All eyes on Emery’s tactics

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courtesy @allthatchas

The final hurrah of Nacho Monreal sadly will NOT be scoring a 32-yard screamer against Spurs tomorrow. The Spanish left back will instead be heading back to sunnier climes, choosing Real Sociedad to see out his career.

I think I speak for most Arsenal fans… no… ALL Arsenal fans, even you @BREXITGOONER1 (my dad), when I say: Bit of an odd one, this.

We’re banking on Kola learning how to defend, and we’re putting a lot of chips on Tierney  1) Adapting to the league like VVD 2) Breezing past his fitness challenges of the last year.

Still, it is what it is. Nacho is getting on a bit and his hamstrings and body parts will all be a touch more brittle than in the past. I’d imagine he’s at that age when you grunt when you pick up a slipper and he’s at that age when the slipper is probably his. He’s also probably wearing those slippers to the newspaper shop as well. Age is a bitch, but damn, we’ll do it in M&S levels of comfort.

I get the logic behind not having 3 left backs as well, we can’t keep pumping money into the ether. I just thought that if anyone set a great example for professionalism at the club, it was Nacho. He never let us down. He was a true warrior. He was an excellent player.

I remember about 5 years ago, Arsenal let a bunch of us interview him. His English was a bit broken and he was asked a question about what he thought we needed.

‘Someone who can score more than 20 goals a season regularly’, then his agent whispered something to him and he backtracked as hard as his words would allow. We went off the record so as not to cause a stir. But today, I’m causing a stir because Giroud is at Chelsea and who really cares this far out?

Manchester United drew with Southampton today. A great start to a big weekend for Arsenal. Only thing that’s bothering me there is that OGS is going to end up getting sacked before Christmas if he doesn’t pick things up a little. Would love him to have the whole season. Give him a chance, Ed.

The news coming out of the Spurs camp is delightful. Poch is unhappy. His team is disrupted. He has four players angling for an exit, names like Aurier, Eriksen, Vertonghen and Toby. Their squad is finally picking up injuries, there should be no Ndombele, Dier or right back tomorrow. The press were asking if he’d leave this week.

Spurs are there for the taking.

My hope is that Emery can avoid being timid in this game. I don’t want to see us lined up with a deep block on the edge of our box. I don’t want to see us persisting with playing out the back if it looks like Spurs have that sussed. I don’t want us playing for a quick counter-attack at home.

We have the tools in our squad to play to win. Spurs are in a bit of a hole, if we gift them too much respect, we’ll make it hard for ourselves. When confidence is shaken, strike hard and strike first. Test their collective resolve.

I talk like Spurs are totally shite, chances are they’ll turn up because of the magnitude of the game. I just hope we’re positive. Emery plays with too much fear and indecision in big games. I hope that’s just Liverpool jitters… because the fans are not going to gift him a 50/50 split on tomorrow regardless of what he does tactically. It’s a must-win against a team that finished 1 point ahead of us last season.

Win this, and we’re telling the league that we’re here for the top 3 this year, lose, and you’ll start to worry if Emery has the beans to push the squad forward this season.

Our underlying stats have been poor this season. You only have to take a cursory looks across the numbers sites to see that we’re not in great shape. This from Statsbomb.

‘It’s well known that shot rates tend to increase as matches progress, so even when you see a 30-plus shot beatdown, most of the time, the shots get racked up in the second half. And that’s true here. Only four times in 2018-19 did a team reach the half time point having allowed 15 or more shots.’

That number above is quite staggering to read when you’re setting up to stifle attempts at your goal. Add to that, Arsenal has turned the ball over in their own half more than any other team in the league, and you can see a problem brewing. I say brewing because Liverp0ol was a particularly bad execution of what could be passed off as a new strategy against a new rule (I am reaching so badly for the Emeryista here).

A pal in my ArsenalMensSupport chat groups pointed out, Arsenal’s lack of expenditure at the back this summer points to a club not taking defence particularly seriously. The statistics early on this season point, mapped against last, point to a manager not capable of creating a defensive structure that can serve an elite team.

