Arsenal 1-1 Brighton Player Ratings and Match Reaction

Raya 7.5 - Once again without him we’d have lost


White 6 - Gets caught far too far up the pitch


Saliba 7 - Solid


Gabriel 5 - Poor again, too easily outmuscled for their goal


Timber 5 - Can’t win headers


Partey 4 - Completely gone as a player, no passing ability, no engine


Rice 5 - Yes sending off was harsh, but he’s not a number 8 and it’s not helping us him being there


Odegaard 5.5 - Wasteful in good positions


Trossard 6 - Largely isolated


Havertz 7.5 - Could have done better when put through on goal, but lovely lobbed finish…didn’t do much wrong today


Saka 7.5 - Has been our best player this season, overworked



Subs


Califiori 6 - Don’t see anything special about him


Martinelli 5 - Didn’t have the chance to do anything as we were sat so deep


Zinchenko 5 - Fortunately didn’t see much of the ball



Given we are a team of defenders and defensive midfielders because that’s the way Arteta wants it, it seems bizarre to me that even with ten men that Minteh has an apalling amount of time and space to latch onto a pass from Lewis Dunk. They created despite the pace, possession and man advantage very little because of how deep we were sitting, but then they should have beaten us when they opened us up in an embarrassingly easy way.

Not sure what the purpose of a player like Jurrien Timber is, I think Gabriel is flirting with being dropped…not had a single competent game this season. Maybe if we played a proper full back and stopped all this inverted bollocks we actually would have a proper outlet on the left.

Partey reminds me of my cousins blind, deaf senile border collie with fucked back legs, not suffering but doesn’t really know what’s going on….would be kinder to euthanise.

Rubbish ;)

https://x.com/scottjwillis/status/18...k_DvSqUkaQFrjw

Odegaard was by far the worst player on that pitch. Also none of the forward players deserve more than a 6.

Raya again MOTM...no one came close.

Disagree…I thought both Havertz and Saka played well. The problem is our attacks are always hyper focused on the right hand side. As Mac pointed out in another post, Trossard on the rare occasion he saw the ball actually produced a decent cross that Odegaard wasted.

The problem was that he didn’t see that much of the ball. I marked the defence and defensive midfielders down because even with ten men, the Brighton goal was utterly avoidable….and it wasn’t the only time they opened us up like that. Not tracking runners properly….not congesting the pitch. We should have been able to close the game out even with Rice’s sending off

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Raya 7.5 - Once again without him we’d have lost


White 6 - Gets caught far too far up the pitch


Saliba 7 - Solid


Gabriel 5 - Poor again, too easily outmuscled for their goal


Timber 5 - Can’t win headers


Partey 4 - Completely gone as a player, no passing ability, no engine


Rice 5 - Yes sending off was harsh, but he’s not a number 8 and it’s not helping us him being there


Odegaard 5.5 - Wasteful in good positions


Trossard 6 - Largely isolated


Havertz 7.5 - Could have done better when put through on goal, but lovely lobbed finish…didn’t do much wrong today


Saka 7.5 - Has been our best player this season, overworked



Subs


Califiori 6 - Don’t see anything special about him


Martinelli 5 - Didn’t have the chance to do anything as we were sat so deep


Zinchenko 5 - Fortunately didn’t see much of the ball



Given we are a team of defenders and defensive midfielders because that’s the way Arteta wants it, it seems bizarre to me that even with ten men that Minteh has an apalling amount of time and space to latch onto a pass from Lewis Dunk. They created despite the pace, possession and man advantage very little because of how deep we were sitting, but then they should have beaten us when they opened us up in an embarrassingly easy way.

Not sure what the purpose of a player like Jurrien Timber is, I think Gabriel is flirting with being dropped…not had a single competent game this season. Maybe if we played a proper full back and stopped all this inverted bollocks we actually would have a proper outlet on the left.

Partey reminds me of my cousins blind, deaf senile border collie with fucked back legs, not suffering but doesn’t really know what’s going on….would be kinder to euthanise.

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Arteta out tbf.

Martinelli did very well to try and score on the break, a 7 at least for me

The whole side was hobbled by Arteta's bizarre tactics, the Califiori/Trossard sub was designed for being 1-0 up, he should have abandoned that and subbed Timber instead to give us more if a chance to retake the lead.

