Morning all.
Football is a funny old game isn’t it? All the time Luiz played and made cockup after cockup, I wished Holding was playing. Then, because of an injury to our ageing Brazilian, Holding started and it wasn’t long before I wished our Brazilian had been fit. The same could be said at right back with Bellerin too. An alternative to what is out there on the pitch always seems better when things aren’t going well.
In reality though, when an inconsistent Liverpool team who by their own standards, have been pretty average this season, turn up and totally play Arsenal off the park, it shows just how weak a squad Mikel Arteta has at his disposal.
When yet again, our captain seems to not give a s**t, one can only wonder why he remains on the pitch for as long as he does. At least Pepe looked as if he was trying, even though he was pretty average. In fact not one player performed particularly well. Odegaard wasn’t even in the game, Ceballos was shocking and in general, our football was up there with some of the worst Arsenal have played under Mikel Arteta.
Yes, we missed ESR and Saka for their energy and their ability and we also missed the often much maligned Xhaka too. But even so, if Mikel Arteta didn’t know already, he knows now that his squad players aren’t perhaps good enough to step in when required. A manager can perhaps get away with it when just one forced change sees a squad player step in but when it’s three or four, there’s problems. Well, there is at Arsenal but Arteta dismissed such excuses:
I don’t care who is missing, that’s excuses. International break is an excuse and I hate excuses. They were much better than us in every single department, they fully deserved to win the match by a bigger margin. I am fully responsible for that. The rest, about one player, two players or three players not being available is just excuses.
But, I honestly believe one of Mikel Arteta’s biggest problems sit with his captain. He’s not performing, he’s not leading the team on the pitch and in my opinion, he’s not even trying. He didn’t show an ounce of emotion when his number came up from the sideline.
Arsenal had two shots on goal!
After the game, Mikel Arteta spoke to Arsenal Media:
First of all, I apologise to our supporters for the display and the show that we saw today that I am very, very disappointed about. When you don’t do the basics right against a team like Liverpool, you don’t have any chance even to complete in the game, which is exactly what happened. It’s unacceptable. At that level it’s unacceptable. To not be at 100% is unacceptable to our people and for a lot of work that we put in so what happened today is nowhere near what we want to do.
It gives you a really bad gut feeling. It’s a big shock to the system that one. We weren’t expecting that one the way they were training, the way they’ve been playing but I can put it down to the level that Liverpool played today, which was really, really high as well. But ours was so far [below], so bad – it was unacceptable. Talking on the pitch, outside the pitch, in the dressing room, in front of the cameras is easy. We have to put our head down, take all the shots and the criticism because we deserve that and show a different face on Thursday.
You know what, I didn’t think Liverpool were particularly good and a better organised team with more passion in it, would have beaten them. Jota should never have been allowed to beat Chambers/Holding in the air, Leno should not allowed the shot from Salah to go through his legs and as for their third, the attempted pass to Cedric by Gabriel was simply awful, as was the defending in the box which followed.
Arsenal simply didn’t get anything right. The passing was woeful, the desire to win a challenge, non existent and in all honesty, on days like yesterday I really couldn’t find a single reason to defend Mikel Arteta or any one Arsenal player. Collectively, I thought Arsenal were awful.
Looks like Mikel Arteta will be without Luiz and Tierney for a few weeks which isn’t good news, certainly Tierney.
See you in the comments.
Morning Rico,
Disgusting, awful, abomination, embarrassing, overpaid, inadequate, absolutely appalling.
Wow I didn’t think we could play any worse this season and then we did. Why didn’t Arteta replace Auba with Martinelli after 30 mins he was already dead on his feet tracking back just sapped him of all energy. Chambers it seems has not turned into a superstar. Leno can be frail, Holding can get turned the only players who I thought did not deserve berating were Partey snd Pepe and possible Lacazette, although I wish he’d man up and stop falling all over the pitch play acting is so obvious.
I think Edu has a much harder job this summer now than before this game. The club need to spend a fortune to start competing again and that’s down to Kroenke. We need to spend big this summer and see what Arteta can do. Starting with Odegaard and his mate Haaland someone that can actually score goals and not pretend to.
Good morning Rico.
I don’t want to hear apologies from Arteta, I want to hear what he proposes to do about the abject failure of both the players he selected and the tactics he employed to have any coherent influence on the outcome of yesterday’s fiasco.
