10 years worth of neglect = slow rebirth

by .

via @Arsenal

via @Arsenal

Arsenal kicked off the new era in a painfully familiar fashion. A leaky defence, a second-rate performance against a top 6 side, star names under-performing, along with the customary zero points. Unai Emery witnessed first hand the brilliance of Manchester City and probably now realises how much work needs to be done to move Arsenal into the modern era of football Arsene Wenger steadfastly refused to acknowledge existed.

There was also a bit of a subplot with Arteta sitting in the opposition dugout, he was the frontrunner for the Arsenal job until Gazidis lost his nerve. The big hugs from Pep after the second goal hinted that our excaptain may have been given an outsized role in deciding what the plan was going to be for the afternoon (like he was last year).

Whoever concocted the strategy, it worked. Manchester City blitzed us from wide positions, Mahrez and Sterling causing us all sorts of problems, with Mendy and Walker showing off their raw power and pace. Our defence looked pedestrian at times, AMN really suffering before going off with an injury after a collision with a full speed Kyle Walker.

Their goals were standard Arsenal switch off moments. For the first, a poor Bellerin clearance found Mendy who often took up central positions, Sterling ghosted Bellerin, shrugged off Guendouzi and slammed his shot past Cech who didn’t dive. The second goal was classic Arsenal, Mendy powered the ball up the park, played a one-two with Sterling, crossed low into space in front of our extremely deep defence, Xhaka was pondering, no one in our defence reacted, Bernado Silva was first to it and rocketed his chance into the top corner.

We had some good moments in the game, but as with preseason, our transitions to attack were generally quite poor. Ourdefence looked extremely uncomfortable on the ball, Petr Cech was comical at times, nearly passing into his own net at one point. Flabbergasting that the coach wants to play with a keeper regista, but opted for Cech, who I absolutely refuse to believe has been dropping passes like peak Zidane in training. With his hands, he was excellent all game, he made some wonderful saves. However, in the new era, the keeper is expected to play with his feet. He is not the guy you want breaking the lines. It’ll be very interesting to see how long Emery sticks with that decision.

It didn’t help that we had nothing performances from Ramsey, Ozil, Auba and Mikki. Our attackers looked like they’d never played together, Ozil was particularly depressing to watch. His touch was poor, his passing was unusually shite and he just looked disinterested. Ramsey couldn’t find a way into the game either, a very bland performance for someone chasing a deal (or the exit door).

Aubamayang is an incredible finisher, but he lacks the all-round impact a striker like, dare I say it, Giroud can offer you by bringing players into the game with great hold up play. I’m not crying for Giroud by the way, I’m merely pointing out that Emery has to find a way to work Auba work in big games like that.

Still, on the positive side of things, the manager was scheming during the game about how to make us better in the second half. He subbed Ramsey on 54, a real power move if he wasn’t injured. Lacazette gave us some hope with two chances early on, one of his half-volley grazing just wide.

I thought Lichtsteiner was a real asset when he came on. He got forward a lot, he was rugged in defence and he really does bring an air of nasty to our team. What a competitor he is.

Guendouzi had a good game. I mean, he made a lot of expected rookie mistakes, but as everyone keeps saying, he never shied away. He demands the ball all the time, and despite being at fault for the first goal and nearly gifting them a second when he set Aguerro free, he was a bright spark out there on the pitch. Give me him in midfield over Xhaka every game. Telling that our best player made two shocking errors and I’m pleased.

Another telling moment was Xhaka being subbed off for a defensive midfielder when we were trailing. The Swiss was typically average. He landed a yellow card because he’s so fucking slow, he gifted them possession and he just generally looked off the pace against an aggressive Manchester City. Moving forward, he can’t be starting. He’s one of the most average players I’ve witnessed over the years, literally no redeeming qualities in a league that demands physical presence. He is a liability against anyone that presses him, and teams like Liverpool, Spurs, Chelsea and City will all know that.

