Morning all.
I wonder what Unai Emery and his merry men have install for us later today. A performance full of energy and passion with a plan which the players execute with confidence or just more of what we’ve seen so far this season. Will we see Torreira start in midfield and perhaps Ozil too working his magic just behind our frontmen or will both remain on the sidelines at best. Sidelines is my guess especially for Ozil who yet again this morning finds himself the topic of conversation as Emery continues to justify his exclusion. It’s a club decision, or something similar Sky Sports have him quoted as saying.
More important than the the German or the Spaniard for that matter is the club. Arsenal need three points just to keep up with those above us, a number which has grown to four. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same four occupy the Champions League places in May, with us missing out yet again and to be fair, it would be no more than we deserved.
Enough negativity on a match day I hear you cry. Pff! It’s reality.
We know only too well what Palace can do and how they play, after all, Roy Hodgson got one over Unai Emery last season at The Emirates.
Arsenal: Leno, Koscielny, Mustafi, Mavropanos, Jenkinson, Guendouzi, Elneny, Kolasinac, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette.
Subs used: Iwobi, Maitland-Niles, Torreira.
The team today will look very different to the one which Emery selected for this same fixture earlier in the year. My guess his he thought Crystal Palace would be an easy victory, or the Europa Cup route to the Champions League was his his priority. After losing this fixture, we went on a awful run and with it, threw away a top four finish.
I fear for this Arsenal team today because Roy Hodgson is no fool. I can imagine him whispering to Zaha that he’s up against the club who didn’t think he was worth spending big on in the summer, just to get a bit of extra from him today. Another incentive for Palace is knowing a victory would see them jump ahead of us on the league table and that’s before showing his players videos of how poor we are at defending, Benteke salivating throughout whilst munching on popcorn. After all, it’s probably one of his favourite comedy shows.
Despite Palace struggling to score goals this season, we’re the perfect side for them to change that because we are a team which loves to concede. Leno continues to faff around trying to play the ball out from the back which invites teams to get at us quickly and Xhaka seems either incapable or reluctant to protect his defence. The team as a whole simply doesn’t defend well at all.
But up top we have a great strike force. Aubameyang, Pepe and Lacazette with Ceballos or even Ozil pulling the strings. Guendouzi is in excellent form and if by chance Tierney and Bellerin start, we know the crosses will go into the box. I think it’ll be Chambers and Kolasinac though.
Maybe today will be the day Emery tries something different, like Holding alongside Sokratis, Luiz in midfield with Torreira, Xhaka on the bench. Martinelli on the left, not only adding to our potent striking unit but offering some support in front of our left back too.
No, I don’t think so either but he has to do something because he can’t always rely on one of our players bailing us out in the 90th minute….
Hopefully it won’t come to that today…
So it’s South Africa in the final.
Just a short break and then a switch to football, Women’s Super League Arsenal in third place versus Leaders Man City live on BT Sport 2 kick off 14.30.
A lovely sunny day here in Norfolk, time for a walk around the village and maybe a pre-lunch pint in the pub and after that the WSL game followed by the Grand Prix. What an exhausting day! .😉
I almost forgot, Arsenal V Palace I’ll watch the highlights, if any, 10.30 on Sky.
oops sorry Rico, thanks for the post. 👌
That’s my day too pretty much Cicero, although I’m swapping the pub for leaf raking…
Ozil won’t play today or even be in the squad. Emery was asked about his omission from the squad and he dipped the question really. “The club are kept fully aware of the situation but, today is not the time to talk about it.” That’s more or less what appeared in the torygraph this morning. ( bet he didn’t say that but that was the essence of his bizarre statement, order of words that is.)
I wonder if Ozil’s problems are a bit more deep seated than just a clash of personalities? Although some would suggest the pair of them had a blazing row after Mesut threw his toys across the subs when he was hooked the last time he played. Perhaps a few plain truths were exchanged and unforgivable things said? Dick,s fault he’s the manager he has to encourage a team ethic, something I believe his lack of charisma cannot do.
To today’s game. Woy will set his ‘team’ up well and thuggishlyattack us! A draw likely, a win perhaps and defeat Emery’s P45 after the game!
I’m with you Wavy, this issue between Ozil and Emery has to be big. It’s also embarrassing because it’s the focus for the media, it’s clearly damaging the changing room and we as a club usually keep things like this out of the back pages.
Thanks Rico/Morning all,
Wow that team from just a few months ago shows how much has changed. And yet we are no better, with a much better squad by the way. Mind you Torreira will probably still be on the bench.
Interesting how England adjust to being favourites in the Rugby.
Says it all really Limey, proves really how Emery seems to be lacking so much.
The episode Ozil and / or Emery does not reassure the team. Quite the contrary.