Arteta’s insistence on the “build from the back” style of play has proved to be beyond the capabilities of his present squad, yet he stubbornly persists with it despite losing numberless games due, almost entirely, to failings in the players ability to operate the system and to have confidence in it.
Having said that, it is patently obvious that we do not have the type of players, either in midfield or attack, who can benefit from the long ball game to which we reverted in the second half, solely in an effort to ease the pressure applied by Liverpool on our defence.
It is obvious that Arteta’s attempts to turn Arsenal into Man City #2 have totally failed and I suspect that due to his managerial inexperience he is incapable of designing and implementing a workable plan B.
Two questions for us all to ponder. 1) does Arsenal have a successful future under Arteta? 2) does Arteta have a future at Arsenal?
I don’t wnat Arsenal to play like Man City. We are the Arsenal and we have and should develop a distinct style. Arteta will need to know that and not try to be pep 2. If does he can somewhere else and try. We are the Arsenal and he should build our own style which fits our clubs profile and history.
Morning Mig, Cicero and all.
Apologies are easy, preparing the squad for Liverpool was clearly far more difficult. Forget the skill level of the players out their yesterday because what they got wrong was basic football.
That performance was on Arteta imo and no one else.
Cicero, I think you said last night that more performances like yesterday and Arteta will be on his bike. I have to agree, nothing about yesterday filled me with confidence that he’s going to get Arsenal playing great football again.
This season could very well end in a similar fashion to the Emery one. Although we’ll be out of Europe altogether next season.
Madhu, neither do I, partly because we’ll never have the kind of players City recruit.
And for goodness sake Arteta, drop Aubameyang.
Rico, I wouldn’t mind Arsenal not playing great football if they managed to play in such a way that they string a few passes together. That they make an attempt to cut out the suicidal defensive mistakes and they are freed from the need to carry a captain who plainly doesn’t give a s**t and is interested only in his own bank balance.
It’s a sunny day and we are expecting some of the family round for Easter Eggs and hot chocolate in the garden, so to h**l with all things Arsenal and the depression that comes with them. 😉
Rico, ditch my 12.15 please
When has Pepe ever had a good game on the right wing, when has he ever performed consistently there, because I’d have to say never?
So why pick him to play there?
He actually put in a shift, getting back to defend and putting in challenges and contesting headers even if they were pretty ineffective, all the same you couldn’t fault his effort. He actually looked the most likely to score out of our multi million strike force. But right wing – no!
He’s always performed better on the left, but then that’s where Haircut plays, or not as the case might be.
Happy Easter all, except as far as Arsenal are concerned.
Only laugh I got yesterday was a commentator explaining Auba was being taken off to save him for Thursdays European match! Are they watching the same match as us?
Old theme I know, but it’s a recurring one, when that cross came in for Jota to head past the static Leno, would another goalkeeper had come off of his line, cleared everyone out and punched clear? Just a thought…
That’s sounds like a very enjoyable afternoon Cicero.
12:11 Cicero, ditto. I could accept that hands down, however….
I don’t understand that either Kev. I recall Pepe playing better on the left but everything seems to be built around a captain who doesn’t seem to give a toss. A captain who doesn’t even deserve to be on the pitch these days. He’s as bad if not worse than Ozil.
Andrew, I chuckled when I heard that about Auba. I wouldn’t even play him on Thursday…
I reckon so Kev, I think I know which keeper you’re referring to. Lol
What about Ryan, perhaps he would have too.
Me neither ,On Thursday a lot depends on Saka and ESR , if they are not available , I have little or no trust in anyone else.
I would be tempted to give Nelson a run instead of Pepe and Martinelli for Aubameyang . But we will probably get Willian and Xhaka..
Same old Arsenal , taking the piss . only out of us.
I’d be tempted to bring Balogun into the squad, no one would expect that. I don’t hold out much hope if Saka and ESR don’t play, not if yesterday was anything to go by.
I so hope there are a lot of changes this summer.
Rico, Leno made a couple of really good saves, but by then he’d already let in three, when was the last time we came away from a game and thought that Leno had made the difference?
Is it just him though or is it his coaching?
As much as I’d want to see Smith Rowe and Saka in the team this Thursday I really don’t want to see Arteta doing a Partey and risking a worse injury by playing them when not fully recovered.
Xhaka should be back this Thursday, give him the armband and drop Aubameyang.
PHOTO-2021-03-18-16-32-44.jpg
Afternoon Rico and all.
