Morning all.
It’s been a strange week really and not a particularly good one for Arsenal. In fact the entire seven days has done nothing other than bring more negativity to its door. Two more dropped points at home, the Xhaka spat with the fans followed by the long wait for what was in the end a halfhearted apology and the loss at Anfield despite scoring five goals.
The team is weak, Emery is weak and I’m now wondering if the board are too. Too weak to make a decision about Unai Emery. What needs to take place before they realise he’s in over his head?
The football we play is a disorganised chaos as I’ve said before and Unai Emery can do nothing to change it. Or at least he hasn’t yet and I don’t anticipate that changing.
I read in The Independent yesterday that the players are now mimicking him, or in simple terms, taking the piss out of the Spaniard for his poor English. Eighteen months he’s had to master English, or at least to be able to communicate with others in a way he can be understood. He hasn’t. I certainly can’t understand much of what he says. I get the words, of course I do but what he actually means is anyone’s guess. How can his players understand him? Answer is, I don’t think they do.
We play Wolves later today, a club which battered us 3-1 at their own place earlier this year and left The Emirates last year with a point. They must have felt unlucky too because maximum points could so easily been theirs. They’ll be after all three today that’s for sure. We are vulnerable right now and Nuno Espirito Santo will be out to take advantage.
Emery will no doubt revert to his usual league team today although after his run of goals, Martinelli must feel a first team place can’t be far away. Ozil must be sat wondering if he did enough against Liverpool to justify a place in the starting eleven too. I’m sure Aubameyang, Lacazette and Pepe hope he does.
There’s no Xhaka of course, no Nelson either although he did return from injury yesterday and together with Mavropanos and the rest of the under 23 squad, thumped the Toots 3-1 on their own turf. Nice. The women have had a good win too. 8-0 against Slavia Prague – a second leg WCL score which comfortably secured their place in the next round of the competition.
Other than Nelson, Mavropanos and Xhaka, everyone else is fit for today’s fixture. A few of which have used social media to show support for their captain. Win today against a tough Wolves side with a decent performance and no doubt we’ll hear/read the ‘we did it for our captain’ kind of comment afterwards.
Me, well I’m thinking that it Arsenal can play well today and take maximum points, they’ll prove the team is better without its captain.
Finally, a massive good luck to England this morning. It might be an oval ball game but it’s a great sport in which ‘real men’ compete. None of this falling over when the wind gets up, no referee abuse, a proper technical review system and the fans are incredible. They are even allowed an alcoholic beverage whilst watching from the stands…
Football has so much to learn, as do it’s followers…
🏉🏉 Go England 🏴🏴🏴
good morning!
Was not Sparta but Slavia.
Good one Rico – spot on as usual.
Are there any fans showing “EMERY OUT” flags or placards in the stands by any chance?
That would be a start and, if we get trounced by Wolves today, then that should do it without the reminders?
COYG!!!!!!!!!
In the Final, England are being over-run by a juggernaut, I’m sorry to say.
Just like to make sure you’re reading Jm… lol
Thanks Andorra, not seen any yet but I doubt it’ll be long..
Congratulations to South Africa a well deserved victory, but if their style of play is to become the norm I won’t be watching too much of it.
Morning Rico and all. Personally, I don’t want to see any banners like that. And hoping to lose so the coach would get sacked is something that other clubs do for me. I guess I’m just old-fashioned though.
What a shit way to start the day, not the post Rico the rugby…
It’s all set up for Wolves to pile on more misery, I think I’ll just focus on work today.
Good morning Rico, thanks for the post. Arsenal are still copping it big time over Xhakagate, I guess its all that can be expected.
To answer your question from yesterday, no doubt in my mind, Emery must shoulder the blame. He picks the team he, decides the tactics, he runs the training, and I’m afraid he has lost the dressing room.
Taxi for Senor Emery. 😕
Same here Cicero. Cynical lot.
Thing is Adam, booing demonstrates unhappiness, but a banner is the ultimate unhappiness demanding action?
Well, whatever…………
We need some real enterprise and defensive toughness (where will they find that characteristic?) from whatever team UE plays today to bring some winning comfort to us all.
Not convinced though.
I’ll drive the taxi Cicero
yes rico and England v. South Africa too.
And I hope Arsenal later.
Andorra. I doubt the powers at the club need that sort of stimulus. The truth is in the points column.
Morning Cicero, Adam. All again.
I’d like to think the board can see what’s going on before the need of banners but if they can’t, they’re bound to come or more booing.
Sensible Kev.
Nice goal Bournemouth 😆
That too Adam, we’re starting to leak points that should have been in the bag.