So what have we learnt? Not a lot. We knew this was going to be a tough season, and we knew it was highly unlikely we’d be a match for the second greatest team to grace the Premier League. We won’t play teams that good every week, and by the time we play them next year, it’ll be a different story. The players will have adopted Emery’s ideas, the defence will feel more comfortable playing the ball out the back and you’d have to hope the manager will have found his true starting 11.

The big questions for me:

Are Emery’s ideas that good? Can he compete with the like of Pep, Sarri, Klopp and Pochettino? All masters of their various offerings. Another big question is how the players will react to defeat.

How enthused will they be about the new setup? The double sessions? Being shouted at like never before, but the same things happening on the pitch…

How long will it take to see progress, and how long will the fans roll with it? For me, we have to be real. It took Pep a year with a blank chequebook. It took Klopp a year, and his path is much more aligned with the challenges we face. So whatever you’re thinking now, you have to park it for at least that long.

Top 4 is the goal, it’s going to be tough because there are 7 very good teams this season.

Anyway, don’t be down in the dumps, today was the short-term cost of progress, this will get better as the year goes on, more joy to come (hopefully).

Let’s hope the reaction is great. Sarri up next. Excellent.

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Leftsidesanch

Xhaka is that bad, I’m not sure why the blind spot to this dork

Un na naai

Utarse

I’m clearly PARTICIPATING in discourse. Not just watching it on the tv. It’s like kids going online to watch other people play computer games. Where’s the fun in that.
And I don’t need Grahame Souness to agree with me to verify my own personal analysis thanks. Or the football managers 2018 of Le Grove. I saw a young man getting high praise for a (at best) disjointed performance. I’m not saying he’s shit or that he will never be a player. I’m saying the praise is silly and unjustified just as too much criticism would be.

Marko

Respectfully stroller but you are the type of Arsenal fan that contributes to the decline of this club. We all know that you go to a lot or most of the matches (respect) and you come away with stuff like not as bad as people say and I hope to see a performance before Christmas and other things let’s be honest and it’s that meek sort of attitude that has us the way we are. You aught to be more demanding and more critical of certain players otherwise you’re wasting your money and you don’t really care about the club

Un na naai

Buckhurst
Most of the world eh?
You’ve had that from nearly 7billion people? Talk about reaching

Leedsgunner

Better that our new manager, sorry head coach sees what we have known for years. The GK is not good enough. The midfield is in a shocking set and if you can’t provide service having clinical attackers won’t help you.

Plus if you don’t have width, it’s easy to close you down.

Guns of Hackney

A Henry

Stan is literally the man. No one can shift him. He is the outright owner of Arsenal PLC. Done. Over.

Good luck to him. But to expect Arsenal to be a football club with ambition? Not a chance.

I assume relegation would be the only tripping up point.

El Tel

The Refereeing was good and it all levels out throughout the year. In the game yesterday this is what I saw. Time wasting from the greatest team ever from the 10th minute. The Keeper started it then we saw throw ins taking ages before the farcical substitutions. Every sub they made was a player furthest away from the technical area. If anyone doesn’t see that making a difference then you know nothing. Our crowd certainly made their voices heard but oh no the Ref had a good game. There were no bookings for any of the time wasting. The first… Read more »

Guns of Hackney

Would any player at Arsenal get into.

Chelsea
City
Spurs
Man U
Liverpool
Everton?

Maybe one. I don’t know what one…fuck it, no one from Arsenal gets in.

Un na naai

Buckhurst

I didn’t say you said it
I said that we’ve had plenty of youngsters have better starts to their arsenal careers (much better) and what came of it?
You get a lot of arsenal fans making ridiculous calls on players debuts after more impressive starts than this kid. He was below average yesterday. He made a terrible mistake under no pressure and I thought the praise was not deserved. If I’d have come off after a performance like that I’d be kicking myself.

