Morning all.
There’s a ghastly 48 hour bug going around where I live, one which decided to say hello to me on Thursday night. Anyway, I dragged myself out of bed to watch Arsenal take on Liverpool. Trouble is, I could barely keep my eyes open but I’m not sure whether or not that was simply down to what unfolded as the game went on.
Just in case anyone has forgotten, Arsenal have chosen to go down a different route than before. The younger route. Thomas Partey, Alex Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang were the only players in the team aged over 23 years old yesterday evening. Unlike Klopp’s team which was full of experience with many of them having played together for more than a season. A team which included Mane, who once more seemed to have a licence to beat up our players.
That aside, Arsenal were given a lesson on how to press a defence whereas Mikel Arteta’s front men weren’t able to do the same. Mikel Arteta’s team made mistakes, mistakes which gifted the opposition three goals during a twenty five minute spell in the second half.
Man City, Chelsea and Liverpool are the three best teams in the League, they are at a level Arsenal are aiming for but aren’t anywhere near yet. What’s important now is how Mikel Arteta and his players react against bottom of the league Newcastle next weekend, after losing for the first time in a while.
Of course, it hurts to see Arsenal get overrun in the fashion they did, certainly in the second half, but young players sometimes need to learn the hard way. What disappointed me most yesterday was the lacklustre performances from our more senior players, certainly our captain. But for him straying offside, we’d have gone 1-0 up and who knows what might have followed next. I’m sure they’ll be debates over whether or not Kieran Tierney should have started instead of Nuno Tavares. For what it’s worth, I don’t think he should because Nuno has been really good since replacing the Scotsman and apart from one or two mistakes, he kept Salah pretty quiet. Don’t we often say on here that players need to work themselves back into the starting eleven?
The way Arsenal surrendered after going 2-0 down brought back horrid memories of the City game but I’d like to think it was just a blip. Just a day when things which could go wrong, went wrong and with it, opened the door for Liverpool to breeze through. And let’s face it, when was the last time Arsenal have done anything other than take a drubbing at Anfield? I think Mikel Arteta played in that game, that’s how long ago it was.
Now though, he’s ripped up the ‘lets paper over the cracks’ theme which the club has stuck to for a few years now and he’s rebuilding a totally different looking squad. A squad which in its own time will which hopefully be matching the likes of Liverpool, City and Chelsea.
For now though, I think we just have to accept that they’re better than us because all three clubs started rebuilding their squads a long time ago.
See you in the comments.
Totally agree Logonga and Tavares made mistakes , personally after the the suicidal pass inside across his own area , something which was drilled into me not to do when I was about 9 years old , I would have replaced him with Tierney if he was in fact fit enough . I can only assume that , although on the bench, he wasn’t.
Our young players were targetted and in the first 20 minutes , I got the impression that Mane in particular was sent out to unsettle and up end anyone he could and only seemed to cut it out after the overdue booking . After they were unsettled they were put under extreme pressure and they fell apart.
They were not helped by our tactics enabling their midfield 3 to overrun our 2 and they were able to by pass our midfield and go straight onto the back 4 at will.
As the pressure grew we cracked and only Ramsdale kept the score reasonable.
We are still some way away from the top 3 teams but very much in the hat for a Europa league place . That has to be our target and should we achieve it we will become that little bit more attractive to better players and as our game gets exposed it becomes more obvious the ones that need to be replaced.
Perhaps we need to start pointing fingers at players and decide who should be replaced and why ? or maybe discuss the learning curve that the manager is on and whether he needs to be more proactive when things are going wrong.
Trouble is Potter, would that help Tavares in the long term?
I’d like to have seen Arteta more ruthless with our non existent front man. Both Pep and Martinelli were on the bench and imo, the latter might have put more pressure on Liverpool’s defence.
ESR and Saka looked knackered to me.
It looks like OGS days are numbered, so what with them probably getting a new manager and Toots getting Conte, top six might just be a real battle.
Didn’t expect West Ham to lose at Wolves.
Morning All, yes Rico, Cicero’s favourite striker was as ineffective as he’s been for the last 18 months – the Kroenke’s need to somehow come up with some dough for a mobile, physical striker this January or our top four chances will be wrecked on the rocks of PEA.
Morning Kev, same old Aubameyang away from home against a tough opposition I think.
Experience comes in many ways and that’s what we will take away from the Liverpool game. Yes they are better than us that there is no doubt and the manager has many years experience over our young Arteta. We did gift them goals but what I didn’t like was the way we just kept booting the ball up the pitch and back it came wave after wave. I might have thought we would have a plan B. Maybe take off a striker and put Tierney in and Tomi inside just to try and shut the door because it would also hVs been interesting to see how we coped. The fact we didn’t have a plan B I think was down to experience. Why go to Anfield knowing if you play open your going to get spanked why not park the bus and leave our strikers on the bench out midfielders can score if the opportunity arises.
Morning Rico. Hope you are feeling better.
