A not so happy Friday for most of us, the loss last night was hard to stomach. Olympiacos were not elite opposition and we’d already done the hard job in Greece, we really should have been able to drive that victory home and keep our Champions League hopes alive.
So where do we start on this one? For me, the key issue was fatigue. The players looked leggy and tired and that filtered into the stands. That was our 4th game in 11 days, which is a lot, but it’s something we knew about and unfortunately, we didn’t seem prepared for the realities of it.
The starting 11 should have been rotated. I understand that Arteta would have been critiqued whatever happened if a loss came out the back end, but I think he pushed the starting 11 too far in this one and the output was inviting for the Greeks.
That said, I don’t this was an effort issue. We weren’t witnessing players not giving a fuck, they just weren’t at the races physically. They still fought until the 2 minute of added-on time in extra time. The cost of fatigued players came in the form of a key injury to the freshly rejuvenated Mustafi. It’ll also now have a knock-on effect mentally. Tired legs after a soul-destroying loss will feel heavier.
The second criticism would have to centre around the subs. Ceballos for Torreira didn’t really do much for our attacking threat, LT just isn’t very good at penetrating the lines and when he’s pushing forward it takes him longer to get back. Joe Willock proved ineffectual when he joined the program, he’s just not there yet, he must be doing something incredible in training because we’re not really getting enough from him on the pitch.
The big one that we waited and waited for was the introduction of Gabriel through the middle. I really like Lacazette, he’s a good guy, offers great vibes in training, but he really, really struggles against powerhouse centre backs. Last night he was in the main totally neutralised by the Greeks hulking centre back pairing. I thought he’d turned the corner, that wasn’t clear last night. I thought the moment that summed up his season was a delicious fake from Ozil that fell to him in space, his shot blazed out of the stadium. 2 years ago he’s finding the net.
Arteta didn’t sub him until the second half of injury time. Now, I can see the idea here, the Greeks were fading badly, Gabriel is a hand-grenade on the pitch, and sure enough, he was, his nodded head in the box setup the Auba scissor kick. The game stays the same and it’s a celebrated substitute timed really well.
Football is a beast though, a Bernd Leno mistake started a domino effect of fuck ups that let them back in. Then, last gasp, Auba puts wide a chance he’d score 9 times out of 10.
Overall, we lost because of a lack of quality in the final third combined with customary defensive errors we’ve been making for 10 years (so, errr, everything). The attacking issues are of more concern. We had 19 shots and only found the target 4 times. This wasn’t a case of ‘well, we were reduced to poor quality chances’, this was bad misses (xG 1.5 (Ars) – 1 (Oly)).
two-legged xG map for Arsenal – Olympiakos
football is a good sport that people like for good reasons pic.twitter.com/3IFUHKqvUC
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) February 28, 2020
The Greeks gave us possession and we didn’t know how to use it. We really struggled with the deep block and we didn’t have the confidence to invite them on. We chased the second goal because we knew that’s what we had to do. Imagine if that game was reversed, do you think the Greeks would have played like? Doubtful. They’d have sat back, invited us to attack, then spring a counter-attack.
… but we have to move on.
The ghouls will be out for the new manager, that’s just par the course these days. If you only come out of your box for the losses, you have to ask yourself some serious questions. The path to a brighter future was never going to be perfect, the damage to this season was set in motion 18 months ago. You don’t undo the problems in two months. Also, find me a single manager in the world of football that would pick up this group of players in this moment and breeze the season. You wouldn’t. All managers make mistakes, it’s how you find out what your squad is made of, it’s how you learn where the limits are. We are barely 2.5 months into this new chapter.
What did we really learn from last night? There is still a lot of work to do on the defence. We are terrible from setpieces. There are still a lot of individual errors that you can’t afford at the highest level. There are some players that don’t look capable physically at this current moment. Bukayo Saka still looks the business, but even he had his bad moments last night as the panic set in. Next season, it’ll be a different mix. Saliba will join, we’ll probably buy a player like Upemacano, and if Mari is any good, he might be a fixture. We’ll also be looking at right back.
It is also very clear that our midfield needs work. We need better athletes. I think this has been an agenda item for years. We need to look towards power and pace. Players like Denis Zakaria and Wilfred Ndidi never seem to find their way towards Arsenal. Even Bruno Guimarães, a huge fave in the comments here, looked brilliant in the Champions League in the week. Arsenal need to go young and really make sure our midfield represents what the league looks like in 2020.
On the positives, the squad is still working for the cause. You couldn’t put that game down to a lack of effort. The players powered through the redzone in a game they were clearly finding very tough. I’m not here feeling disgusted, I’m just burned by the way things went down. The Auba chance at the end said it all about the new mindset, even if it didn’t come off.
