Morning all.
How many times have we heard Mikel Arteta say there would be bumps in the road as Arsenal’s journey under his process continues? Yes, quite a few. Last night’s performance was possibly the worst this group of players has played since the turn of the year, so much so, it was more like a car crash than a bump.
We can say player x, y and z were awful, or not good enough enough but in my opinion, everything and everyone had a stinker of a night. Arsenal couldn’t get the ball, keep it, or find a team mate with a pass. Palace chased every ball and every Arsenal player from the moment Paul Tierney blew his whistle and were very good. They were the team with energy, desire and commitment whereas Arsenal looked lethargic, off the pace and sloppy.
Nuno Tavares started in place of the injured Kieran Tierney but yet again, didn’t get to play the second half. Thomas Partey, polar opposite to the player we’ve seen performing in recent weeks, went off injured during the second half and the final change saw Gabriel Martinelli replace Cedric Soares as Mikel Arteta threw his last roll of the dice.
Personally, I think Arsenal got nothing more than they deserved. Our best chances fell to a ESR and Odegaard which on another day might have gone in and had the paintwork on the Palace goal had been brushed with one less coat, Nketiah might have scored. A different VAR operator might have advised Tierney to take another look at the shove on Saka in the box. Clutching at straws though in my opinion.
I thought Mikel Arteta was very honest in his post match interview with Arsenal Media when he was asked if Arsenal were poor:
Yes, especially in the first half, but first of all, congratulations to Crystal Palace for winning the match and the way that they performed, but we weren’t at the races today, especially in the first half. We were late to every ball, we were soft in the duels and we didn’t earn the right to play, and when we did a little bit we were sloppy on the ball. We didn’t have any dominance or sequences of play when we could take control of the game and we conceded two poor goals as well, so overall it’s unacceptable. We need to put our hands up, apologies, regroup, and tomorrow is a new day and a new opportunity to prepare for the game against Brighton.
The injury news on both Tierney and Partey isn’t good. Arteta said Tierney is seeing a specialist today. His scan result wasn’t particularly positive and nor is Tierney. Partey felt something in the same area as the previous injury he suffered so that’s not good either. I think it’s fair to assume that neither will be facing Brighton on Saturday.
With Tierney, Tomiyasu and Partey out injured, the door opens for Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares once more. Or, a return for Mo Elneny.
The thought of Xhaka playing at left back for the next few games scares me. I hope it doesn’t happen as he’ll get roasted time and time again and when that happens, he’ll find other ways to stop his opponent, just as he did last night.
One defeat doesn’t mean the wheels have come off though. A bad performance doesn’t mean the same players who’ve been playing so well since the turn of year are suddenly rubbish either. The problem in my opinion is the expectation. Just because Arsenal are in touching distance of a top four finish, it doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed, or that to not finish fourth is a failure. Honestly, not for one minute this season have I expected Arsenal to finish fourth and I still don’t, not with the small squad we have and the lack of striker options. Which is why I’ve never bought into the media driven theory that top four is Arsenal’s to lose.
See you in the comments.
Morning rico, good summing up. You can accept a few players having an off night, but all of them? Gabriel, Partey, Odegaard, and poor Tavares were particularly bad, but you could include all outfield players. That was a worry. Vierra certainly got Palace fired up from the first minute.
Morning Andrew, thanks.
I’m more cheesed off about Tierney and Partey than dropping three points. Especially when we really didn’t deserve anything from the game. Awful performance
The interrnational break came at precisely the wrong time for us . It stopped our momentum scattered players all over and of course hightened our injury crisis. Tierney two full friendly games for Scotland comes back injured . I don’t doubt he was played carrying his problem and as we know international managers don’t care as long as he is ready for their next match all is well and good in their world .
Saka was knackered and in danger of being over played and has come back even worse and Partey left his head in the celebrations in Nigeria . White played most of England’s games out of position and Gabriel worries me more everytime I see him.
We seemed as though no-one was sure of where both they and their compatriots were , passes went astray and we were ponderous and played with none of the flair that we displayed prior to them all jetting off elsewhere. We only improved when Palace thought that all they had to do was manage us and Xhaka left the midfield where Lokonga actually tried a bit of movement .
