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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
N5
Cheers, no problem at all. More to join in on the viewing festivities the better.
*At best, our squad is NOW of similar strength, following the last window.
Come on Tott…..
Joking, joking!
Hope we beat these bastards!
COME ON THE ARSENAL!!!!
And it’s Arsenal,
Arsenal FC,
We’re by far the greatest team,
The world has ever seen….
WengerEagle
“You questioned the exclusion of Ceballos yourself Ishola, you a Wengerite too?”
People have questioned.
The Wengerites chuckle to themselves.
Linked to Emery you see.
They would rather continue to see the lumbering Xhaka in the side because Wenger brought him to the club.
Has to be PAL guys, I’m pitching my tent there
VictoriousSeptember 1, 2019 16:26:25
Ishola and Diss linking the possibilities of folk thinking we have the personnel to batter Spuds as agenda driven,bless them
Vic
You get me? Already feathering their nest here
This is just actual gooners getting positive about beating the yids. Everything’s and agenda with these people
Up the ALP
N5
Isn’t the match being beamed live in the UK
WTF…It’s the match of week
Sol Campbell hasn’t aged a day
Fucking Benjamin button
Fuckers getting younger every time I see him
Sup Bitches!!!!!! NLd!!!! uncreative midfield as hell… but fuck it… Let’s go!
#ALP
N5
Get yourself down the boozer.
No sky in doors? Perfect excuse. Just popping out for some milk love
See you in 3 hours 😂
I’ve had good luck with soccerstreams100.com but avoid acestream links on site.
https://www.soccerstreams100.com/arsenal-vs-tottenham-live-stream/
Midwest
Good man. Welcome 🙏
This is just actual gooners getting positive about beating the yids. Everything’s and agenda with these people
With you here un
Up the ALP
Again should be PAL my friend, thought that was settled 😀
Ishola
No. I’d be happy with whoever he picks so long as it works
Be happy to see xakha go for either of Ceballos or willock if they improve us
You’ve just exposed your own mindset though
How very telling
We call that the Freudian slip
Auba Laca Pepe
Up the ALP
Coyg
COYG
Spurs going for a diamond
Didn’t they watch us last week?
pepe
Vic
It’s ALP
Landslide.
Don
You’re an unashamed Wenger troll.
Nevertheless enjoy the match.
That was good play.
Pretty amped up for this one.. or it could be all the sports drink I had to get over my hangover… sugar rush… whatever..
nice pass Auba! good start.
Good lively start
Ishola
Mate you’ve literally showed your hand
Bet you get walloped at poker
What a start !
Auba few touches have been great so far.
Oh fuck off with the agenda chat, we’re at home against Spuds who are playing shit.
The fact they’ve finished above us the last few means nothing, it’s 90 mins ffs. We should put a performance in, end of.
Kola is a tank
I knew Poch would start Vertonghen and Erikson .. he has no choice.. he would have been hanged… looks like we gonna tear them up down our left side.
Looks like we use Auba to target Sanchez.
Auba, Kola and Guen getting some joy against Sanchez on the left flank
lets see if we can keep this intensity all game
Lol Don
Been here for long, before you certainly, around 2011 I think.
I can smell a pepe goal today
He’s looking hungry
Good shot form AMN
Just getting it out there
Pepe is in my fantasy team and I need points so be better give me something today
Guendouzi having a great game … so far.
Luiz diving in again
Does he not learn?
What a joke.
fuck
laughable.
That was really soft from Leno what happened?
Leno???
WTF was that
Those are the mistakes I’m referring
2nd best in every department there. Poor from Leno.
Fuck Leno
Leno with the assist of the season so far. There you go Eriksen.
Fukcing Leno. Absolute gift
Arsehole
Waiter get a paella. That’s your competence
horrible defending again
Ugh
Shocking goal to give away, Leno has to hold onto that.
Horrible center back play between our two experienced defenders
Two equally ,matched team
Its the ref or the defensive gifts that will make a difference
Now they can seat back and just play on the counter
Dominate the 10 mins and gift goal… for Spurs… wtf… ridiculous.
Comedy club Arseanal
Lets all laugh at Arseanal
Harry Kane winning a header between Sokratis and Xhaka. Jaysus
What da fuck were Sokratis and Luis doing there?? These two diabolical
Papa and our old friend Xhaka lost out on the header that led to the goal.
Weak goalkeeping from Leno
And when you have a midfield like ours, th CB will most definitely get sucked in.
Not sure of the CB pairing we have
Yea as I said, not keeping a clean sheet
both are stupid and reckless
Goal on papa Sok. Stopped chasing thought it wont matter. But it did.
Joke
Leno again
Did this last season too
Luiz and sok stopped running
Joke
why did Sokratis even try and win that header anyway? we had a man challenging for that. If anything all he did was knock our man out the way and then he was way out of position for the counter. Poor from him.
Back four and goalkeeper are embarrassing
Lol at David Luiz. Smh. This is the guy we are benching Chambers and Mustafi for. And Arsenal fans here are supporting it. Clueless. Worst defender I have seen in an Arsenal shirt
Rambo : fuck off and go support another club.
Kola can show deft footing to fend off bike robbers but cannot pass or cross to save his life.
Leno has to hold that or push it away
Xhaka had started pretty well in the match as well.
Won a few tackles in midfield.
Sokratis weak like Mustafi.
Kolasinac another nothing player
Papa and Luiz…. combo isn’t good. all over the park.
still lots of time to win this….. not panicking yet
Weak ass defence.
Why did Sokratis even jump for that ball when Xhaka was next to him? Left a gaping hole in our defence.
Aaaah Laca! Why scuff that.
Fuck…. That was poor. He should have tried to have got a hold of this.
Wish Laca hasn’t scuffed that shot.
I said it was David Luiz that I was worried about
We gave a team short of confidence a massive confidence boost in the arm.
Honestly the amount of time if takes for the defense to take shape on each Spurs attack has been embarrassing.
More than enough time for a comeback lads no problem. Just unexpected bad positioning from Leno he was caught off guard.
Definitely targeting Sanchez.
Kola and now Auba.
Fans can’t complain about Arsenal not taking the game to Spurs.
I’m in full panic mode.
Sokratis completely useless there, sold us a man short and that’s all we need to fold.
Lol at Ishola doing his usual
They are starting to come into game Son is dangerous
Completely buried the momentum we were building, we did that all by ourselves.
Goal was Socrates fault. Leno could just parry. Socrates was ambling along instead of putting it away. Erikson took the chance
Luiz is not trusted in big games hate to say it
Fuck Leno and Sokratis
Pepe still getting caught on the ball a few too many times.
Needs to get up to EPL pace.
Poor stuff all round. Kane wins the aerial ball beating Xhaka to it, Luiz doesn’t close down Son and Kola and Papa out of position. Spurs undeservedly ahead.
The fuck why slow down when you are supposed to play on the fast break? Too afraid of turnovers?
My god we’re shit in defence. Why the fuck didnt we strengthen it
The goal started by PapaSok and Xhaks screwed up.
holy shit
what a save
That was a great save
Spuds are one the best counter attacking teams in the league
Save off Son. See what Leno can do
Now that’s the safe hands of Leno that I’m familiar with. Sort of.