I tell you what, I’ve been listening to a lot of classical music this year. I’m not sure if that’s a sign of age, or that I feel disenchanted by the constant bickering between Kanye and Drake. Can’t you both just be friends?
Anyway, big up the classical music scene. Some absolute bangers from John Adams and Tchaikovsky pulling me through this post.
I know that it upsets people that I use references of the not-so-distant past to frame up where we are now, but look, for context, I’m the kind of guy who will make a beeline for a work colleague on a packed train, just to acknowledge that I have seen them… even if they are avoiding eye contact with headphones on. Simply put, I’m going to compare Wenger to Emery for at least another year, so get used to it.
Unai Emery showed exactly how different the mentality at the club is these days.
“I think we are doing our way and improving, but the reality is that we need more.
“Our ideas and work with the players is to learn together. All of us can give everybody new ideas.
“I think the players are open to listening to us about our new tactical work with our analysis in videos. We need to do this work quickly, but we also need patience.
If this had been 2 years ago, we’d be talking about winning the league and the big twitter accounts would be digging up tweets from 7 years ago gleefully proclaiming the victory was theirs!
Not anymore. Our manager is a pragmatist very much anchored to reality. We’re in 5th position, that’s not good enough, and even though we’re not losing, we could be doing better.
That’s a great attitude. That’s a message to players that complacency won’t be tolerated, nor will premature-back patting. We’ve achieved nothing this season and we’re still a long way off the levels City and Liverpool are bringing to the table.
This season is fierce, so many teams are on an absolute rampage. Spurs and City won again, Liverpool is likely to decapitate Jose Mourinho tomorrow when they host his shit-housing-extraordinaires. We have to keep up the pace, there’s no room for dropped points and that sort of pressure is hard to deal with.
It’s going to be very tough tomorrow against Southampton. You have a group of players who are under a new coach who is far smarter than Mark Hughes, so there’s an extra level of intrigue there. We also have a very old defence that is so worrying, you’d have to imagine even Southampton will fancy their chances. We could be rolling out with Hector, Lichtsteiner, Monreal and Koscielny. Two of those haven’t rocked a 90minutes in a while.
It’ll be very interesting to see how Emery deals with that. Do we sit slightly deeper to avoid counters, or do we just play the way we have been all season and try and drop them in the second half after going a goal down? I’d imagine there will be a tactical consideration here, because it does feel like we’re very exposed.
There are some rumours that are being fueled by Auba’s Instagram that suggest we could counter the age issue at the back by fielding Zech Medley. The U23 defender came into the side midweek and impressed in the second half. It’s risky, but these young players need game time if they’re to progress, and there’s no better way to know if a player can handle the pressure other than utilising them in an emergency.
Mesut Ozil will be back in contention for the game after a being out for a few weeks with back spasms, so we’ll see if the coach fancies him in the first team so soon… I’d imagine he’ll be benched and eased back into the first team. Aaron Ramsey is available again, which is great news. I do wonder if he’ll continue to be benched. We all want him to play, but it doesn’t make sense to get the fans used to his presence if we’re going to try and bin him in 3 weeks time.
There’s also the big NLD game that’ll be on the players minds. Spurs in the league cup on Wednesday is technically not as important as Southampton, but it’s huge one for the fans. How hard is Emery planning on going for that game? Is his priority #top4… or a trophy at any cost? So many decisions to be made!
Finally, just a few other items I wanted to check off.
People bringing Ashley Cole into the Sterling row are desperately revising history. He was an absolute darling of Arsenal football club until he betrayed Arsene Wenger in a shady backroom deal with Mourinho which he claimed was accidental. His book quotes were an abomination and a total embarrassment even for a mollycoddled footballer. Factor in the countless PR gaffs he brought on himself… like cheating on his wife with a hairdresser.
“We started having sex then he just rolled over and vomited on the floor all over the cream carpet, it was disgusting.”
“He had some mouthwash then jumped back into bed. We started having sex again but his mates piled into the room.”
For most men, that’s game over, so I have to give him credit for plowing on and being a solutions-oriented kind of guy… however, when you’re married to the most famous woman in Britain, you really can’t complain about bad press, especially when you sell your wedding to gossip magazines for a £1m.
Oh, he also shot an intern with an air rifle from 5 feet.
ALSO: Pavon and De Ligt being linked to Arsenal. Unrealistic, but damn exciting regardless!
Right, enjoy the game, I’ll see you in the comments.
P.S. I ran into an original Le Grove commenter in a New York laundry yesterday. The world is a small place when you’re a gooner!
