Morning all.
I watched the game on a stream. Not brilliant, but between it freezing and buffering and me reloading it, I was fortunate to catch a glimpse of Unai Emery on the sidelines around the fifty minute mark. He was barking orders at Mesut Ozil and the look on our number ten’s face was a picture. It was like….
Other than that it was just another game with the same kind of performance and the same surrender as we’ve seen over the last few weeks. Toothless, disorganised and disjointed. Eleven individuals playing football as it they met just a few days ago and for the first time.
Ceballos and Ozil? Strange. No Pepe? Odd. Substituting Torreira for Saka when we’re trying to cling on to a fragile 1-0 lead? Crazy considering recent events.
But, regardless of what we think, Unai Emery is making the decisions which he believes are right but they are biting him on the backside. I really don’t know how he can turn things around, or if he can turn them around. Personally, I don’t think he can do either.
And to think Unai Emery said after the game that the tactics he deployed were right…
If you read the back pages or social media, you’ll know the sacking headlines have begun. No surprise really and Emery leaving would be the right thing for the board to do. He’s tried, we’re not improving and our season is falling away with each passing game.
Whether its Freddie who takes over, Mourinho, or someone else, only time will tell but not much hopefully. This week would be best for everyone who loves the club.
Catch up in the comments guys..
They sure seem to be Wavy.
New post up now
In our Aussie comp, the A League, the Mariners are my local club,
For years and 4 (I think) coaches, we’ve been absolutely dismal on defence.
Pathetic.
This season, 3 games in and the new guy, who previously was in charge of the Aussie ladies side, and we suddenly look bloody strong and hard to break down at the back.
Any coach/manager, if inclined, should be able to take relatively average players and turn them into something solid.
This remains my biggest beef with Emery.
Forget everything else, we are no better at all in defence than we have been in recent years!!!
Because Rico, that’s what the Board are like, inert.
Var changed the decision for Atkinson Cicero.
I think most clubs would have saved Emery by now Obi. Not sure what’s stopping the board from dropping Emery.. Show some ambition for goodness sake.
Obi, they are welcome to him.
That was an odd one Rico, the ref, was it Atkinson?, initially booked Song but after seeing the injury decided a red card was more appropriate. Gomes appeared to collide with Aurier as a result of Songs tackle and it was then the injury occurred. Aurier was not at fault. That’s the first time I’ve seen a referee change his decision as a result of the injury sustained.
I don’t know if VAR was involved in that incident but it certainly was in earlier incidents which just went to show how poorly the system is being operated. There was a pitch side TV monitor available, why didn’t the ref review the calls himself?
The FA, The Premiership and the PMGOL must get together and sort out the mess they have, between them, created.
Maybe they want Emery….
The difference in expectations, Bayern Munich have sacked Niko Kovac as manager following Saturday’s embarrassing 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt.
There were 7 non wenger players in the starting 11 yesterday, 2 out of 3 subs were new. To be fair Emery inherited an unbalanced squad – the squad has been majorly upgraded.
It seems to make no difference which players this guy has at his disposal, he is just not up to the job. I just hope the board don’t delay, it could cost dearly.
Nasty injury for Gomes at Everton. Son sent off for it. Gomes expected to be out for th3 rest of the season..
It’s all very well criticising individuals but surely it’s a collective problem the team have based on how we play. One could argue that had Emery not made the change, the cross wouldn’t have come into the box in the first place?
Until we have a guy who knows about defending, I’m reluctant to be overly critical of individuals.
If Emery has lost the changing room as we believe he has, I can understand why the football is average…
Ha ha Potter..
Mmmm……. some good comments here guys.
I agree with you OBI regarding being played out of position. HOWEVER, Chambers plays in the defensive area so, even at right back, if he cannot demonstrate the ability to head a ball away from the penalty area, or, even more importantly the six yard box, then he should not be playing. He’s not short, like Torreira but he was guilty of not clearing the ball with his head very early in the game, so Wolves gained possession, and ultimately he cost us the win by his failed attempt to beat Jiménez to the ball. Pathetic.
I’ve just watched the first half of the Toffees / Spuds game and a duller 45 minutes of football is just not possible.
Talking about Arsenal is too depressing.
The one bright spot in my day, I managed to get the front lawn cut, three quarters of the back lawn and cleared the fallen leaves from both, then it started to rain.
Good luck with that.
Didn’t Freddie decide to learn Spanish so he could understand Emery?
I couldn’t resist Lc.
Agree on him returning to Spain Potter, he can take Xhaka with him too…
I think his problem is one of communication and I don’t just mean his grasp of the language. Torriera is Uruguayan and his native language is Spanish so if he could not grasp his instructions it must be the way they were explained.
I have worked with some really clever people that had great ideas but could not explain them in a way that the rest of us understood , yet we were a very succesful sales team it just took him too long to make his point .
