Morning all.
A game to forget. Tired legs, not at the races, disinterested, call it what you like, but the result is the same. I’m not surprised after the week Arsenal have had. If I was a cynic, I’d say our players were about as interested in winning that game as I’d be in watching paint dry. Actually, there wasn’t much to choose between the game and watching paint dry.
Mikel Arteta made changes. No Pepe, Tierney, Xhaka, Mustafi, Bellerin. Personally, I thought he might have made more but if he had, the knives would have been out. Thrown from the direction of Watford and Bournemouth along with accusations of him fielding a weakened side which helped Villa in their fight for survival. The performance by Arsenal was disappointing but unsurprising. Villa wanted it, Arsenal simply went through the motions, badly.
I see little point in going overboard about the defeat but that’s just me. The fact that Arsenal will finish below the Toots bothers me very little, same goes for our final league position. Arsenal are building for the future and performances like yesterday’s will crop up for a while I think. Hopefully over time, they will lessen.
If anything, last night proved that without certain players, Arsenal don’t quite tick. Or rather, Arsenal with certain players in the team, we lack creativity. The kind of creativity Mesut Ozil is paid for bringing to the team but the rest of his game or his attitude, perhaps both, is so lousy, not even the penultimate game of this season gave Mikel a thought about using him. Our midfield was lacking legs, height and energy. A Matteo Guendouzi kind of player, but like Ozil, he has baggage. Baggage which Mikel Arteta clearly believes is far more damaging to the squad than playing him would be. Their time at Arsenal is done in my opinion. I think it’s the same for Sokratis too who can’t get minutes on the pitch for love nor money. Question marks must hang over the Arsenal careers of Kolasinac and Torreira too.
Granit Xhaka on it being tough after the Liverpool and City games…
Yes, of course, to beat two big, big teams… but in my opinion you can’t come here and play like this. It’s not good enough and you can’t play with this mentality. It was not enough to take something from today, and we knew if we won today, the last game if we won as well we could have got into the Europa League, but now we have to win the FA Cup and we have more pressure. But we will do everything to win the FA Cup now.
It’s easy for us to be critical of players, their performance or even Mikel Arteta’s team selection etc but look at the number of fixtures we’ve had to play since the restart. More than most with the two FA Cup fixtures included and they’ve been tough. Playing Liverpool and Man City within a seven day period is draining enough I’d imagine but Arsenal did that within days of each other. Mentally and physically that will have been tough and then just three days later, they’re playing again. I’m not making excuses, just pointing out the realities.
Of course I, like every Arsenal fan, wanted us to batter Aston Villa but we simply weren’t at the races from the moment the referee blew his whistle to start the game, until he did again to end it.
Disappointed? Of course. Surprised? Not one bit.
See you in the comments guys.
Mikel Arteta was in reflective mood as he faced the media after our defeat to Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
Our head coach was asked about the reasons for our display, what he needs in the transfer window and Mesut Ozil.
This is what he said in his press conference:
on the disappointment of the result..
This is football and every game is completely different. First of all, I’ll congratulate Villa on their performance and the win under such pressure of fighting relegation and for us it’s been a very emotionally and physically demanding week. We tried everything. I think you cannot fault the effort of the players, but after the goal we needed to find ways to attack them better in the final third and we lacked that creativity and that final cross and spark.
on how his players can get past the issue of attacking low blocks…
Training, time and understanding the spaces. Where they are, how we can provoke them, where we need the bodies and the areas that we have to attack. And then a little bit in the first half I felt that we didn’t have the urgency with the ball. In the second half it was much better, we controlled the transitions much better as well, but it wasn’t enough.
on if he doesn’t see the logic in selecting Ozil against low blocks…
We played other games as well and the answer is not just a player, it is a collective of patterns that have to happen and we did really well in certain ways but the end product of the final ball wasn’t good enough and the last chance that we had hit the post. But this is football.
on the banner that was flown over the stadium…
I have full support from the Kroenkes, from the board, from the sporting director and we are putting a very strong plan together to try to do as much as we can in the shortest period. At the end of the day, the league table doesn’t lie and we know the gap that we have to fill in and we are on board with trying to do everything together.
on whether he thinks his comments after the Liverpool game led the fans to this conclusion…
I don’t know but if that’s the impression then it’s not what I wanted to do. I wanted to emphasise – and I’ll do it again – that we need to improve in many areas. The first of all is my responsibility, to improve the team and everything with the mentality of course as well. After that, we have certain areas that we need to get better. The top teams in certain areas are better than us and we have to do that. The uncertainty is the reality. We have uncertainty because of the coronavirus, it hit everybody hard and we don’t know if we are finishing in Europe and there is uncertainty with a few players, so I have to try to be honest and that is what I said.
