Match Reaction: Arsenal 3-2 Southampton

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Originally Posted by selassie

Yep, as long as Wenger remains in charge I don't think we will make any significant investments in the defensive areas of the team.

Wenger has neglected that side of the team pretty much his entire tenure...he got away with it in the early days for obvious reasons...but over the last 10 years it's been dud after dud.

What makes things worse is that in recent times when he has spent a bit more than usual in defence and midfield he has got it wrong.

He spent 70million combined on Xhaka and Mustafi, my god...he really did get that wrong.

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You're right, thing is it's not that hard to get decet players, you just have to pay for them, pretty much noone would have signed Xhaka and Mustafi, Wenger just loves to find players so he can ve credited for turning them into top players if they do become so, he was 70 million on those when far better options were available, now he's been left with egg on his face, much like with Welbeck who he harped on about the other day after his 1st decent game in months, buy cheap buy twice that's how we should be looking at it.

Wenger just simply doesn't know how to set up a really tight defence. Never has during his entire Arsenal career. Like most things, he seems to let the players sort it out by themselves which is why I don't get the Merts hate; he, Kos, Sol & Kolo (for a while) have been the few defenders that have actually looked for us.

Tbf I don't really think the likes of Klopp or Pep are better and they similarly try and get away with it by just buying really good or competent defendres. But it's far more justified for them as they put all the energies into coaching a fantastic and fluid attack that can destroy any team in the world.

We at the moment have neither. Clown show as usual at the back and not good enough going forward (despite the current batch of goalfests our attack will struggle against better teams I suspect).

I think we're a lot better going forward right now than we have been. Better sides will always make it harder for you but we seem a lot more direct of late.
Complete clown-fest at the back though.

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Originally Posted by Letters

I think we're a lot better going forward right now than we have been. Better sides will always make it harder for you but we seem a lot more direct of late.
Complete clown-fest at the back though.

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We've looked slightly better the past few weeks with the recent glut of 3+ goals we've scored but tbf they've been against poor to average teams. Our attacks still isn't close to as lethal as Liverpool's & City's who are capable of cutting apart any team in the world almost at will.

Given our past I'd be wary of coming to any bigger conclusions just yet.

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Originally Posted by The Emirates Gallactico

Our attacks still isn't close to as lethal as Liverpool's & City's who are capable of cutting apart any team in the world almost at will.

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Agree with that, but it has looked better. And it's worth nothing that we've looked pretty inept against poor to average teams for much of this season, although we were winning at home early season they were often quite narrow wins, we're looking a lot more free-flowing going forward right now.

It was hard for the team to get any worse. We bounced off the bottom.

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Originally Posted by Letters

I think we're a lot better going forward right now than we have been. Better sides will always make it harder for you but we seem a lot more direct of late.
Complete clown-fest at the back though.

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Aye, we still have a way to go though, sadly I think the current top 4 are all by some distance offensively better than us or at least more efficient, what TEG has said basically.

What concerns me more is that our improvement in attack and it is not a major improvement has completely crippled what was an already brittle defence.

Wenger more or less conceded this the other day with that ridiculous comment he came out with that NQ posted. What is mind boggling is that he doesn't seem to want to rectify it.

Elneny's red has been rescinded.

Really?! :lol:

Wow. I mean, it was a bit soft but we never get away with these things.

:dance:

Genuinely surprised by that, didn't expect it to happen in a million years given that he did actually touch the other guy's face.