Receding Hairline

Guns of Hackney why stop at Everton??

Can any Arsenal player get into

Wolves
Fulham
Southampton
e.t.c

Since we are being silly, the field is quite wide, why limit yourself?

Danny

Emery answered my question:
“Nacho is starting with the group, working yesterday and maybe he can come in, maybe, for the next match.”
If I wait for you lot…….

Buckhurst Gun

Un na naaai ‘Most of the world eh? had that from nearly 7billion people? Talk about reaching’ Actually made me lol But you know what I’m getting at with that comment – end of the day your opinion is your opinion, I think a lot of us are happy that he was no shrinking violet and he wanted to play and take responsibility – we’re used to our £350 a week player hiding and the usual suspects not turning up , so when we see a 19 yo player fighting and trying to make things happen , we can forgive… Read more »

HighburyLegend

Hey GoH, welcome back!! 🙂

Un na naai

You aught to be more demanding and more critical of certain players otherwise you’re wasting your money and you don’t really care about the clu

Marko

If the man goes to nearly every game then he surely cares about the club??

HighburyLegend

“Maybe one. I don’t know what one”

Ozil!!
(just kidding…)

Buckhurst Gun

Un na naaai

If Guendouzi turns out to be a dud you can gladly say I told you so and I’ll gladly accept any criticism

Guns of Hackney

RH

Silly? Did you see anything yesterday that convinced you that Arsenal are anything but terrible?

Lichtensteiner
Guedenzi
Torriera

That’s it. One is 19, the other 22 and the last, 34!

Everything else was immediately forgettable. I know it was city but we literally saw a repeat Arsenal performance that we have seen for the past decade. That’s scary.

Guns of Hackney

Le Grove will explode when we labour to a 2-1 win against West Ham.

The “I told you so’s” will be deafening.

Un na naai

Buckhurst Fair point and you’re perfectly entitled to it. I just don’t want to see that boy starting against city and Chelsea in a new era. He’s not ready for that and I think it showed yesterday Yes he tried to put himself about but didn’t frimpong or sidwell? He should be getting blooded against the likes of Walsall in the league cup or in the middle of an established midfield who each are fully aware of their role in the team if you want to nurture his talent. Maybe we’ve lowered the bar to the point where a performance… Read more »

Un na naai

Buckhurst

I don’t think he will be a dud. I just don’t think he played very well yesterday. I really don’t.

Globalgunner

I can see that Pedro still wishes it was Arteta…really!!!!. If he was that highly rated by anyone else surely one of the dozen other teams in England that changed managers would have sought his services.? Nope!, everyone else passed him by too. It seems more like insisting you were right all along rather than rationale. No one else in world football rated him until some brain fart got his name in the reckoning. Anyhow, My take from yesterday: Cech has to be dropped along with Ozil, Ramsey and maybe Mikhi. Xhaka needs to be dropped too, in that cave… Read more »

Arse&Nose©

Gazidis is leaving because he knew Emery was shit.
Ivan’s man was Arteta but the board voted for Emery. Ivan even showed them the watch Arteta bought him to try and convince PHW and co but they were not having any of it.

london gunner

With the addition of Guendouzi there is no need for Xhaka. G man can pass just as well and has more pace and tackling ability.

Xhaka offers literally nothing at this point.

JamesH

With the rare exception of Pep, what is the average tine expectation of a top manager til he’s in decline. 10 years or so ?

Surely the key is to get them on the upward curve like Tets ?

Cesc Appeal

Gazidis leaving is more about the deal he will get at Milan to stabilise the club and make it ripe for sale in a couple of years where he will cash out massively having been given a small amount of equity in the club.

Far more logical.

Zfree

Elmo

It would disrupt the wage structure to put Ramsey on around £250k pw at a club of the stature that would be interested. He wont get a look from PSG, Real Madrid, or Barcelona…

I actually don’t really think he should play for us right now. Fuck him. He doesn’t wanna sign the contract, fine then don’t play him. Not like he showed yesterday we’re missing much with him on the bench.