This should put the nail in the coffin for Mourinho, United vs Liverpool is a classic and it’s no more competitive than Liverpool vs Everton currently..
19 points ahead of them with this win. Unreal
United really look like a mid table club, so far behind City, Pool ,Totts despite spending billions. Mourinho very lucky to still be at the helm.
Wenger obsessives
Ozil obsessives
Iwobi obsessives
Perfect Arsenal fandom
To be honest, I never wanted or understand why we signed Mesut Ozil. We needed a striker then and we shouldn’t have signed him.
I cannot wait for United to appoint one of the class of 92 as interim manager and the second he chalks up a win have all the media saying ‘do United have their own Guardiola?’
We need to pull out our Black cars and take Pogba out of Mou’s hands lol wishful
when has Ozil been an impact player- let alone a sub? Emery messed this one up. Ozil is just being Ozil. For emery to think that he would spark us, was a mistake. Now its confirmed. The team did not play well and Ozil was not the reason we lost. No one is saying that. However he did not help when we needed it. 20 mins and no spark. Its becoming a serious conundrum for the team. I do wonder what the teammates really think… we have some younger and better players waiting for their chance.. To persist with Ozil… Read more »
Shaqiri at £12m would have been very useful for us
Really wanted United to win a point… keep that Mourinho hope train running!
Man you will come out of this just fine. They are rich and not afraid to spend it…every manager in the world will fancy a crack at it. Players are still into United.
They are still a global power.
Dale
Because wenger was too stupid to spend a
Little extra to get Suarez.
Too stupid to spend a little extra to get higuain.
Don’t try to understand it. Wenger failed us. Over and over
Pedro
Really wanted Liverpool to lose just because of their fans
Always the victim, never your fault
Shaquiri would have taken our average height down to 5’3. Not good.
I’d be surprised if they let Jose go on the back of this game.
Shaqiri we should have gotten, sent Ozil to Stoke
Jeez, joe hates scousers more than I do.
Samesong
Only Asians and Brits wear Canada Goose
You have to give to klopp and his shiny teeth, all his buys have been spot on..
Hopefully Emery can do the same
Guns of SF
The defence of Ozil is exactly the same as the defence of Wenger now.
I’ve said for a couple of years that Ozil is the embodiment of Wenger’s ideas about football, seems fitting it is mostly those who defended Wenger who now defend Ozil. It’s like the last symbol of his tyranny.
Joe, it’s a big New York brand as well.
I have their shop very close to where I live, I hear the protesters every weekend. Fuckers…
Ha. Sorry Pedro!
I don’t get it. I find the jackets ugly
Canada Goose is all about sickening cruelty. Disgusting.
Go vegetarian like GOH. Love animals. Hate people.
i sure hope that he gets sold in Jan. Hell that this point, give Rambo a new offer and see if he takes it. Get rid of ozil. his salary is like 3 really good players in oen.
Cesc- he is the lingering stench of wenger. and Ivan the rat. I do wonder what Sven and Raul were secretly thinking at the time? Newbies had to sit on their hands I guess
You’re a funny cunt Guns
Southampton of all places is where were finally beaten, smh.
Still leaking like a sieve at the back regardless of personnel. Can’t be shipping 3 goals to a side that were averaging well below a goal a game, inexcusable even with injuries.
Too many draws in that unbeaten run anyway so not completely a terrible thing that it has come to an end, snaps us back to reality a bit because it’s not like we were anywhere near Liverpool or City anyway.
I’m sorry Emery has to make do with some shifty players but seriously today’s on his total lack of balls. Iwobi has to be the worst shooter of the ball I’ve seen in a long while, immediately we equalized he ballooned what should have been the 3rd go. Some of us will rather watch Saka or any other academy player rather than someone that’s proven over and over he’s shite. He even tried Niles on the wings on Thursday and that totally changed our attack. Why not today? And enough of this keeping our powders du shite, if Lacazete is… Read more »
I don’t really know what AMN actually brings to the team?
Also got a Wengerish vibe from Emery’s comments about the TW which doesn’t bode well…
Samesong
I agree. Not sure of the hype around him.He looked really nervous and TBH ive not been that impressed overall.
The Spirit of Wenger hasn’t left the building
Emery gets a pass with transfers until his actions show us otherwise. The reason we all groaned with Wenger was because a decade of cowardice and failure showed us what to expect after the ‘if we can find quality’ comments, the transfer set up at Arsenal now is very different.
Three people with a big say.
Wenger fucked us by nor singing vdv for 12 m in 2014 dithering dozy cunt
Wenger Eagle
Yep. Emery is saying the Kroenkes don’t want to give him the cash for what’s needed.
