Morning all.
To suggest the result yesterday was disappointing would be an understatement, especially with Liverpool dropping two points at Anfield.
I can’t comment on how we played because I’ve only seen the chances we missed and the penalty we probably should have been awarded, but weren’t. There was no change in the movement of the ball which is enough to convince me that their defender didn’t get a touch on it before bundling Thomas Partey over. As Kev suggested yesterday, had that been Salah at Anfield, I’m sure VAR would have directed the referee to the pitch side monitor. That’s not to say we’d have converted the spot kick as by all accounts, Pickford was having the game of his life.
Again, going by what I’ve read about the game, Everton only had one thing in mind and that’s to defend as if their lives depended on it. They wanted a point and they got it.
Mikel Arteta’s team bossed the game in every department barring the one which matters, goals. After the game, the Spaniard said:
I feel very disappointed not to win the game, because, obviously, if there’s a team that deserved to win, there’s only one, which is Arsenal. We gave nothing away, no shots conceded, dominated our play, not allowed them to run, no set pieces. High-press, excellent. We got them there. We generated the chances, but the last 20 metres was missing to score goals, which is what you have to do with all the dominance because we have never been able to dominate it that way.But at the end you have to try to generate the highest winning probability. Now that you draw the game, you want more. Even if we win it, we always want more. But I cannot ask much more to the boys apart from putting the ball in the net.
We’re scoring goals, just not enough and not for the first time this season, it’s cost us points. I don’t want to sound “I told you so” but Mikel Arteta expecting his players to replicate the same goal numbers of last season again this time around was foolhardy. Naive too. Whatever Arsenal were doing last season will have been studied by other managers and a way to negate our attacking threat sought, in some cases, found.
Finding a way through a team which focusing on defending is something which needs working on. As for the lack of ability to score from the chances we do create in games like yesterday, is something only the players can improve on.
As Arteta said, we did everything but score. Having a prolific goal scorer or two in a squad is a necessity if Arsenal are to ever win the Premier League. As said many times, every other club in this league has at least one out and out striker in its squad barring Arsenal.
Last season our scoring numbers looked good, but take away the high scoring fixtures, the stats will read differently. How many games last season and this are we left saying “we should have won”? Too many to mention in my opinion. Yet what did the club do? Sell the only two proper strikers at the club in Eddie Nketiah and Mika Biereth who might not have made a difference this season but then again, they might. Is Raheem Sterling giving the squad/team anything more or better than Reiss Nelson? The simple answer is no as he’s barely played.
I must backtrack too on my opinion about playing Ethan Nwaneri because if Mikel Arteta is happy to start an 18 year old left back twice within four days then why on earth has he been so reluctant to use Nwaneri more than he has?
Arteta on developing Myles Lewis-Skelly:
Give him chances. If he keeps grabbing them like the way he has done today again, because I think he was really good, he will continue to have chances because he deserves them.
Well Ethan Nwaneri is good too, very good.
Next up for Arsenal is another home game against Crystal Palace on Wednesday evening in the League Cup.
Catch up in the comments…
Afternoon Rico and all,
Personally I believe Nwaneri will ask for a transfer by the end of this season if Arteta doesn’t start giving him game time,
Arteta can say what ever makes him feel good, but at the end of the day we are starting to struggle in the premier league, as we rely too much on corners, and yes I agree our players are getting worn out with all the matches they have to play, but again Arteta needs to know how to manager the squad he has.
Credit were credit is due, I don’t like Pickford but he saved them and they new how to defend against us, and they nearly scored from a quick break that almost court us sleeping.
G’day Rico. Not an easy post to write, so well done for that.
Arteta is getting grief in some of the press for taking Odegaard and Rice of at the same time but from what I’ve seen both were knackered. Both are in recovery mode following injury and Odegaard, in particular, has been running his legs off in every game since his return.
I fully expect Arteta to rest both of them on Wednesday, neither should be on the bench.
Set piece goals have kept us in the running for the League title but we can’t rely on them forever, we need some goals from open play as all the coaches are well aware of Arteta’s tactics.
At one point yesterday the commentator mentioned the fact that there were eighteen players in the Everton box. That’s too many, too crowded and our players were getting in each others way. A bit more positional discipline would help and give our forwards a little more space.
I’ve said it before, and will keep on saying , the season is not halfway yet. There’s plenty of time to go.
Another one bites the dust! Wolves sack manager O’Neill.
Afternoon Geoff, Cicero.
It’s never good to try and write something about an awful result Cicero. I nearly didn’t bother, some might say I shouldn’t have. 😂
I don’t Geoff, he’ll stay put for a long time I think.
Rice picked up a knock yesterday apparently..
Shame about O’Neill, I think he’s a good manager who just needs the right club and players..
Arsenal Women kick off in half an hour or so, away to Liverpool in Women’s Super League. Three points would be very welcome. As always. 😉
Quick dog walk for me then… lol
I thought we looked really leggy yesterday. Odegaard didn’t look right, so not surprised Arteta hooked him off after an hour. Pickford played a blinder and Tarkowski and the rest parked the bus very effectively. Massively frustrating!
Geoff, Ethan Nwaneri signed a professional contract on his seventeenth birthday back in March this year. He’s going nowhere anytime soon.