Cesc Appeal

I thought Torreira showed some nice passing as well so there is literally no point in Xhaka at this club.

Need to try and sure his value up and find a buyer, best way is probably the Europa League.

Nelson

Ozil somehow can’t develop chemistry with Auba. Ozil’s game depends heavily on pass and double pass. I would try to partner Ozil with Lacazette and play Auba on the right wing. We have to give it a chance. They have to train harder to build up the chemistry.
On the other hand, I’ll bench Ozil when we play MC or Liverpool and play Iwobi instead. I am happy to have a tie for those games.

Cesc Appeal

The thing is Ramsey, Ozil and Mkhitaryan played so badly and displayed such little technical ability and ability to control the game that you might as well play Welbeck at LM and Iwobi at CAM because if we’re not going to control the game in these big games you might as well go physical and direct.

Have one of Ozil or Mkhitaryan at RM and one of Aubameyang or Lacazette at ST.

englandsbest

A look at the history of elite Clubs invariably shows that the best periods coincide with the best ownership. The best periods are the eras when the Club is consistently winning trophies and titles, and the best ownership is one dedicated to doing that. Arsenal are (or were) a clear example. In the late 20’s the owners hired the finest manager in the country (Herbert Chapman) and provided him with the finest players available. The Club became consistent winners through to the end of the 30’s. Post-war the Club stumbled, remaining among the Elite, winning a title or trophy occasionally… Read more »

Receding Hairline

I thought Torreira showed some nice passing as well so there is literally no point in Xhaka at this club.

Like the way he spread play to Bellerin a few times. He is going to be much more than a destroyer for us.

JamesH

Gazidis has to give 12 months notice to leave unless there is a change in control at the club when he can leave with short notice. So expect the formal announcement end of August when sale is ratified.

Champagne charlie

Marko

Fanboy? Go on marko enlighten me where I’m the season I defended Xhaka for doing the exact same thing as Guendouzi…

Dead easy making sweeping statements full of shite, you prove that daily.

Oh and blame Wenger for us not spending this summer? I thought Wenger was to blame because he didn’t spend, now he spent too much we have no money? Which argument are you running with today in defence of Stan? Pick one so people can follow.

Receding Hairline

All this talk about ownership is a bit useless.

The club has been sold to one man. You cannot force a man to part with his property.

What you can do though is make the best use of the resources he makes available to you as managers of the club….Emery, Sven and Raul.

So wishing we had an owner that pumps money into the club is not a discussion i am interested in.

Cesc Appeal

RH

It was his first time sweeping balls to the wide areas I really liked, if Guendouzi can develop we could have a good partnership there.

You can add to shopping list now a more controlling CAM to play in front of them though, similar to the role Fabregas had with us a CAM/CM type player.

We’ve got too many player who sit on the peripheries of games and like to ghost in and made a cameo and then ghost out again. No control, no balls, no substance.

Receding Hairline

You can add to shopping list now a more controlling CAM to play in front of them though, similar to the role Fabregas had with us a CAM/CM type player.

Cesc appeal the problem is very few players have that skill set. To constantly dictate the tempo of a football match is no easy fit. Kevin de Bruyne is presently one of the best at it.

Dissenter

The best thing about Guendouzi for me is the way he opens himself up for passes every single time.
He hasn’t been around the squad enough to know he’s supposed to make comfortable 5 yard sideway passes to boost his stats.
Thankfully he’s escaped Wengerization.

