Thursday nights are party nights. Unai Emery has turned a pub level competition into a feast for the eyes. He’s taken Wenger’s post-2004 model for the League cup and amped up one of the least glamorous nights in the game. He’s turned Jumpin’ Jacks into an 80s night or decadence on the French Riviera.
Last night, we learned a lot during a brutal dismantling of a very average Standard Liege side.
Gabriel.
This kid is electric. A livewire. A striking talent as clinical and exciting as Nic Anelka from 1997.
The Brazilian didn’t care about the rain, he just made it happen for himself. He scored his second header of his Arsenal career when he nodded a near post Tierney pass across goal. It looked simple, but my word he had a lot to do there. His second was all about archetypal Brazilian footwork, he shuffled his feet, created half a yard and stroked a simple strike across goal.
He was more than just goals, he helped gift Ceballos an easy finish with a dinked cross for our 4th. He nearly assisted a penalty when he eased Reiss Nelson into the box with an Ozil like piece of passing craft.
When Unai Emery bizarrely brought Auba on late in the game, Garbriel switched out to the left and managed to deliver more crosses to feet than Kola did all last season. I’d imagine he’s going to get the early days Thierry treatment, start out left, learn the trade, own the centre when it’s time.
Overall, I am VERY excited about this guy. If this is Edu’s magic, I implore you all to pen him a handwritten thank you letter, like those your mum made you send circa 1992.
Willock.
Another game, another goal. The Englishman did himself all the favours with a very strong performance. He’s an all action hero. He passes well, he doesn’t dither, he has incredible instincts for sniffing out dangerous areas to stand. He also works really hard, he never stops running and for me, he gives us an edge when he’s on the pitch.
It’s tough for Emery, because he’s deeply in love with Xhaka and it’s hard to blood too many kids at the same time. The Swiss might have more experience, he might be less rough round the edges, but a good game from Willock gives us so much more than the rarity of a good game from our captain.
Midfield.
Emery opted for something that looked normal and ambitious. When the Spaniard is up against meek opposition, he makes smart choices. LT the deepest in the pivot. Ceballos, picking up the Ramsey sort of role. Willock marshalling ahead of LT. That’s balance. It worked. We looked good. We weren’t rattled.
The manager might not be able to roll with that midfield at the moment because of experience, but long term, that’s where it has to go. We have to prioritize energy and we have to let players do what they’re good at. We have to stop thinking Xhaka is going to come good.
Fullbacks.
The last myth of Unai Emery… the fullbacks. If we’re to believe some of the staunch believers, the whole system is broken because of two players. We knew tonight the team would have fun day out whoever played, so I’m not surprised Tierney and Hector made the managers last excuse look like a good one. Kieran T was immense, a chance creation machine. He’s fast, direct, aggressive and his delivery is elite. Hector was a little off comparably, but still gave us a better presence on the right. These two aren’t going to save Emery long term, but they’ll give a terminally ill patient a kick of life that’ll convince people Emery can fix Arsenal (like that unbeaten run). We have a lot of easy games coming up, those two coming back will make mincemeat of teams, but it’s not enough.
Emery.
He put on a great show in a competition Raul called his comfort blanket. He’s still making bizarre decisions. Bringing on Auba when you’re 4 up against a pub team is negligent. Our season depends on him, mad that we’re taking risks AGAIN. Second worry is the inconsistency of his messaging on ostracized players. He gave Ozil one of the captains armbands. He didn’t even pick him in the squad. I am not fan of Ozil, but I am a believer in clarity of leadership. At the moment, what he’s doing looks like it’s spite driven.
‘Ozil deserves this’
Sure, as a fan, you have the right to think that. But players in a working environment likely do not see Ozil as the devil. He has status because of who he is in the global pecking order of football and what he can do on the training pitch. Good players want to play with great players. Emery picking on him might not bite him now, but it will at some point.