As for the game? Mane essentially does what he wants at Anfield and Oliver, who used to be a half decent ref, just let him foul incessantly. His assault on Tomiyasu (I think) while he was off the pitch by going straight through the back of him was probably the worst.
Personally I thought that we could have started with more experience up there. Tierney and possibly AMN perhaps. Partey is a worry because he was obviously not fit. But hindsight is a wonderful thing and I get that Arteta wanted to give the younger players a go.
We really need to enter the transfer market in January. Striker and CM for me. Playing anywhere without a striker is going to get worse as the season progresses because it forces you into a single option when coming out from the goalkeeper. How can Ramsdale go long when we have nobody to hold the ball up front? It just continually comes straight back. It seems obvious to me that Auba is just about finished at this level so there’s a big, big situation to deal with there for the manager and club. It looks though selling Martinelli is the only option left to Mikel as he obviously doesn’t rate him. Where did all that promise go?
Losing at Anfield isn’t the real problem. The strikers and captaincy are though and there are tough decisions just around the corner. We’ll soon see if he’s up to making them.
Just imagine the team with a top striker (or 2)!
Morning Rico and all
Just watched replay, the one thing I noticed was no senior player helping guide the younger players and Auba failed again in a major match, we need to look for another true striker
Ideally, Tierney starts but then, just coming back after an injury and straight into international games, playing him risks an injury imo
Long term, the smart move was playing Tavarez as it also gave the lad a chance to learn his trade.
Very easy to criticise the guy based on one poor game putting side his recent performances but it’s also ridiculous to do so.
These youngsters must play to gain experience against the best sides in the English game, and losses will happen, and we either accept it or lose our minds lol
We can easily look at the here and now but Arteta has an eye for the future, and so should the fans.
Auba has really become a flat track bully, it seems.
Ramsdale said it after the game-you won’t see players in the doldrums with their heads down after the game.
They’ll regroup, and they’ll respond.
The rebuild continues and the ultimate result is still a year or two away, and there is little point pretending or hoping otherwise.
I only said that we were in the hat, Never said it was easy.
As for Tavares my thoughts went back to Chambers and how his career went backwards after he was taken apart and similarly he was not getting any help from those in front of him.
I agree that both of our young stars are getting overplayed and one wonders why Pepe and Martinelli can’t come on to give them a break.
We know that Lacazette is being asked to do a job that is alien to him and although in my opinion he is an integral part of the system and that he can only last 70 minutes doing it just serves to highlight the need for another player to do that job . To criticise him for not scoring is churlish he is not playing in that role , at present he is behind a player that is no longer the player he once was for whatever reason , be it age , malaria , desire choose one or all it doesn’t matter , we are unable to hold the ball and when you are being hounded like the way we were yesterday the game becomes one way and we our back line comes under severe pressure .
Partey who is quite a disappointment to me needs help and that help is not called Xhaka , and Aubameyang needs to be taken off when it becomes obvious that his play is not working . Just as we gambled with ESR and Saka we won’t know whether we have a replacement in the wings unless we try them .
Lacazette seems to have accepted his limitations as he goes off every match when he has given his all , he is being professional and is probably leaving at the end of the season.
As I said yesterday we need a forward and a midfielder at the very least before we ruin the prospects that we already have.
Solksjaer gone Carrick in charge for the time being. Shame that they didn’t wait a couple of weeks more.
Potter, believe it or not, Josh Kroenke did say we didn’t quite get everything we needed this past transfer window and I’m sure the positions you mention are around the mark.
More to come, I reckon.
One could apply the same injury-liability rule to Partey. After an injury-free spell at AM he doesn’t seem to be able to string 3 games together. He’s been out injured for a couple of weeks and was very poor yesterday and obviously not match-fit.
We are way too light in CM and it’s time to take action up front. Our goal difference stat tell us that.
Liverpool just accentuated the problems really.
Morning Adam, slightly thank you but washed out.
I detest Mane, he’s one of a few who get right on my nerves with the bully boy, dirty tactics. I’m so glad Mikel made his feelings clear too.
I too think we need to do something in January in midfield and up front.
Morning Geoff. Indeed they didn’t.
Ha ha Potter, I know you didn’t. Good point about Chambers but other than his stray passing, I thought he handled Salah quite well.
Imo, Partey didn’t look 100%, nor did ESR or Saka.
I’m glad he did too Rico.
I used to like Klopp but he does talk shite these days. Perhaps it’s his new set of glistening teeth. His assertion that Mane’s elbow-led challenge was entirely clean is just a lie, pure and simple and how many managers has he had these touchline spats with now? It’s all part of their whole entitlement thing really.
Anfield is the new Old Trafford I think.
I’d back Mikel against Klopp, for the record 😉
I did too Adam, but like Pep, their egos have turned them into arrogant, pig headed men. Why a manager would accept foul play as part of his tactics I don’t know. They’re no better than Big Sam or Pulis in that regard.
It’s win at all costs for some, Rico, and that why I detest diving scum, as well as those defending it.
I loved it when Salah fell to the floor and was ignored 🙂
He’s as talented as any player on the planet, but he’s a filthy little bastard to boot.
