Arsenal 0-1 West Ham Match Reaction

[Mac76]

There’s no point discussing a system change that will allow us to become more efficient going forward, because we simply don’t have the players to facilitate this.

I only half agree, as you say elsewhere in that post Nwaneri has pace and Trossard's also capable of a breakaway, the odd occasion in recent games someone's played a searching ball forward it's often led to a good chance or a goal

And in any case it's the way we always play even with Martinelli, Saka (who admittedly I'm not sure is as good on the break tbh but then we never get the chance to see it really) and Havertz

There's a lack of willingness to try anything risky and i think it's the stranglehold Arteta has placed on players

[HCZ_Reborn]

I only half agree, as you say elsewhere in that post Nwaneri has pace and Trossard's also capable of a breakaway, the odd occasion in recent games someone's played a searching ball forward it's often led to a good chance or a goal

And in any case it's the way we always play even with Martinelli, Saka (who admittedly I'm not sure is as good on the break tbh but then we never get the chance to see it really) and Havertz

There's a lack of willingness to try anything risky and i think it's the stranglehold Arteta has placed on players

A breakaway is dependent on opposition teams committing players forward, that is only going to happen if teams find themselves a goal down.

If your point is we don’t employ the counter enough even when we are in a position to do so, then yeah definitely agree with that.

But against most teams especially at the Emirates it’s kind of a moot point

[IBK]

I do think we have bottled it. Maybe not by failing to win the league, but certainly when it has come to opportunities to at least put pressure on Liverpool. The manager as good as said so much about Saturday's game, and we did not play like title winners against the likes of Bournemouth; Fulham; Everton; Brighton; Newcastle (not to mention our cup exits). We have been profligate when it comes to scoring from clear chances throughout, and have had more defensive lapses and mistakes than I can remember for a long time. I am not saying that we have a God given right to win every game, but injuries or not our players have not stepped up when needed too many times. When Odegard was hiding on Saturday, when we played with no intent or drive and simply looked limp; when once again we were at sixes and sevens for their goal it's difficult not to reach the conclusion that we wilted when it counted. And this is by no means the first time we have been found wanting when Liverpool have dropped points. While admittedly this has not been the case throughout, too many times I have not seen a team with the fight needed to sustain a title challenge. Objectively, a review of our season won't focus on injuries first and foremost. It will show a team of players who, while they may have faced insurmountable odds in winning the league with key injuries and lack of player investment, failed to reach their potential.

And BTW I specifically said that we did not bottle it last season.

[Marc Overmars]

2 years ago we bottled it and last year we should consider ourselves unlucky to have not won it.

This year though, we just haven’t been good enough. Something hasn’t felt right all season, we’ve been bumbling along with no real anticipation or sense that something could happen for us. No peaks or troughs, a bit like those years with Wenger where top 4 was probably assured but we weren’t going to do anything else.

Even with a fit attack we were flattering to deceive and failed to chip away at the gap to Liverpool. It is horrible luck that we have an entire front line missing but we’ve needed to strengthen in this area for at least 2 years. Arteta and the club gambled and it’s backfired big time.

Even if we got past PSV we will almost certainly be knocked out by one of the Madrid teams in the quarters so it’s not even like the CL can be considered a possibility. Winning any game right now should be considered an achievement with the current options available to us.

I cannot wait for this season to end because it’s been the least enjoyable since 20/21.

Arteta won’t be sacked for now but I think it’s certain that if the club do not pour all its resources into the attack this summer then he will be a dead man walking.

[Letters]

One thing I must admit I'd forgotten is how close Liverpool were last year - after 30 games they were 2 points ahead of us.
After 33 games they were 3 points behind us and they had a game in hand.
That's the one they lost against Everton and then they drew with West Ham, effectively removing themselves from the race.

So maybe this title isn't as unexpected as it should have been. I was pooh-poohing their chances and didn't feel they had the legs for the long haul. Had they had similar injuries as us, or had Salah not been in god mode then I'd probably have been right. But everything has fallen in to place for them with City falling off a hilarious cliff and us labouring all season I guess it wasn't hard for them to canter away from us, especially with the injuries which have hobbled us.

[HCZ_Reborn]

One thing I must admit I'd forgotten is how close Liverpool were last year - after 30 games they were 2 points ahead of us.
After 33 games they were 3 points behind us and they had a game in hand.
That's the one they lost against Everton and then they drew with West Ham, effectively removing themselves from the race.

So maybe this title isn't as unexpected as it should have been. I was pooh-poohing their chances and didn't feel they had the legs for the long haul. Had they had similar injuries as us, or had Salah not been in god mode then I'd probably have been right. But everything has fallen in to place for them with City falling off a hilarious cliff and us labouring all season I guess it wasn't hard for them to canter away from us, especially with the injuries which have hobbled us.

Salah has got more goals for them this season than he got in the whole of last season. I dismissed their chances because I thought they massively overachieved which was attributable to Klopp, their collapse as we might call it was for me gravity reasserting itself.

The Dutchman has done well because he’s put his ego aside and not tried to instil his own languid philosophy into this Liverpool side, he’s stuck to the Klopp script religiously since September

This season? They’ve been able to rely on Salah to get them out of all kinds of scrapes. I clearly underestimated his ability to have that kind of season at the age he is.

This will be a title that’s been won practically single handedly in a way we’ve not seen in football since Maradonna with Argentina in 1986.


The rest of Liverpool’s players? They are ok nothing special. Van Dijk isn’t the defender he was, Allison isn’t the goalkeeper he was.