I'm betting City would still have gone on and won that game

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Originally Posted by Mac76

Martinelli did very well to try and score on the break, a 7 at least for me

The whole side was hobbled by Arteta's bizarre tactics, the Califiori/Trossard sub was designed for being 1-0 up, he should have abandoned that and subbed Timber instead to give us more if a chance to retake the lead.

I'm betting City would still have gone on and won that game

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I’m betting that city never ever get that red card ;)

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Originally Posted by Mac76

Martinelli did very well to try and score on the break, a 7 at least for me

The whole side was hobbled by Arteta's bizarre tactics, the Califiori/Trossard sub was designed for being 1-0 up, he should have abandoned that and subbed Timber instead to give us more if a chance to retake the lead.

I'm betting City would still have gone on and won that game

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See I’ve been thinking about this, and not sure where I fall down. On balance a side that wants to win the title should be trying to go for the win even with less players on the pitch. But at same time, it can be argued that a team with the pace of Brighton could have taken us apart on the counter (arguably they did) and we lacked the squad depth or finishers to make it a worthwhile gambit.

So basically I’m saying I don’t know and I can see it both ways :lol:

Reading the pundits comments defending the rice red card, it just shows how no one is going to stand up to the PGMOL and just let them continue ruining the game with incompetent refereeing.

Let’s take the argument that Rice should have been booked by the letter of law because he kicked the ball away. Well to start with, the ball was moving because Brighton player had already moved it forward so by letter of the law, the free kick would have had to be retaken because you can’t kick a moving ball. He also wasn’t taking the free kick in the right place as foul was further back as again defined by letter of the law. So the referee only applied one letter of the law because he actively made that choice.

Yet earlier in the game, he didn’t apply the letter of the law to Pedro when he booted the ball 40 yards away after running it out of play. By the letter of the law, there is no difference between that & Rice yet he applied two completely different standards of refereeing. Most accept it was common sense to not book Pedro but you cannot justify that now given the Rice incident.

I agree that Partey looks ready for the scrap heap.

Incredibly annoying 2 points dropped because of the stupid red card. Early days of course but we know games like this will matter greatly if we’re trying to beat City to the title.

Spurs and City away next. Might not be pretty.

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Originally Posted by Ollie the Optimist

Reading the pundits comments defending the rice red card, it just shows how no one is going to stand up to the PGMOL and just let them continue ruining the game with incompetent refereeing.

Let’s take the argument that Rice should have been booked by the letter of law because he kicked the ball away. Well to start with, the ball was moving because Brighton player had already moved it forward so by letter of the law, the free kick would have had to be retaken because you can’t kick a moving ball. He also wasn’t taking the free kick in the right place as foul was further back as again defined by letter of the law. So the referee only applied one letter of the law because he actively made that choice.

Yet earlier in the game, he didn’t apply the letter of the law to Pedro when he booted the ball 40 yards away after running it out of play. By the letter of the law, there is no difference between that & Rice yet he applied two completely different standards of refereeing. Most accept it was common sense to not book Pedro but you cannot justify that now given the Rice incident.

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It was a nothing incident and the ref should have used some common sense and told them both to get on with the game. I didn’t even really care that Rice got booted either. If nothing had happened no one would have been talking about it at all.

Dreadful decision really.

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

I agree that Partey looks ready for the scrap heap.

Incredibly annoying 2 points dropped because of the stupid red card. Early days of course but we know games like this will matter greatly if we’re trying to beat City to the title.

Spurs and City away next. Might not be pretty.

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If we play Partey at all (which i think we’ve got no choice but to with Merino injured) it should be at no8 and Rice at 6. Because Rice isn’t a number 8 at all. Both of them have been dreadful this season

https://x.com/sports_bar_cafe/status...5nKNIY1AZaWvQw

I know we sound like a broken record here but here is Dalot (I think) giving away a foul & then throwing the ball away in front of the referee and no booking given. That is much more obvious & blatant compared to Rice.