I don’t know what the exact solve is, but my amateur thoughts have led me to this:

  1. Be less predictable. If you play out the back every time, you make it easy to set up against. Being dedicated to an idea is commendable, but if it’s not working, mix things up. It shouldn’t take 80mins for a keeper to go long once. Even mix up the variety of how you do it. You can play from the back and have a more vertical approach.
  2. Do it faster. If you are slow and methodical at moving it out the back, you let teams reset, which again, makes it easy to play against you.
  3. Stop playing staff that are prone to being targeted. Xhaka is well known to be awful when put under pressure. Stop playing him.

Let’s see what Emery has in store tomorrow. He’s a tactically flexible coach, he needs to think a little deeper about what he wants from his defence this year. Hopefully, there’s a simple solution he can adopt.

In other news, Elneny is off to Turkey. Nice guy, about as useful to the squad as a motivational bus driver. Mustafi did not leave, an absolutely disgraceful indictment on his passion for the game. I really hope Emery doesn’t start using him. Keep him frozen out. Mesut Ozil also didn’t leave, he’ll be a bit part this season until he moves on to DC. Say what you will about the German, he’s at least useful.

Finally, listen to our pre-Spurs pod.

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S Asoa

Gendouzi should learn to release the ball faster

useroz

C’mon.

Mics

Guendouzi has really grown into this game in the second half

TheLegendaryDB10

And it’s the Arsenal! Arsenal FC! We by far the greatest team the world has ever seen!!

Come on. Who wasn’t singing this?

I sure was!!!

TBone

Fucking hell, Miki’s touch was appalling!

Dissenter

Thanks Mislintat…if it’s true you signed guendouzi

Ishola70

Guendouzi having a stormer of a game.

Need to get the ball more to Pepe to have a go at Rose.

Did it earlier in the 2nd half

MidwestGun

Matty G… hasn’t been my fav player… will admit… but he is balling out today.

TR7

Two attacking mids are subbed on and we look far more in control but perhaps the master tactician doesn’t like doing simple logical things.

Un na naai

Guendouzi looking the real deal

Really stepping up
Keep it up young fella
Great stuff

Ishola70

lol Pepe rush of blood to the head

karim

Bloody offside

MidwestGun

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!! noooooooo!!!! fuck..

Alexanderhenry

Very impressed with Guendozi.
He looks like he’s come of age.

Dissenter

Shouldn’t VAR check that

Leftsidesanch

Ffs

Un na naai

Ceballos and the permed paddy v running the show now!!!

Dream10

Paulinho

Would like us to play Guendouzi as a #6, but don’t think he has the defensive ability for it. Xhaka/Torreira will both go next summer. So need a #6, Guendouzi as a #6/#8 and a #8/#10 with end product in front of them.

Paulinho

FFS Kola.

azed

If we win this game, it will in spite of Emery, his tactics and change of personnel

Valentin we lose Emery’s fault, we will not his doing right?

Danny

Nearly……

Just Another Customer

Come on VAR why only use when against us.

Un na naai

Got to get over that Pepe
Great chance to nick it

Nelson

Fucking Kola again

karim

We gonna do this

useroz

Pepe should be on target at least.

Kolac offsite not Sok.

Do again. Keep going.

gazzap

kola isn’t having the greatest of games is he?

Samesong

Xhaka silly foul.

Ishola70

Son off.

Poch happy with a draw.

VAR correct

MidwestGun

If we lose on a stupid free kick.. I swear.

Just Another Customer

And who was at fault again? Sick of this hothead emptyhead cunt sabotaging every chance he get.

Radio Raheem

This thick cunt Kolasinac has been offside all match

Leftsidesanch

We need to go for it but must not also undo our work to get back into this game.

Valentin

Azed,

You would have put Xhaka on the pitch?
You would have replace Lacazette with Mhkitaryan?

Marko

Xhaka being Xhaka

raptora

Xhaka with another dumb foul. And typing this with YET ANOTHER dumb foul. What a bellend!

Jamie

Kola should stick to fighting scooter gangs on the street.

Guns of Brixton

VAR is spurs best player these last months

useroz

Let’s keep momentum and don’t give silly FKs

Mics

Can’t stand Xhaka. Not good enough. Never has been.

gazzap

I literally cant believe how often Xhaka gets away without a booking. he should be off tbf

Luteo Guenreira

This fucking ref is a joke.