InsideRight

I wasn’t expecting anything but a defeat and that’s what I saw. Ozil. Fuck’s sake. The man should be trying to ram Germany’s criticism down their throats. After than performance they will be saying “Ve told you so, Tommy”. He was crap again. £350k per week for nothing. He just doesn’t show up in big games. More worrying is that our defence looks nothing close to a top half of the table back line. Too weak, too slow, no depth, not doing the basics. It’s not like we’ve not known for months it’s a big problem in need of a… Read more »

Marko

Fanboy? Go on marko enlighten me where I’m the season I defended Xhaka for doing the exact same thing as Guendouzi…

Charlie I posted the video it was the Sweden game at the world cup basically the same situation as with Guendouzi yesterday but whereas Guendouzi drowned as you say with Xhaka you made excuses. Shocking I know. You’ve been making excuses for him for the last two seasons why stop now.

Dissenter

Receding
I’m in agreement with that last post.
We need a midfielder that can control the pace of the game.
We also need a winger type player.
Defensively, we have to hope that Koschielny can recover fully to boost numbers.

Receding Hairline

Dissenter

We should have tried for Mahrez like a year ago before the Coutinho transfer messed up the market.

Heck they are lots of players we should have gone for if we had a manager who built his squad with a game plan in mind.

Dissenter

***Should have been control the tempo of the game, not the “pace” of the game.

Arse&Nose©

Just to clarify, my Gazidis – Arteta conspiracy theory was just a joke.

Cesc Appeal

RH We have to find one, as I said if I could take anyone in football right now I would drop Pjanic into our midfield but that realistically is not going to happen, so Mislintat needs to scouting and find someone. Our supposed creative players in Ozil and Mkhitaryan just seem to have an inability to control games. No doubt Ozil will be great against some relegation fodder side, but that is not the name of the game going forward is it? This season if that gets us to 4th then fine, but next season and the season after we… Read more »

Marko

Did you hear something?

Dissenter

Marko
Squeaky sounds like a puppy chihuahua crying to suck it’s momma’s nipple.

mysticleaves

A lot of you need to rewatch the match, with clearer eyes this time.

Kayciey

These are the Arsenal players on more than £100,000 weekly wage, their ages and years left on their contract. Petr Cech  (36) £100,000 Last Year (2019) Sead Kolasinac (25) £119,500 4 Years (2022) Héctor Bellerín (23) £100,000 5 Years (2023) Aaron Ramsey (27) £110,000 Last Year (2019) Mesut Özil  (29) £300,000 3 Years (2021) Henrikh Mkhitaryan (29) £120,000 3 Years (2021) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyan (29) £180,000 3 Years (2021) On statistics above, its very evident why we cant ship out players and why we always sell players cheaply. For players to maintain their weekly wages, the buying club must buy cheaply.… Read more »

Receding Hairline

A lot of you need to rewatch the match, with clearer eyes this time.

What do you believe we missed?

How shit Guendouzi was and why he should be reserve?

Or how silently great Xhaka was?

Dissenter

Mystic
I thin you need to watch the game another time, this time without your anti-Guendouzi lens on.
Didn’t you say Xhaka had a good game or something like that?

HighburyLegend

Anyone already vaccinated against rage ?? lol

Receding Hairline

Dissenter

I am actually struggling to understand mystic’s fixation with Guendouzi from yesterdays match.

Was he great? No he wasn’t at all

Was he the worst on the pitch? Not a chance

zimmie2652

“HA look at the history of elite Clubs invariably shows that the best periods coincide with the best ownership. The best periods are the eras when the Club is consistently winning trophies and titles, and the best ownership is one dedicated to doing that. Arsenal are (or were) a clear example. In the late 20’s the owners hired the finest manager in the country (Herbert Chapman) and provided him with the finest players available. The Club became consistent winners through to the end of the 30’s. Post-war the Club stumbled, remaining among the Elite, winning a title or trophy occasionally… Read more »

Cesc Appeal

Guendouzi was one of our better performers, when you have a 29 year old World Cup winning ‘veteran’ who disappears yet a-f*****g-gain in a big game, when you have a 27 year old playing for a £225 000 a week contract who has been here for 10 years play like s**t, when you have an experienced player like Mkhitaryan play like s**t and then Xhaka being Xhaka despite being an experienced international and an Arsenal player going into his third season here and yet Guendouzi played the way he did, he did just fine in my book. Outshone all of… Read more »

Champagne charlie

Marko

You just said I defended Xhaka when he did the same thing as Guendouzi.

