Morning all.
I didn’t see the game, just a few highlights so not much from me this morning but from what’s been written out there in Arsenal land, it wasn’t pretty. But, surprise surprise, we’re 3rd in the Premier League table with just one point between us and Man City. Yes, it’s a mad world.
Twenty headlines in the Daily Mail online came before the one about our narrow victory over Bournemouth. Twenty!
Toots are in a crisis with Pochettino rumoured to be on his way, Ole is going through a dreadful time which has prompted Gary Neville to wish Alexis Sanchez was back at the club and City, well they’ve already surrendered the title to Liverpool.
Meanwhile, we’ve slipped into 3rd place quietly thanks to a David Luiz header from a corner. I know, mad eh, we actually scored from a corner.
Seriously though, I know things aren’t great at Arsenal but if we can’t laugh at what’s going on down the road and up north now then when can we?
If only we could be sure this season will carry on as it’s going eh? I doubt it will though. Utd will sack Ole before Christmas if things remain as they are and if Poch can’t turn things around, I suspect Real Madrid will offer him a lifeline if Zidane can’t sort their problems out. Or maybe they’ll come calling for Unai Emery? I wish.
Considering we were at home yesterday and against a club we usually do very well against, I was surprised Mesut Ozil wasn’t in the starting line. Even more surprised to see he didn’t even make the squad. Whatever has gone on and is clearly still going on between Emery and Ozil, I think the message is clear. His days at the club are numbered. I get why he’s been dropped but what I don’t get is how a player like Xhaka can do no wrong in the Spaniards eyes, gets the captains armband and yet his game is average at best. Where’s the logic in that, or the consistency in his management of players? Same goes for Torreira too.
Surely as a coach/manager, you pick your players based on form and this season alone, Xhaka hasn’t been particularly effective has he? Personally, I think Emery has got some of his team selection the wrong way round and it’s Xhaka who should be playing in the Europa fixtures rather than Torreira. Sokratis or Luiz instead of Holding and even Mustafi after his recent performances. At some stage he has to bring Ozil into the team too because banishing him to the naughty corner whilst paying him £350k a week is crazy. Bournemouth haven’t won away against a top side very often, yesterday was one of the best opportunities to use Ozil, even if he was only from the bench. He’s one of the captains for goodness sake.
I’m probably one of few who believe Mesut’s future at Arsenal should be over in January but all the time he’s an Arsenal player, surely there’s a way Emery can use him in some of our matches? After all, he finds a place for Xhaka easily enough…
Another international break now and for once it’ll be Utd, Toots and even City the journalists will be writing about. I hope it stays that way too for a very long time..
Catch up in the comments guys…
There is a lot to be positive about although what is needed is a desire to capture the positivity before it peters out. We have a young squad coming through but need to encourage them and keep them together.
First team though we are dependent up front on Auba and Lacazette when fit with only Martinelli as back up . Sadly it seems that Nketiah is being used as permanent sub at Leeds and not getting the playing time he needs.
However our problem seems to be an over relience on defending and supporting what has been a weakness at the back . Hopefully the return of Bellerin , Tierney , Holding etc will enable Dick to look at the ways to drop Xhaka and speed things through the midfield.
I can’t see Eddie coming back. This should have been his season imo, but now with Martinelli signed, I think he’s going to struggle to push his way into this Arsenal team.
Xhaka needs to be the next captain out the door imo, Ozil too. Sign a proper holding player and either get Ceballos signed, look at who we have coming through or sign a number ten.
Oh, and a different coach but that’s for tomorrow’s post. Lol
I am not saying Ozil in or Ozil out , or Emery in or Emery out , but I am genuinely interested to know you guys opinons . Do you guys think that if we did have a different coach that he would play Ozil?
That’s a very good question Sohara. I guess it depends on who the different coach was.
Emery clear this Xhaka boy from the lineup…so many misplaced passes and lacking the bite of a holding midfielder…Arsenal can be an animal teams fear if we had gone for Delph of Everton(Former mancity player)he reads the game very well and knows how to tackle n bully opponents wish we could swap the two..IMO.Dont play names but the form the player is in,,Mertinelli should be starting instead of pepe who is a completely different player from the one who played at Lille imo
Hi Rico
I watched the match , in the first half we looked very good, in the second we took the foot off and let them play and they got back into it. To be honest, I was expecting them to score at any time in the second half but Luiz and especially Chambers were really good in defence and apart for once Xhaka never got near enough to the ball to do any damage.