Everton had about 10 days to prepare for yesterday’s ’defensive masterclass!’
As for Pickford, yes he made a lot of really good saves but they were saves he should be making because they were all pretty much right at him.
Nwaneri will get his start next Wednesday in the League Cup and Arteta is going to have quite a selection poser on top of Ethan as we’re one game from the semi-finals, at home against a team we should be beating but what kind of team does he pick and at what level of rotation?
If he goes too youthful and we lose it’ll be bad, really really bad, but some of our senior players need a few days off. Injuries are eating into Arteta’s options meaning he’s overplaying some of our seniors.
As it stands it looks as if Rice is definitively out, Califiori isn’t ready yet, Odegaard needs a rest, Havertz needs a rest, Saka needs to be protected from himself, Timber is probably in need of a breather, it’s a conundrum wrapped up inside of a headache, or something like that!
Fortunately Palace are playing Brighton today so plenty of bruised aching limbs.
And Palace take the lead from a corner. VAR?
0-1 Palace
Tierney finally, Lewis Skelly, Kiwior, Nwaneri, Setford, Sterling, Jesus and Uncle Jorginho, will probably come into the equation as starters, after that it’s mix n match…
0-2 Palace 😳
Not too many teams go to Brighton and take a 2-0 lead…
I bet they’re saving Eddie Nketiah for Wednesday and you just know he’s going to have a great game…
The headline writers are already at it as we eat our roast beef:
Eddie the Eagle!
Or
Ready Steady Eddie!
Or
Eddie has plenty of lung! 😉
There are 2 games in a row against Palace.
If they play like they are now against Brighton, it will be two very tough games. Arsenal should be worrying about getting a true central striker and not a very expensive player with a name to play the same position. With Edu and the Brazilian championship at a standstill, I think, because there were some, that it wouldn’t be difficult to find a striker who could shoot at goal (with both feet and the head). Without Edu, I think it is much more complicated.
19 minutes one nil to the Arsenal. Russo with a tap in. 🔔
Arsenal penalty!….Hits the post.
I think Nwaneri will get more starts next season(and Wednesday of course)
Halftime still one nil up
I see the women don’t get any decisions go their way in Liverpool either…
Hope I don’t end up having steal one of those headlines Kev.. 😜
I think so too Limey but perhaps in hindsight, when Odegaard was injured, We’d have done a bit better with Nwaneri getting more minutes. But then hindsight is a wonderful thing, as is typing ideas when it’s not my job on the line 😜
If Arsenal signed Rashford in January would it be a good thing or not?
One goal, clean sheet, three points. That’ll do nicely.🔔
Not Rico. Emphatically not!.
Haha Cicero.. I thought you’d say that.
Palace had 35% possession against Brighton so I guess we’ll be up against another defensive team on Wednesday…
Palace coming into form at the wrong time.
And the bad run continues for Man City,1-2 to United,and City down to fifth. A draw would probably have been fair.
Good evening all
so we gain a point on City and remain the same as the dippers.
onto tonight’s Utd win……….
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola speaking to Sky Sports:
“This year it happens many times unfortunately. We gave away many things. We are not nice in the way we played. Before it’s so fluid, now we’re struggling for different reasons. A lot of defeats. We put everything in and the game was almost closed. They had more possession first half but nothing special. We give away two goals, very difficult.
“It is what it is. What can I say? We can not blame this player or that one, it’s not that. It’s the season, a tough season.
“We didn’t play our best. We are not our best and we struggle a bit. Now we don’t play for the week.
“Previously we didn’t lose that many in two seasons. Now we’ve done it in eight games. You have to defend. We have lost a lot of games. It’s difficult. We have to move on and try to find the solution and try to win games.
“I think in nine years it wasn’t the toughest defeat. Champions League defeats harder. But at the moment, we need results to lift our mood. It’s getting worse and worse. I have to find the solution. So far I didn’t find it and this is the truth.
And that was what Mr Pep said. Two things Pep….first – maybe the bookies have got another favourite to prefer now. secondly – maybe the last 6 leagues you won are fake. Now no longer clubs are rolling over and letting you win so easily.
Fingers crossed the EPL have the balls to award fake EPL wins in retrospective to clubs which finish 2nd. Oh and the FA Cup and League cups you won will be handed to the other finalists.
Having said that I think its better if refs are scrutinized as well.
end of rant.
Has anyone of you thought how much we have missed Ben White’s overlaps and tactical soundness???
One thing that I don’t want is two titles given when we finished second. The club’s proud record of being London’s leading trophy winning club would be tarnished every time the list was published with a great big asterisk against them .
Watching City tonight I was struck by the similarity in the way Pep’s team were playing and us yesterday lot’s of passing but little else apart from Doku looking very Martinelli ish on the left with nothing in the middle to aim for .
Then of course our neighbours , they don’t click all the time but when they get the chance to play the lower teams they go for them big time.
As I said yesterday it’s about attitude.
We won’t be the only club though surely as Utd and Liverpool would be awarded titles too.
Agree though, we play just like City are now and how they were pre Haaland. They just had different, perhaps better players than us. Not all of course, but a few. Aguero for one…
I’m not surpised that us and Man cities game plan is simular after all, Arteta learned from Pep.
As others have said, The court case is getting to Pep and the players. so it should.
Morning gang.
New post up.