on if this is a key transfer window for us…
That is one thing, and the other thing is the specificity you need within that squad balance to do it consistently. We’ve done it, today we had a different challenge, completely different game and we have to find a way to do that. That will take time because at the end of the day when you have that many points of margin with the top teams it’s for a reason. We know that reason and we will try to put it right with a lot of work first and in the right moments with the players that we need in order to do that.
on if this result shows what a big transfer window this will be…
The big challenge is to keep going on the process, keep the players believing in what we are doing, improve them as much as we can and then make some really good decisions in certain areas and that’s what we need. That’s it.
on finishing outside of the top six…
It has to hurt and we have to suffer because it is not good enough for this football club. That’s why we have to put it right, we have a challenge that is really big and we are facing it and we are really excited about what we have ahead of us. We need to transmit this enthusiasm and passion because they’re going to be some ups and down, unfortunately. Today is a down but sometimes it is good to see the reality and then go again and move on and improve.
on having the FA Cup final still to come…
Absolutely and I think if we looked back we would be happy to be in the position that we are. To have the opportunity to grab a trophy and go directly to Europe.
on if the FA Cup being our only route to Europe now affects our approach to our final Premier League game…
No, no, no. We will try to prepare for the game in exactly the same way, try to beat Watford. We need to win straight away, after a defeat you need to win. You need to get that momentum back, the confidence… Everybody has to feel ready for the final so that won’t be case
on if there is now added pressure for the final…
Yes because after a disappointment you have to lift the players and you want to play straight away as quickly as possible. The players were disappointed today, again I can’t fault their effort because I think they tried and tried till the last miute really really hard but it’s been an emotionally and physically demanding week. If we feel like that we have to find way to come here and win when you are so dominant…. It is what it is.
on Mesut Ozil…
I don’t know. I try to make the best decisions for the team and the club.
on if that’s the best decision for the team…
All I can say is sometimes I get it right and sometimes I get it wrong and sometimes I get it very wrong so all the time I will try my best.
Hi Rico and all nicely put Rico we have had trouble beating the bottom teams for a while now but what it has shown is that the club need to give Arteta money or bring in some good loan deals to help him next season. it seems to me that we lack depth and that’s why we can not rotate and now we are paying the price maybe we should play Ozil and Guendouzi in the last match just to rest 2 players for the FA CUP.
After the Lord Mayor’s show comes the dust cart .
Got the family together and had a roast dinner before the match . Still the wine and the roast pork was good and the crackling even better .
But that’s about it.
I am getting a bit worried about the recent purchases . I don’t see Pepe as any great improvement on Nelson or Saka and as for Soares ? average to be generous . I would rather see Bellerin and Amn covering the right. However Arteta is right , there was no spark , would Ozil have had it and would Guendouzi provided the forward momentum ? we will never know but it will have to be found from somewhere maybe Smith – Rowe is the answer ,
I saw a heat map last night of our passes over the 90 minutes unsurprisingly over 60% were backwards .
The one thing I don’t like about Arteta is that he say’s you can not fault the effort of the players then he say’s we lacked creativity, spark and final crosses,
I may be reading him wrong but it seems like he is afraid to say too much negative things about the players incase the players turn on him.
I can not wait untill the end of next season to see how Arteta has gone I’M hoping for 6th or 7th place, but if the planes are all ready flying banners with Kroenke out and Arteta showing support for Kroenke he needs to start winning games next season as I can see that banner saying Arteta out before he is given a fair chance to show what he can do.
Hi Geoff.
I’m not sure there’s much to be read into the game other than we just lacked in every department.
It was the result I feared after the two draining games we had last week. However the lack of interest shown by some players was very disappointing. Although he raised himself to heights against Liverpool & Man City, Aubameyang has the air of someone who has already decided to leave the club. We have seen it so many times before ie Sanchez etc. I think we should sell him while he still has a transfer value. Although never in the frame, I would love Arteta to sign Danny Ings. who has now scored more than Auba and in a comparatively poorer team. He also works tirelessly Controversial eh ?
Morning Rico… nice post 👍
It didn’t surprise me at all… I expected it and didn’t even launch the remote 😂
I didn’t expect everyone to have an off.night though.. I thought we might’ve at least tried!!
