Did Xhaka get an extension on his contract in the Summer? If so, wtf!Originally Posted by Power n Glory
Lets hope Dick Emery sorts out the dead wood in January.
Xhaka, Mustafi, Ozil etc.
Did Xhaka get an extension on his contract in the Summer? If so, wtf!
Lets hope Dick Emery sorts out the dead wood in January.
Xhaka, Mustafi, Ozil etc.
Dick Emery.
LOL
I expected us to lose but I thought we'd at least go down with a fight and show some balls. I supposed that's too much for Arsenal fans to ask for now.
The usual suspects. Xhaka is a liability, if there's one player to point the finger at for the goals we conceded it's him. He also lost the ball more than once in dangerous positions which City failed to take advantage of. He has no business even being on the bench. He's not good enough.
Ozil, Ramsey, Mkhi, Bellerin all shite. No chance of getting top four with 50% of our XI giving us half arsed performances like that.
Cech was good at the actual goalkeeping. He made some good saves, especially that Aguero one on one. But if Emery insists on the keeper playing the ball out it won't work. Either you let Cech go with his instincts and smash the ball as far away from his goal as possible, or you go with Leno who I assume knows how to play the ball out safely. One or the other.
It'll be interesting to see how Emery responds. Will he drop Xhaka? Will he change the formation? Will he give this bunch of pussies the hairdryer treatment?
Being a keeper is more than making saves though, Cech can't save penalties for toffee, can't distribute the ball at all and is prone to errors, almost kicked the ball into his own net today when under no pressure, ended up giving away a corner. I just find this club odd, why would you sign a keeper for 20 million who is 26 and then not make him number 1, that's just unheard of.
Yea really odd decision, the guy is a waste of space.
In all honesty I expected us to lose. We are miles behind clubs like Man City & Liverpool. Heck we are behind the Spuds if we are brutally honest.
All I want from this season is to see some kind of progress, I want to see crappy players sold, a new identity in this team, a team that fights for their badge and manager.
I don’t expect top 4 this season, I think we have way too much work to do but I expect progress!
I thought Ozil was just very oddly on a different wavelength to everybody else for the entire game. Not quite sure why, but I didn't think it was an abject performance from him....more disjointed, but I get that many feels disappointed. He made his bed when he got his wage increase and so get's little leeway.
I thought Lacazette wasn't the issue, but I do wish at times he would calm down in front of goal. Still get the feeling he is going for power too often.
Xhaka's performance was identical to his ridiculous performance(s) this time last season. Passively running around the field without any real purpose or sense of knowing what he's supposed to be doing, ball watching, giving the ball away playing a hospital pass and falling over. I'm aghast that so many people wanted him in the starting lineup for this season.
At this level you can't watch a player in the middle of the park, fail to understand what the fuhk he's actually doing in our favour and want him to remain there doing it. Guendouzi showed him up today, even with his errors, but that is no surprise to me.
It's not much consolation, but I thought Bellerin was good today and thought AMN was too and losing him was a big blow. The game was fairly open which I enjoyed from the point of view of seeing us move the ball from our third to their third much quicker. Scant consolation as we lost, but I prefer to see us move the ball in that way.
Mhki might as well have not been there most of the game. Forgot he was even playing for large portions.
The fact is City are on another level to us, to a man they are better than us and can bring on 60m worth of talent of the bench. However, the problems from Wenger's ear wont disappear overnight, its gonna take at least 2 seasons to see real improvement. Xhaka, Ramsay, the defense etc. were the main culprits and Unai Emery will to act sooner than Wenger did, he needs to start Toreira ahead of Xhaka and play Lacazette from the start. That shot from Laca would have changed the game, it was only 1-0 and we were still in it.
Anyway, this season is all about bedding in the new coaching staff and system, i liked the effort and the energy and i think we will see better performances this season.
Ozil is always on a different wavelength. For a playmaker with his passing ability, don’t you find it odd that he hasn’t formed an understanding with any of the players? I remember stories from players who played with Bergkamp, Cesc or even David Beckham….as soon as they these players on the ball, they make quick eye contact and know the sort of ball that’s going to be played. Sometimes something as little as eye contact isn’t even needed, they just know to expect the ball to come their way because said playmaker or more than capable of putting it on a plate for the strikers. That never seems to happen with Ozil despite now be surrounding with quicker players with an eye for goal like Aubameyang and Lacazette.
First half, we didn’t create much and Ozil did well to cover the flanks and defend. Second half he fluffed his lines a bit and we failed to really take advantage of our chances.
Lacazette made a positive impact once subbed on. You could see how he and Aubameyang will link up. I thought the chance you’re referring to, where Laca hit the cut back over was down to an overpowerd pass from Mkhitaryan. The pass was zipped under Laca’s feet and not in his path, I think Mkh was aiming for Ozil who was just behind Laca.
Mkh is a worry for me. No power or pace to his game for the wing. He has to do better than that. It was so poor, Danny Welbeck being a better option came to mind. Provided no defensive cover for AMN.
AMN had a really good moment going forwards where he dribbled through a few players but he was getting roasted and targeted by City. Lichtsteiner was better defensively and showed a moment where he wasn’t that slow getting forward. Shame about AMN’s injury though.
Xhaka just keeps on getting worse. Every theory and idea I’ve heard from fans of how he can be used better and it all being Wenger’s fault has really fallen apart. It looked as though he was playing a deeper role, like how he did in Germany, where he’s close to the CB’s collecting and distributing the ball. It was confident start for the opening few minutes but once City pressured him and he starting giving the ball away, he went missing and stopped looking for the ball. He wanted know parts of it and left Guendouzi to deal with the bulk of the work. A 19 year! When defending, Xhaka was coming way to deep and was on the defensive line way too often.
I don't think you can get away with having Mhiki and Ozil in the same team, certainly against top teams.
Based on yesterday's performance Torreira should be coming in for Xhaka. I think Lacazette made a strong case to start as well, even if that means moving Auba wider he can still be effective there with his pace and running in behind. I just think we need to find a way to get both on the pitch.
I feel for AMN as he clearly isn't comfortable at left back. He's obviously confident in his ability, but at times I think he's too complacent. Hopefully he'll be told to get tighter to his winger if he's playing full back. But ideally he will get more games in centre mid this season, he's clearly a talent.
Some positives for me;
Defence wasn't as bad as I was expecting (says a lot about where we are currently). Sokratis was solid and Mustafi played quite well. Lichsteiner adds a bit of steel. However an overall lack of pace, and Mustafi's guaranteed brainfarts will probably still come back to bite us though.
Guendouzi looks promising and will hopefully have the right coaching to improve. He always showed for the ball, looked to play positively and competed physically against seasoned international players. When he misjudged the bounce to let Aguero through my first thought was why the fuck was he left 1 on 1 at the back. At every level of football you get taught not to do that. That's on the coaches and senior players to spot and correct.
Auba and Laca seem to link up really well and I am hopeful they can form a formidable partnership.
Last edited by Gooner23; 13-08-2018 at 08:57 AM.
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