We have read that many of the younger players go to Freddie for guidance , I was not aware that he spoke Spanish as well as his native Swedish , is that a problem ?
I have said before that every one of our players are good footballers but something is missing , I don’t think that the man is an idiot but I do believe that he is having difficulty getting his messages across especially when it’s in a critical stage of a match.
I think he should go back to La Liga where I am positive he will be able to resurrect his reputation where he is more suited and comfortable.
Afternoon and thanks Rico…………………….Love the Jean Luc Picard WTF you on about !
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Two Gooner birthday`s today !…………………………….Ian Wright and Unai Emery………………….one is a 🦵🏽🔚 and the other a 🔔🔚………………………I dont mince my Emoji`s ………….
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It does Adam. It’s actually quite depressing, especially after the final years of Arsene Wenger.
I really hope mourinho is not even a consideration..
I agree Rico. It’s not for him and he’s not for us.As well as the dire results, this Arsenal team are quite joyless and uninspiring to watch. Every time I see them on the TV or live I find it a bit of an ordeal and one that lives on for a few days too.
For what it’s worth, I just think the PL isn’t for Emery. The European leagues offer up nothing like English teams imo.
The problem is not whether the players are good or have qualities. The reason why the players don’t look like a team is that Emery plays them out of their preferred positions and also his tactics are wrong. Yesterday was a perfect example. Chambers is trying, but he’s not a fullback, Torreira is not a winger or an attacker, Ozil and Ceballos are both a 10, Luiz and Sokratis can’t cover each other because they are not quick or fast. I am quite sure if we notice Edu and Raul have also notice.
My guess is that maybe the manager that they want doesn’t want to come in midseason and having an interim manager may not be ideal because not many lame duck managers get desirable results.
The time has come for Emery, surely the only delay is the time it takes to interview a replacement.
I feel a little sorry for him as I think he is a decent coach, it’s just the job here is too much for him. I’ve long believed he has one way of playing and he doesn’t have the players to do it. He isn’t strong enough to do whats needed.
Playing both Aubangayang and Lacazette doesn’t work in his system but he does it anyway.
Playing Xhaka and Guendouzi doesn’t work in his system but he does it anyway.
Playing Luiz and Sokrates doesn’t work in his system but he does it anyway.
Ozil doesn’t fit and Ceballos isn’t good enough.
Emery’s problem is that he cannot work out a system that suits our players and continues to try and squash them into his system.
This was the usual mis-management, Emery didn’t pick Xhaka, nothing wrong with that, but he didn’t replace him with another defensive midfielder. Torriera played, but on the right of midfield, totally out of his best position and leaving our defence without any cover. I’m not an Ozil fan, he played well on Wednesday when Liverpool ignored him and let him play his own game, yesterday he was back to fiddling around and playing telegraphed passes slowly and getting in Ceballos’. way.
Rico, you used the right word, SHAMBLES. He’s got to go.
Brian
Interesting comment Wavy. I missed the chat between Emery and Torreira and considering he was subbed soon after, it would suggest the little man ignored whatever it was he didn’t understand in any case so Emery made him pay.
We’re becoming a bit of a laughing stock really. An easy touch too. Others managers know how easy we are to play against and my only surprise yesterday was Wolves not winning.
Putting Ozil and Ceballos in the same team is a primary mistake in my opinion.
In addition, there is a distance between the coach – players – fans. That will deepen further and further in this way.
I am still available to take over as Arsenal coach.
Sorry this was the last comment in on yesterday’s post, so in case you missed it here it is again.
Small addition. In the Programme yesterday was a photograph of Billy Wright playing with his children at his Hertfordshire home. The underwrite pointed out that the photo was taken a couple of months after he had been sacked!
I this a less than subtle message to the current incumbent? Have to say Wright was truly awful and seriously damaged the fabric of the team as well as their performances on it. Sound familiar??
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!
Not sacking Emery now makes no sense at all but I still wonder if they’ll wait until the international break. Risky imo as Leicester are likely to thump us before then.
Pull the trigger NOW! We cannot afford another season without UCL. We’ve lost all identity and fight. It is clear that Emery’s tactics are either misunderstood or…crap! As for Mourhinho – wouldn’t be my choice but anything is better than the limp excuse for football we have to suffer at the moment.
The post is pants, I know so don’t feel the need to tell me. 😆
Miguel Delaney of the Independent wrote this this morning:
‘Even after Saturday’s match, the word from the top of the club is still that there will be no movement until the end of the season.
The present likelihood is that they won’t take the option to extend his contract then, but they still won’t take action right now.”
“At Arsenal, the fear is deepening that tactically confused Unai Emery is simply not up to the job”
https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/arsenal-unai-emery-future-wolves-result-score-draw-xhaka-ozil-epl-table-a9182761.html
I hope Ornstein has better news…