The defence by the pundits & PGMOL has been that Rice delayed the restart so by “letter of law” its a yellow & second defence has been that Howard Webb & PGMOL made clear to clubs etc that delaying the restart would be clamped down and yellows issued. Except, there has been numerous incidents this weekend of players delaying the restart, including Pedro yesterday, and nothing. So either the referees are so incompetent they can’t apply the new rules set by the PGMOL in which case they all need to be sacked or Kavanagh just wanted to make a name for himself and no other player will be sent off as Rice was.

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Originally Posted by Ollie the Optimist

I’m betting that city never ever get that red card ;)

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:clap:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ollie the Optimist

no other player will be sent off as Rice was.

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I'll put my money on that right now, these things only happen to us

Amazed Arsenal aren't contesting that card and even more amazed Rice owned up to it. Is everyone queer these days? AT BEST, he flicked his foot at a ball that was already hitting him. Big fucking deal. Yellow card? The faggot who fouled him had to run, what, a whole 30cm to get his ball back? Yellow then red? Yeah okay, it's called corruption. It's obvious, blatant, in your face and the sooner fans stop doing the, "It's so hard for refs", bullshit the better. It's hard for COMPETENT and HONEST refs, because the players are literally the worst (almost) human beings imaginable. Diving, screaming, holding up imaginary cards, buying handbags and wearing lipstick. Corruption IS the game these days. Sportsmanship - don't make me laugh. They're all scum, from top to bottom. The way to combat this cheating is to stop cheating. I'm looking at you Saka. Falls over when his toe bumps a blade of grass. If we stopped cheating it would mean 3-4 seasons of refs doing what they do anyway, and 3-4 losing seasons. But eventually it would be impossible to penalise use because it would be too obvious even for the bottom feeders to lick up. We live by the sword and get cheated by it. Unfair cop. Expected. In a sea of corruption.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mac76

I'll put my money on that right now, these things only happen to us

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We seem always to be made the example of new dicta from PGMOL. This year it is penalising 'gamesmanship' for delaying free kicks; last year it was timewasting (remember Tomiyasu's booking against Palace early in the season for apparently delaying a throw in - that led to his sending off); then touchline behaviour (Arteta targeted). How better to advertise this year's pointless new approach by targeting a top team in a 12.30 kick off where everyone will be watching? For me this is partly that Arsenal (as opposed to Citeh, Liverpool or Manure) are regarded as being fair game, and partly the North West bias of the refereeing fraternity. The complete bollocks is of course that like so many other PGMOL initiatives - this will now peter out - but also that they choose to focus on an aspect of the game that is in the scheme of things totally unimportant, but ignore violent conduct; persistent fouling.

I can't claim not to be biased - as I do not follow closely decisions made in games in which we are not involved, but it does seem that we are always targetted - more than other teams. The evidence is clear from the treatment of our opponent in the same game that Rice was sent off in...for the first time in his career.

I used to think that this tendency to penalis/make examples of us would change only when we wil the league - but i'm not sure that it will. Saka is maybe the most important player for England - but this has not improved his treatment by refs who allow the opposition to foul him rotationally. Rice has captained England - but neither this, nor his largely unblemished reputation made any difference to Kavanagh being a c*nt.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IBK

We seem always to be made the example of new dicta from PGMOL. This year it is penalising 'gamesmanship' for delaying free kicks; last year it was timewasting (remember Tomiyasu's booking against Palace early in the season for apparently delaying a throw in - that led to his sending off); then touchline behaviour (Arteta targeted). How better to advertise this year's pointless new approach by targeting a top team in a 12.30 kick off where everyone will be watching? For me this is partly that Arsenal (as opposed to Citeh, Liverpool or Manure) are regarded as being fair game, and partly the North West bias of the refereeing fraternity. The complete bollocks is of course that like so many other PGMOL initiatives - this will now peter out - but also that they choose to focus on an aspect of the game that is in the scheme of things totally unimportant, but ignore violent conduct; persistent fouling.

I can't claim not to be biased - as I do not follow closely decisions made in games in which we are not involved, but it does seem that we are always targetted - more than other teams. The evidence is clear from the treatment of our opponent in the same game that Rice was sent off in...for the first time in his career.