How the fuck is posting clips from international football an answer to me asking when I did such a thing? Let’s not confuse the issue.. you’re a liar to serve a pov.

I’ve not defended Xhaka when shit, I’ve said he has the tools to be a player for us and I’m interested to see him (and others) under Emery.

So perhaps you ought to stick to what’s being said instead of making shit up as you go along.

Marko

Xhaka and Ramsey in particular were dogshit yesterday. Not even remotely up for debate and if you disagree you’ve got an agenda. Guendouzi even though he made a couple mistakes and isn’t ready for this level was still way ahead of those two shocking midfielders

Dissenter

I’ll like to see how Guendouzi holds up against lesser opposition .
I’ll like to see him played with Torriera for 90 minutes
I’ll hold my criticisms until then

Receding Hairline

I think it was telling that Ramsey and Xhaka both came off while Matteo remained on the pitch.

Next one of them will start form the bench, then both if he does not see the needed improvement. These old players really need to start pulling their weight

Receding Hairline

I’ll like to see how Guendouzi holds up against lesser opposition . I personally think he will do very well. There was an inch perfect pass he played over two defenders to Ozil if i am not mistaken, it was football porn. Like Emery said after the game,when on the pitch he develops quickly so leave him on the pitch. Someone was brave enough to put the likes of Ndombele and Delle Alli on the pitch without wondering how green they are. I don’t know how you expect a player to be experienced if he does not play, Fabregas was… Read more »

Pierre

The officiating was adequate yesterday but VAR would have helped them with 3 very crucial potentially game changing decisions which I highlighted earlier.

If, as the season progresses, we are on the wrong end of 3 potentially game changing decisions every week due to the failure of implementing VAR then Arsenal supporters are in for a rough ride this season.

As for “It all evens itself out in the end”.. I have news for you…It doesn’t and it won’t.

How do I know… Because it’s like watching the same movie over and over again.

Danny

When GG was sacked, Dein hired Wenger
—————————-
Bruce Rioch? You know, the one who signed Bergkamp………

UTarse

Northern turnip,
“LOL at a keyboard ‘super fan’ telling a season ticket holder who’s been going to matches for decades he doesn’t care about the club just shows you’re a fucking imbecile.”

So you do admit you are fucking imbecile then.

Doublethink

Forget his distribution didn’t the first goal go in about 2 yards to cechs left?

Uwot?

Slightly off topic.but someone made the comment a while back stating that possibly only two of The invisibles” would possibly get into the citeh side namely Th 14 & possibly viera? R u Avon a f****ng laugh? Sacrilege! Big sol ,cashley & pires not to mention king Dennis.i make that six minimum maybe seven if you throw in the “ invisible wall” Gilberto.all world class in their day.no question.i hate this revisionist shit.convenient memory loss.i,d back “The invincibles” any day of the week against this citeh lot as good as they are.

Uwot?

Typo that should of course be The invincibles “.apologies lol!

Ishola70

Leno isn’t playing at this point because apparently he hasn’t impressed the coaching staff enough.

This despite him being able to dribble a ball for five yards and play a short pass.

According to Arseblog podcast this morning from The Gunnerbog on the show who claims he got a bit of inside info.

Paulinho

Things will improve very quickly once Emery bins Xhaka and sticks Torreira deep with Guendouzi. Transition play will improve instantly and we’ll be able to find our final third attackers in better positions and then from there they can threaten. Back in the day when we were struggling to play out we had Hleb and Rosicky who could drop deep and travel with the ball and get us playing in the final third. Neither Mikhi or Ozil are capable of that and are only useful in the final third playing the final pass or shot, so we need our central… Read more »

Pierre

Ufraud
Did you go to the game yesterday?