The press is always on top of these tabloids.
Also there is now a 5 point gap to the top 4,even at this early stage 3 points vital.
Afternoon Rico and all. Perhaps this afternoon will be the game when it all comes together for Unai.
Or not Adam
Afternoon Adam, have you been smoking something? 😜
Rico. I’m trying to be positive. I know what I’m expecting but realise that it’s just part of the awkward situation that looks set to play out at the club.
No Ozil. Tierney starts.
Adam, I guessed..
If we can’t win this one then we really are in the mire.
Bellerin,Kolasinac, Saka in the bench
Torreira too…
A midfield of Ceballos, Guendouzi and Xhaka in front of Luiz and Skoratis…. wow, can I have a go at that team? It’s like swiss cheese. If he doesn’t want to play Torreira what’s wrong with Chambers or Luiz in the midfield? Guendouzi needs help.
Holding as well.
Well done Arsenal Women one nil to the Arsenal! First goal City have conceded and first defeat this season.
Spuds one nil up in the first minute.
Sokratis makes it one nil.
Assist by Xhaka.
…..and Luiz makes it two nil.
Assisted by Lacazette.
2 – 1 penalty given away by Chambers.
Are we playing well Cicero?
Afternoon all. Passing the ball quicker and firmer. But we can’t do it easy can we after a great start?
Zaha’s legs were together when he went over Chambers foot he was always going down .Who is the faceless man on the var,I still think Atkinson was right
2 goals from set pieces and haven’t looked likely since.
Potter,
I’m with you on Zaha.
He’s a diving piece of crap.
I couldn’t care less what the rules state.
In my opinion, if you force contact, you’re looking for the foul and that makes you a diver, cheat, scumbag.
Seems we have similar things happening with players of late, and there is no defending them.
There will be stories about Xhaka tomorrow. After being subbed, egging the crown on to boo him louder, then straight down tunnel.
Wow did “Captain Fantastic” just went down the tunnel?
What a joke, 2 overrules by VAR.
Var disallowing us a third goal…….just criminal !
I saw that Andrew, another one of his dysfunctional days.
Another duff day at the office.
Fault, where?
The question was whether it was a penalty or a goal !
Explain to me how twice Arsenal’s fouls were scored?
I said for years VAR is shit before it came in but most wanted it.
It’s never been about the technology, the problem is how its utilised and I’ve seen it for 15-20 years in League here where the authorities change rules, bring in new ones and it’s never been close to perfect.
It STILL comes down to some moron and his interpretation of events seems why bloody bother???
Honestly, they’ll never strip it back, they’ll just make it more confusing over the years.
2 goals, one disallowed and one fantastic save stopping another.
All 4 of these attempts were from our CB’s.
What was the result of Arsenal ladies?
To answer your question Rico, I’ve been following the game on BBC Sports text report service, but from what I can gather no we are not playing well.
Xhaka got all upset at being booed off the field when subbed. Took off his shirt and stormed down the tunnel.
Something is rotten in the State of Arsenal.
Another Emery masterclass
1-0 to the marvellous maidens and top of the league to boot.
It’s a good job we do have a successful team to cheer on. And Emery has NO input!
Still a 2-2 draw consolidates our 5th place. What an achievement, so encouraging for the future……….I mean we could be 12th!
One nil to the Arsenal JM.
Is it worth carrying on watching football? Atkinson must be a CP supporter?
Can someone please explain why our third goal was chalked off by VAR. Chambers was blatantly pushed in the chest at the beginning of the move inside the box? So how did they get the decision?
Captain ( do me a favour) Xhaka should never wear an Arsenal shirt again. Disgraceful.
Your headline was eerily prophetic Rico, is that really your name or are you better known as Mystic Meg? 😉
Being back the cricket season please! Disgusted with everything having watched that.
I have my crystal ball by my side Cicero. 😆
So much negative stuff at Arsenal right now but sadly, much of it Emery has brought to the place.
We should have won, those who operated VAR got their decisions wrong imo but regardless of all of that, the defending by Xhaka and Luiz for their second was dreadful. Absolutely dreadful.
rico….you can check right back to the day Xhaka walked through the door at the Emirates I said “He was a waste of space” and I’ve seen nothing to change my mind.
He cannot tackle, cannot run, commits stupid fouls, he must be the most predestrian midfielder in the premier league.
I sincerely hope his antics at being taken off today finally sees the back of him.
I believe you Vcc. I was the opposite but boy was I wrong about him…
And again no mention of our much hyped and damn expensive attacking force doing stuff all during the entire match.
It’s always down to the same few players.
Atkinson or Riley ?
Everywhere else the referee goes to the screen and evaluates his decisions but not in Riley world where secrecy Is everything.
Never in a million years will I understand how that goal was disallowed.