We are , but we already knew , sadly inneffective up front . I’ve said before that our stylists , ESR , Saka and Odegaard need to take shooting lessons all this trying to sidefoot balls inside the far post looks good when it comes off but putting your foot through it is more productive , even if the keeper stops it chances are there is a rebound but then someone woukld have to react for that.
I have been looking at our remaining fixtures and those of Chelsea and Spurs . I reckon it’s 5th at best and until we shore up our midfield , striker and full back problems , that’s probably just as well.
The Tierney injury is a big problem. Tavares can’t defend and has shown little interest in learning the trade since he moved to the Club. He can play further up the pitch, but at fullback he’s an accident waiting to happen.
Like you said Rico, nobody covered themselves in glory, but Lacazette returned to the lazy player we hate to see last night. Getting caught offside when he couldn’t be bothered to break a sweat summed his performance up.
Move on. Big game Saturday.
At the time, I thought the break came at the right time but clearly I was wrong.
Agree re Lacazette Pete, he usually sets the tone. He did last night but the wrong one. I can’t believe how poor our control and passing was.
Morning Rico and All
It was one of those days were nothing went right, I’m pretty sure we will bounce back but reading what Arteta said above I noticed he did not really take any blame him self
Arteta and Edu have to make this team have more depth so we can rest our players.
I’m not sure how much ‘more’ depth would have made any difference to yesterday’s result because it was the International break that affected us and more players just means potentially more players away with their countries.
Ghana beating Nigeria is a massive event for them and Partey looked to me as if he hadn’t recovered from it, he may have even taken a slight knock into the game yesterday?
Scotland overplaying Tierney has really hit Arsenal hard and showed once more how irresponsible and selfish most international coaches are (Odegaard playing 180 minutes in two friendliest for Norway) I really hope that Scotland fail to make the World Cup because I don’t trust the Scotland coach to take proper care of his players. I mean Tierney has a chequered injury record so anyone with half-a-brain would be looking after him…
I’m not the guy who often defends Arteta, but I don’t think it was his fault last night.
But it definitely didn’t have anything to do with depth. If Mikel wanted to, he could have easily rested any player, or maybe even every player.
Ramsdale has Leno to cover, we had Holding Swanson and Ogunbo in the squad. I wouldn’t have opted for that but theoretically he could have used an Elneny-Lokonga midfield duo or call up Azeez/Patino from the academy. Maybe not today, but he could have started Pepe and Martinelli, and move ESR to the middle to give Odegaard the rest. And the same implies to Lacazette: we have Nketiah, who cannot wait to prove himself – in fact the brightest Arsenal moment came from him last night.
If you think he shouldn’t give the nod to Holding Cedric, Tavares, Elneny, Pepe or Nketiah, then you have yourn concers with the quality, not the depth. Anyway, why keeping players in the squad when you wouldn’t even consider them when others are in dire need of rotation?
And I’m really pleased with Arteta’s willingness on making the changes mid-game. The tweak from 4-2-3-1 to 3-1-4-2 was bold, and while it didn’t work out eventually, based on the look of play it easily could have.
True, nobody on the pitch put in a decent performance. However from the expected goals department we lost the game to 1.40:1.05 which doesn’t imply a 3-goal defeat. Our 1.05 xG is alarming, especially as we missed all our chances. But to be honest this is Arteta-ball. And you were all (proud to be) fine with winning games by 1:0; so there was little chance to score 3 in the first place, albeit Mikel did the best he could.
Good day Rico, your headline says all that’s needed about last night’s performance.
According to this morning’s Telegraph, Tierney is unlikely to play again this season. I see a reshuffle in our defence with Cedric moving across to left back, White moving to right back and Holding playing alongside Gabriel. It’s a toss up between Elneny and Lokonga to replace Partey, I prefer the latter.
I would drop Lacazette to the bench and play Nketiah from the start against Brighton in our three o’clock Saturday game.
20/20 hindsight there Pbarany, no one could have anticipated the total shambles on view last night.
Morning Geoff. I’m not sure there was a lot Arteta could have done really.
I just think it was a case of everyone having a bad night and possibly weren’t expecting Palace to get at them as much as they did.