Only asking because you being a supposedly season ticket holder posted a comment on le grove during the first half which got me thinking that ufraud is actually a fruad and is not a season ticket holder……… Only an idiot would think to post a comment whilst they are at the game.

Receding Hairline

According to Arseblog podcast this morning from The Gunnerbog on the show who claims he got a bit of inside info.

Claims he got being the most important phrase here.

Cech is a seasoned keeper, and i repeat he did nothing wrong yesterday. Leno will play lots of games this season and may even become number one. We have only played one game not 25

Carts

I’ll be honest, yesterday’s performance wasn’t particularly shocking, per se. We were always going to lose that game, for me it was a case of not getting battered.

What disappointed me, massively, was the lack of effort by some players.

This wasn’t helped by Emery’s formation. round holes square pegs, springs to mind. The fact the Guendouzi got caught slipping, but still players the whole game over Ramsey and Xhaka speaks volumes.

I think we go 4-3-1-2

a midfield of Torreria–Guen–Ramsey—-Mhk (Ozil)—-Laca—Auba

As we lack proper wingers, we need to play to our strengths for now.

Dissenter

The last time we played Chelsea away at SB, Cech was pathetic and gave way two goals.
If Emery want’s to learn the hard way then all the best to him.

I thought Cech should have done better to stop the City’s first goal. He was unsighted because he had lead in his boots. A good goal keeper has to keep moving to retain sight of the ball.
He made some good saves too no noubt.

Samesong

Cech is a seasoned keeper, and i repeat he did nothing wrong yesterday.

You sure about that?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo_v27xn0zI

Pierre

I don’t know why we don’t just go with an experienced back 4…

Lichsteiner, kos /Mustafi.. Sokratis and monreal.

You Lose out on pace going forward but at least they would know how to defend as a unit similar to Adams bould dixon winterburn… Well not quite but could do a similar job for a year or 2.

UTarse

Turnip,
The offer to pay your fine is still there you little streak of piss.

Little p,
You thinking would be a task. No I wasn’t , my kids were… I’m on a well deserved holiday, you have a problem with that ?

Rambo Ramsey

Embarrassing the chumps maintaining ‘Guendouzi struggled’ pov

72 touches
81% passing accuracy
4 tackles
4 interceptions

A proper all-round midfielder performance. Best one any Arsenal shirt wearing mid has achieved in the last three years. This on his debut against the reigning Champions.

shbhlando

interesting how many whiny, petulant boys there still are amongst Arsenal supporters. must be the kids that grew up just knowing Wenger. the spirit of the team was much better and more dynamic yesterday. the chances created against one of the best sides ever in EPL (lacking two great players admittedly) were enough to almost get us in the game. Chelsea is going to be a terribly hard time too. i think they are challenging City and Liverpool this year and Man U, Spurs and us are going for fourth. I’m fully expecting a 3+ goal defeat at Chelsea, they… Read more »

Leftsidesanch

RR,

Exactly!

Marko

Cech is a seasoned keeper, and i repeat he did nothing wrong yesterday.

Did you see the game yesterday? He made 3 very good saves should have done better for the first goal and nearly passed it into his own net. That’s off the top of my head

Pierre

Ufraud
I always took my kids on holiday with me but obviously you are different.

Rambo Ramsey

Lets compare this to Granit Wanka

55 touches
81% passing accuracy
1 tackle( ! )
0 interception( ! )

Yep, picking up where he left off. Complete joke of a midfielder.

Rambo Ramsey

Torreira made 1 tackle, 2 interceptions in 20 minutes

Rambo Ramsey

A Torreira-Guendouzi midfield base is the way to go.

They are quick, mobile, good on the ball and most importantly-They got the potential to put up 10-15 defensive actions per game. Something we have desperately missed since Coquelin.