Consistency is a leadership virtue, if you are ostracizing someone because they wouldn’t leave in the summer, don’t put Mustafi in the squad. If you’re giving someone the captains armband, have them in the squad for a Europa League game. If your leadership lacks basic principals, whispers will start and you’ll let the demons into the camp. Big names can cause big problems. Emery had this at PSG and it killed him, it is shocking to see him make the same mistakes again, especially after the mess he created with Ramsey last year… and remember, before you go off at me on this one, none of this would be relevant if he didn’t give the armband to someone who has NOT been a leader. One of the most confusing contradictions I’ve ever witnessed in sport.
Right, that’s me done, see you in the comments.xxx
Exciting as our youngsters are the real question is what first team squad we will need to overtake Man City and Liverpool The only wa y we can do this is through our Academy and top scouted cheap signings such as Guen and Martinelli and at the slightly higher price Saliba and Tierney We will have many who are simply very good, maybe even first class Prem players who have many great attributes but they won’t be super class which is what we need At moment Nelson is not at that level and I suspect Nketiah won’t be either although… Read more »
Raptora goals scored in the first or 95th minute still count. Record books will show Leicester lost at Liverpool and had one shot on target scoring one goal. Same amount of goals scored by 9 men behind the ball Arsenal.
Why am I even responding to you, what the fcuk is wrong with me?
Liverpool eight points clear.
MC will not find it easy against Wolves, even though Wolves have just returned from Turkey.
Pressure already on MC.
The worst thing in football is diving cheating cunts.
Period.
It’s not clever play,tactical play ,redressing valances for injustices 2 years ago….it’s blatant cuntish anti-humanism behaviour.
Mane is a hypocritical toerag. He has issues with Salah for not passing to him as if he’s some paragon of virtue…just a scumbag.
Not buying the argument that Pepe/Martinelli should start ahead of Laca. No one’s really arguing that but Pepe will play despite the slow start to his Arsenal career. Or how about Ceballos to the left and Laca in the hole behind Auba. A playmaking CF to our ST if you like. Point is that we need to find a way to get the best out of best players and a balance to our attack and imo that’s not Auba on the wing again not least because he’s so prolific centrally. Again just my opinion no doubt Emery has his own… Read more »
Valentin
All of which makes our cock up last season by not getting top 4 at their expense even more annoying!
On a serious note many seem to think the Spud’s would be a major draw to a big name manager if / when the Poch goes – I’m not so. What are your thoughts?
Don’t see Dembele there for much longer, don’t think that he’s trusted at the club. Very questionable attitude from all accounts.
Yeah he’s not the first and he won’t be the last but I still rate him highly. Barca have bought so poorly recently though. No replacements for Messi or the left being addressed and by the time Suarez is replaced in the team they’ll be looking at Griezmann being replaced soon after.
I seem to remember Liverpool having a major points lead early in the year.
Does anyone know / remember what it was?
Think it was 8 points as well, they drew a few games in the space of a week or two in March.
WE
Cheers – as I thought far too early to be handing out the Title or CL places!
Thats 17 league wins on the trot for Liverpool, wrap your head around that.
Have the feel of a team that will find a way regardless or circumstance.
Klopp creating his magnum opus this season, can’t see City challenging them. All the more impressive after narrowly missing out last season, the gates opened with that Champions league victory.
Marc there’s also a lack of top name managers knocking about these days anyway big names at least so yes Spurs will likely struggle to replace the “Sauce”.
Just imagine the meltdown on here if they appointed Arteta. I’d love it personally
Marc,
They were 5 pts ahead of City at the end of January.
“How couldn’t we beat this spurs??”
XHAKA
Marko
That would depend on how he does!
It would put Pedro in a difficult position, you just know if he gets a job at another club Pedro will cream himself over every result.
He can’t do that if Arteta’s at the Spud’s!
I think Liverpool will drop off some in the winter months. And the lack of signings in the summer could still hurt them. Major drop off in quality if there’s injuries to the likes of VVD and Mane/Salah for example
Marko
Hope your right, isn’t giving me any pleasure watching this run, United next for them. Coupled with one of my best mates being a life long Red and trolling hard daily.
Dire.