Success is very rarely a straight line, if that’s what you were expecting from the new regime picking up this bag of shit season, then you were setting yourself up for a failure. This was always going to be a long preseason. There is plenty to do right now and there will be big changes in the summer as the squad is reshaped in the vision of someone that actually has a vision. The manager has found out that he pushed his squad too far last night, now he has to deal with the mess. In his press conference after he was very focused on the idea that he has to lift the players for Monday’s game against Brighton. That was our first loss of 2020, the next test is the character of the squad and the power of the managers leadership to get them back winning and making themselves a nuisance in the race for top 5.
A huge challenge, so let’s see where he goes. Onwards people, onwards. Podcast below and the prezzer from Arteta.
Banford
Do you take the same ridiculous approach with your students? ‘You want to be a lawyer? Be realistic, leave that lawyer stuff to those with better resources’.
Un
Which is why we’ve all gone over the game, fuck ups, subs that were made, subs that should have been made etc etc.
Hopefully Arteta can use this as a kick up the arse or to fuel a sense of anger to re focus the team.
Good prezzer. Mari to start on Monday. Auba feeling responsible for the Greek mess. Sounds like we’re going for the FA Cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqQmOISBWIQ&feature=youtu.be
Cc
The idea of that is funny. Says to a 5 year old “Sorry kid but you’re a fucking retard – you’ll be lucky to get a job in a burger joint”
Charlie if you are accusing other midfielders of being slow where does that leave Xhaka lol. To keep stating that Xhaka is the “best” CM Arsenal have at present means absolutely nothing with the parlous state it is in. He has been the core midfielder in the team and the central midfield has been shite far too often. The core CM dictates and stes the tempo for the team. Granit Xhaka has been dictating and setting the tempo for this Arsenal side for three years and running and it has been not good enough. You should know as so many… Read more »
Pedro
We really need to rotate some of the players. You could see the anguish on Auba’s face at the end – Arteta needs to get an arm around him.
Bamford, you’ve never had a problem offering hope to the United project.
The old timer story got me, ‘stick with me kid, you’ll never dream again’
Marc, we do, he has to focus on the league. Reckon we’ll see a youthful team. Sounds like Tierney might be back very soon as well, he’s in contact training and he’s been running for a while.
Un
When I mentioned the impossible I was actually referring to lower league clubs etc and taking a general view of supporting a club.
At the moment heads saying it’ll be tough, heart’s saying fuck it we’ll do it and another voice is saying have a beer!
Why should Aubameyang be feeling responsible for Thursday?
RH, because he’s a top professional and an accountable captain.
Un Na
Where have I insulted anyone? Nowhere. Please cease and desist with the bogus smears.
Pedro
Saka desperately needs a rest so that’s good news on Tierney.
It’ll be interesting when everything settles down where we go with LB. Tierney was looking good and settling in and Saka’s looked something special. We could be looking at our future left side for years to come.
Looking forward to seeing Pool make some history today!
Deeney so shit. Easy square ball and it’s a tame one.
Liverpool will suckerpunch them and go on to win as per usual.
Receding
No ones making any accusations against Auba – he clearly feels he missed a chance he should have scored.
Why try to read more into that than face value?
Ishola Did I say Xhaka was quick? No, but compare him to Torreira and he’s a much better suited player for us. He’s tall, good in duels, never injured, can play as an aux defender because of this, and his passing is miles better than any CM at the club (the claims against this are painful). So of the two I’d sell Torreira. Different story if Xhaka wants to leave, or there’s interest and his value is good coin for the club to circulate. Then off he goes, but he’d be more difficult and costly to replace than Torreira. Ceballos… Read more »
“Where have I insulted anyone? Nowhere. Please cease and desist with the bogus smears.“
called me a bully
Un Na “do you treat your youth team with the same …?” I didn’t even see this question. Anyways, one, this is a false analogy, because what you would tell a group of players about their chances of accomplishing this or that is very different from what you might tell observers or fans of that team. Two, if I have a team that is 5th in the district, 20th in the region, and 60th in the state — I don’t, but this is just an example — I’m not going to tell them that we have a chance of winning… Read more »
“My realism”
LMAO
In Bamfords world Leicester didn’t title out, Leeds didn’t win at Highbury in 03 killing title hopes and Porto surely didn’t win the champions league getting past peak United in 04.
Charlie
Mate, you are a bully. If you don’t like being called one, don’t be one. It’s pretty simple.
RT,
I would not throw the stone of hope to CC, when you a nihilist communist were hoping that Corbyn was going to save England.
Banford
That’s an insult. A bully on your say so? Pass the bucket of salt.
Charlie
If we want a core midfielder to come in that is going to dictate and set the tempo for the side then yes he will need to be a good one and his cost will reflect that.