Was going to say Good Afternoon, but I don’t feel good. Not after being through the spindry yesterday.
Cant begin to describe my feelings about yesterday. Appalled? Gutted? Disappointed?
I am still wondering how come we keep seeing things which maybe(?) Arteta, Edu, the coaching staff, the board dont see. Or dont want to see. Maybe AW didn’t see it. Unai never saw anything. But ffs, even Arteta??
Honestly dont know what to say.
Still have a lot of questions. Why Auba on the left and Pepe on the right?? As Kev pointed out…Pepe is best on the left. So why accomodate Auba? When we bought Auba, my first thought was….why him and Laca?? Its either or. But two CFs in a 4-2-3-1 formation dont go. Auba is a square peg in a round hole. What is Arteta thinking about Auba. Does he drop him again and risk a rebellion from Auba? Or play him and risk a crap performance?
Why not play in a 4-3-2-1 formation? That would have flooded the midfield and offered better protection. At least we would have goat a point maybe.
Where the players scared??? Imo no. It was more a case of the majority, beginning from the captain, not giving a toss.
Oh bdw….I heard that AFC will soon open a Creperie for the fans. But they will serve only CRAPPERY with yesterday’s team.
Sorry that doesn’t work.
Afternoon Rico and the HousIt certainly is a funny old game Rico.
Watching our team of clodhoppers being thrashed I found myself
thinking why is Aterta not giving AMN and Reiss Nelson a chance .
After all they cannot be worse then some of those that played yesterday
Can’t remember Kev. I’ve never really warmed to him.
Agree, if there’s a slightest doubt, leave ESR and Saka out, Tierney too.
If Aubameyang gets dropped, I suspect Lacazette will be captain.
Hi Rico..I don’t know where to start!! I can deal with losing, only when we’ve given everything – unfortunately those days are long gone. Last night was embarrassing!
It showed how important ESR and Saka are to the team – having to rely on 2 youngsters, surely our ‘experienced’ players should be ashamed of themselves! You can forgive the odd player for occasionally having an off night, but practically the whole team last night?!! Something is seriously wrong somewhere.
What makes me sick is whoever Klopp brings in, they become WC overnight. Look at Jota!! It’s the complete opposite with us…
I’m dreading Thursday… Am now watching Saints v Burnley. End to end stuff, 5 goals – why can’t we play like that??
If you’d told me back in the day when we last won the PL, how crap we’d be in the future I’d have laughed in your face!!
🥺
Our u23’s have played Brentford B in a freindly this morning and lost 3-2.
Balagon scored both goals.
Cicero enjoy your afternoon mate,as I am going to enjoy mine.
Seeing my greatGranddaughters in the flesh for the first time in a year
Afternoon Devil, Rick.
I ask myself similar questions Rick. I know AMN isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but Ceballos is hardly proving to be average. There’s absolutely no way should Arsenal try and keep him imo. I can’t reme the last time he passed to one of his own team. Slight exaggeration I know but I’m sure you get my point. Pepe just disappoints more and more each game.
That has to be the worst performance of the Arteta era.
It’s easy to be wise after the event but as soon as I saw the team I wondered why no Bellerin or Elneny. Hector would be highly motivated(trying to get back in the Spain team) Elneny is dependable. I actually felt sorry for Callum Chambers, he was roasted all evening. Who would have thought Liverpool would start fast, and target our slowest player? Not our coach.
Also the Pepe on the right thing as previously mentioned was predictable, all of his best games have come on the left.
Not our biggest problem but Leno continues to be unconvincing, Kev compares him to John Lukic and that’s very true. He is a decent keeper, will make loads of good saves, but you always feel an error is not far away. To me he is just a better version of Almunia.
Hopefully we get Xhaka, Saka and Smith Rowe back ASAP.
At least its sunny..
Our women are 1-0 up 👍
Joelinton!!! 🙂
Hi Sue, I’m the same. When you’re simply beaten by a better side on the day having played well, that’s life in the game but yesterday, so many things were wrong I see red flags flying over this current squad. I’m also starting to have little doubts about Mikel Arteta.
I know we missed ESR and Saka but the rest should have been able to put in a much better performance than they did. Shockingly poor.
I too watched the Saints game. That’s entertainment. Lol
Walcott looks better now than he ever did for Arsenal.
Bellerin must have done something wrong because he’s suddenly been dumped from a great height. The only thing I can think makes some sense is Arteta is using this time to see how players respond ahead of the summer transfer window.
