Match Autopsy v Liverpool (away).

[SMatthews]

No argument there, just amused at the way Zim and others have such polarised opinions.
No ability to think with any subtlety.

I’m not sure what to make of our squad. We are generally scoring enough but our defence is nowhere near good enough. I don’t think the whole squad needs rebuilding and I was hoping that with the defence the issue was largely coaching but there does seem to be a real lack of quality there, certainly in depth. Work to be done but while we are miles away from a title winning squad I don’t think we are more than a few key signings away from a top 4 spot and we can push on from there. We really need to sort out the captain situation. We really haven’t had a decent captain since Vieira. Wasn’t Ramsey captain yesterday and he’s leaving.

Emery gets a free pass this season but what he does in the summer and how we do next year will tell us more about what he is made of.

There’s a lot of work to do with this squad. Ramsey and Ozil will go. Mikhi isn’t up to much, neither is Iwobi. Xhaka would be a decent squad player, nothing more. Guendozi has got a lot to learn. Elneny is another one that will go. Which doesn’t leave much in the midfield department. We can still nab a top four spot but not long term with this lot.

Judgement passed on Emery will depend on what resources are given to Sven and co to go out and find players of quality. If they aren’t, we should expect more the same.

[fakeyank]

If Emery isn't given the money he will have next to no chance of achieving anything meaningful here. The competition is too strong.

You only have to look at Pochettino and Spurs to see how far good coaching will go. The fact they're as strong as they are is down to him, lets just thank our lucky stars they're lumbered with the stadium and can't spend money.

Get your wallet out Kroenke you stingy cunt.

I think good coaching and tactics can take you very far. Spurs are an example and so was the Leicester team that won the league. I think we have decent players who should be doing better than how we have played in recent weeks.

[Mac76]

I think good coaching and tactics can take you very far. Spurs are an example and so was the Leicester team that won the league. I think we have decent players who should be doing better than how we have played in recent weeks.

I'm not sure, mustafi and Xhaka both have self destruct switches, mhki is rubbish, iwobi not good enough, lichtsteiner is League 1 material, Ramsey will start to switch off the nearer it gets to him leaving, and i could go on - we need more quality without doubt, and a more cohesive squad, Wenger really fucked us

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

That's one of the things I can't give Emery a pass on. We were perhaps forced into it this weekend but the absolute faith shown in Mustafi and Xhaka are not things that we can blame on other things. Mustafi is one of the few players this season that has never been dropped and such is his faith in Xhaka's mere presence he's played him in the back line what must be approaching several times by now.

[SMatthews]

Who else would replace Xhaka? Elneny? No. Ramsey? He’s shown he can’t play there for years. Guendouzi? A 19 year old won’t cut it every week. AMN? Not long back from injury and completely unproven. Xhaka and Torreira is as good as it gets for now. Xhaka hasn’t been bad all season. But neither is he a long term, first team solution. He’s played in defence mostly as a last option, and he deserves praise for his willingness to play in multiple positions.

[Mac76]

That's one of the things I can't give Emery a pass on. We were perhaps forced into it this weekend but the absolute faith shown in Mustafi and Xhaka are not things that we can blame on other things. Mustafi is one of the few players this season that has never been dropped and such is his faith in Xhaka's mere presence he's played him in the back line what must be approaching several times by now.

Yeah agreed on Mustafi, i think Emery is fooled by stats that say he passes accurately, never mind that all those passes tend to be short sideways ones that don't create anything and sometimes put our other players under pressure...

[AFC Leveller]

Arsenal have conceded more goals this season than Wolves, Leicester, Watford, West Ham, Brighton, Palace, and Newcastle

[Globalgunner]

I think Emery actually dropped Mustafi at HT against Pool, so maybe he is not so sentimental after all. Problem is who does he bring on Koscielny, who is the poster boy of Wengers. "I buy what i like, rather than whats best" era. I still believe training can improve these Wenger buys, but 6 months has not improved them 1 jot so who knows. I think Emery has realised now how deep a hole he is in. We must get players in this TW or we will find it hard to even hold on to that 6th position.

[21_GOONER_SALUTE]

I think Emery actually dropped Mustafi at HT against Pool, so maybe he is not so sentimental after all. Problem is who does he bring on Koscielny, who is the poster boy of Wengers. "I buy what i like, rather than whats best" era. I still believe training can improve these Wenger buys, but 6 months has not improved them 1 jot so who knows. I think Emery has realised now how deep a hole he is in. We must get players in this TW or we will find it hard to even hold on to that 6th position.

He is sentimental with players which is proven by the fact that he always finds a way to incorporate a Mustafi or Xhaka no matter what formation he is playing or even how match-fit they are.

I think its natural for everyone to have "favourites" but its just his favourites are pretty crappy

Back to the defence, I'm not sure why we are still debating why they turned out such a performance, they've been doing this all season and the stats scream this loud and clear.

I'm going to say this, we need to change our whole back four as soon as possible as all our defenders ( except maybe Monreal) are not good enough for a a top 4 team. In fact how many of them are starting in their national team let alone making the squads?

The whole world knows we have stopped taking defending seriously, Pool did exactly what Man U did to us only that they are way better. We really messed up this summer as Emery/Sven just recruited 2 more deadweights to add to this long list of duds we've been ammassing.

We need to take defending seriously and invest in it , and this time it has to be about quality, real obvious quality- no matter the price.

Once we get this right, a back 4 we can trust and a manager who doesn't tinker unecesarrily with them- then I'm sure we'd start competing for meaningful trophies and not the discarded ones.

It's funny how fast we've forgotten our past.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I think Emery actually dropped Mustafi at HT against Pool, so maybe he is not so sentimental after all. Problem is who does he bring on Koscielny, who is the poster boy of Wengers. "I buy what i like, rather than whats best" era. I still believe training can improve these Wenger buys, but 6 months has not improved them 1 jot so who knows. I think Emery has realised now how deep a hole he is in. We must get players in this TW or we will find it hard to even hold on to that 6th position.

Make no mistake. Mustafi came off because of concerns for his fitness.