Marc, “On a serious note many seem to think the Spud’s would be a major draw to a big name manager if / when the Poch goes – I’m not so. What are your thoughts?” If Spurs miss top 4, then It will really depend whether they receive a cash injection to compensate for the loss revenue and the likely loss of up to 5 first team regulars (Ericksen, Vertonghen, Aldewereild, Rose, Aurier). Even if Son were to leave they would get a fee. Without Champion’s League football nor cash injection, an upcoming manager may be tempted but well established… Read more »
Liverpool are doing well but it’s too easy to get sucked into the media driven hype – mostly Sky – who are desperate for Liverpool to win the title.
ManU are miles off and City are still a small club financed by the money from a Sovereign Oil fund.
Marko,
They have options though. Joe Gomez, Lovren, Keita, Milner, Origi, Shaqiri, Lallana, Chambo.
VvD looks irreplaceable though. Salah maybe not so much.
Marko
Emery wasn’t your first choice, so you’ve said.
Emery repeatedly makes poor selections and has cemented Xhaka on the midfield, you say this all the time.
Why is that you’re quick to swat off any perceived Emery criticisms from those that think they’ve seen enough?
Marko, where is your own heel turn?
I ask all of you Emery hold-outs sincerely, no le-grove nonsense, just a straight up question.
When do you get to that Rubicon? where you say enough is enough?
Where is your breaking point where your die is cast?
Marko
This “top name managers” malarkey gets on my nerves.
Plenty of excellent managers out there.
We’re coming up against one of them tomorrow.
Eddie Howe deserves a job at any bigger club.
Liverpool have only one team who can challenge for the title, the rest are cannon fodder.
Valentin
Of course Spuds will get a good manager
They have a reasonably good squad, new stadium and recently rebuilt training facilities.
Valentin
That’s sort of my point – it’s the expectation level. An “Eddie Howe” would see it as a big step up because it still is but an “Allegri” type forget it.
With Levy’s previous record with managers it could be a disaster!
Dissenter
What do you consider a “good” manager?
Marc,
Right now everything goes for Liverpool. Borderline decision given in their favour. Dive indicated as penalty. However things can turn very quickly.
Liverpool will have a period of dropped performance. Nobody knows if they will have accumulated enough advance when that happen. Also how would they cope if VVD or Mane were injured for a long period of time.
It’s a lot easier fighting for a title when you know you are threatened by only one team rather than a group of teams.
Valentin
Agree there’s still an awful lot of football to play – 90 points in the league plus the ups and downs of Europe and the Cup’s.
It will be interesting though.
This “top name managers” malarkey gets on my nerves.Plenty of excellent managers out there.We’re coming up against one of them tomorrow.Eddie Howe deserves a job at any bigger club.
I was going to answer the first part then I saw the second part and thought better of it
Dissenter,
Spurs have a good squad, but if they miss Champion’s League all their best players will leave. If as expected they all leave on a free, then Spurs won’t have the fund to replace with players of the same quality. Inferior or inexperienced players means that squad is not so strong anymore. As the level of expectation will not drop in line with the drop of quality, the atmosphere within the club can become toxic quite quickly.
Dissenter – I would not call myself an Emery fan but I think he done reasonable job with what he got to work with. I would judge Emery much more harshly if he didn’t have to repair years of neglect. I think Xhaka gets played only because he our senior midfielder and he provides maturity on/off field. Emery and exec team have managed to shift many useless players but we still have a few hanging around. At this point in time I would give Emery his third season and that when he really gets judged, after another summer as successful… Read more »
You see this demonstrates my thoughts.
Eddie Howe is a good manager at Bournemouth, that doesn’t mean he’s got it in him to take on the ManU job.
It’s like saying because my mate makes a good living running a fruit and veg stall he’s qualified to take over Tesco’s.
It’s a completely different beast, just the same as the ManU job is a different animal to managing Bournemouth.
Why is that you’re quick to swat off any perceived Emery criticisms from those that think they’ve seen enough?
I’m not. Just more extreme less reasonable ones. No one’s stopping you from having your regular flare ups it’s just comical sometimes and worth pointing out.
Emery hold outs? Grow up
True Red but Liverpool haven’t won the league for 29 years, there’s pressure right there.