Or he’s simply putting all his eggs in the Europa Cup basket.
You old cynic Limey. 😆
My doubts are growing by the week, Rico. I always knew whoever came in would have a mammoth task on their hands, but we could at least play decent football!
What has happened to Auba? On fire before and now…?? I rate Leno, but what has happened to him? Have they all downed tools already?
You’re right, Rico, Theo does look good. Saints are playing well… great when you have to watch every other team, bar your own, to see a decent match!!
And yes where is Bellerin? In the shop window?
Seems like it Sue. Auba has been off the boil for a long time though, I really don’t know why he bothered staying as he’s clearly not happy.
Saved for Slavia perhaps.
Willock has scored against the spuds 🙂
Excellent from Willock, I bet he loved that.
The women won 4-0 and the boat race is exciting. 😆
Yesterday showed many things with regards the team. However one thing stands out…….Xhaka, for all his critics, is badly missed by this team. His replacement Ceballos, as I pointed out when I saw the lineup yesterday, was destined to fail big time. He simply was awful. Why not Elneny? I am sorry to say that even though Elneny comes along as a good chap and someone who gives all his best it is not enough for Arsenal’s standard.
Which begs the question…..Why was AMN not given more games at DM? Why he was shunted left right and anywhere else except his proper position? He is growing in his position at WBA. Someone has pointed out (yesterday) that Allardyce has managed to do what 3 Arsenal managers failed.
So is it that AMN, Willock, Nelson etc are not up to standard while Ceballos, Elneny and Willilan are better?? With all due respects to them, AMN and Willock and Nelson would have at least tried. Nelson himself scored against Liverpool. AMN had a good run in the FA Cup success last season. And Willock has performed better than Ceballos definitely.
Is it the players?? Or is it the structure and coaching.
Another thing……Leno preferred to work with Woodman. And he went to Arteta and told him so. What happened? Woodman has been told that he will not be at AFC next season. Why has Leno’s form dipped since then?
We don’t know that about Leno and Woodman for definite do we Devil?
I think Leno is the same as he’s always been, one minute he’s making a terrific save, the next he’s letting one in through his legs.
Oh, and I agree re AMN. Shunted everywhere other than his most natural position. Arteta clearly doesn’t fancy him in midfield. Or anywhere so it seems.
Where has the pride in playing for the badge, as well as themselves gone? Is it too much to ask for them to go out there and actually earn their money?
Wait until the fans return, the boos will be ringing out if these lacklustre displays continue…
Great result for the women – really pleased!
Agree re the fans, their absence has made life a little easier Arteta but those days will soon be over. 10,000 unhappy fans can make a lot of noise.
Luiz had surgery on his knee this morning. Perhaps we won’t see him in an Arsenal shirt again.
Rico et al,
Having thought about it some more, I have come to the conclusion there must be something going on with Auba and Arteta. I did think it was Aubas mother being ill which was distracting him, then we start to get some ill discipline what with the tattoo, the haircut, then being late and getting dropped. His performances since last year have fallen off a cliff, and his behaviour for a captain is just all wrong. We don’t ever see him on these bad days being interviewed, him either taking the bad performances or berating the team as you would expect a captain to do, but there’s nothing, it seem there’s more to this than we are able to see.
The other one we don’t here about but it’s worth mentioning is Saliba. We paid what £27 million for him. There was some sort of problem going on he was I thought treated quite poorly. So we loan him out to Nice and he’s getting rave reviews. So why couldn’t we have at least tried him for a couple of games. Let’s get him and Gabriel firing through preseason, they could be an excellent partnership.
Like some of the others today I saw the team sheet Pepe on right, Auba left and thought oh sh*t, here we go. I don’t get why he won’t drop Auba and throw in Balogun to lead the attack, Nelson, Martinelli, with Nketiah as the second half impact player.
What really got me was the way we just fell back into out own half and stayed there. The start of the second half was an eye opener. Arsenal came out firing we got the ball, passed it around had a shot on target that was the first 5 mins. Then we did the same as the first half, as soon as Liverpool started passing the ball around we just dropped back crunched up with our back line and that was it. We were clearly getting in each other’s way not reading the through balls and who was marking the runners it was like a school match.