Auba annoyed me.. laughing with Mings just before they scored.. he obviously didn’t want the golden boot!!
Well, my Arsenal shirt saw the light of day for one day anyway 😂😂
Scott.. Yes, Whitlock is a really nice guy.. and I love his walk on music “I come from a land down under” 🎵🎵
60% backwards passing. No surprise there either. To be honest, there was little/no movement up front for a forward pass.
Jim, I thought Auba would have been desperate to score a few goals to earn the golden boot. He certainly looked disinterested last night. Despite what Arteta says, I’m far from convinced Auba wants to stay.
Morning Sue, thanks.
I didn’t like the Auba/Mings thing either. Mings tried it again, can’t remember with which player but whoever it was just ignored him. The fact that they scored after the Auba/Mings thing, didn’t help matters.
My first thought whilst watching was who at Villa slipped Arsenal a few quid… lol
Hi Rico, spot on, there was never going to be a third top performance. The ref didn’t help by blowing up fo a foul every time we tackled, and Aubi looked knackered, mentally as well as physical. Trying to play Laca out wide was never going to work, he keeps moving inside and clogging uo Eddie’s space. He did actually do a lot of running around but usually ended with a foul
Things improved when Pepe came on, I’m becoming more and more of a fan.
I really think we should cash in on Aubi now. We would have to give him a huge three year deal, and I think we would only get one more good year before he moved into pension mode. He is also holding up Saka’s development by taking his best spot on the wide left.. My preferred option would be to let Aubi run out his contract, but for some reason everyone thinks this would be some sort of lunacy..I also don’t think we should buy any more ‘big stars’, just players about 22 or 23 who have played under 21 internationals..
As for the flying fans, be careful who you wish for !
Brian P
Xhaka doesn’t start, we don’t win.
That’s not an opinion……
Morning all.
Honestly, we were stale and we did not have our best starting 11, creativity was null and void and while the effort was there, the endeavour wasn’t.
The overall focus remains next season and right now, the FA Cup final.
I guess we should ask ourselves would we swap the results of the Liverpool and City games with this one if asked 10 days ago because I’ve no doubt we’d have all agreed the Villa game was a non event, Liverpool game was one we didn’t expect to win but they’d be a great scalp, and obviously City was a huge one, so let’s relax, enjoy the next 10 days and get ready for the big one.
When that’s done, we will discuss transfer targets 🙂 🙂
Hi Brian. Pretty much agree really. Auba will be hard to replace but with the pace of Pepe and Gabriel. Nelson too and Saka, perhaps it’s time to change. When he’s great, Auba is great but when he has an off day, it seems everyone does.
In hindsight, I wish Auba had been rested.
Good day all and thanks for the post Rico.
Pepe looks like a one trick pony, get the ball, turn inside and hope to get a clear shot on goal with his left foot. The trouble is all defences know what he’s going to do so they put two defenders on him and force him across the penalty box where he usually loses possession.
As I said last night, £72 million down the toilet. 😕
Ethan can happen when a left footed player plays on the right. In some ways, he does the opposite to Auba but doesn’t have the finish. Yet…
Good afternoon Rico and all.
Our game yesterday was lacking creativity. We seriously need Thomas Partey and a creative midfielder if we have to contend next season.
Actually Jim a few on here myself and Rico included wanted to take a punt on Ings a few years ago when he left Burnley and went to Liverpool but Wenger was not interested at £6.5 million Of course at the time we had Giroud backed up by Akpom ,Campbell , Podolski and Welbeck so what did we know.
I am tending to agree with Cicero , maybe it’s the Norfolk air , about Pepe . He gets it wide between half way and their penalty box gets blocked off goes inside and passes to midfield or last night Kolasinac who also tries to play inside but invariably ends up going back to the back line who usually end up giving it to the keeper . So in a series of 5 passes we are back from attacking to starting again so where is that fast winger that takes on his defender and gets a cross in ? Actually he’s some 70 yards away called Tierney .
Last night has put a bit of a dampener on Sunday for me now! May just steer clear of it all and watch MOTD in the evening instead!
After their gritty performance, I think Villa deserve to stay up…. Unbelievable how we beat them at home with 10 men!!
I’m not tuning in tonight to watch those bloody car-jackers lift the (silver!) trophy!! Sod that!!
There’s bound to be a re-run of an episode of Only Fools and Horses on at the same time somewhere Sue. 😉
My biggest criticism is because we played 95 minutes in the same way.