3 fucking defending and we make sissoko look like fucking Messi. This team do my head in at times. The only 2 to come out with any credit from this game is Guen and Ceballos . Xhaka’s been Tottenham’s best player

Leftsidesanch

Moving forward though you wonder what Xhaka has to do to fall out of the side and I can’t stress enough how much I want Tierney to come into this side.

karim

Xhaka again

raptora

And another dumb foul by Xhaka….

Paulinho

Xhaka is officially a functioning retard.

TBone

Kola and Xhaka are meatheads

Mics

Gah Xhaka is shite.

London gunner

Xhaka is awful such a limited player does he have nudes of emery or something

MidwestGun

Xhaka… my God… he can not tackle… its embarrassing.

useroz

Wots Xhara doing to kill our momentum giving away FKs

Paulinho

Pepe has had a mare.

Luteo Guenreira

Xhaka lol you fucking cunt

Dissenter

Pepe should do better there
Damn we paid a club record for you

Guns of Brixton

How is Xhaka even our Captain???

raptora

Mikki with the touch of a rapist yet again.

Nelson

Pepe has problem aiming

gazzap

anyone but miki with that open goal chance

Luteo Guenreira

Paulinho

Yeah agree once the shine of being a new toy wears off he’s gonna have to find some consistency and end results.

Just Another Customer

Hahaa there we go!

MidwestGun

Papa Sok… in full on wrestling mode… hahahaa ha

He really is a poor player. Not quite Sanogo, but very very close

Ishola70

Customary mistake from Sanchez in the air.

Not punished

Rambo Ramsey

Pepe is the 70 million dud

Leftsidesanch

Lmao we have two nutjobs for CBs

Ishola70

Papa is off on one lol

Siddharth14

Xhaka has to be the most frustrating player when it comes to making fouls at both the ends. It’s astonishing….

London gunner

Pepe needs to get that on target.

His finishing needs a ton of work.

Guns of Brixton

Man.

What we could do with a competent CM.

Jamie

Xhaka must have the sweetest mouth. No other explanation for him being selected week after week.

Marko

All that momentum gone thanks to the Greek. Thick fuck

180 grand a week, yet Mikhi can’t control a ball that most 6 year olds would.

Just Another Customer

And ref being a cunt as usual. It’s a given at this point.

useroz

Sok wasting time for the spids??

Ishola70

Ceballos loves the needle in the derby.

raptora

Sokratis is a dumb footballer. He could have played Winks and got him a 2nd yellow card. Instead he got played.

Leftsidesanch

Think Pepe just needs to hit the net

gazzap

Instead of emery recognising Xhakas weaknesses he makes him captain. you couldn’t make it up

MidwestGun

Can still win this… Lets go!!! getting all kinds of space.

useroz

Oh dear Pepe. Hope it works for you just ONCE in the next 5 mins.

Nothing works today….

Paulinho

Xhaka trying his best again to gift Spurs another goal.

Dissenter

Xhaka again…trying to nutmeg in the half way line

Fukcer

Valentin

Azed,

Xhaka another mistake.
Do you enjoy his performance?

Xhaka again. Fucking hell the guy is fucking useless

S Asoa

Mikitarian has been an absolute ZERO. Can’t see what order Waiter saw in the substitution. Game was crying for Willock

Luteo Guenreira

Is it just me or have we not had a goal kick all match? Haven’t seen that dreadful sideways passing from Leno just Lloris.

Dissenter

If Emery doesn’t get the state of emergency regarding Xhaka, then he ought to fcuk off too.

Rambo Ramsey

Garbage Arseanal.

Spuds haven’t won on the road in ages and we give them an easy point.

I wonder if xhaka will win man of the match for spurs today?

MidwestGun

Miki you useless bastard.

Siddharth14

Arsenal need to hold together in defence. We don’t want a clanger at this moment. A draw is a decent result…

TBone

Maitland Niles is a disaster at RB

Leftsidesanch

He won’t Dissenter. Xhaka will see Emery out of a job. He refuses to acknowledge Xhakas consistent errors.

Jamie

And if Kola wasn’t wank, we would’ve won this. Disappointing.

Valentin

Xhaka again.
Why Emery?

raptora

Mikki, Xhaka, Sokratis. Absolute waste of space.

Dissenter

Mykhi still as useless as he was when we bought him

Danny

Why didn’t he bring on Nelson?

Paulinho

Two poor teams really.

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