selection and unfathomable tactics. At least we're through and may be the only British team left later on.

[LDG]

Arsenal didn't seem overly interested in putting the game to bed so we had to endure another excruciating next goal wins drama that could easily have gone the other way. Is that 3 games in a row Olympiakos have beaten us at home? Seems like it. Sorry to labour a point but the buck stops with the manager. Piss poor selection and unfathomable tactics. At least we're through and may be the only British team left later on.

Oh faak off.

[LDG]

For the 30 mins I watched, it was pretty easy to see who the best team was (as in not playing the best, but who has better players and a better way of playing, and pretty much better all over).

If you can’t see this is a more structured and balanced side than we’ve had for the last ten years, then you’re cray

I know we don’t have the best players. But we can remove the shit, and repace with good. The fact we have shape (balanced to the left, granted), is more than we’ve had for fucking years

[Letters]

Arsenal didn't seem overly interested in putting the game to bed so we had to endure another excruciating next goal wins drama.
Not really. If they'd scored again we'd have gone through on away goals.
It was a poor performance but we have had to concede 3 goals to go out so I reckon they can have a night off.
There are some worrying frailties in this team though.

[LDG]

Not really. If they'd scored again we'd have gone through on away goals.
It was a poor performance but we have had to concede 3 goals to go out so I reckon they can have a night off.
There are some worrying frailties in this team though.

Where are the frailties?

For me, it’s bellerin who is the weakest link in the side.

Xhaka is the next slow moving pivot to be replaced. I give the dude credit, as he does tick tock, bit he won’t ever dominate a big match in the champs league. So he’s the next to fuck off.

Then lastly, I’d tell Auba to go and find a chinese side who want a smiling goalscorer, who gives you nothing else but a rapist touch. Clumbsy and sometime hits the spot.

Lacazette is better for this team, and ultimately Martinelli

[Marc Overmars]

It was a shite game but I was never worried we’d let it slip, there was an element of control despite the defeat.

Anyway this is the only thing keeping our season going so getting through is the only thing that matters now. Could be much worse, we could have been slapped 3-0 by a team with it’s coach in prison.

[Letters]

Where are the frailties?

For me it's about our tendency to self-destruct. We did it 3 games in a row recently.
Burnley - we were 1-0 up and cruising, Xhaka makes a stupid mistake and it ended up gifting them 2 points. We were a bit unlucky not to score in the second half but we only really put the pressure on in the last 15 minutes.
The away leg against this lot we did the exact same thing. In that game we did go on to win it but it was another example of us shooting ourselves in the foot and making life harder for ourselves than we needed to.
Spurs were bloody awful on Sunday but when they went down to 10 men we seemed to collectively shit ourselves and did our best to gift them a point they didn't deserve.
We aren't clinical enough up front, we are more organised at the back in general but we make too many individual mistakes and just generally we rarely win games comfortably.

Overall though I am happier with us as a team than I was early season, I thought just before Christmas that Arteta should be sacked, now I think he deserves another season - unless the start of next season is a complete car crash. I think we are heading in the right direction but there's still a lot of work to do to get us challenging. I don't think that's news though.

[LDG]

For me it's about our tendency to self-destruct. We did it 3 games in a row recently.
Burnley - we were 1-0 up and cruising, Xhaka makes a stupid mistake and it ended up gifting them 2 points. We were a bit unlucky not to score in the second half but we only really put the pressure on in the last 15 minutes.
The away leg against this lot we did the exact same thing. In that game we did go on to win it but it was another example of us shooting ourselves in the foot and making life harder for ourselves than we needed to.
Spurs were bloody awful on Sunday but when they went down to 10 men we seemed to collectively shit ourselves and did our best to gift them a point they didn't deserve.
We aren't clinical enough up front, we are more organised at the back in general but we make too many individual mistakes and just generally we rarely win games comfortably.

Overall though I am happier with us as a team than I was early season, I thought just before Christmas that Arteta should be sacked, now I think he deserves another season - unless the start of next season is a complete car crash. I think we are heading in the right direction but there's still a lot of work to do to get us challenging. I don't think that's news though.

That was difficult to read. For me, since wenger, but moreso, subsequent to Emery, we’re a more complete side.

Xhaka is the only big link between all managers. He is too slow for this league. You need to be front footed in the prem, not patient.

Thankfully, our defence is far more solid and that is a great thing. Mari, Gabriel, Holding and (shock horror) Luiz, have by amd large been good for me.

Auba needs to find his horse field

[Slacker]

Dunno what I was thinking with the next goal wins, I was bricking myself unnecessarily.

I'm sorry I pissed you off LDG. I can see a lot of what you are seeing, and I can certainly see where Letters is coming from.

Hopefully it will all come good and I can wind my neck in. I don't think we are far off now. We would be great in defence if Luiz was a backup, we need a solid basic positive defensive midfielder to replace Xhaka and then start believing a bit more in the youngsters.

[Globalgunner]

Luiz is yesterdays man. We have a full crop of good to excellent defenders that are with us and playing well on loan. If he wants to stay in London. He either joins the coaching staff, or joins Fulham or Crystal Palace, next season.

We need to move Xhaka on, he epitomises the backward drift we have seen since he joined us in Wengers time. I would love to see Ward Prowse of Southampton take his place but we are talking £50m for an England international. We have to sell him as managers always seem mesmerised into constantly picking him.

I was always against Auba being signed on. A total waste for a fluff of a player. A good DoF can move him on . We have the ready made replacements and I would keep Laca too. He works better with the rest of our forward assets. Odegaard for another season and can we just dump Bellerin and Ceballos as Luton airport with a buy 1 get 1 free sticker attached to the pair.

have I missed anyone?. Oh yes Willian....just go please, Dangote for Kroenke and he will soon give Arteta the heave ho.