Arsenal team: Leno, Chambers, David Luiz, Sokratis, Tierney, Guendouzi, Torreira, Ceballos, Ozil Aubameyang, Lacazette
Subs: Martinez, Bellerin, Kolasinac, Willock, Martinelli, Saka, Pepe
Going to be interesting to see Ozil and Ceballos together .
Emery is very erratic, does he selects his team in isolation? There seems that there is never a relationship between defense, midfield and attack. Ozil and Ceballos together against a fast Wolves team with Skoratis and Luis at the back. I hope he will let Torreira sit in front of the defense unlike how he has been pushing him upfront.
Well Potter @ 2:40, you beat me to it…..lol. Yes interesting is the word. Emery is sandbagging Ozil again.
He’s writing the next chapter in his departure story with that team imo.
Aubameyang gets the poisoned chalice today. Have we had a successful captain since Vierra. Most seem to have lost form, some never had any, and they all got moved on. Only Koscielny lasted any length of time and that was due to the amount of playing time he missed through injury.
He also gets the first goal, assist by Lacazette..
I have no idea what the game is like to watch, but it sounds mindnumbing on the radio…
I can recommend Jack Ryan Kev. 😆
Torreira is not sit in front of the defense!
We are very exposed!
Ozil is out of defense, Always the same!
Mc Tominey is a nasty bit of work .
Can’t grumble too much, thought it was a good 1st half meself.
Emery letting Ozil know exactly what he expects of him when he’s not on the ball.
Our defence doing their best to gift Wolves an equaliser.
And they have….
Great work by our Head Coach takes off a defensive midfielder in favour of a lightweight forward and two minutes later we concede an equalise. On yer bike Emery!
Just what I said Cicero as the change was made. That’s not a slur on Saka, just Emery.
We’re hanging on at 1-0, not 4-0 up…
JM @ 3:51, I agree with you. I understand that Torreira was a striker earlier in his career, but the way he is being use now makes no sense.
So we settle for one goal and one point.
We really are in a bad place.
Emery should go tonight imo.
Emery doesn’t want to win games.
You want the team to score goals, if possible, one more goal than the opponent. It’s not because you have a half-team of attacking players that play better, you score more goals, you create more opportunities, in short, you’re superior in the game. Quite the contrary. The image that remains is that one always has the “throat rope”. AW had much more possession of the ball, but the opponent was almost subaltern. He played in error and counterattack because he recognized his inferiority; if they didn’t play closed, 11 behind the ball, if they left spaces and time to play, they could lose by 3, 4 or more; now they play as equals or with a superior attitude, because they realize that the team has no guiding line of play, easily destabilizes and opportunities will come naturally.
Tiresome 🤬
Emery should go tonight imo.
If not sooner.
This joke isn’t funny anymore.
Well it never was, what are the board waiting for?
At this rate forget even Europa league we will be fighting relegation with Man Utd soon.
Chelsea 1up we are drifting further away Leicester win and we drop out of any contention.
Didn’t see the game but not surprised at the result.
We are plumbing the depths with this man who professes to be a coach and manager, but not necessarily in that order. Did anyone check his credentials…….’cos he’s no good at either!
Potter; half our players live in the Land of Nod, Ceballos was fast asleep for the equalizer, it’s gonna be a long long season, JM was right all along……..we’re in for a relegation battle !
Definitely mid table unless we act now . I heard that when the players meet each other they all greet each other with the greeting Gud ebenin
Very good Potter…..I had to use Google Translate for that one. lol.
We are in sixth place, six points off third, eight points off second and fourteen off top. We are out of the Carebao Cup, the one glimmer of light is the Europa League where we are top of our group, but the competition in that has been week.
Realistically, we are out of the chase for the Premiership, by the looks off things top four is also out of reach. We have some good players, a few very good players, but the Head Coach cannot get a halfway decent performance out of them.
Surely the boy Josh and the rest of the suits in charge can see what’s happening, they must take action and now, with the international break imminent, is the time to do it.
Our executive group must admit their error in appointing Emery in the first place, and rectify that error by terminating his contract forthwith.
Wait until the Europa knockout stage, draw a half decent side and we’ll be out..
Weren’t we third just a few weeks ago, one point behind City? Pff!
I hope we win at Guimarães Wednesday.
Explain to me: Pepe scored 2 goals in the last game in the Emirates; saved us and was considered the Man of the Match. Finally, it gained the necessary motivation. Made a good game last Wednesday. Today was in the bank and did not enter. Is there logic?
JM There is no logic in the whole situation. Strange lineups, illogical substitutions , formations that don’t give any defensive cover .
