Morning all.
Not quite the result Arsenal wanted or needed but a point is a start. After 35 minutes of looking lost against a Southampton team who were passing the ball around with ease, we finally woke up. But of course by then we’d gone a goal down. Similar to the opening goal we conceded against Toots, we lost a midfield battle, a quick pass into the path of Theo Walcott and our old winger showed the skill and composure Arsenal fans didn’t see enough of when he was in north London.
Around ten minutes before halftime, Arsenal started to find a bit of rhythm. We created a few decent chances but when your lucks out, it’s out.
Our equaliser finally came. It was pure quality and all about Bakayo Saka and his ball control to jink past several Southampton players. His move ended with a pass to Eddie Nketiah who in turn laid the ball off for Aubameyang to score.
Then came the sending off of Gabriel. Two rather harsh bookings I thought but nevertheless, having just been booked, it was naive of our number 6 to give Paul Tierney a decision to make. A decision he probably couldn’t wait to make. From there on, Arsenal were on the back foot but defended with purpose. Redmond hit the woodwork which was probably the closest they came to taking the lead but despite all the possession Southampton had, we nearly nicked right at the end but Holding’s header hit the frame of the goal.
Mikel Arteta was forced into making changes due to the suspension of both Xhaka and Bellerin but he didn’t stop with just bringing in AMN and Ceballos as both Lacazette and Willian made way for Nicolas Pepe and Eddie Nketiah. Whilst I don’t think there were reasons to jump through hoops with joy, once we settled into the game, I thought we looked a tad better. The concern though was our slow start, allowing Southampton to play their game. The problem is when a group of players haven’t won a game for so long, nerves can play their part.
Honestly, I think we’d have won had Gabriel not been sent off because we were on top. Southampton had had their time and with their history of flagging in the second half, our pressure would have reaped reward.
The negative is having another player sent off and not winning the game. The positive is stopping a good Southampton team from scoring a winner with only ten men. And we’ve stopped that losing run. It’s not much but it’s something to build on and with Aubameyang finally scoring that much needed goal, perhaps it’ll kick start him into wanting more.
See you in the comments.
Morning Rico.
Seems the boys showed a bit more at times than they have recently.
Yes, we shot ourselves in the foot again but at least there some signs, albeit small ones.
They fought hard which is great.
I read something from Leno who just said the entire squad adore Arteta, the silly mistakes they are making are worked on at training and this is entirely on them.
Taking some responsibility is a good thing but obviously it takes more than words.
Auba scoring-let’s just hope he goes on with it because we need his goals and that’s staying the obvious!!!
Morning Scott. The Mail quotes from Leno are very critical but he’s one of the players who been off form I think.
True, Rico, but the fact he and some others are standing up for their manager speaks volumes imo
I still find it strange that Auba is so silent.
Hi Rico and all I glad some of the players are starting to take responsibility for their game but words are cheap they need to back up their words on the field my gut feeling is that Auba doesn’t want to be at Arsenal but only signed because they’re was no real offers for him. As for the players backing the coach I take that with a grain of salt after all if they rubbish him they know he will drop them.
G’day Rico and all.
Could Aubameyang’s goal be the acorn from which a mighty oak may grow? Mind you, oak trees take centuries to mature. 😉
He signed a contract so that when he leaves at the end of the season we will get a fee for him . How much though ?
The red cards are all stupid ones borne out of players being on edge and frustrated , clearly we need a change of fortune to settle things down but there are figures being bandied around that suggest we do get penalised pro rata more heavily than most .
It will be interesting to see how West Brom fare under their new manager Sam Allardyce.
Afternoon Rico/everyone
A little better, 1 point nearer avoiding relegation I suppose!
Saka is a real star, I’m assuming Nelson is not available yet, despite nothing on the club website. I’d like to see him come in as soon as he’s available in place of Pepe.
I’d like to see Mari in place of Gabriel, Arteta might go with 3 centre backs, Everton have some very dangerous attacking players, I haven’t been impressed with them defensively but who knows if we can take advantage.
We live in hope.
Afternoon Limey, Geoff, Potter, Cicero.
Auba spoke before the Nld, not that it was worth much.
Why do the stats not surprise me re bookings.
“A point is a start” and finnaly, a goal in the League!
We do not have a strong, aggressive midfield, that makes us play, that gives consistency and is superior to the opponent.
We may want to play and we sometimes play in spaces; but we always let the opponent play naturally. And so, it is very complicated to win a game.
Apparently Walcott is the 3rd top goalscorer at the Emirates behind Giroud and Van Persie.
Walcott 3rd? Staggering..
New post up now