Even this new “superstar”, Connor Gallagher has mastered the dark art!
Will this ever change in football?
Gee I hope so.
Rico. I agree. Pep is a good example. I’ve always admired him but, like Klopp, his arrogance and pure ego-driven unpleasantness have moved onto another level. The sheer contempt that Pep shows for anyone who might interview him is shocking and downright rude. Their pompous “don’t you know who I am?” attitude leaves a bad taste. They also seem to have learned from Ferguson’s tactic of projection. Witness Klopp moaning that opposition managers “pick” on poor old Mane, completely unfairly of course.
I couldn’t help but notice and then later the commentators said the same thing after The yelling match of the 2 coaches only the Liverpool players seemed to lift for their coach.
I felt as captain Auba let Arteta down by not getting his team mates to lift and show Arteta and the fans that they really do support Arteta.
They’re both certainly have a nasty streak to their game Scott.
Totally agree Adam, they’ve made themselves bigger than their club and that imo is terrible for the game.
I can’t find the stats anywhere , but I just seemed to recall that after his booking Mane changed his attitude. The first half Sky seemed to show any number of our players going down with Mane standing over them after his booking he was a changed man.
Maybe Arteta’s spat with Klopp got Oliver’s attention.
That’s what a few players do though, push their luck until they get booked and then calm down. The refs in the PL are far too soft, especially on the serial cheats.
Xhaka does the same to a degree albeit he sometimes forgets to calm down after his yellow card.
Rico. Xhaka’s issue is that he gets far less leeway than Mane and his ilk. I’d say that Xhaka would have got an early yellow and been off for the scythe from behind, off-the-pitch tackle.
Not often, that’s for sure Adam but there was a game where he’d been booked and got away with a few afterwards, but, with Xhaka, I don’t think his intentions are the same as someone like Mane.
I think Klopp’s protestations of innocence are a little too much as I reckon it was part of his game plan . Mane was running indiscriminately picking on the youngsters not difficult with our current team but there was a pattern. We could see it as could Arteta . Klopp’s involvement was purely deflection , it forced Oliver to make a different decision .
Potter. Like when Mane delivered a forearm smash to Tierney’s face last season?
Decision? Zero.
According to Klopp it was simulation.
We continue to play at certain stadiums, which have already been defeated. I think the main issue, as has been the habit, is the pressure from the front lines. They press badly. Go there, say, and leave the player’s “line of force” perfectly clear, it’s better not there at all.
To be playing with Auba in a game like this with the scheme we used is playing with 10. Martinelli could not have done more but at least, in my opinion. would have been a better option. Or Balogun but I rarely saw him play.
Then, in the middle, the team would have to be stronger and more valiant. One would have had to sacrifice technique for physical balance. If you don’t balance in the physical aspect, the disadvantage is great. That’s why other teams like Brighton, for example, achieved the result with Liverpool: they don’t lose in physical confrontation, they play linear football, they get nervous and force the opponent to run much more
Yeah.Mane is as sly as they come with the fouls & kloppy knows it.Aided & abetted by another useless ref who has no love for us.Shame we don’t have the sort of defender who would go through him ( Mane) for a short cut.” Ralph “ Lauren for example.Still as everyone says.Fongers burned,lessons learned & move on.Could be a blessing as hopefully will ensure the chequebook is being readied for January.🤞
Surely people must see that Klopp’s defence of Mane is just silly. His behaviour in indefensible imo.
Good morning Rico and everyone
This is the first Arsenal game I’ve seen in a while and boy o boy they did well looking at the level of experience Liverpool has. The scoreline was a little bit exaggerated but funnily I’m quite impressed with the boys. We still have a lot of improving especially in the midfield area, Partey was quite unimpressive and one of our worse players of the day, Emily Smith Rowe was quiet but you could still see flashes of his brilliance, lacazette did far better than Auba and bar the mistakes at the beginning of the second half we did well.
Seeing Arteta fight and exchange words with Kloop was quite exciting, it shows he is willing to fight for the boys and defend them, could be a morale boast too.
I’m sure Arteta is considering adding more physicality to our game as we were bullied by Liverpool, we need to start showing teams that we can not be bullied. Would have love to see how Matland Niles handle those kind of pressure.
All in all, I feel we are making reasonable progress and I’m beginning to have some faith in Arteta..
Good morning all, it’s good that you’re feeling a bit better Rico, the cold bug that went around up here lasted a week and my wife is still suffering the effects after three weeks.
On reflection, could it be that we all had unrealistic expectations prior to the game on Saturday? In know I did.
Arteta’s crisis management leaves a lot to be desired, while being overrun in midfield he brought on Odegaard when surely AMN would have been a better option. Keeping (this for you Kev) The Invisible Man on the pitch was either naive or just plain stupid.
Still the match is over, there’s a week to go before the next one and I’m sure, as all those in authority say after a major cock-up, lessons have been learned. 😉
Morning Mexzy, Cicero and all.
Thanks Cicero, I’ve not had the cold bug but I’ll leave it there. Lol
New post up now