[Mac76]

I didn't dismiss Liverpool's chances because I look at what's going on in front of me instead of looking at stats and underrating certain players - I also knew Klopp ran them into the ground and it was apparent very quickly that Slot was about getting them to be a bit more pragmatic and less heavy metal football

These so called 'terrible' performances aren't always that bad and we would have loved to see a terrible 2-0 home win yesterday wouldn't we?

Liverpool may not be the best team ever but they're better than people are giving them credit for, yes some of it's down to Salah but others are contributing too. They have some very good players, Diaz, Gakpo (and that's not a windup, it's just true I can give you the figures again if you want), also Van Dyke and some good younger players too. Injuries (or lack of) have unquestionably helped them big time though.

Would they win the league without Salah - possibly not but they would be closer than some people think, with the number of opportunities they'd get, a decent forward in his area would still get some of those goals and remember he takes pels as well

[Niall_Quinn]

I do think we have bottled it. Maybe not by failing to win the league, but certainly when it has come to opportunities to at least put pressure on Liverpool. The manager as good as said so much about Saturday's game, and we did not play like title winners against the likes of Bournemouth; Fulham; Everton; Brighton; Newcastle (not to mention our cup exits). We have been profligate when it comes to scoring from clear chances throughout, and have had more defensive lapses and mistakes than I can remember for a long time. I am not saying that we have a God given right to win every game, but injuries or not our players have not stepped up when needed too many times. When Odegard was hiding on Saturday, when we played with no intent or drive and simply looked limp; when once again we were at sixes and sevens for their goal it's difficult not to reach the conclusion that we wilted when it counted. And this is by no means the first time we have been found wanting when Liverpool have dropped points. While admittedly this has not been the case throughout, too many times I have not seen a team with the fight needed to sustain a title challenge. Objectively, a review of our season won't focus on injuries first and foremost. It will show a team of players who, while they may have faced insurmountable odds in winning the league with key injuries and lack of player investment, failed to reach their potential.

And BTW I specifically said that we did not bottle it last season.

We've DEFINITELY bottled it, on almost every occasion that mattered. As usual - barring last season which could now almost be viewed as a last hurrah for this squad. Last season was the big push on the back of the big philosophy brought from city by Arteta. Wenger went over the top and on to the finish line with big bastards, fast bastards, technical bastards and the odd dirty scrote who did what needed to be done. But he let that all wither into the namby pamby, dainty dancers that ALMOST had the prowess of Barcelona but not quite, and the not quite made all the difference. Look at the squad under Arteta, it bears no resemblance to Wenger's successful squads. Bears a lot of resemblance to his later squads though, squads that were world famous for collapsing under the slightest pressure.

By pressure I don't just mean league placings and crucial, must-win opportunities to capitalise on our rivals mistakes. I also mean facing the pressures of the unexpected, the games where the opponent stubbornly refuses to submit to our philosophy. I think we're the most successful team over the past few years when measured against just the top 6, aren't we? Or we're certainly up there. That's because the top 6 will play us at chess, which we like. The bottom 6? They play draughts which is not our game. Liverpool were so boring yesterday, yet they won the match by reverting to lumping it up the field and running after it - something we find vulgar and impure. City had Marmoush tearing around the place, constantly making the run, calling for the ball. He hardly ever got it. Not their way, not their game. Foden might as well have been on the bench, they didn't use him, didn't need him.

We've joined the party as the last guests are clearing out. People mention the 700 mill invested, which isn't even a real figure and doesn't take into account the players we let go, including those strikers that didn't fit our pristine model. We bottled it when it came to making the real investments at the proper time when they would have counted, when beers would be left in the fridge and there would be girls to dance with. Now, with the lights going out, we're all kitted up in Pep fashion raring to go.

We also bottle it every time we step on a pitch against a team that won't accommodate us. We don't have the players, we won't change the tactics, we won't beat them at their own game like Wenger's dirty bastards liked (actually liked) to do. For anyone to say we don't have the technical ability to change our game, be more direct, introduce some urgency is crazy considering we geared up the whole team to be a precise, technical weapon. We have the that capability but the manager won't compromise, adapt, adjust. The Evertons, West Hams, all bottled. What else could it be called? The chance to take the risks necessary to win, spurned. The blind belief that over 38 games, eventually, our methodical application would win the day.

Everywhere you look we bottled it. In the transfer market, the philosophy, the tactics, adapting to the opponent, all of it.

[Mac76]

We've DEFINITELY bottled it, on almost every occasion that mattered.

No, 'bottling' implies fear, whereas in our case it's incompetence and being misguided - Arteta went for one attacking player (Sesko) in the summer then gave up when he coudn't get him and went back to his comfort zone of goalkeepers and defensive players

I've heard the club and Edu were far from convinced on prioritising Merino over an actual attacker and they were right

He simply seems to underplay the need for more attacking players and won't even consider someone if they aren't what he thinks is perfect for his setup, it plays into his stubborness and control freakery - again though it's not fear it's just his apparent mindset

[Niall_Quinn]

Arteta's tactics drip with fear. I kind of understand it too, in a limited way. Remember back to just how woeful of defence used to be. Arteta fixed that, but it's also like he made defence the priority for every player on the field. Fear of losing the ball, so we rack up the short passes, fear of being caught on the break so we shun anything that isn't safe. Always, always looking for ball retention rather than trying to get that ball forward as efficiently as possible. Seems like a whole lot of fear to me. And the transfer policy reflects it. Merino, Calafiori, even Rice.