Countryboy

RR

Thank you for the stats.
To think some posters like Unanan or whatever think what everybody saw and the stats confirmed is somehow wrong.
They must be seeing what only the old man saw in his babies.

mysticleaves

RH you have me confused with another person. I don’t have a fixation it’s your ilk that do actually. I hope Guendouzi, moving forward, smashes it for us. I also hope le grove doesn’t turn on him when he isn’t able to learn on the job and cost of big time. Much like Holding and Chambers (previous le grove darlings).

It will still be a mistake to start Guendouzi against Chelsea

UTarse

Little p,
I think we can both safely deduce you and I are different.
But seeing as you’re very interested in my personal life, they are joining me next week.

HighburyLegend

“Northern turnip,”
“Ufraud”
“Little p,”

A least there’s some fun reading the blog.
(lol)

Dissenter

Mystic
“It will still be a mistake to start Guendouzi against Chelsea”

Would it be a mistake to start Xhaka?

Marko

Aaron Ramsey had the lowest pass accuracy yesterday with 66%. He had actually less than Cech. I mean Xhaka was awful but what was Ramsey?

mysticleaves

Dissenter, yes. Would rather Torr and Ramsey/Neny/Xhaka/Guendouzi deep. Then free up Ozil in the 10 with Auba left of Laca.

You really think I don’t see the limitations of Xhaka?

The Royal Arsehole

It was dam refreshing to see a Arsenal player get stuck in hard and fight yesterday. Lichtsteiner is something we have been so missing for years. This team has had zero Bravado, he is not one to back down to anyone. To see him man up to anyone on “HIS” side of the pitch, WOW finally. I hope he can bring that type of no backing down to all the rest. Lucas has it built inside him already and you can just see that little man is not to be reckoned with when it comes down to heart.

mysticleaves

Lol Marko don’t shake that table

Marko

66% on 19 touches is staggering

Ishola70

Guendouzi will have nice looking stats in certain areas because he dashes around the pitch like a blue ass fly. This can be good but also can mean a lack of stability and discipline in midfield. He was very lively yesterday but lacked certain aspects which is not at all surprising given his age and just come from the second level in France. If Guendouzi does develop into a top player then he will need to add this discipline and stability in his game. I’m all for ditching Xjaka but as another said on here I hope people don’t build… Read more »

Marko

Keeping in mind I don’t really rate Elneny he absolutely has to start with Torreira in midfield. Xhaka is that bad

Paulinho

Marko – Why exactly is is staggering?

englandsbest

I am pondering what Usmanov might do with the £600 million when he gets it. Invest in Everton? For obvious reasons you can’t own (or part-own) two Clubs in EPL. But now he is free to pursue his quest for ownership of a PL Club. As a matter of fact I hope he does put the money into Everton. One reason is that if there was no Arsenal I would support Everton. It has a tradition and ambience that comes closest to Arsenal (the old Arsenal, that is). I still remember with joy the marvellous side they had not so… Read more »

Rambo Ramsey

Dissenter, that’s what is amusing. Guendouzi is “green” and may/will make mistakes they say.

Okay, so what’s the alternative? Mistake-free, weakness-free Xhaka?

Did you notice its the same chumps that defended Xhaka for years that have a problem with Guendouzi? This is clearly more about not wanting to admit they were talking out their asses all these years.

mysticleaves

Marko i told you not to shake that table

Ishola70

The regista is hard to let go for some.

mysticleaves

Have always thought in deep midfield pairings there’s always going to be a busy bee and a calmer influence. Xhaka has never been a busy bee. Expecting him to make 4 tackles and interceptions per game is wishful thinking. Problem is when he isn’t as assured on the ball as he should be. He’s yet to prove that he’s that calming influence we need back there though. Still have hope it could work, if it doesn’t work sell and replace. I could be wrong but the future make up of our team would be Torr and Xhaka/Neny. Guendozi and Torr… Read more »