Also got a Wengerish vibe from Emery’s comments about the TW which doesn’t bode well…
To be fair the signings ain’t up to him. And also I’ve never heard Wenger talking about looking at CB’s after one (Holding) goes down long term
‘Yep. Emery is saying the Kroenkes don’t want to give him the cash for what’s needed’
Don’t think that is what he is saying at all.
Massive leap.
Sorry eagle
Also got a Wengerish vibe from Emery’s comments about the TW which doesn’t bode well…
Not understand ING
CA
I get that and it’s only fair that we give him the benefit of the doubt as he isn’t linked to AW or our past TW inaction but it’s still a pretty discouraging thing to hear after a defeat which once again exposes our lack of quality, isn’t it?
We’re not going to beat Spurs and Chelsea to the punch unless we add a bit of quality in January.
Man Utd a global power lol
No player wants to live in drizzly Manchester unless it’s for a seven figure sum.
I have awoken this morning from an extremely drunken Sunday sesh to discover I am in a parallel universe. Arsenal lost? To Southampton? I shall go back to bed for a couple of hours and hopefully wake up to the real world where we won 1-4 and I can go collect my $146 from the bookies.
WE I agree. But it would have been very Mourinho to say ‘you’re telling me, we need to spend about £200 Million and bring in an entirely new defence, ship that lazy pussy out’ etc. The encouraging thing is a Sanllehi interview a couple of months back saying they are aware our results are exceeding our performances and quality. Arsenal scouts are being widely reported to have attended a lot of games around Europe scouting different players and I have more confidence in a set up where Sanllehi and Mislintat are concerned with acquisitions and on field quality. Venkatehsam is… Read more »
Guns
Hackney…aka Boris
Annals eat humans
Humans eat animals …
Circle of life
Well not fucking Elton John’s one ..
Me daughter a veggie as well
So I know what you going through
I always hear about our youngsters- most of the ones I know of are the attackers. DO we have any youth defenders besides Mavro that we can utilize? Are there any good ones coming up? I have no clue of the youth defender situation
Maybe should have started 4-4-2 which people have been crying about for a long time.
Had a Wenger vibe today as well. Sending Ozil in today after saying what you did after the Bournemouth game was an absolute disgrace, contradicting your own words, and it proved fatal in the end.
Also hoping that you’ll get the same penetration with Nacho in for Kolasinac was clutching at straws. Kola is the only reason to play with wing backs. Else better go with 4 in defence and play Laca and Auba.
Xhaka in defence, really?
Lacazette not starting?
Yeah really disappointing Emery sent on Ozil after sending a very clear message.
Emery watched everything he has said about him play out in front of his eyes.
“Go vegetarian like GOH. Love animals. Hate people.”
What if you love eating animals and still hate people?
Why ship out Ospina when a blindfolded
Stevie Wonder can see he’s Arsenal’s best keeper.
Ozil haters are not close to what went wrong today. Emery misjudged his line up, blaming Ozil is narrative driven and wrong.
I was hoping Medley would play today, no more a gamble than playing Xhaka at CB. Maybe at 195 cm he might have cut out some crosses. Torreira looked a little tired and would have benefitted from Xhaka next to him. Emery is an improvement but he’s no messiah!
Our team lives and dies with Auba. If Auba keeps missing all those chances, we will not make top 4. We don’t have enough quality players. Now that our players are falling out like flies, It may have something to do with Emery’s training method.
Nelson,
“Our team lives and dies with Auba. If Auba keeps missing all those chances, we will not make top 4”
Agreed
Too many misses, he’s ponderous at times when a clean his=t may be enough.
Let’s see what the whiniest, most negative supporters have to say about this game…
– Ozil out, Shaqiri in?
– Emery the new Wenger?
– Southampton are the worst team in the world and us losing to them despite of our injury crisis in the back is the worst thing to have happened in the history of this club?
Ah, same old Le Grove..
‘Ozil haters are not close to what went wrong today. Emery misjudged his line up, blaming Ozil is narrative driven and wrong.’
Sigh.
Don’t you throw around barbs about labels literally everyday? ‘Ozil haters’ is as lazy an effort as Ozil gives.
He isn’t good enough, he doesn’t fit Emery’s system, he’s a lazy coward and today he needlessly gave the ball away that led to their goal having spent 15 minutes doing nothing aside from dummying a ball for Aubameyang.
We pay that c**t £350 000 a week.
Zech Medley could have started at CB. He made 2 very impressive cameos in Europa L. Very assured on the ball for such a big kid.
