Morning all.
What an odd weekend of football in the Premier League. Our match was pretty disappointing and not just because we lost but because we could and should have come away with at least a point. After the game, Bernd Leno said the gap between the two teams was smaller which I agree with although probably for different reasons he alluded to. This City team doesn’t seem to have the swagger it had two seasons ago. It’s almost like Liverpool winning the title last year has knocked them off their perch, Klopp outdoing and outsmarting Guardiola. The blue team in Manchester certainly didn’t look like Premier League challengers that’s for sure. Perhaps with de Bruyne on the pitch they’d have looked better but I’m not so sure. Credit must go to the way we defended of course.
Interestingly, Arsenal are currently the second best team in the league for goals conceded. Aston Villa top the league having conceded just two goals to date, Arsenal have seen six hit the back of the net. I bet you’re not thinking about Emi Martinez at all are you?
Liverpool’s defence is the worst in the League as far as the official Premier League website table goes which shows that tables mean nothing really. Liverpool were hit for seven by Aston Villa but the chances of that kind of score line against them is pretty slim I’d have thought. Although with van Dijk ruled out for much if not all of the season, who knows.
How could this go unpunished?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wsBulE9bzmQ
Do I feel sorry for Van Dijk, perhaps, but for Liverpool? Not one bit. Not when Klopp players aren’t shy of sticking the boot, or elbow in the case of Mane, into our guys. When Granit Xhaka was flying into tackles, some worse than others admittedly, referees couldn’t wait to brand the red card. Pundits weren’t shy when it came to berating the player either so when it’s someone else committing the bad tackles or ending up being injured, perhaps it’s karma. ‘No intent’ were the cries when Ramsey and Eduardo had their legs broken, ‘nothing in it’ when Diaby was victim of what turned out to be a career ending challenge. What about Wilshere too and even Pepe today.
Not for one minute am I condoning the kind of challenge Pickford made, nor Richarlison’s in the same game but until someone gets a grip of the way the game is officiated, little will change. There’s no deterrent, no questions to answer after the game. At a push, and only if the referee says he didn’t see it, will the FA take retrospective action. If it suits them which clearly it didn’t in the case of Aguero and Pickford. You wait though, I bet our number 18’s card is already marked. Just as Luiz and Xhaka’s have before him.
To finish as I started, defending. Arsenal aren’t bad it are they?
See you in the comments…
Good afternoon Rico.
Whilst I am delighted that we have the second lowest goals against stat in the Premiership, I’m not getting carried away, nor attributing it solely to our improved defence.
I’m sure that a glance at the attempts on goal stats would point to a failure of opposing strikers to capitalise on the chances gifted to them.
As an example in the 3 – 1 defeat by Liverpool they had 21 attempts on goal and converted “only” three.
In the 1 – 0 defeat by Manchester City they had thirteen attempts on goal and converted just one.
In five Premiership matches this season Arsenal have faced an astonishing ninety-six attempts on goal, the most in any of the top five leagues in Europe.
Food for thought? 😉
Afternoon Cicero. How do those stats compare to other teams?
In any case, it’s those which go in that count… 😆
Precisely what I implied in the second paragraph, Rico.
I just thought I’d make sure Cicero.. lol
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-8859493/David-Coote-DROPPED-referee-VAR-roles-time-season.html
Ah stats, how wonderful they are and how wonderfully can they be interpreted in so many different ways to fit different narratives.
As a rule I don’t give a toss about most stats, I mean wtf does expected XG really mean, to me it mean foxtrot alpha, but for so many and especially among the new younger fans, well they love these stats and I guess in the end that that’s fine, just don’t try to inflict them on me thank you.
And so Cicero makes the valid point about Liverpool and their 21 attempts on goal, but how many of these attempts were on target and what really constitutes an attempt?
For example if an off target shot deflects off of Luiz’s foot and heads towards goal but gently rolls into Leno’s big gloves is that an attempt on goal, I mean it was on target in the end?
Where does accuracy and velocity come into it, or not as the case might be or if Sky, BBC or BT are trying to make a point?
I guess in the end it’s more down to how you as an individual feels about what you’ve seen, most have us have seen enough football to know if Arsenal played crap, were lucky, were robbed or were scintillating and I’ve not seen much of the latter this season if I’m honest. But then I’ve not seen the latter much in the last 4 years or so therefore it’s not changed much has it?
I thought we could and should have got more out of the City game, after all and this is just how I feel but didn’t the City goalkeeper make more big saves? I regret that Arteta didn’t go for it a bit more in the 2nd half, but he knows City better than anyone, if we’d opened up and then conceded a couple of late goals as was the case an Anfield then what would his critics have said? Would they have given him credit for trying to recover the score or complained that he was naive for attacking too much?
You know sometimes you just can’t win…. 🙂
I had to write something Kev. 😆
Ederson big saves or three big misses? Chicken or the egg… lol
What about guy who ignored Walkers high boot on Gabriel?
Oh, that was against Arsenal so it doesn’t count….
I thought you did very well Rico…. 😄
You know when Pepe had that header and put it about 2 yards wide, does that count as an attempt on goal?
Exactly Kev. Or the rake down Tierney’s Achilles.
Ha ha Kev.
It does, just not one on target.
Match officials Manchester City v Arsenal
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistants: Sian Massey-Ellis, Constantine Hatzidakis
Fourth official: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Assistant VAR: Andy Halliday
A League Cup stitch up then….
Ozil has not been included in the Arsenal 25 man Premiership squad.
He is also not in the Europa League squad, which leaves only the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
It looks very much as if Mesut Ozil’s Arsenal career is almost over.
New post up now.