We are watching a group of good players who have little or no direction whose ability is undermined by their lack of belief in both themselves and their manager.
As supporters we are baffled by the lack of obvious direction I believe that the players are too .
No Jm, none whatsoever imo. I’m no football expert but some of the choices Emery makes baffle me enormously..
They all looked scared to play imo Potter. Probably because of the reasons you suggest. I don’t think they’ve a clue wha5 they’re meant to be doing. They’d all be better off going to the pub and working it out for themselves…
rico, to be honest some of them wouldn’t look out of place having a kick-a-bout in a pub car park lol.
If they could find their way to the pub, that is.
Perhaps they’d play better under a pub manager Micko? Can’t be any worse. Lol
I’m sure Kev would drive them Cicero. For a fee of course..
https://twitter.com/SkyAntonioRusso/status/1190688251432054784
And our mate Kelsey wrote this on another site yesterday………………………….”Josh has had enough and believe me or not initial interviews have started so watch this space”
Just watched the highlights and the final cross from Wolves to score the equaliser was Chambers at fault – not jumping to head the ball away and he was facing the ball delivery direction. Just feeble and not good enough.
Just seen that Lc whilst checking the Strictly Spoiler.
A sky sports guy tweeted it didn’t he?
What about the defending before the cross? Wasn’t good either…
Morning all.
Substitutions-are they made simply because it’s expected, or is there a point behind them, as Emery seems to defy all common sense and logic on occasions with his choices.
yes rico. Ceballos again…
Morning Rico and all. I get the feeling that the downward trajectory of Unai’s management and the team’s results have formed their own momentum now. In other words, I would be very surprised if the powers that be aren’t actively engaged in getting things set for his successor. I reckon he is finished and that he knows it and the players know it. Nothing else makes sense.
Morning all, yes Adam I agree, I suspect that the club have been putting out feelers for awhile, talking to agents and representatives of coaches who might be interested.
I guess that the only decision they really have to make is do they go for a new coach who is available now or do they put a temporary coach in charge and wait until the summer for the right man (or woman 😉) and risk missing out on top four?
I’ve seen a lot of Arsenal managers losing their jobs since Bertie Mee resigned and with the exception of Bruce Rioch, I cannot remember a manager losing his way and the support of almost everyone as rapidly as Unai Emery has.
Usually when an Arsenal manager leaves there is an almost funereal atmosphere surrounding our club, but this feels different…
We just, or most of us, want to get it over and done with and move on.
It’s not working, change it.
Morning Adam, all.
I too reckon he knows his time is done. He’s certainly lost the players.
New post up now.
Kev, there’s probably more chance of us getting top four with a new manager as change often brings with it a new lease of life in everyone.
I’d go for Hope Powell. 😆😆
Morning all and welcome to no points in November Arsenal doomsite.
I Woz there yesterday. It was a lack lustre unimaginative game of football. I think the arsenal amassed 3 decent team moves, one they scored from, the second they should have scored from and the third the ball ended up being kicked across field and straight into touch….brilliant. Those aside we were treated to a feast of sideways, backwards inside out passing and not always to a man wearing a red and white shirt. Poor, very very poor.
On a positive note, Ozil got a huge cheer when his name was read out to the crowd as having been picked to play! He played well. He twisted, he turned he laid off accurately sometimes one touch sometimes carrying the ball through countless tackles without losing the ball before moving it on. He was good, he is an excellent footballer, but those around him often aren’t. That’s the problem really. The team work their way down field, deep into the oppositions half and then they yo-yo across the field almost aimlessly, looking for an opening that never appears. Wolves were solid in defence, well organised and determined, far too good for our midfielders to find a way through or into Auba or Laca. Surprisingly enough if they don’t receive the ball they can hardly score the goals this team badly needs.
Emery….useless! Eg he he called Toreira to the side line giving him some of his coaching gems, you could see that the little man wasn’t interested, he made no eye contact, didn’t stand still and ran off before the ‘maestro’ had finished speaking. I mean the game was going on whilst the conversation continued! Five minutes later he was hooked! Torreira was having a tidy game, didn’t look tired, was there a need to take him off? No, so why do it? As already mentioned 2 or 3 minutes later they scored. Were the events leading up to the goal inevitable? Yes probably. It’s a measure of our manager/coach……clueless!
And there were plenty of empty seats too.
There’s more to say, but this is long enough already! Safe to say it wasn’t my best day out on my annual day trip to the not so hallowed ground!
Factoid. It takes the better part of one hour to walk at a steady pace from King’s X to the Emirates and I’m still suffering the after effects! (It rained most of the way too!)