Xhaka plays the most pivotal role in the midfield and this area has been lacking.
If Partey is signed there is no need for Xhaka.
If someone is signed to replace Xhaka I will have a party.
If we sell Aubameyang, they changes things and we may have to get an experienced replacement, albeit not a similar price tag.
Caz
How much do you think we’d get for Auba?
Felt so down about this result I’ve only just been able to look at this site again. We can analyse all sorts of issues but the one which i was banging on about under Emery was this slow ball from the back and Leno’s poor decision making in distribution. He keeps providing short balls to the wrong players and putting the whole defence under pressure. He may be a great shot stopper, possibly one of the best and most athletic, but this lack of thought and strategy playing from the back has got to be addressed urgently It started with… Read more »
Un Na No idea what you’re on about. All that Luteo character does is hurl vile insults, so I don’t know why you would be bringing him into this. As for your not liking what I have to say, well, no offense, but tough luck. People are allowed to have different opinions about the club, the manager, the owner, this or that player, the players in general, the squad. Right? If you go back in time 3-4 years, you would have been “irritated” by what 99% of Le Grove, including Pete, had to say about Wenger. Would your preferences have… Read more »
Of course it is likely that we will see ozil depart instead of xhaka from the core group that i mentioned.
“I bet Champagne charlie watches games in a dress rubbing his beer belly and sipping Tennents..”
And what’s unusual about that? In fact that’s what I usually wear when I go to a match.
Ishola Partey isn’t a passer, and because you cant remove Xhaka from your brain you don’t understand the context of conversation outside of him. Even if you replace Xhaka in the XI why do you suddenly not need Xhaka? Are we going to try the tactic of having 1 player per position next season? I rate the CM options as follows Xhaka, Guendouzi/Ceballos, Torreira, Willock. So for me I’d look to sell Torreira and replace him, then I’d say no to Ceballos and replace him. Your view on how I rate the players in CM is of little interest, I’ve… Read more »
Could be an ACL for Deulofeu – nasty twist to his knee there.
Watford vs Liverpool is a game to watch. You won’t think Watford are in the bottom three.
“As for your not liking what I have to say, well, no offense, but tough luck. People are allowed to have different opinions about the club, the manager, the owner, this or that player, the players in general, the squad. Right?“
Didn’t you chirp at Pierre earlier and claim him ‘anti-Le grove’ because of his views? Doesn’t seem very tolerant of other views as you’re preaching others to be.
Red
What majority did Boris win again?
Best player off the field Liverpool will go on to smash Watford now.
Looking at Liverpool you wouldn’t get the impression they are on course to record the highest ever points tally in a league campaign.
Bad injury to duelefueu. Really unlucky. And lucky for liverpool.
Liverpool have been winning in second gear all throughout.
I feel athletico will knock them out with a 1-1 draw at anfield, but id prefer them to go through and play as many matches as possible.
The only way to save our record is with Liverpool having to focus on UCL.
Bamford
You do realise that Un isn’t asking you to guarantee we’re going to finish in a CL position, he’s not trying to trick you into making a prediction that’s he’s going to come back and taunt you about.
He’s just asking you to take some joy out of there being a chance we can do it.
Aubameyang is a liability, cost us top 4 last season by bottling a penalty against Spurs and now misses a sitter costing us a place in the next round of the Europa…
Deeney is shit.
Can Watford beat Pool ?
Considering his age and context length, id be surprised if we get more then 45mn if he declares his love for barca like cesc.
We get more if there is a bidding war. Then we could get close to 60 like with Sanchez when both united and city were in for him.
Its how well we negotiate. Someone desperate could even play 70. That aren’t many goal scorers like him.
If you have a fully functional team like bayern, auba would score loads.
Contract length*
It’s the team that are insulting the fans every year with their mediocre performances
Barcelona and Real Madrid fans would be waving white hankies and setting on fire effigies of the manager were such a low standard set..
Can Watford beat Pool ?
No that window of opportunity has gone now. Klopp will rally the lads now and they will go on to win. Seen this before teams don’t take their chances against Liverpool l. Deeney should of scored.
TAA and Robertson aren’t great defenders
Marc, Un Na
I have expressed my views on that point many times. Why I would have to repeat myself, I have no idea. Indeed, I’m not even sure I’m allowed to speak on that point, as it would likely require me to discuss things I’m not allowed to talk about. A better question is: why do you care so much that I don’t think we have any chance of finishing 5th? Can’t different people have differing assessments about this or that? Of course they can.
Auba to real would get us the most money as there might be a fight between real and barca for him.
Convincing him to stay and selling lacazette is a better option for us, now that we have Nketiah and Martinelli who can do the dirty work through the middle.