Incredible.
Farcical lol
That’s the thing with them crystal balls rico, they can be a bit hit & miss lol.
You’re not wrong Micko.
Potter, that’s what Hackett was saying a few days ago. There’s a screen pitch side and it needs to be used as it is everywhere else.
Harsh Scott, Pepe saved us midweek and without Aubameyang we’d be below the Toots…
Rico, I’m just talking about today’s game-without our CB’s, we’d have lost and possibly not even had a shot in goal.
As I keep saying, fans do love a scapegoat and no matter what actually happens, they cop the massive majority of the abuse and as you have just hinted at, we don’t blame players who perform poorly because of previous deeds.
Shouldn’t we be criticising those who deserve it on the day when discussing the game?
Not abusing, just criticising.
Everyone can have an off day though Scott. The players who tend to be criticised are the ones who make mistakes game after game… that’s the difference imo.
On the screen side pitch, on the telecast, they made a point of showing it whilst joking asking why it’s never used.
Definitely there, though.
I agree that’s how it is, but I don’t think it’s right.
If we are prepared to criticise, we should also applaud and vice-versa.
One thing becoming more and more apparent is how many players have an issue with Emery.
It’s not good.
Fair enough Scott, but I think differently.
I am still broadly in favour of VAR as I believed that we would be net beneficiaries of the new technology after years and years of being stitched up by northern referees and that ace cheat Mike Riley, but the same idiots are still stitching us up…
The only answer is foreign referees…
And the sacking of Riley…
I’ve just been writing that Kev. Riley being sacked I mean!
Rico, Indeed we do but we always have hahaha
We are bloody poor atm and I’m sure we agree on that, though 🙂
Poor! Scott, you’re being very generous😡
Just watched MotD Rico and if Chambers fouled anyone in our disallowed goal then I’m from Wangaratta, it was a travesty of a decision and it makes me hugely suspicious of the integrity of the PGMOL men in the shadows using it, let’s be frank, if it had been Liverpool or Man Utd or Man City or Everton even, it would not have been disallowed, the PGMOL is a secretive society for a reason, because it is inherently dishonest and I no longer have any trust in any of its officials, not anymore…
Arsenal don’t stand a chance, we will continue to be unfairly penalised until someone at our club makes a public statement about the inequalities that we suffer from.
Once we as fans begin to suspect corrupt practices behind the scenes then the game is up!
It’s finished…
Kev, the VAR ref was an Aussie, seriously hahahaha
I am ashamed of the man!!
He’s actually a fantastic ref but no excusing that blunder.
Wavy, a moment of weakness 🙂
Well , thank God for the Rugby!
VAR!
How can something so easy be such a cock up !
You look at a video and see if a mistake has been made. You don’t make things up for Christ sake.
The reason rugby matches can put all decisions and video up on the big screen is because they are not corrupt cheating tossers in charge so nothing is hidden.
I’m even more angry that David Luiz says he’s a defender…… Which is clearly a lie.
Charles Watts
@charles_watts
·
47m
Jarred Gillett was VAR official today. Never reffed a PL game. Has reffed 9 Football League games (and 2 Carabao Cup). That decision was a farce, as is the lack of explanation as to why the referee was overruled. Surely we have to hear the conversation like in cricket/rugby.
Charles Watts
@charles_watts
·
4h
A remarkable afternoon. One that perfectly captured the unrest at AFC. Fans, coach, players all seem so far apart. The captain telling fans to fuck off, how does Emery begin to fix that. Should he be given time to fix it? Nothing I’m seeing suggests the answer should be yes.
An absolute mess! Xhaka’s ugly spat with fans sums up Emery’s Arsenal
Charles Watts
Arsenal Correspondent
5 hours ago
The Gunners saw a two-goal lead slip as Crystal Palace fought back to earn a 2-2 draw at the Emirates
It was a moment that perfectly captured the unrest at Arsenal right now.
The captain walking off the pitch, ears cupped while clearly telling thousands of his own fans to ‘f*ck off’ as they hurled abuse in his direction as he made his way to the touchline to be substituted.
Granit Xhaka wasn’t a popular choice as skipper before Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, but now you wonder if irreversible damage has been done to the relationship between him and the Arsenal fans.
There wasn’t even a handshake for Unai Emery as Xhaka went off, the midfielder just stripped off his shirt and headed straight down the tunnel to the changing room as the boos rang out.
For a club of the stature of Arsenal, this was an awful incident – an embarrassing one that will be shown and dissected all around the world. But it was symbolic of all that is wrong at the club right now.
It stems from a feeling of frustration that is increasing by the week. Frustration towards Emery, the style of football, Mesut Ozil’s absence and now a run of poor results.