I used to think that this tendency to penalis/make examples of us would change only when we wil the league - but i'm not sure that it will. Saka is maybe the most important player for England - but this has not improved his treatment by refs who allow the opposition to foul him rotationally. Rice has captained England - but neither this, nor his largely unblemished reputation made any difference to Kavanagh being a c*nt.

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:gp:

I couldn't even be bothered to get angry with what happened to Rice tbh - it's ust officials acting towards Arsenal they way they always do.

If i was in charge I'd be having a shit-hot legal team constantly badgering the FA and PGMOL with appeal after appeal and dossier after dossier in the hope it would grind them down - admittedly probably a vain hope, but i do wonder if we push hard enough to try to stop this.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Marc Overmars

I agree that Partey looks ready for the scrap heap.

Incredibly annoying 2 points dropped because of the stupid red card. Early days of course but we know games like this will matter greatly if we’re trying to beat City to the title.

Spurs and City away next. Might not be pretty.

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We need to drop Gabriel. He is a black Pascal Cygan, sadly.

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Originally Posted by Chippy

We need to drop Gabriel. He is a black Pascal Cygan, sadly.

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Saliba and Gabriel were the best pairing in the PL last year, a couple of errors doesn't make a bad player

That said, if there's one or two more then maybe trying out Kiwior or one of the others might give him time to get his head straight

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Originally Posted by Chippy

We need to drop Gabriel. He is a black Pascal Cygan, sadly.

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Please don't give Arteta any more ideas....he's probably somewhere having a wet dream thinking of the next 3 CBs he he'd like to recruit this January!!

But seriously, you should remember he tried dropping him at the start of last season and we all remember the points that cost us.

CBs will always make mistakes, but they should be rated on quantitative things like how many goals we are conceding in the box and how many times they manage to make the likes of Haalaand look like paper tigers :lol: Or have you forgotten how Drogba use to make our CBs look like a pair of pansies??

He dropped him because there was the very real possibility that the club wanted to sell him to make money. The fact is that he was consistently in the team after the Saudi transfer window closed.

A black Cygan is a bit much, that guy’s unofficial nickname was Robocop because he looked like him without the mask and he had the same amount of mobility


But he has been poor this season, his decision making is off and he gets the ball trapped under his feet when it comes to completing interceptions. However he was having brain farts two years ago, and he got it out of his system eventually. He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed and he needs to develop a better understanding with David Raya but I wouldn’t say we are quite in dropping territory yet

Partey long term should be dropped because his engine is gone. If he plays at all it should not be at 6.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

If we play Partey at all (which i think we’ve got no choice but to with Merino injured) it should be at no8 and Rice at 6. Because Rice isn’t a number 8 at all. Both of them have been dreadful this season

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Timber can play midfield, however, didn't he get injured again on Saturday?

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Originally Posted by Chippy

Timber can play midfield, however, didn't he get injured again on Saturday?

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Saying Timber can play midfield is like saying Zinchenko can play as a striker. Just because the weird inverted left back role he ended up in midfield, doesn’t mean he’s capable of it.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Saying Timber can play midfield is like saying Zinchenko can play as a striker. Just because the weird inverted left back role he ended up in midfield, doesn’t mean he’s capable of it.

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People say Gabriel is a defender, I would argue with that 🤣

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Originally Posted by Chippy

People say Gabriel is a defender, I would argue with that ��

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But that’s you being silly and over the top. Gabriel has along with Saliba formed the most watertight defensive partnerships in European football currently. He’s not had a great start to the season, but he’s still a top defender.

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Saying Timber can play midfield is like saying Zinchenko can play as a striker. Just because the weird inverted left back role he ended up in midfield, doesn’t mean he’s capable of it.

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Just saying.
https://www.hitc.com/jurrien-timber-...ational-break/

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Originally Posted by HCZ_Reborn

Saying Timber can play midfield is like saying Zinchenko can play as a striker. Just because the weird inverted left back role he ended up in midfield, doesn’t mean he’s capable of it.

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https://www.90min.com/norway-boss-gi...-injury-update

We may actually need Timber in midfileld the way our delicate players are going at the moment :unsure:
Odegaard now.

Odegaard played the whole 90, as did Haaland.

Drew 0-0 against Kazakhstan.

It's bizarre how those two can't get anything going for Norway.