“better question is: why do you care so much that I don’t think we have any chance of finishing 5th? Can’t different people have differing assessments about this or that? Of course they can.“
Because you think United, Wolves, Sheffield United, Spurs capable and claim you support Arsenal.
Really basic observation.
Redtruth
Barca and Real have been bankrolled by state banks.
Also most of the TV money in la liga hours to those two, it’s not equally divided. Its completely lop sided.
That’s why the fans can afford to do what they do cause Barca can afford to live upto those high standards by spending truckloads.
Having said that, of course our performances have been shit for a number of years.
CazOn
Priority No.1 is putting a manager in place that can reconstruct the side to compete for the league title…
Charlie stop over-rating Xhaka’s passing. Ninety per cent of it is simple turning over of the ball even if he wants to make ten yard passes look so precise lol
You even admitted before that Arsenal passing was too passive. Well Xhaka is a big part of that.
Partey can pass a football.
Who is your manager RT?
I see the women’s team are losing in the Continental Cup Final. Not really a surprise – what hope did they have after Emery oversaw our worst start for thirty years.
No real point in discussing targets for the summer until we know where we’re at European football wise. No champions league and any dreams of Partey or Soumare is likely out the window. Whatever happens though we should absolutely look at replacing the usual individuals who let us down and whatever midfield combinations we have next season let’s hope it has neither Ozil or Xhaka in it. Ideal scenario for me would be Aouar and Soumare/Partey with a number 10 perhaps Szobozlai or that lad at Genk we’re linked with but likely it’s going to be this le harve lad… Read more »
Ishola
You’re boring, just shut up on the subject if you can’t resist your usual diatribe towards Xhaka.
Champagne charlie
“Because you think United, Wolves, Sheffield United, Spurs capable and claim you support Arsenal.”
All those teams are currently above Arsenal, so i ask where is this optimism coming from..
Pedro
Once again I am forced to read the repetitive garbage of RT. Surely there has to come a point when you put an end to this miserable man.
When we are forced to read that Aubameyang is a “liability” you know that this
man can only spout rubbish. Aubameyang now joins the Messi club of RT failures!!
Pedro
Any idea who the two signings are Kike Marin referenced a while back?
Or positions? Was told by two different people Deulofeu was high on the list, wondered if you knew anything?
Pedro
Bielsa was my choice before Emery but as usual the board chose the wrong option…
Red Truth is an asset to this site, there I said it.
Red, I can’t argue with Bielsa.
CC, I have no idea. I assumed it was two players with buyouts.
Partey and Upemacano is about as far as I got
Come on Watford!
The board have gone for safety first instead of choosing a maverick who would have knocked the club into shape…
Pedro
Are buyouts not usually requiring up front cash? I’m not that clued up on the details there. Would love both of those.
Get it up you Liverpool.
” just shut up on the subject if you can’t resist your usual diatribe towards Xhaka.”
Is someone trying to muscle in on my Xhaka diatribes?
Pedro – I’m not fucking having that.
What are the odds that the only team that beats Liverpool this season are one that gets relegated!
Come on Watford hope I’m wrong.
Midfield strong.
Sarr is putting on some bulk and it’s helping him out a treat, looks way more robust in possession.
Good build for a wide attacker, still a bit kick and run.
Great goal from Watford
Watford 2 nil!
Fucking come on
Samesong
2-0 up Watford
Marc hounding the ref into giving a yellow
Please hold on you ugly Hornets!
But he can kick….and he can run…
No easy games in this PL.
Cmon watford
Pedro
?
Liverpool haven’t played well in weeks.
On this form they might not get past AM in the return leg of CL.
Hopefully Watford can hang on for obvious reasons not the least of which the constant pointless debates and arguments where the might rank on the all time greats list.
Liverpool hit the post and it goes wide.
Come one Watford.
Dacoure talk about him went quiet on le grove he still half decent.
Samesong
And if Watford go down he should be available for a reasonable fee.
Liverpool will be pissed if they dont draw or win this. It’s almost like they are becoming arrogant.
And if Watford go down he should be available for a reasonable fee.
Hes got that Viera stride!
If Liverpool score I can see them jamming out again.
“If Liverpool score I can see them jamming out again.”
Don’t even go there!
Watford 3
And our record should live on!
Leftside
Don’t tempt fate for fucks sake
Yeaaaaa
Marc, I said should, and if they do salvage this I will crawl into a hole
Somewhere Wenger is smiling
3 up. Kick up the arse for Liverpool with Atletico on the horizon.
Hahahahahahahahahaha wankers
YEEEAAAASSSSSSSEESn!!!!
The invincibles will remain invisible
The Invincibles!!!!!
This unbeaten obsession is quite ridiculous. Let say a team draws 38 games. Have they done better than a team that gets 100 points?
I’ll say it again.. TAA and Robertson are poor defenders