One of my oldest friends is a die-hard Liverpool fan. He was remarkably pessimistic before the start of the season. He felt that the lack of any significant incomings due to financial constraints expressed by Klopp, would hamper Liverpool’s season. Obviously a helluva start but I don’t think it’ll be a procession, particularly if VVD or Mane are out for any amount of time.
Marc
“‘Agree there’s still an awful lot of football to play – 90 points in the league plus the ups and downs of Europe and the Cup’s.”
Surprise me, if not Liverpool, then who?
Dissenter / Valentin
Just a small comment – the Spud loan deal for the Spanish guy with the fixed fee to buy at has a clause that it’s only valid if the Spud’s get CL football next season. That proves that they are having to watch the budget – if he’s that good a player £55 million should be worth paying no matter what.
Considering we couldn’t defend a 2 goal lead against Watford I personally would save the crowing over the misfortune of Spurs until we have three points against Bournemouth tomorrow.
Although I have to say it is a relief to take a break from the incessant Spurs love in…. and especially on these pages.
Couldn’t happened to a more deserving team…
I hope we bring home all three points tomorrow so we can really rub it in!!
Dissenter picks a new team to make the top 4 every season. West Ham, Everton, now Leicester. A little too early to be patting himself on the back.
Red
Well if it was anyone other than City I think we’d all be stunned!
JWL, ‘Xhaka showing maturity on the field’, really?
Even when Lacazette comes back please please please no more of this playing PEA on the wing.
Through the middle is where he belongs…
Leipzig, Dortmund and Bayern winless this weekend. Zip in three for Nagelsmann.
Jamie
If you’re going to have dig at me, at least base it on some truth…even an iota will do.
I made my comment about Leicester before we played them in April 2019, before the game after seeing their starting 11.
Don’t stop spinning though.
The buzz word from Emery is “intensity ” . Tomorrow we will have a front 3 of Pepe, Aubameyang and Saka probably. It’s an excellent front 3 potentially, but will they close down the opposition with intensity. Aubamayang is very good at self preservation , he is not interested in any physical contact ( similar to Ozil in that respect) , so he will give the impression of closing down but in reality he will always be half a yard a way from any physical challenge . He is the same in the box , you never see him grappling… Read more »
No team is capable of a sustained winning run bar Man City..
It’s in Liverpool’s hands whether they win the title or not.
Marc, Pochettino will leave before the end of the season. Last weekend , most newspapers were reporting that Levy had approached Gareth Southgate as a replacement. Levy always favoured left field appointment, so I can’t see him hiring one of the big names. Big name also means big money and bigger money for the squad. The big chance for whoever is given Spurs job is that they have a structure in place, so the next manager is really just a headcoach and should be able to concentrate on that part. The big drawback is that Levy is the one managing… Read more »
Dissenter –
It wasn’t you who said Everton had ‘leapfrogged’ Arsenal a year ago? We finished in 5th last season, so Everton ‘leapfrogging’ Arsenal would have put them in the top 4.
Now you want folk to stop laughing at you for predicting Leicester will finish in the top 4 with 8 games played. Keep it up.
Marc
I can see a Julian Nagelsmann type of manager being drawn to Spuds when Poch leaves or is fired.
They’ve been a perennial top-6 team for the past 10-15 years and have the infrastructure that will excite many a manager.
At least every manager will listen to the Spurs sales pitch
How do people feel about Lacazette as a AM? Too much for the CMs to do in that line up? At the moment Saka defends a bit but Pepe and PEA usually stay up field. I prefer Torreira at the base but maybe against mid table and below we could have Willock and Guendozi who both cover ridiculous amounts of ground and have a really attacking third midfielder, Ceballos or even Laca. If Pepe doesn’t come good soon then picking a player on the right with a little more defensive contribution in their armoury might allow for this creative player… Read more »
Dissenter
“Jamie
If you’re going to have dig at me, at least base it on some truth…even an iota will do.”
It’s a common theme with Jamie , he feels he has to make smart ( though pathetic) comments to posters who have the foresight to recognise something that he doesn’t see.
I suppose it’s a form of jealousy/resentment .
Jamie
I said Everton were active in the transfer window of 2018, the ‘leap frogging’ was in reference to transfer activity. at the time.