We have to have the ability to have a different chip to understand if our way of playing is not bearing fruit and being easily canceled, changing it. By not changing, we are only giving the opponent advantages.
This is more serious when the opposing goalkeeper did not make a save in 95 minutes.
Afternoon Paddy.
We certainly need some improvement in the midfield. Just who though depends on who goes I guess. And on what goes on with Ceballos.
The cup final kicks off at 5.30pm….
Haha, Cicero…. can’t beat a bit of Dave, Trigger and co….😄
Anthony Taylor it is then, for the cup final.
Just reading up on how he’s officiated 3 of our PL games this season…with us picking up just 1 point from 9…he’s awarded a penalty in each game (for the opposition, of course).
And we’ve had 1 red card!!
This will be his 2nd FA cup final… his first being our 2017 triumph….so is this a good omen or not??!! 🙈
I remember that Potter, I think our thoughts on Ings caused a few chuckles at the time. But he’s exactly the kind of player we lack I think. An industrious player who never gives up. Like Tierney.
Beat Bindippers and CFG with them both having 70% odd possession, then lose to Aston Vanilla with us having about 70% possession………….some correlation me thinks!
We need Chavs to have 70% possession in Final!………………………defend in numbers and counter attack with the venom of my wifes tongue!
No doubt Mike Riley has pulled Anthony Taylor to one side and told him that he’s gonna get a second chance to get the bloody result right this time…. 🤔
You know what Rico, that isn’t a bad call, Danny Ings is a bloody good striker, in fact we could really do with a target man, someone who can upset a packed defence but a player whose more mobile than Giroud
I reckon that ship has sailed though Kev.
Bad news I think Sue. He’s one of the worst. Wonder if he has history with Chelsea…
Ooh la la Antonio on target at Old Trafford, with a penalty… yes you read that right, a penalty 🤣🤣
I’ll have a butchers, Rico…..
I can’t find a great deal, Rico, although apparently their unluckiest referees are: Friend, Oliver and Marriner.
Ours are: Oliver, Atwell and Dean (surprise surprise 😁)
If transfer market is right, we’ve never lost to Chelsea with Taylor officiating 😂
Here you go Sue.
https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/anthony-Taylor
I like the sound of that, Rico 🙂 thank you!
The link is saying there’s an error….damn it!
Chelsea are taking a battering.
Ah, don’t know what happened there Sue.
Blimey Chelsea are as bad as Arsenal at defending corners and free kicks, if only Arsenal could take a decent corner or be any good at free kicks….
Over to you Pepe…
From an attacking perspective for Chelsea, it’s all airborne.
Worst in the league according to the commentators Kev…
Xhaka!!
Urgh… West Brom have been promoted…
Are theree also 5 subs in F.A cup final?
Chelsea looked more threatening Rico when Giroud went off, the American guy looks really dangerous he’ll be one to watch and yeah Sue, West Brom, at least we usually beat them which is always a positive, strangely enough Arsenal have a terrible record against Brentford, who beat us in the warm up games…
Yes JM, 5 subs, although if it goes to extra time I’m not sure if you can have a 6th or not, help me out Cicero, you’re usually good at rules and stuff…
Nighty night
In 2020, following a proposal from FIFA, the International Football Association Board allowed for competition organisers to temporarily allow for a maximum of five substitutions (with an additional allowed in extra time, where applicable) to be made in official matches for the remainder of the year in order to lessen …
Also, there’s a lot of rumours on Twitter – yeah I know 🙄 – that Aubameyang has given his word that he’ll stay at Arsenal, so fingers crossed eh?
how can Anthony Taylor referee his 2nd FA CUP when the rules state you can only be the main referee of 1 FA CUP. Me think some thing funny going on here
Geoff, Rules don’t apply to that lot 🙂
Kev, one way or the other, the Auba situation must be resolved ASAP.
The Telegraph is reporting that we are offering him £250,000 per week plus bonuses. There is no mention of the length of the new contract however.
Good morning all.
That 3-1 defeat at the Hawthorns is still fresh in my memory, Kev 🤣 had a right meltdown that day 🤣
Brentford did an Arsenal in their last 2 games!! The play offs it is then…
I’ve just looked on Transfer Checker (he’s a Brentford fan, said about a fortnight ago “We’re going up”….jinxed it!) He’s mentioned ‘Big Arsenal news’ coming today….. it has to be Auba???
Geoff , it used to be that a retiring referee got the Cup final as his last match however very few traditions seem to be upheld in the secret world of Mike Riley .