Emery called for patience following the defeat at Sheffield United on Monday night, but there is very little of that on show at the Emirates right now.
The pressure may have eased slightly on Arsenal’s under-fire coach after Nicolas Pepe’s match-winning cameo in the Europa League on Thursday night, but it is right back on the Spaniard now.
Arsenal now sit four points adrift of the top four following this draw and on current form they look a million miles off the likes of Leicester or Chelsea.
This is a club that is desperate to return to the Champions League. The business model relies on it, but it is going to take a major improvement for them to get there.
Stan Kroenke’s son, Josh, was in the directors’ box this afternoon, while his father was a few miles away at Wembley watching his NFL team, the LA Rams, in action.
The conversation between the two on their flight back across the Atlantic could be an interesting one.
Is Emery the man to take the club forward? Is he getting anywhere near enough from this squad of players? At the moment, the answer seems to be a clear no.
Wow Kev, where do we go from here?
What an absolute dire mess. I suppose the press will have a field day tomorrow about the Xhaka saga and the VAR debacle will be pushed aside.
Oh how they love it when Arsenal have a crisis.
Hi Mike, I have no idea where the club goes, hopefully Stan & Josh, or at least Josh, don’t rush off back to the US and have some kind of Board meeting about the current situation because it can’t be allowed to fester.
There seems to be a complete breakdown in discipline at the club, too much BS going on from players on social media, the club needs to bring that thing under more control, a player wouldn’t be allowed to talk to a journalist and say just anything and same should apply to Twitter…
I think that the manager is toast Mike, it’s just a matter of when and who replaces him imo…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarred_Gillett
Scott, You was right….
Kev, he’s a seriously good ref-a stand out here for years.
I’ll never know how he came up with that call though.
I’ve just read Xhaka was copping death threats of late from Arsenal fans.
Any word on that guys?
I’d hope it’s not the case
If that’s true Scott, then that’s totally unacceptable…
Xhaka acted like a spoilt brat, but he doesn’t deserve that.
Tbh there’s been a spiteful undertone to all this, something that started with the dying embers of Wenger reign and it has continued via social media and seems a most unattractive modern trend attributed to certain fans who enjoy that medium.
It’s not something that makes fans like me feel proud to see associated with my club but it’s beyond most people’s control as is the case with most things connected to the internet.
Of all the things sent to us in Blighty from Down Under, the last thing we need is your bloody referees, we’ve got enough idiots of our own without importing them from Australasia.
Thanks for that….
A second source has also said Xhaka and his wife were receiving death threats.
Kind of sheds a different light on things.
Scott, I read the Twitter accounts of a few journos, but I steer clear of the rest.
And I don’t Tweet myself, no need me adding to the mayhem…
So I don’t really know what’s happening in it’s darker recesses – and that’s probably a wise choice….
MARK CLATTENBURG…
The PGMOL have got some explaining to do after Palace’s draw with Arsenal.
Watching England in the Rugby World Cup semi-final, I did not agree with the decisions of TMO but at least I understood them. Everyone at home could hear referee Nigel Owens explaining certain calls.
By comparison, VAR left me puzzled at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. I’m still lost as to why they got involved to award Crystal Palace a penalty against Arsenal when, in my opinion, Wilfried Zaha clearly dived.
Referee Martin Atkinson was right to book the Palace man for simulation. He was in a perfect position to make the call, too. Calum Chambers’ leg was planted and Zaha threw himself to the ground. Atkinson spotted his ploy and produced a yellow card.
Then VAR got involved. They told their man on the ground to overturn his original decision and award a spot-kick instead. It was a gift for Palace.
Then in the last 10 minutes, Sokratis scored to make it 3-2, only for VAR to chalk it off. Meanwhile, those at home and inside the stadium were left trying to work out why.
Australian Jarred Gillett was the video official at Stockley Park and I would love to have heard his reasoning.
VAR awarded three penalties on Sunday, with Manchester United receiving two. On Saturday, Brighton became the first club to have one awarded this season that was not originally given by the referee.
This suggests the system is going to be used differently from now on.
Maybe Mike Riley, the head of the PGMOL, is feeling under pressure.
Kev, will you stop posting things I’ve included in my article for today…. 😜😜
Same here, Kev-FB and HH is about all I do.
When I say “sources” I mean people I know who do follow that other rubbish.
Seems it’s been happening though.
How sad.
Rico, he’s stolen your crystal ball hahahaha
Scot @ 2:23, I read some comments last week that he and his pregnant wife were receiving abuse and threats on Instagram.
Morning all.
If that really has been going on for Xhaka and his family, it is disgraceful. Strange though that there’s been no police involvement and nothing in the press.
Obi, what sad bastards some people are!!
Morning all.
Torreira was in tears watching it all unfold as a Xhaka was booed off.