The biggest problem was not creating good chances in the first half when we were all over them, Cebalos is good on the ball but never really linked up with Auba and Pepe is lacking in confidence and won’t take defenders on, but I think that will come.
From what I’ve seen of Tierney in the cup games he will be a real asset. Kolesinac has improved his defence and will be a good option to Tierney, with Bellerin on the other side.
It’s a shame that Eddy isn’t getting game time, the same thing happened to Gnabry.
Brian
Rico, can you answer the question if the coaches were say.
Freddie: Nagelsmann : Allegri ; Pep: ( I know it would never be Pep, but would Pep play him? )
Morning Rico. It’s understandable the most fans want us to win while playing attractive football. We are winning but the football is the next step up from dire and we are certainly a one-half team. We have been for a while. I guess that, as long as we are winning, the board will continue with Unai. But, when season tickets are so ludicrously expensive, surely the club needs to think of the support within the stadium. More and more supporters who actually go to the games are bored with the stuff that they are watching and figure that they may as well disconnect and watch it on TV.
Ozil is a side-show now surely.
Hi Brian. I’m glad I missed it..
Welcome Ambrose.
No Sohara, I can’t.
Morning Adam, I’d actually rather we played much better football without always winning because good football will always win in the end…
Good Morning to the Lady of the House and all fellow Gooners in residence.
Not the best of games, but the team ground out a win where they may have lost in the past.
There were plenty of positives in the game. Callum Chambers has certainly improved from previous games and was one of our best, if not the best, player. Kolasinac has also improved and looked solid on the left and proved difficult to move off theball. The Young Guns (Guendouzi, Martinelli, Nelson, Saka, Willock, et al) continue to improve and gain confidence and valuable experience. Bellerin and Holding are back in contention and, although they didn’t play Sunday, they and Tierney looked good in their recent games. Also, I was glad to see that the team are no longer mandated to play the ball out from the back when they are under pressure. All in all there is certainly room for improvement, but there are definite signs of improvement and great potential.
As for Ozil, the writing is on the wall, he is surplus to requirements. Unai does not value him; certainly not at the wages he is on. He can’t or doesn’t want to play Unai’s high pressing game. When our team lose possession he wont defend or tackle and becomes a bollard until possession is regained. He can be a wonder at unlocking a tight defence with a killer pass, but can be anonymous for long periods of the game. I wouldn’t be sorry to lose him, especially if another club is willing to pay us a decent transfer fee.
I think Arsenal are in a far better position than ManUre or the Tiny Totts.
Rico, wished you had watched the game. First half was ok as we pressed and moved the ball around. But no creativity, no combination play in the attack and poor transition. We are heavily dependent on Auba but we can’t seem to get the ball to him. We had this challenge last season and it coincided with when Emery banished Ramsey and Ozil. With two of them out, the problem is back.
Emery out? I hate instability but we can’t keep saying Emery will get it right when from all indications, he appears incapable. You only need to see how Leicester is playing to agree that a manager doesn’t need donkey years to establish a discernible style.
Let’s face it we are third and seemingly happy because the other teams have also become sloppy. Ozil may be slow, ok, but don’t scapegoat him, don’t also punish your team because we certainly do need a player who can create and link up with strikers. We don’t have any now and the team is worse off for it
Morning Cg, Dan.
Cg, there are many positives but I’m with Dan, I don’t think Emery is the one to make the most of who we have and get the best out of the collective squad.
You’re right Cg, we might have lost a game like that in the past but when we consider the players we have, we should be whipping clubs like Bournemouth good and proper.
Dan, totally agree re Rogers. What he’s done so far has been superb, and after selling their so called best player in Maguire..
Rico,
Who should he have played yesterday? Bellerin, Holding and Tierney are returning after long term injuries and/or surgery and should be eased back in. Ozil would have been bullied right off the ball and out of the game. EMS, Lacazette and Mavropanos aren’t yet ready to return.
Thanks for the post Rico, off to read comments.
Then I’ll have another cuppa before heading off to London to see if I can run over a few Extinction Rebellionists…
Potter, I’m wondering if Bristol City might have proved a better destination for Eddie?
Sohara, I’m Ozil out, he’s been with us 6 years and been imo generally average to poor.
I’m also leaning towards Emery out, depending on how this season develops.
I think a new manager would get rid of Ozil, he’s a drain on the clubs resources and most certainly not value for money.
It’s interesting to read people’s comments, especially about Kolasinac.
He seems to have stepped up and is defending a lot better, why all of a sudden?
Could that be the arrival of Kieran Tierney and competition for his place?