Afternoon Cicero. Based on last night’s freak performance, I think Arteta will stick with the same team as pre break. Minus the walking wounded of course. If Xhaka starts at left back, I guess we’ll see Elneny and Sambi in midfield.
David Coote referee for Brighton , Chris Kavanagh on VAR. with Sian Massey-Ellis .
Well said, Cicero.
It’s easy to say that Gabriel shouldn’t have started as he recently had his first child (which could have shifted his focus and tampered his opportunities to rest), but honestly who wouldn’t have given Gabriel the nod when reported on duty?
Xhaka was always a gamble playing so up front, but it seemed to work in past games, so there were really no signs that it will backfire on Monday.
Finally while it was less of a surprise that when our best guys play 180+ minutes in the inter-lull an injury is waiting to happen, if you truly believe in the OGAAT principle (which I proudly don’t, but I’m apparently alone on this one), then sticking to the Partey-Xhaka midfield without any rotation whatsoever was still the right choice, and Odegaard’s mini-burnout shouldn’t have been anticipated either.
J.M help me out
I am reading that Nuno Tavares played as a right back in his early Benfica days . If that is correct why are we trying to play him out of position ?
I also can’t find details of whether he has played for Betsy’s under 23 team . Surely if we want him to learn a position he has to play and make mistakes away from the first team
At the moment the world and his dog are taking a pop at him which although factual is a little unfair if he’s not getting the experience to help him learn.
Although as a club we want the under 23 team to be successful , the first team comes first and with Tierney seemingly made of glass we need to get our preparations in hand befoe the proverbial meets the fan.
In hindsight should we have stayed with Leno in goals and brought Ramsdale back next match against Brighton.
At 2 nil down and the way we were playing we needed to change the side how even if it meant taking Saka or Laca off and resting them for next week and bring on Nketiah or Holding or even replaced Laca with a defender to try and limit any further damage.
Off topic.
A bit of cheering news? Or just plain journalese?
Arsenal have an excellent opportunity to beat Tottenham to the signing of Lesley Ugochukwu. There is a huge incentive to sign as the club reportedly see him as being the ‘next Patrick Vieira’ and could complete a deal in a similar fashion to how they signed Matteo Guendouzi.
According to French news outlet L’Equipe, the two North London Premier League clubs are both keen on the 18-year-old midfielder. The report goes on to claim that the Gunners appreciate the profile of the youngster, and will attempt to sign him in the summer.
The Gunners signed Matteo Guendouzi from Lorient in 2018 before he reached the age of 20. It seems Edu could be repeating a similar transfer by signing another young French midfielder in Ugochukwu.
Ever since Vieira left the Gunners in 2005 to join Juventus the fans have been calling out for a direct replacement for the Frenchman, which has never managed to materialise. However, it seems that they may have hit the jackpot if they secure the signature of Ugochukwu.
Ugochukwu has already made 20 competitive first-team appearances for his club side. He made his debut in Ligue 1 last season, a substitute appearance in the 5-1 win over Dijon last April.
His impressive performances at club level has also given him recognition to the French youth teams having made five appearances for the same national team as Vieira at Under-18 level, where he has also scored one goal.
Arsenal are set to be short in the midfield position in the summer. football.london understands that Roma are expected to make a fresh attempt to sign Granit Xhaka at the end of the season.
This will mean that Thomas Partey would be the only experienced midfielder in the team. Mohamed Elneny’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and Albert Sambi Lokonga still needs time to mature.
This means that there is space for Ugochukwu to break into the first team, which should give him the incentive to choose Arsenal ahead of Spurs. The comparisons to Vieira should provide a reason for Ugochukwu to replicate the legendary midfielder’s success in a red and white shirt.
Despite the disappointing end to Guendouzi’s Arsenal career, he was still an excellent signing by the club. It seems Edu could be looking to repeat a similar transfer to sign Ugochukwu.
Maybe he can spend his first three years back on loan in France until he gets enough experience . Anyhow looks like we need a new left back first .
Thanks a bunch Scotland.
Good Afternoon Rico and all.
Not good news…..KT03 is out for the rest of the season because of an operation on his knee. It means that he will also miss the WC playoffs in June. He was played through both games at international level.
I just hope the Scots dont qualify
I would still go with Tavares as LB. But will switch formation to 3-4-2-1…..to limit him being hung out to dry.