AMN is a big worry, still plays way too casual. No improvement what so ever. He will fizzle out to nothing if he doesn’t knuckle down and work harder
The failure to sack Mourhino is worse than anything Mourhino does.
What a shambles.
Mr Woodward needs to be sacked as well.
Redruth, weather is shit in the North west but you can’t deny Liverpool, Man City and Man U are successful teams. Players are not quite as soft centred as you imply.
Dissenter
Shut up man!
We want that lot to stay in place as long as possible.
Ozil was not at fault for today’s results. He should have started the game. Him and Ramsey. Emery should have played Elneny at the back and Xhaka in the midfield. Iwobi and Guendouzi are average as at now…..maybe they’ll come good in future. Emery is to blame for the results anyway.
Jose was sacked 2ny Chelsea’s 17th December 2015
It’s the 17th tomorrow.
Bitching about AMN, really? Focus your ire on more relavent targets. A youngster who has come on as a sub is not really that significant. He’s barely played this season and his contribution today was not significant either negatively or positively. Offloading on him is ridiculous.
All I know is that Licht cannot be trusted for a long time….
another injury waiting to happen and slow as molasses
‘He should have started the game’
As evidenced by his 15-20 minute cameo?
Fucking hell Arsenal supporters.
‘I can almost say that I despise scousers
Almost as much as akbsAlmost.’
Joe, says a lot about your perspective on things, your divisiveness on Arsenal supporters is bullshit. Despising is ridiculous anyway, have you met a scouser in your whole life? Ridiculous rhetoric says more about you than any opinion you may have.
Bob
Are you illiterate?
Are you just stupid?
Go up and read my post above
You just made yourself look a real tit
More so than usual. Which is hard to do
And it’s morons like you who divide arsenal because you chose to support Wenger over arsenal. Chose what’s best for wenger than what’s best for arsenal.
You divided arsenal. Not me
Back in your hole wanker
Cesc, what’s your problem? Would you prefer me saying ‘people who don’t rate Ozil’ than ‘Ozil haters’? Surely that’s splitting hairs….
Says a lot of my perspective
Haha you drama queen. Are you half-ret*arded.
This is a football blog full of banter you moron. That you take shit written as serious gospel show your maturity level
Spongebob I don’t personally see AMN as a great prospect at all. Don’t care whether he’s played 50 games. Too laid back for me.
You come on le grove and don’t rate a player your called a hater
Ped you should add that to the rules if you say you think a players shit with good reason your a player hater.
Bob N16
My problem is you spend a mass of time talking about people using terms like ‘AKB’ and Wenger lovers etc but the second you find criticism of a player that you don’t like you’ve done the same thing ‘Ozil haters’ peddling a ‘narrative’ to try and discredit what they are saying.
You can’t have it both ways.
Just don’t harp on about labels etc again.
Ozil haters.
So ridiculous. Haha
Because he’s been amazing for us hasn’t he bob
Just like
Wenger haters isn’t it
You’re a fool.
And clueless about football
“Maybe should have started 4-4-2 …”
raptora – my only complaint about Emery is that he coach that has vision of how he wants to play and he is not thinking about best formation with players he has. I think 442 with diamond midfield would best utilize players we have, that defence today was dumb.
I don’t know why Xhaka is taking stick online, asked to play CB and was better than Lichtsteiner and Kozz today.
Is there really anything admirable about a manager moaning about new players after a defeat?
I mean was Emery supposed to come out and rubbish his players and tell the press he needs new ones?
Klopp and Pep never did that, they quietly moved players on when they brought in better ones. Karius was defended by Klopp until the day he replaced him.
I don’t get all this Wenger vibe talks. No manager rubbishes his players after they loose their first game since August in December.
I still do think that we might sell one of Aubameyang or Lacazette, more likely the latter, you cannot have resources like that tied up in a player you won’t use regularly because you don’t play two up top when you could release them to pay the substantial fees for a CAM and LM/RM.
It’s great having two good STs but when we’re counting every penny and have a back line that needs addressing, no good CAMs and no wingers then you have to make tough decisions.
I think Emery was reasonable afterwards, he basically said, do that again and we won’t make 4th.
You have to hope that privately he smacks around those that needs it and tells the higher ups the players he’s finished with, cough cough, Ozil.
Leno not at fault at all imo. Koscielny hopelessly out of position.