And so Aston Villa go striding past above us again with still another game in hand, the gap between 10th and the teams immediately above us is growing, what a shit sandwich…
All bets are going on Thursday, let’s see if Capt Haircut can break a sweat?
thank Goodness we have 1 match winning tam at Arsensl
4-0 win puts us in a good postion to play in shampions league next season
Shampoos lge Rick? Is it sponsored by a shampoo company then? 😂😂😂😂
Bloody autocorrect. I wanted to type Shampions league not Shampoos lge 😂😂😂😂
Welbz loves a goal against the Mancs!!
Mig, I don’t think Auba turning up late and subsequently being dropped helped. Perhaps Aubameyang thinks he’s bigger than Arteta.
After a lovely, warm and sunny spring day it’s time to batten down the hatches with a stiff north-easterly wind bringing a big drop in temperature and possible snow showers forecast for tomorrow.
Good night Gooners….everywhere. 😴
Good Morning everyone.
Seems that all the knives are out and are being sharpened with regards Auba now. Ex players, pundits and bloggers are saying the same thing.
Can’t wait for this season to end. It has turned out to be a nightmare. If, and a very big IF, we win the Europa league by any sort of miracle (because I feel we will get to the final and then fail to turn up like like we did vs Chelsea under Emery) I hope that Arteta stops playing his favourites…like Auba, Willian (luiz is out so cannot play) and plays the proper players. He might not say it but I feel deep down he will be saving Saka, ESR and hopefully MArtinelli for that competition.
As things stand at the moment there are only 6 top quality players which Arteta must make sure are at the club next season…..Tierney, ESR, Saka, Odegaard, Partey and Martinelli. Xhaka is a marmite player with many but is way much better than the rest put together. Gabriel is a good player and we cannot judge him mostly on this season as its his first in the EPL. So he needs to adapt and its expected that he has ups and downs.
With regards the rest he cannot sell them all. However the team needs to sign 4 to 5 quality players who WANT to play. Players in the Tierney mould and attitude. We need another one like him as RB and also another CB. Plus cover for KT because once he went off on Saturday, the dippers targeted Soares and Gabriel.
Arteta and Edu have a lot of work to do. The coming summer will tell us a lot. Failure to bring in the necessary players will see another season down the drain due to changes at coaching level.
Morning all.
Firstly, let’s all stop pretending we know how to manage a PL club.
Secondly, let’s all be honest and acknowledge the fact that we are a club that’s a long way from being a contender, and while we can question the “process”, none of us have had to take over a club that’s a mess and even formulate a process of our own.
We’ve all stated at some stage that things will take time, so let’s give it time lol
That performance was absolutely pathetic but it wasn’t even close to our best starting 11, and as I’ve said previously, and every fan knows, we don’t have a brilliant squad top to bottom, so when we have to rest players, we are in trouble.
Relax!!!
It’ll take time and if you can’t accept that, then you’ll be stressed for another year or two 🙂
Devil, Xhaka is totally under rated.
He’s only Marmite for fans who prefer Peanut Butter hahahahahaha
Morning Devil, Scott and all.
With you all the way Devil. Certain players have had a long enough run to prove their worth. Two or three have flunked. If Arteta persists with them, his decision might just backfire on him. He wasn’t afraid to dump Ozil, Sokratis, Mustafi, Torreira etc etc, so dump the others now.
https://highbury-house.com/2021/04/05/sell-saka-no/
New post up now
Scott I agree with you with regards Xhaka. We all saw what happened on Saturday and how much we missed him. Although he has hte occasional brain fart he controls the game and is a good DM. Its the occasional brain fart which I did not make him as the 7th player Arteta must make sure stays. Otherwise if he has two top CB behind him and PArtey in midfield with him he is a world beater.
Many will not agree with us though.
Devil, now you know I’m not one to worry to much about going against the grain 🙂
I doubt any of us thought for a second Auba would be so poor this season, and if he was playing to his normal standard, we would be much higher up the ladder.
We all have opinions, we are all right and wrong on occasions, but we all love the Arsenal and that’s what’s important.
I do believe we are headed the right way, in fact I’m sure we are.
A lot of to think about after such a disaster.
Let’s be honest, any successful team has always had a solid consistent back four and not changed from game to game. Also a solid commanding goalkeeper that intimidates the opposition when they enter his area; ours is a poster boy who is not of the Arsenal pedigree.
If we cannot complete this basic structure, then don’t expect consistency.
Welcome Maurice, I know it’s done and dusted now but we used to have that very kind of keeper but £20m seemed more important to the club that playing the best keeper at the time.