The only club I mentioned for top-4 was Leicester, that I own 100%, the rest of is is just you spilling BS.
People laughing at me, WTF? That really hurts my feelings but is a lot better than you making up lies.
Which other club did I predict will make top-4?
Naglesmann should focus on the job he just got at Leipzig before being drawn anywhere
That’s four games without a win for him.
Not sure how much financial backing Levy will give to any prospective new coach. Their choices will be limited accordingly just as Valentin mentioned in a previous post.
Valentin
I read the Southgate stories as well – to be honest I don’t’ rate him as a manager and I’m not sure he’d ditch England with the Euro’s next summer.
Yes, really, BobN16. I am not Xhaka fan at all and I was really hoping he and Mustafi were first out the door in summer transfer window but did not happen. Xhaka has numerous faults for English football but he still senior midfielder and players seem to respect him by voting him captain. I think many people are consuming too much meth if they think Emery is clueless and can’t see Xhaka faults. Xhaka plays because he experienced player, much more so than any other midfielder we got, and we need player who seen it all, been there done that.… Read more »
Here’s some foresight for you, Pierre: Dissenter August 7, 2018 12:35:36 Everton just leap frogged over us, the same way City, Chelsea and Spuds did in the last decade. Where have you been since all the rumors about Usmanov and Moshiri we’re going on? Where have you been all the while Usmanov advocated a different pathway of actually infusing money into the club. There’s nothing reactionary. Usmanov will share the burden of financially renovating Everton with his friend.. Money talks in football like you are well aware. — Yeah, I’m super jealous/resentful of Dissenter’s predictions and how they’ve spent all… Read more »
Who plays up front for Leicester if Vardy is unavailable?
raptora October 5, 2019 16:55:22 “RH, be happy with Emery setting us up with 9 players in defence. When Leicester can go and play like an equal. Your choice brother.” Think of the game what you will but we’d have been 2 goals to the good had Auba and Pepe scored with the chances they got. And with Liverpool chasing the game, more damage might have been done by Arsenal. Who knows? Nothing wrong with the way we set up. As the game showed, with better defenders than Luiz and Sokratis, the result would have been different. Two attempts with… Read more »
West FuckingHam could be above us tonight
Mind you, Vardy has only missed 13 games in last 5 PL seasons.
Dissenter
‘”Which other club did I predict will make top-4?”
Atlanta Falcons
Oh shit Dissenter found out son
Hillwood, hopefully just for24 hours.
Dissenter
The problem for someone like Nagelsmann is he would be stuck with the same restrictions that the Poch is currently struggling with – and they will be aware of that.
The Spud job is a bit of a poisoned chalice at the moment, best to let someone else deal with the shit and take over when the stadium finance issues begin to settle.
Alan Sugar has appealed for Arsene Wenger to take over at Tottenham…
😂 😂 😂
Dissenter –
Don’t make silly statements if you don’t want them brought up later. You brought up West Ham at the time too. Leicester might finish top 4, but it’s too early for your constant victory laps over the last couple weeks. Just dial it in a bit.
@jwl As unhappy as I am about the Xhaka situation, I completely agree with you regarding why he’s is (still) in the team.
Leeds
I can’t stand Alan Sugar – thinks he’s the King of the pompous twats.
He did however give me years of pleasure while he made a complete fuck up of running the Spud’s.
To be fair I don’t mind a lad making a prediction once in a while just back it up with common sense and stick to it. None of that knee jerk stuff please
How often do we see a smaller club break into the top 4?
Over the last couple of decades it’s been dominated by Arsenal, ManU, Chelsea, Liverpool, City and in the last couple of years the Spud’s. In that time Everton managed a season as did Leicester and I’d guess Newcastle did for an odd season or so – I can’t remember any other club getting a look in.
That tells you how difficult it is.
Marko –
I don’t mind predictions either. It’s the “see, I was right about this, who’s laughing at me now?” follow-ups when we’re at the start of October.
Xhaka an experienced player, you mean rashly diving in on the feet of opponents is experience…..lol lol
Red
I find it an experience and it’s not a pleasant one!