Maybe he’s looking for a move in January or next summer?
Is his wife still living in Germany since the carjacking?
Whatever it is, once Tierney is in the team, Kolasinac is finished as an Arsenal player imo.
Move him on and focus on recruiting a young player who can be Tierney’s understudy.
I’m sure that Raul and Edu are planning for January and next summer in what will be the next stage of their rebuild…
Hi Kev, I’m Ozil out, Xhaka out, Sokratis out, Emery out and Luiz out. 😂
Everybody out, reminds me of the old comedy show, ‘The Rag Trade’, a bit before your time young Rico… 😅
Sure is Kev.. 😆
For me, the players we should definitely move on this summer or even in January if poss Rico are Mustafi, Kolasinac, and Saint Ozil, I can put up with Luiz and Sokratis for another year as we have Saliba coming in.
Mind you if a good offer were to come in then I think the club would move on Sokratis and even Luiz, just as they did with Monreal…
I’d like to see Mavropanos play a few cup games, we need to see if this kid has it or not?
If we make top four and maybe win a cup then sacking Emery would be problematic.
But yeah, if the right manager is available, then I think that Raul will act.
Excellant post, Rico.
This is a weird season, I`m probably not alone in that I look forward to the League Cup and EL games for the youth being played and have anxiety when awaiting the team news for the League games knowing that although every man and his dogging session want Granny Xhagger dropped, it wont happen !…………….especially now that the news of Granit Xhaka has announced the birth of his new baby girl………… his husband Unai is never going to drop him now !
It`s also weird that currently I`m gettting more satisfaction from The Spuds and Man U results than Arsenal winning in the League !……………I watched more intensly at the Spuds game on MOTD than I did our game !…………………….Loris`s howler gave me a disturbing glow in my groins ! hahaha
Can’t believe I forgot Mustafi Kev. Lol
Thanks AllezKev for your reply. I know that Ozil will be leaving the club now & I am sad that we never could get the very best out of him. But I have seen many many players leave that I liked ‘ Ashley Cole’ Cesc to name just two, But to me I love ARSENAL & I support the club in whatever they do. I think we have a great management team in place now at Arsenal the best in years , especially Raul & I am 100% behind them & their decisions for the club .
We have some exciting young players coming along ,it was an exciting game to be at on Sunday, we should have scored more goals , it makes for nervous watching when it is still just ‘One nil to The Arsenal’ deep into the 2nd half
Thanks Lc. Same here re the Cups, at least those fixtures have more entertainment value..
Cocker, I hope your groins have recovered, but I surprisingly agree with you on the cup games, I really look forward to them as well, maybethe lack of pressure helps and seeing our young players and the long term injured playing is the perfect antidote to watching Xhaka.
Of course when Tierney, Holding and Bellerin finally move up to the EPL it won’t be as much fun watching the likes of Kolasinac, AMN and Sokratis in the cups….
Sohara, to me Ozil is like a brand, his agent is brilliant at selling the Ozil brand, but if he’s frozen out, eventually most people will forget about him except for his most ardent fans.
That will damage the Ozil brand and his agents ability to maximise the brand, I think the club are aware of this and it seems like a ploy affect the brand and ultimately to shift him and his enormous wages.
Sorry Cg, I missed your 12-30.
I wasn’t suggesting he played a different team, although Ozil might have offered more creativity if that was lack, I meant considering the quality we had on the pitch we should have made it easier for ourselves.
Ozil leaving in January could be more of a reality than many of us, me included, thought was possible. Whether it’s a policy from Raul or maybe even Edu I have no idea, but I’d imagine it comes from the very top and I’d guess it’s working.
Kev, I think we are more forgiving with the youth and allow them more leeway as they are on a journey of improvement and especially when the one`s who come through the academy via Hale End are probably Arsenal fans. We then take pride in them as our own and form a bond of effection straightaway.
To see “your own” make it is immensly pleasing just like in life when you make something yourself rather than paying for it.
Next year Aubameyang will be 31 , Lacazette 29 , Martinelli 19 , John Jules 19 , and Nketiah 21 . Too soon to write Eddie off . We need him back in January or else playing in a team struggling in the championship where he will get games and experience.
I did read somewhere that it was because his attitude suggested that he had already made it was why he was farmed out to learn a life lesson as far from London as possible . If that’s the case Middlesboro , Huddersfield , Wigan might be more suitable.
Shame he didn’t go to Reading Potter, at least they seem to play our players and he’d be up against it there.
New post up now.