Four league wins in a row. :bow:
It's galling seeing us play like a pub side most of the time but we have goalscorers that often will make the difference.
Neverton are always so serviceable to us. :scarf:
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Four league wins in a row. :bow:
It's galling seeing us play like a pub side most of the time but we have goalscorers that often will make the difference.
Neverton are always so serviceable to us. :scarf:
Pure class from Emery. Another 3 points in the bag and we go from strength to strength.
Shreeves thought Lacazette was swearing there. :doh:
Lacazette has to get Aubameyang to translate Shreeves' bollocks. :lol:
Not great but we win again. Shows the importance of having world class finishers who can score from limited service.
Ramsey, Ozil and Xhaka mostly horseshit as usual. Nice to see Torreira get 90 minutes, that South American energy and class and is very welcome in our joke of a midfield.
Lacazette won it for us, what a player he is, just goes to show what happens when you finally get proper forwards, you actually win games you'd usually draw/lose.
Indifferent performance again, but that seems to be the norm which suggests the players we currently have aren't really suited (or good enough) to the way Emery wants to play.
In short think this team needs a fair amount of surgery and I hope Emery recognises that, forward line is decent but most of the rest probably aren't good enough.
It was a good result after a terrible first half.
Arsenal need a right winger because that is not Ozils or Ramseys position.
I hope that Sokratis is ok because he has looked quite good so far this season.
There are a few players that need to be replaced like Xhaka, Mustafi and maybe others.
Great goal from Lacazette, Auba was offside but that will be evened out in future games.
Four premier league wins in a row, hope that continues.
4 in a row. good goal by laca he seems to be playing really well. Cech made some decent saves. Some decent games coming up to with Watford, Leicester, Fulham and Palace up next. if we can continue to win without playing particularly well or exciting football then that is a good sign and as someone else has said. it is the benefit of having quality goalscorers.
top 2 is out of the question, but 3rd place maybe???
We could easily drop points against Watford the way they are playing....so I think that will be quite a test.
Much like the last game ......distinctly average first half followed by a controlled second half performance.
I was late for kick off and spotted Gaitang Bong walking around outside the North bank. Kinda bizarre....is he a gooner???
I love Laca, such a classy and clever finisher. If he can keep his place in the team I can see him scoring 25 this season.
Cech easily man of match, which says a lot.
Poor performance mainly due to Emery still not knowing his best 11.
Torriera starting was nice, but he partnering Xhaka is an overkill; Guendozi or even maybe Ramsey partnering would have helped us look more balanced as a whole.
Attackwise Ramsey and Ozil have been poor for a while and either Mhiki or preferably Iwobi should have started with one of them. Also the fact that the latter 2 actually look comfortable carrying the ball and trying to beat opponents is effective with the style Emery wants us to play.
As for the goalscorers, we thank the Good Lord he has listened and hasn't fiddled with the partnership, yet anyway.
As for our defenders, I give up. We still need a whole new back 4, but we can do with easing out Mustafi asap and giving Lichsteiner far more game time anywhere along that line.
Oh we kept a clean sheet finally, but that was 100% down to Cech.
We are a lot more open than last year, we concede clear cut chances every game. Everton should have been ahead, we rode our luck.
I’m really worried about us defensively against the top 5 sides (especially Liverpool and City away), we really have to stop giving away chances.
No doubt we’re going to be absolutely roasted by Liverpool in a few games time. Unless there’s a dramatic improvement at the back.
Agree with most of this but i still think Sokratis is good, but it's just not easy to look good all the time when you've Xhaka and Mustafi around you, plus i actually rate Holding too, he at least is prepared to simply put it out of play rather than try something stupid.Quote:
Originally Posted by 21_GOONER_SALUTE
He has to drop Mustafi and Xhaka, we'll immediately be less liable to make costly mistakes
Cech did indeed save us with a top-class performance, well done him
Agree with the above. Based on performances this season I'd go with Cech, Bellerin, Holding, Sokratis, Monreal, Torreira, Guendozi, Ozil, Iwobi, Auba, Laca.
Cech has saved our bacon on many occasions this season. It’s alarming how frequently we’re getting carved open. Saying that, I’m glad people are starting to see that Sokratis is a good defender. Unpopular opinion, but I also see slight improvements in Bellerin and Mustafi’s game. Far away from perfect, still making mistakes but less individual blunders and our defensive mistakes seem to be more of a collective problem. That being said, it’s still not good enough and we need to improve.