Bob
That’s the thing
Arsenal are at home to Bournemouth and we’re saying “hopefully “
Haller is better, younger version of Giroud. Very good CF.
Marc
Alan Sugar, a clown if there ever was one.
Good goal from West Ham. Two or three balls fizzed to feet and controlled well before the ball found the net and Anderson is class. Won’t be there for long.
Also let’s dispell with the notion that Zaha would have hit the ground running over Pepe. He’s started off the season just as bad. Anderson though there’s a thought
Leipzig were all over Leverkusen today, Werner missed an absolute sitter through in oceans of space one on one. He also had two shocking misses midweek at 0-0 before Depay scored for Lyon.
Haller scores. Guy is legit too good for West Ham.
Leeds
I did seriously wonder for a number of years if Alan Sugar running the Spud’s was a practical joke orchestrated by David Dein.
Emery could win a trophy with the current spurs squad, next summer spurs need a manager lije Emery to guide them in their transition period
Whatever supposed experience Xhaka has is negated by his poor on field displays.
Raptora,
“Haller is better, younger version of Giroud.”
This is what £36 millions buy you when the recruitment team knows what it is doing. At 25 years old he is not going to develop into a world class striker, but he is going to be a very useful player.
Marko
I was calling for Anderson on here all summer before West Ham signed him. They lucked out that things went sour for him at Lazio, like Payet before he’s a tier above them in quality.
Hillwood, let’s wait and see the starting line up before we can feel any confidence! I’m afraid that’s on Emery, he doesn’t fill us with confidence despite having enough decent players.
Marco Silva should have been sacked by Everton long ago. No man has lived off a good couple of months at a relegated club than he has.
jwl
I agree with your take on Xhaka but the problem lies in the fact that he doesn’t exercise his judgment like an experienced player. He keeps on repeating the same errors like a youngster. In fact so far this season our youngsters have shown more composure than he has ever during his time with the club!!!
Oh shit, Palace don’t have Milivojevic available.
Everton as a whole are a joke club.
Pretty sure that they’ve spent in the ball-park of as much money as Liverpool have since Klopp has been appointed.
Nevermind, Van Aanholt to the rescue.
Hillwood Bayern lost at home to Hoffenheim today. Football is a game without certainties hence why bookmakers exist.
So saying hopefully we get all three points against Bournemouth is not an indictment of anyone. Its football
Watford will come calling for Silva when he gets sacked
Jamie
Nice if you to post of comments whit context
It’s obvious that I was commenting about the investment Moshiri was committing towards Everton in that transfer window.
That’s where the leapfrogging came from. Keep clutching at straws to build that strategy man you so like.
Leedsgunner/Redtruth – I am not Xhaka fan at all, I agree with your criticism of him, but he still our senior midfielder who also plays for his country. I think club should have sold Xhaka and bought 25 year old with experience to replace him. Relying on a bunch of 20/21 year olds, while alienating senior members, is more risky than playing Xhaka.
I agree Leedsgunner about how Xhaka never seems to learn from his mistakes, it because he doesn’t have mental and physical qualities to improve in England and he will always be in situations where he acts poorly.
Everton have wasted so much on bang average players. No imagination or ability to look deeper and see what level a player is really at.
Sigurdsson is a prime example. Another Mata. A stats player that racks up assists and goals in set-piece fashion but adds zilch in terms of dribbling or dynamism on and off the ball. Just drifts around not impacting the game at all.
Receding
If Arsenal weren’t so abysmal against Watford we would be 3 points better off
If they play like that again tomorrow that’s a big indictment on Emery
But hopefully they won’t
I believe I also commended Westham in that 2018 summer window. They made some audacious signings too’ Yamolenko, Anderson and Issa Diop. they also Brought in a DoF from Villarreal.
Maybe Jamie can dredge up those comments since he’s the bus boy around.
WE he was earmarked for a few years while at Lazio but for some reason teams just kept avoiding him perhaps there were doubts. Since joining though he looks like Willian in his pomp with testicles. Fantastic signing really
Jack Wilshere comes on….
If Arsenal weren’t so abysmal against Watford we would be 3 points better off
2.