Yeah I drew that out a few moments ago , I thought it’s a flying saucer formation .Just calling it that should be enough to confuse the opposition.
why flying saucer formation Potter??
It goes like this…..
Ramsdale,
—-White, Holding, Gabriel—–
Cedric, Xhaka Partey, Tavares
——Odegaard ESR,
———–Martinelli
I think that is a solid formation and one which holds tight the centre…….through which Palace simply cut through.
I agree that 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 should be ideal as it keeps the wings. However we should play with what we have and to our strengths. we have to think about solidity in the centre. And make up for the loss of Tierney and the inexperienced Tavares.
Actually….playing Xhaka or Cedric at LB would be far worse.
Now if you dont agree thats another story
If you move Ramsdale to the middle at the back it’s kind of symmetrical
However we are unlikely to have Partey and Tavares is persona non gratis . So as much as I don’t want him playing as I think he needs a rest , I would play Saka alongside Xhaka ( and that breaks my heart ) with Lokonga on the other side
Should we get far enough in front I would get saka off and bring in an under 23 player . maybe Hutchinson , patino or Flores.
Isn’t David Coote one of the more fair/balanced referees Potter?
Afternoon Devil.
The full-backs are physically unreliable.
Don’t forget what I posted yesterday: it’s the month of Ramadan. In addition to the game overload, there are players who go long periods of the day without eating or drinking. The squad, as I said months ago, is short; however, if there are players included in the squad who play in these adversities, what are they doing there? Arsenal and Chelsea suffer from the same: too many international players and lack of rest to face the championship game.
JM….only Party is Muslim. The rest are not
Xhaka is Devil .But I don’t think starvation has anything to do with his lack of movement.
😂 re Xhaka
Having watch City beat Atletico I really hope they finish the job in Madrid . However they way the last 15 minutes went I will be surprised if grealish comes back alive.
Potter – re Tavares
Nuno never really played RB. He played RB:
– 9 minutes this season (replacing Chambers against Brentford in the first round)
– 33 minutes last season (replacing Diogo Gonçalves against Braga – they lost that game by 0:2 too)
– 360 minutes in the 19/20 season (but also 1700+ minutes as LB)
So no, he is not a genuine right back forced to play out of position.
Albeit him turning 22 in January, he never played for Betsy’s U23 team. Probably he didn’t need to, as he was signed as a backup for the first team from the start. He already played about 1000 minutes, and he should have played 271 minutes ahead of Kolasinac in hindsight.
By the way, LB/LWB players in the academy: there are a few positions Betsy doesn’t need reinforcements. Besides CM and AM it is surprisingly the LB position where he has Joel Lopez, a promising talent from Barselona’s La Masia academy, and Lino Sousa, who is probably the (positive) surprise of last months. So playing for Betsy wouldn’t helped much for Tavares’ confidence, and wouldn’t helped much of the U23 team either.
I know it sounds really arrogant – borderline narcissistic – but if we sign another LB this summer (unless we sell Tierney to a La Liga giant for 60M – which I wouldn’t, but could still happen) that would show clear incompetence and the complete lack of long-term (strategic) thinking. Even demanding it would be plain wrong.
But I’m more optimistic than that. While Nuno was quite poor against against Nottingham Forrest in the FA Cup and against Liverpool or CP on Monday, he had a few really good games too. And not only against inferior League Cup opponents like Wimbledon, West Brom and Sunderland. He was really good against Aston Villa, Leicester, Watford and Newcastle, and decent in the loss against Manchester United. We have to accept his shortcomings when is comes to tackling, which he compensates by superior dribbling skills, and his crosses are on par with Tierney’s. Yes, he indeed needs to concentrate more and improve his awareness of the game but at 22 he is expected to do just that.
Pbarany , I asked JM for his comments because as a Portugese person he commented on Tavares’ at the time of his signing . The article that I read indicated that he was originally a right back but having seen him play I think he has the attributes to become a popwerful box to box midfielder
To continue , he could be very similar to Gallagher and the way he played for Palace and maybe Bissouma where the indiscretions are less dangerous in the middle of the pitch and just maybe the likes of Partey and Lokonga might benefit from a more dynamic partner than the one that they are stuck with.
Morning all.
New post up now