Torreira played as expected. A real pitbull in the middle of the park. Tracked back, intercepted, tackled, colletcted the ball from the defence to distribute the ball. A solid performance.
That being said, Xhaka adds little to our midfield. He’s unnecessary. Despite having less of the defensive burden on his shoulders and not having to collect the ball from our defence and being able to play a little further up the pitch, he added next to nothing to our attack.
Ozil has been a terrible purchase. Terrible. He doesn’t press with any intent and is a total coward in the final third. Time to get rid of him.
Ramsey can follow him. Unai has to do something different with Ramsey and Ozil. Bench or switch their positioning.
Really rate Lacazette, had a hard time from fans last season but I always maintained this guy is quality and needs his chance, you don't need to be involved for 90 minutes to be a top player, Lacazette is a finisher, he can get a goal out of nothing like he did today, that's what a finisher should be. The former manager always wanted players who were always involved (however bad they were) and didn't value finishers so it's nice to see Lacazette getting gametime under the new manager at last.
Torreira was great as well a real little terrier who also delivers meaningful passes rather than 5 yard sideways passes. Cech had a great game too and kept us in it, because in reality Everton gave us a roasting for 56 minutes until Laca scored, should have never had a chance to save some of those but Everton have got rubbish forwards who can't sore for Toffee like Walcott.
Ozil worked hard and created the 2nd goal (although it was offside but Ramsey should have scored it anyway), if we can play him into form we'll be in a good place.
Everton had a lot of pace today, thought Richarlson looked quality, very effective and we're crying out for pacey wide player or two.
Defence was caught out time after time in the 1st half, just not convinced with the personnel there, Mustafi in particular, the guy can't defend for toffee.
Ramsey for me should be dropped, out of contract and leaving next summer, no reason to play him, would also ditch Xhaka, guy is rubbish.
Overall we're winning games we should be winning so that's good, clearly not good enough to match the better sides, if Everton had a decent forward the result might have been different, but that's their issue, decent side with some quality but the forwards (one of which we finally got rid of after years) are rubbish.
Worry about playing Liverpool, they do have top class forwards, the next few games are winnable the real test is Liverpool but I don't think we're good enough to beat them bar some miracle.
Mustafi - not for meQuote:
Originally Posted by Power n Glory
Bellerin though, yes i felt he got back to defend his position better yesterday and his decision-making around the opponents' box is also improving i think
Still not happy with our performances, we were really horrible first half, a really disjointed and poor display. We did improve second half but this team still needs a lot of work to improve. We are lacking in quality and organisation and it’s a big worry for me.
Positives from yesterday were Cech who was outstanding and saved us. I thought Holding played well too. Also notable mentions for Laca and Auba who both produced the goods second half.
We are really going to need to improve because if we perform like this against any of our top 4 rivals we are going to take a real beating.
Despite the above, we are grinding out wins so it could be worse!
Yep, I agree with a lot of this. I think if we are brutally honest we are not quite a top 4 yet and as such will struggle in the big games until Emery really puts his stamp on the team. This is still basically a Wenger team, Emery needs team to change both the personal and mentality of this team.Quote:
Originally Posted by Özim
The Liverpool game in a few weeks time is s write off for me, we are a few levels below them right now IMO.
You're right it is a Wenger team and that's the issue at the moment, at least this guy is willing to play forwards though, for years we were stuck with Wenger who was obsessed with playing one striker and about 9 midfielders!Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
Personally I think this team needs dismantling in areas and Emery needs to bring his own players in, obviously there are some that can stay but it just freshening up, Ramsey will be off so that's one, hopefully we can sell Xhaka, Mustafi and a few others to make room for some better more suitable players, a quality winger and a top notch CB and maybe a couple more.
Emery knows PSG so maybe he can pick one of their more talented youngsters as well as he tried last summer.
As with the last 3 games. Not impressed at all, brilliant moments and playing the worst teams in the league basically covering how awful Emery has been as manager so far.
To this moment I still don't understand the point of hiring Emery. Such a coward and scared hire.
Absolutely agree with your account of the defence so far. I can't stand the sight of Mustafi and washed my hands of him last season but he has been better this season so far. Sokratis' qualities have been very apparent the last few games. Was gutted when I saw him walk off. Holding in his Arsenal career has generally been very good when partnered with a mature and competent older player.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power n Glory
Xhaka whilst redundant in the first half I thought had a very good game in the second half. He's still not my cup of tea and I don't think he will ever be an top elite premier league player, but I liked his second half.