Joe, really? You suggest I should be a more reflective and you post that! Wow! ‘Morons like you who divide arsenal’….. You fling shit, hoping it will stick. ‘You divided Arsenal, not me’. WTF are you talking about? Have you ever attended an Arsenal game? What a ****! I’ve supported `Arsenal since 1972, supported, sung up, rain or shine, home and away, and you have you the keyboard gall to suggest I’m a moron because I support Arsenal REGARDLESS OF WHO THE MANAGER IS. I don’t know how long you’ve supported Arsenal or how many games you’ve attended, or how… Read more »
You’ve been going to arsenal since 72
Wow. I thought you were 12 years old by your posts!
RH
How does letting the supporters know that you are looking to improve a squad that clearly needs improvement equate to ‘rubbishing’ the players?
I’m sure the players recognise the need for new blood just as much as we do.
Clueless about football, Joe….wow!
I think a target is needed. It’s clearly my turn. Have fun, but you’re going to have to get along without me, I’ve got better things to do that respond to your drivel.
See yah, wouldn’t want to be yah!
Joe, your wit is top class. Oscar Wilde had nothing on you! (Look him up, you div!)
See yah, wouldn’t want to be yah!
Hahahaha
You are 12 years old
I did make.the point about 3 months ago that Emery is asking too much of our full /wing backs and the work load will take its toll.
these are the injuries so far to our full backs in 4 and a half months.
Bellerin twice.
Lichsteiner…twice
AMN…..once
Monreal…once
Kolasinac..twice.
Jenkinson….once.
Maybe I was correct in my assumption.
Sorry about ol’ desperado Aubergine trying to sneak back in for the 15th time. He went to the effort of making up a fake email address last week.
Dealt with.
Joe / Bob, leave it.
Ozil fanboys defending the indefensible again. Not unbelievable. Wenger was right. Fans support players these days. Hope they follow him to China.
Pierre
You ready to seeing Ozil get sold? Or would you rather we keep him ?
Exactly Pedro
It’s not working with Ozil
He doesn’t make the team better.
He’s not making players around him better as a player making 350k a week
Should.
It’s better to part ways
Thanks, Pedro. Nicely done.
He’s an incel recluse shut-in that Aubergine git, what an absolute weirdo scrambling around making up dozens of email accounts haha.
Aouar looks the real deal, lad has ability for days.
Sinking inevitablity about him ending up at City with Pep already sniffing all over him.
What XI would people play on Wednesday night and why?
I did make.the point about 3 months ago that Emery is asking too much of our full /wing backs and the work load will take its toll.
Christ you come out with some absolute shite. Yeah totally unheard of to ask your full backs to both defend and attack. Like it’s impossible…how
Hope that it’s a strong XI Bamford, vital not to lose to the scum and we’re vulnerable coming off of a first loss in months so crucial not to let these creatures pile on and put the player’s on their arses from a morale POV.
Joe “You ready to seeing Ozil get sold? Or would you rather we keep him ?” I would like to see Arsenal playing with a little more skill , intelligence and composure instead of running around like headless chickens ….there is no real structure to our forward play. If that involves ozil leaving then fair enough …. It seems like Emery believes iwobi is the man to bring creativity to the side or maybe he likes him because he looks busy on the pitch. Can’t understand why Lacazette is not starting up top as he links the play and brings… Read more »
but I suppose Emery knows best eh joe.
If he ends up replacing Ozil and Ramsey at Arsenal then yes he does. Pierre complaining about full backs having to defend and attack suggests he knows fuck all
The full backs at City , Spurs and Pool do a lot of getting up and down the flanks, funny they are not all crippled. If our fullbacks can’t handle the requirements of the modern game we replace them
Eagle he doesn’t need to reassure anyone he is looking for better players at the end of a game just because we lost, talk about something else but that point is invalid. He has already said before the game we will look to bring in a new defender to cover holding
Lacazette being good in link up play is actually hit and miss, it’s a myth. He is good finisher but no Firmino in terms of link up. He was useless for the last 25 minutes today
It was our best period of play from about 60-85 minute …the only time we looked in control of the game.
To everyone going about saying Ozil did ‘nothing’ wrong today to be blamed for the loss…well that’s actually the problem..he did NOTHING!
Our highest paid player was almost a passenger in the game! Add that to Auba clueless in 1vs1 situations.
Don’t want to even talk about the woeful Kos and defense in general.
Earlier in the season we were playing a back 4 and both our full backs were so far advanced at the same time that you would often see them in the opposition box at the same time..
This being the case then obviously they would then need to get back to defend and then get forward to attack and then get back to defend and then get forward to attack ,normally to the opponents by line ….
Hence they’re now ready for the knackers yard………as I (the know nothing) predicted 3 months ago.