I'd still be quite happy for Emery to partner Lucas with Ramsey or Guendouzi in midfield. I'm secretly hoping to see Ramsey there because I think if he can't make it work there, we have a redundant player on our hands contract or no contract.
Outside of our own club, Zaha has won me back over and would actually welcome seeing him here now..... but I'm liking Iwobi's progression.
There are ways to put your stamp on a team without having to resort to replacing every player. Unai is falling into the same trap as Wenger by playing square pegs in round holes and sticking to a rigid format. Why not play two strikers up front? Why not have the balls to drop Xhaka, Ozil and Ramsey? He doesn't have to play the exact same team as Wenger did with the same formation. We approach every game the same and I haven't seen much evidence of him being meticulous and doing his homework on the opposition. Maybe the focus is on getting us to play a certain way but we'll continue to see this slow progress if he's unwilling to shake up the foundations.Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
The bolded is one of the reasons I supported him over Arteta from the onset.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power n Glory
Everyone who claimed to have worked with him swore to high heavens that he was meticulous in studying his opponents and actually adapted his game plan according to who he faced- something I think is a plus and makes a huge difference when your opponents have better players than you do.
But like you said, we have approached all games the same way and I can see no evidence of adapting styles either.
I dont think the team is even playing in the way Emery wants them to play. First we need to get our shit together before we can go to the next level of having different strategies for different teams. This season is a wash for me and as long as we can play entertaining football and show marked improvement month upon month, I'll be fine. If however, we play all out attack with no plan B next season, I'll join the "Emery is may be not the right person" brigade.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power n Glory
Me too. In fact, I was all for Arteta I heard about his analysis and how he helps Pep on tactics. The downside was his lack of experience and having no idea how he'd cope with his own team. A lot of people were unconvinced about his ability to be tough, pull players up and drop players.
When I heard about Emery instead of Arteta, I wasn't thrilled. He had a piss poor away record for his last season with Sevilla and couldn't handle the star power at PSG. But I wrote off the PSG situation because of the circumstances and was really impressed with what I heard about his attention to detail and tactics.
Now that he's hear, I haven't seen much in terms of tactics and out smarting the opposition. Still early days though. But the fact tGf he won't drop certain players and we're already playing key players out of position as a compromise has me worried. Ozil should be dropped and so should Xhaka just off the back of what Emery said about players working hard off the ball. If you look at the intensity of Ozil's runs to get forward when he sees space compared to when he needs to close down space...it shouldn't be accepted. Why is it? Same goes for Xhaka.
But as I was just saying to Blink, I think our degending has improved. Slightly. I see less individual mistakes and that's probably because they're covering each other a lot better. That's a slight improvement I can't deny.
Emery definitely needs more time but he can't be a push over with certain players. We're high on confidence and positivity right now but I'm waiting to see how we react when gut punched and the confidence goes. So far, I think we're winning off individual brilliance. But this all could be just step one. Getting the teams confidence back.
That's why he has to drop the key individuals that are messing up. Let them learn off the pitch and see how someone else plays the from the sidelines so it's a learning experience.Quote:
Originally Posted by fakeyank
On a side not, did you see that bullshit pass Ozil pulled off when one on one with the keeper and on his preferred foot to score? For all his footballing intelligence, why in the world would he cut the ball back to Ramsey who hadn't set his feet properly and and had a defender right in front of him that could have potentially blocked the shot if Ramsey tried to shoot? We were lucky Ramsey improvised with the flick and Aubameyang wasn't called off side. Emery has to speak Ozil about that sort of shit.
That was total BS from Ozil. We were lucky with that offside decision or else he'd have got some real heat from the fans and press.Quote:
Originally Posted by Power n Glory
I agree with Zim in that a lot of this is down to personnel, Emery just doesn't have enough of his "type" of player. What we became under Wenger was so far removed from any style and cohesion that we completely lost our identity. I'm not exactly sure what Emery is trying to achieve just yet but I'm not overly concerned at the moment because by hook or crook we're getting the wins.
It was a mixed bag for Klopp as well when he joined Liverpool. However I think he had some existing hard working players who suited his philosophy and they were able to pull out big performances at least sporadically. We haven't seen those sparks from us just yet and that's been the disappointing thing.
I've got my eye firmly on that Liverpool game at the start of November. Proper acid test for Emery and he won't have the same benefit of the doubt he had against City and Chelsea.
It's on my birthday (the Liverpool game) so I wouldn't be expecting much from that.
More interested in the Spud/Man utd games in December given that is the weekend and then midweek. :sick:
i agree think those are more important games because they are the teams who have been a bit hit and miss this season as well and those that will be fighting for 4th place.Quote:
Originally Posted by McNamara That Ghost...
If Liverpool play well they will bash us and there isn't anything we can do about it.
Partially agree (Bellerin, Monreal) constantly on the wrong side of the attacker and Mustafi is a fucking snail.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
However, our midfield still offers very little protection which does not help.
Liverpool and City will fucking murder us.
It's not a great squad and Emery is limited to what he can work with. That's true. But looking beyond that, when looking at where he's asking certain players to play, what is it that he trying to get out of them playing there?Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc Overmars
I can almost understand trying to get Ramsey playing higher up the pitch to focus on runs in the box and scoring. But the way Ramsey plays it, he might as we be a second striker because he doesn't contribute to midfield build up play. It's like we only have two Cm's. With that being the case, why not just play Aubameyang and Lacazette up front? Lacazette is working his socks off at the moment with strong link up play and can bang in goals. If not two strikers, why not just play Mkhitaryan or Iwobi as the number 10? We'd get more polish from Mkhitaryan for sure. Or why not just play Ozil as 10?
Now speaking of Ozil, I think he's pretty shit regardless of where he plays but you're going to persist with him and try to get him to defend, wouldn't it be better to just play him as a 10 or not to play at all. What are we trying to pull from him playing on the right wing? He won't gets goals because he's afraid to shoot, doesn't like to defend and he's not even that great at carving a defence up with splitting passes. What more will we get from him out wide if in his natural position he's not that effective? Again, Mkhitaryan or Iwobi can play that position. Heck, if you want a workmanlike performance, Danny Welbeck can play there and he'd be more dangerous on the counter.
Last and definitely the least, Xhaka. There is no reason to play this guy over Torreira or Guendouzi. We have options. Try Elneny there instead. Try bringing Ramsey back and coaching him to play like a CM. We can't say we're limited to choice for this position. We have options.
I'd forgotten the detail about him preparing for the opposition and doing his homework. The last few game she has spoken about needing to control games better which makes it even more strange why he gives Ramsey a position in which he has these low touch games. He miraculously got 2 assists against Everton....but from where I was sitting I genuinely only knew he was on the field by the lineup on the screen, as I missed kick off and got to my seat late.
The problem will resolve itself as his contract will run down and we may lose him anyway, but I think we have to call his bluff on this one unlike with Ozil. Can't get mugged off yet again.
Interesting and slightly odd we are being linked with Banega again who I'd have loved to see here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysqfMyrb-2g
New Arsenal Vision Podcast
We have three major players all playing out of position and none of them are playing particularly well. What’s more frustrating is that I think we’ll see the exact same line up for the next game unless someone gets injured.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice
Our next game is Brentford so that seems unlikely ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Power n Glory
I don't know what to make of how things are going this season really. We've lost the games you'd expect, we've won the games you'd expect. We've not played that well but it's early days in Emery's reign yet.
Forgot about the cup game. Plenty of changes to come there but we'll probably see the same team that played against Everton play against Watford. Can't afford to underestimate Watford.
It's early days for Emery and I'm reasonably satisfied so far, he's started playing two forwards and brought in Torreira for the last game so he is making changes.
His persistence with Xhaka puzzles me a bit, I just don't think the guy brings anything to the team that we need, he's slow, poor defensively and doesn't offer much going forward either.
Realistically though right now there's too many Wenger players who are still regulars, I was a bit underwhelmed with our summer transfer business for this reason, think we needed a couple more new faces to give us more options and allow us to phase some of the players selected by the former manager out. Due to the fact we have no alternatives we can't, they weren't good enough last season and they're not good enough now regardless of the system.
Next season I expect we'll see something quite different (hopefully minus Xhaka and Mustafi), we definitely need some width and a few more new faces, right now I just want to see some progression and for us to moe away from anything the former manager was doing, playing two strikers is a good start as is playing Torreira (though it took him a few games to implement those changes).
As I said before I don't rate this squad of players, quite a few of them lack heart, desire and that winning mentality, Cazorla even said they lacked belief they could win, I can't wait to see this squad overhauled, IMO last seasons' group of players was one of the worst we've ever had all in (there's obviously a few exeptions), anyone that thought a new manager could do anything with that bunch is sadly misguided.
It's one thing having a manager in charge for a few years and using that squad but it's something completely different taking over from a guy who was there over 20 years and ingrained his players with a nonsensical approach year after year, I'm afraid for those guys there's no hope, get rid and bring in players you can teach.